(Blu) Haiku Review: Source Code (2011)

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga & Jeffrey Wright
Written by Ben Ripley
Directed by Duncan Jones

A soldier involved in an experimental government program must repeatedly relive the last eight minutes of another man’s life in order to identify the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.


You’ve seen this before,
but like in Groundhog Day, some
repeats aren’t too bad.

Grade: B


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Source Code is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 7/26/11.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945513/

(Blu) Haiku Review: Arthur (2011)

Starring: Russell Brand, Helen Mirren, Greta Gerwig, Luis Guzman, Nick Nolte & Jennifer Garner
Screenplay by Peter Baynham
Directed by Jason Winer

An alcoholic billionaire must choose between an arranged marriage that ensures his luxurious lifestyle and a relationship with the woman he loves, which will cause him to forfeit his fortune.


Mirren brings some class
Tolerance for Brand a must
Best enjoyed blotto

Grade: B-


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Arthur is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334512/

DVD Haiku Review: Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird (2011)

Featuring: Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Wally Lamb, Scott Turow & Oprah Winfrey
Written and directed by Mary McDonagh Murphy

A documentary that explores the life of Harper Lee and the cultural impact of her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird.


No revelations,
but I do feel like dusting
off that old copy.

Grade: B-


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird is now available on DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638979/

(Blu) Haiku Review: Take Me Home Tonight (2011)

Starring: Topher Grace, Anna Faris, Dan Fogler, Teresa Palmer & Chris Pratt
Screenplay by Jackie Filgo & Jeff Filgo
Directed by Michael Dowse

During the 1980s, an MIT graduate in a dead-end mall job sets out to win the heart of his high school crush while attending a party with his former classmates.


Skip this unfunny
80s wannabe throwback,
’cause John Hughes this ain’t.

Grade: D+


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Take Me Home Tonight is available on Blu-ray and DVD today.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810922/

(Blu) Haiku Review: Limitless (2011)

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish & Robert De Niro
Screenplay by Leslie Dixon
Directed by Neil Burger

A struggling writer discovers a dangerous top-secret pill that allows him to use 100 percent of his brain’s capacity.


Alas, drug abuse
will never lead to looking
like Bradley Cooper.

Grade: B


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Limitless is available on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/

Haiku Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes & Alan Rickman
Screenplay by Steve Kloves
Directed by David Yates

Hogwarts is under siege as The Boy Who Lived finally squares off against He Who Must Not Be Named in the final chapter of the Harry Potter saga.


Our hearts enchanted,
Potter will forever be
The Boy Who Lives On.

Grade: A-


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1201607/

(Blu) Haiku Review: The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, Josh Lucas, John Leguizamo, Bryan Cranston & William H. Macy
Screenplay by John Romano
Directed by Brad Furman

Top L.A. criminal defense lawyer Mickey Haller agrees to defend a wealthy young man accused of rape and murder and finds himself entangled in a web of violence, vengeance and deception that threatens his career and his life.


This legal thriller
manages to pass the bar
without raising it.

Grade: B-


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Lincoln Lawyer is available on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189340/

(Blu) Haiku Review: Hobo With a Shotgun (2011)

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth & Brian Downey
Written by John Davies
Directed by Jason Eisener

After showing up in a lawless town and witnessing a series of atrocities, a hobo buys a shotgun and embarks on a mission of brutal vigilantism.


Gory Grindhouse fun
with sweet, sweet hobo violence.
A homeless Death Wish.

Grade: B


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Hobo With a Shotgun is available on Blu-ray and DVD tomorrow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1640459/

Haiku Review: Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand & John Malkovich
Written by Ehren Kruger
Directed by Michael Bay

The Autobots and Decepticons battle over the powerful cargo of one of their ships that crashed on the moon several decades ago.


So long and boring
This franchise should be melted
down and sold for scrap.

Grade: C-


c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399103/