Directed by Kevin Macdonald
This documentary (co-produced by YouTube) is compiled of user-generated footage from around the world, all shot on a single day–July 24, 2010–that captures what it’s like to be alive on Earth today.
Who knew that YouTube
could be used for something more
than cat videos?
Grade: B
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Life in a Day is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1687247/
Starring: Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper & the Muppets
Written by Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller
Directed by James Bobin
The Muppets reunite to save their old theater from an oil tycoon who wants to tear it down.
The very best thing
to feature the Muppet gang
since Jim Henson died.
Grade: A-
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Muppets is now showing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1204342/
Starring: Jason Momoa, Rachel Nichols, Stephen Lang, Rose McGowan & Ron Perlman
Written by Thomas Dean Donnelly & Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood
Directed by Marcus Nispel
A fierce warrior seeks revenge for the murder of his father.
Conan was better
on Game of Thrones: he didn’t
have to speak English.
Grade: C
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Conan the Barbarian is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/22/11.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0816462/
Starring: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson & Rebekah Brandes
Written and directed by Evan Glodell
Two best friends who spend all of their free time building Mad Max-inspired flamethrowers and muscle cars in preparation for a global apocalypse have thier lives turned upside down when one of them falls for an unfaithful woman.
When it catches fire,
this thriller explodes into
a solid mindf@#&.
Grade: B
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Bellflower is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242599/
Starring: Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis, Ewen Bremner, Felicity Jones & Ralph Fiennes
Written and directed by David Hare
An MI-5 agent must deal with a document left behind by his recently deceased boss that implicates the British Prime Minister in a political scandal.
A slow-burn spy flick
like only the Brits can make
Worth it for that cast
Grade: B
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Page Eight is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1797469/
Starring: Otto Jespersen
Written and directed by André Øvredal
A trio of college student filmmakers find themselves documenting the exploits of a grizzled trollhunter.
So many trolls you’ll
think it’s a Kardashian
family function.
Grade: B+
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Trollhunter is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer & Taraji P. Henson
Written by Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos
Directed by Tom Hanks
After losing his blue-collar job, a man enrolls at his local college where a new group of friends and an attractive teacher help him reinvent himself.
A movie that asks
How uncool can a two-time
Oscar-winner get?
Grade: C
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Larry Crowne is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/15/11.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1583420/
Directed by Michael Barnett
A documentary that looks at “real-life superheroes” who dress up in costumes and fight crime.
A gamut of loons
from earnest to sheer nutjob
entertain in tights.
Grade: B
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Superheroes is available on DVD on 11/15/11.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1792621/
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent & Goran Visnjic
Written and directed by Mike Mills
A man grieving from the death of his father–who had recently come out of the closet at age 75–finds solace with a beautiful woman.
Simply beautiful
Joy, sorrow and love abound
Grab a Kleenex box
Grade: A
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
Beginners is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 11/15/11.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1532503/
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench & Armie Hammer
Written by Dustin Lance Black
Directed by Clint Eastwood
The story of one of the most powerful and controversial figures of the 20th century, J. Edgar Hoover, a visionary in law enforcement and criminology, and a man who spent so much of his life compiling the secrets of others that his own secrets almost destroyed him.
Hoover would have dug
a helluva lot deeper
than these bullet points.
Grade: B-
c2011
By Daniel J. Hoag
J. Edgar is now showing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1616195/
The Haiku Review 