Starring: Judi Dench & Steve Coogan
Written by Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope
Directed by Stephen Frears
Based on the true story of Philomena Lee, an older Irish woman who went in search of the son whom she was forced to give up for adoption nearly 50 years prior.
Judi Dench battles
evil nuns – what more could you
want from a movie?
Grade: B
C2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Philomena is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431286/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan & Rosamund Pike
Written by Edgar Wright & Simon Pegg
Directed by Edgar Wright
Five friends reunite to finish an epic pub crawl they attempted in their youth, but instead find themselves confronted by an otherworldly threat to humanity.
Out of all the year’s
end-of-the-world flicks, this is
the one to die for.
Grade: A-
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The World’s End is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213663/?ref_=sr_2
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West & Imelda Staunton
Screenplay by Stephen Volk and Nick Murphy
Directed by Nick Murphy
A woman who debunks supernatural hoaxes is called upon to investigate a ghost that allegedly haunts a boarding school.
I say ghosts are just
what you need to keep a school
full of brats in line.
Grade: B-
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Awakening is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1687901/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette & Jessica Biel
Screenplay by John J. McLaughlin
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
The story of Alfred Hitchcock’s struggle to make Psycho.
The true Master of
Suspense gets a biopic
that simply has none.
Grade: C
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Hitchcock is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0975645/
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Bérénice Marlohe, Albert Finney & Ben Whishaw
Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan
Directed by Sam Mendes
When a cyberterrorist seeks revenge on M., it’s up to James Bond to stop him.
Seems Her Majesty’s
Secret Service has come through
for us once again.
Grade: A-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Skyfall is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1074638/
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston & Simon Russell Beale
Adapted & directed by Terence Davies
Shortly after World War II, the wife of British judge finds herself trapped between her passionless marriage and an affair with a troubled Royal Air Force pilot.
Great expectations!
Being happy’s hard when you’re
repressed and oppressed.
Grade: A-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Deep Blue Sea is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700844/
Starring: Anny Ondra, John Longden & Donald Calthrop
Adapted and directed by Alfred Hitchcock
When a young woman kills a man in self defense and her detective boyfriend helps cover it up, the two find themselves being blackmailed by someone who can place her at the scene of the crime.
This silent Hitchcock
shows that you don’t need words to
watch a good stabbing.
Grade: B-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Blackmail is available on DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019702/
TCFF 12-16
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones & Rupert Everett
Screenplay by Stephen Dyer & Jonah Lisa Dyer
Directed by Tanya Wexler
Based on the true story of a young doctor whose quest to cure women of “hysteria” leads him to invent the first vibrator.
Hard laughs come easy;
this virile film will leave you
feeling satisfied.
Grade: A-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Hysteria is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1435513/
TCFF 12-07
Starring: Jason Segel, Emily Blunt, Chris Pratt, Alison Brie & Rhys Ifans
Screenplay by Jason Segel & Nicholas Stoller
Directed by Nicholas Stoller
When an engaged San Francisco couple temporarily move to Michigan for a career opportunity, they encounter numerous obstacles that postpone their walk down the aisle.
This Michigander
insists you can’t “go native”
while in Ann Arbor.
Grade: B
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Five-Year Engagement is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1195478/
Starring: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Anton Yelchin, Brendan Gleeson, Ashley Jensen & Brian Blessed
Screenplay by Gideon Defoe
Directed by Peter Lord
A band of misfit pirates run afoul of Queen Victoria while trying to win their captain the infamous Pirate of the Year award.
The folks at Aarrrrrrrrrdman
plunder laughs without acting
like drunk Keith Richards.
Grade: B
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Pirates! Band of Misfits is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430626/
The Haiku Review 