Starring: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, John Lithgow, Megan Fox, Albert Brooks & Melissa McCarthy
Written and directed by Judd Apatow
As they both turn 40, struggling married couple Pete and Debbie must figure out how to balance romance, careers, parents and children.
I’d have rather watched
two hours of Albert Brooks
in This Is 60.
Grade: B
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
This Is 40 is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1758830/?ref_=sr_2
Starring: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law, Isla Fisher & Hugh Jackman
Screenplay by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Peter Ramsey
The Guardians of Childhood – Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Sandman, and the Tooth Fairy – recruit Jack Frost to help them battle the boogeyman.
I thought that Jack Frost
was a snowman that sounded
like Michael Keaton.
Grade: C
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Rise of the Guardians is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/12/13.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446192/?ref_=sr_1
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance & Fred Dalton Thompson
Written by Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill
Directed by Scott Derrickson
A true crime author moves into the home where a young girl disappeared after her family was murdered and begins an investigation that uncovers a terrifying truth.
Ethan Hawke gets scared
by pagan snuff films, lack of
career momentum.
Grade: C+
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Sinister is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/19/13.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1922777/?ref_=sr_1
Featuring: Frédéric Bourdin
Directed by Bart Layton
This true-crime documentary tells the incredible story of a family who found their missing child after three years, only to discover that the person they got back was harboring an unbelievable secret.
You’ll think “How could folks
be so stupid?” But, hey, this
happened in Texas.
Grade: A-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Imposter is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966604/
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano & Jeff Daniels
Written and directed by Rian Johnson
In the future, when the mob kills people by sending them back in time where a hired gun awaits, one assassin is shocked to find his next target is a 30-year-older version of himself.
Such horror to learn
that you’ll grow up to be a
coot like Bruce Willis!
Grade: A-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Looper is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276104/
Starring: Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Bob Balaban, Kara Hayward & Jared Gilman
Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Directed by Wes Anderson
On an island off the coast of New England, two lovestruck adolescent outsiders runaway together while a search team of eccentrics pursues them.
Wes Anderson makes
a Wes Anderson movie,
if you’re into that.
Grade: B+
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Moonrise Kingdom is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/
Written by Lee Hirsch & Cynthia Lowen
Directed by Lee Hirsch
A documentary on the detrimental effects of bullying that occurs in schools nationwide.
Respect everyone
Don’t take sh*t from anyone
All kids should watch this
Grade: B+
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Bully is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682181/
Starring: Jennifer Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox & Edward Burns
Written and directed by Jennifer Westfeldt
Two platonic best friends decide to have a child together and split the responsibility to avoid the strains that parenthood puts on romantic relationships.
Rom-com or one big
laundry list of reasons to
shun reproduction?
Grade: B-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
Friends with Kids is now playing in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1720616/
Starring: Jonah Hill, Max Records, Ari Graynor, JB Smoove & Sam Rockwell
Written by Brian Gatewood & Alessandro Tanaka
Directed by David Gordon Green
A slacker drags the kids he’s watching into the city to meet his girlfriend and ends up running afoul of a drug dealer.
If you need a good
sitter, I suggest finding
Elisabeth Shue.
Grade: C-
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Sitter is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 3/20/12.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1366344/
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds & Janet McTeer
Screenplay by Jane Goldman
Directed by James Watkins
A widower travels to a remote village where a ghostly woman seeks revenge on the locals.
She’s wearing black to
mourn the loss of what must have
once been called a plot.
Grade: C
c2012
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Woman in Black is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1596365/
The Haiku Review 