Haiku Review: Kick-Ass 2 (2013)

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Morris Chestnut, Clark Duke, Donald Faison, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Leguizamo & Jim Carrey
Written and directed by Jeff Wadlow

Kick-Ass and Hit Girl join forces with other citizens dressed as superheroes to stop the vengeance-fueled rampage of Red Mist.


Jim Carrey in a
mask: now much creepier than
when he was The Mask.

Grade: C+


c2014
By Daniel J. Hoag
Kick-Ass 2 is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1650554/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3

Haiku Review: Wadjda (2103)

Starring: Waad Mohammed, Reem Abdullah & Ahd
Written & directed by Haifaa Al-Mansour

A young Saudi girl wants to raise money for a bicycle but finds only discouragement in the religious and political culture around her.


You can’t keep a good
woman down – but whole cultures
sure keep on trying.

Grade: A-


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Wadjda is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2258858/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Haiku Review: Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)

Starring: Léa Seydoux & Adèle Exarchopoulos
Written by Abdellatif Kechiche & Ghalia Lacroix
Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche

Adèle is a young woman whose life is transformed when she begins an intense romance with Emma, an attractive artist with blue hair.


So explicit it
brings new meaning to the term
“three-hanky movie.”

Grade: A-


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Blue Is the Warmest Color is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2278871/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Haiku Review: The Way Way Back (2013)

Starring: Liam James, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Sam Rockwell, Allison Janney, Maya Rudolph, AnnaSophia Robb, Rob Corddry, Amanda Peet, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Written & directed by Nat Faxon & Jim Rash

On vacation with his mother and her emotionally abusive boyfriend, a shy teenager begins to come out of his shell after he befriends the employees of a local water park.


Although, most older
guys who friend kids at water
parks are pedophiles.

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Way Way Back is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1727388/?ref_=sr_1

Haiku Review: The World’s End (2013)

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

Haiku Review: The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013)

Starring: Steve Carell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin, James Gandolfini & Jim Carrey
Screenplay by Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley
Directed by Don Scardino

A washed-up magician feuds with his longtime partner and faces competition from a flashy street performer.


The only trick here
is how Jim Carrey makes his
career disappear.

Grade: C


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0790628/?ref_=fn_al_ch_1a

Haiku Review: The Heat (2013)

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport & Jane Curtin
Written by Katie Dippold
Directed by Paul Feig

An uptight FBI agent and a crude Boston cop team up to stop a high-level drug dealer.


This is what Lethal
Weapon looks like now that Mel
Gibson’s gone crazy.

Grade: B


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Heat is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404463/?ref_=hm_cht_t3

Haiku Review: Monsters University (2013)

Starring: Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Nathan Fillion & Aubrey Plaza
Written by Robert L. Baird & Daniel Gerson & Dan Scanlon
Directed by Dan Scanlon

Before they were the greatest team at Monsters Inc., Mike and Sully were college rivals looking to prove which one of them was better at scaring.


See, kids: Pixar says
you DON’T need to finish school
to follow your dreams!

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Monsters University is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1453405/?ref_=sr_1

Haiku Review: This Is the End (2013)

Starring: Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera & Emma Watson
Written & directed by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg

Hollywood celebrities attempt to survive the apocalypse by barricading themselves inside actor James Franco’s house.


Whoa, Catholic school failed
to mention the whole getting-
raped-by-demons thing.

Grade: B


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
This Is the End is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1245492/?ref_=sr_1

Haiku Review: The Great Gatsby (2013)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher & Jason Clarke
Written by Baz Luhrmann & Craig Pearce
Directed by Baz Luhrmann

A mysterious millionaire seeks to rekindle a romance with the woman he loves, even though she is now married to another man.


Luhrmann wouldn’t know
subtlety if Daisy mowed
it down with his car.

Grade: C+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Great Gatsby is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/?ref_=sr_1