Haiku Review: The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau & Jean Dujardin
Written by Terence Winter
Directed by Martin Scorsese

Based on the true rise and fall of Jordan Belfort, a corrupt, drug-fueled Wall Street executive who lived a life of extravagance by swindling his investors.


In the real world, Big
Bad Wolf eats Little Red and
gets away with it.

Grade: B+


c2014
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Wolf of Wall Street is playing now in theaters nationwide.
IMDb

Haiku Review: American Hustle (2013)

Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K. & Robert De Niro
Written by Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell
Directed by David O. Russell

Two swindlers are forced to help an overly ambitious FBI agent, and they soon find themselves neck-deep in political corruption and organized crime.


A comb-over and
bell bottoms would convince me
to do anything.

Grade: A-


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
American Hustle is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1800241/?ref_=hm_cht_t4

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 Jasmine (2013)

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Alec Baldwin, Sally Hawkins, Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K. & Peter Sarsgaard
Written & directed by Woody Allen

A New York socialite suffers a nervous breakdown and moves in with her lower-class sister after her husband is imprisoned for financial fraud and their assets are seized by the government.


Blanchett is the queen,
but you’ll just be surprised that
Dice Clay doesn’t suck.

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Blue Jasmine is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334873/?ref_=sr_1

Haiku Review: Fruitvale Station (2013)

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand & Chad Michael Murray
Written & directed by Ryan Coogler

Based on a true story, this film follows the last day in the life of Oscar Grant, a young African-American who, in 2008, was shot in the back by a white police officer while being detained in handcuffs at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland, California.


It’s the racist cops
in America that keep
this cesspool classy.

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Fruitvale Station is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334649/

Haiku Review: The East (2013)

Starring: Brit Marling, Alexander Skarsgård, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson, Jason Ritter & Julia Ormond
Written by Zal Batmanglij & Brit Marling
Directed by Zal Batmanglij

An operative for a private security firm is sent to infiltrate an eco-terrorist group known as The East.


That True Blood guy gets
naked and people will do
anything for him.

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The East is playing now in select cities.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1869716/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Haiku Review: Side Effects (2013)

Starring: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum & Ann Dowd
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Directed by Steven Soderbergh

When a psychiatrist prescribes an experimental drug to a young woman suffering from terrifying anxiety, the side effects have deadly consequences.


No drug can fight the
depression that will come if
Soderbergh retires.

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Side Effects is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2053463/?ref_=sr_1

Haiku Review: Broken City (2013)

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jeffrey Wright, Barry Pepper, Alona Tal, Natalie Martinez & Kyle Chandler
Written by Brian Tucker
Directed by Allen Hughes

An ex-cop is hired by a corrupt mayor to discover the identity of his wife’s lover.


It’s not great, but let’s
be grateful that Russell Crowe
doesn’t sing in this.

Grade: C+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Broken City is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/30/13.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235522/

Haiku Review: The Central Park Five (2012)

Written and directed by Sarah Burns & David McMahon & Ken Burns

This documentary tells the story of five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem who, in 1989, were wrongfully convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park.


West Memphis Three got
four films. Did these guys get just
one ’cause they’re not white?

Grade: B+


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
The Central Park Five is available on Blu-ray and DVD on 4/23/13.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380247/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Haiku Review: Cosmopolis (2012)

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon, Mathieu Amalric, Jay Baruchel, Kevin Durand, Samantha Morton & Paul Giamatti
Written and directed by David Cronenberg

The life of a young billionaire begins to unravel during the course of a tumultuous trek across the city in his stretch limousine.


R-Patz proves he’s more
than a sparkley vamp – he’s
a total bore, too.

Grade: C-


c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Cosmopolis is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1480656/?ref_=sr_1