Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara & Chris Pratt
Written & directed by Spike Jonze
In the not-so-distant future, a lonely man develops a romantic relationship with his artificially intelligent operating system.
Admit it, after
watching this you tried to have
phone sex with Siri.
Grade: A
c2014
By Daniel J. Hoag
Her is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings & Stellan Skarsgård
Written by Christopher L. Yost, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
Directed by Alan Taylor
Thor must rely on his dangerous and untrustworthy brother, Loki, to help stop an evil Dark Elf from destroying the universe.
Since when does Asgard
look like Rivendell and fight
Dark Elves? #wheresgollum
Grade: B
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Thor: The Dark World is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne & Russell Crowe
Screenplay by David S. Goyer
Directed by Zack Snyder
A young man with extraordinary powers must confront his extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is threatened by criminals from his home planet.
Look, up on the screen!
It’s a bird! A plane! No, wait–
it’s a turd in tights!
Grade: C
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Man of Steel is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/?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: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman & Ron Perlman
Written by Travis Beacham & Guillermo del Toro
Directed by Guillermo del Toro
The human race must save itself from extinction by using giant mechanical robots to battle monstrous creatures that are rising up out of the ocean.
Giant robots fight
giant monsters. Who needs those
stupid Transformers?
Grade: B+
c2103
By Daniel J. Hoag
Pacific Rim is now playing in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/?ref_=sr_1
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller & Alice Eve
Written by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & Damon Lindelof
Directed by J.J. Abrams
The crew of the Enterprise is sent on a rogue mission to capture a terrorist responsible for attacks against Starfleet.
Cumberbatch strikes fear
across galaxies without
sporting a mullet.
Grade: B
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Star Trek: Into Darkness opens in theaters nationwide tomorrow.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408101/?ref_=sr_1
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau & Ben Kingsley
Written by Drew Pearce & Shane Black
Directed by Shane Black
Tony Stark dons his metal suit to battle a terrorist called The Mandarin.
We get it, Gwyneth.
You have really nice abs. Please
put a shirt back on.
Grade: B+
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Iron Man 3 is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1300854/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Starring: Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman & Doug Jones
Written for the screen and directed by Don Coscarelli
A pair of college dropouts must stop an otherworldy invasion that is tied to a new street drug called Soy Sauce.
This gonzo genre
mash-up has “cult hit” written
all over John’s corpse.
Grade: B
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
John Dies at the End is available now on Blu-ray and DVD.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1783732/?ref_=sr_1
Starring: Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton & J.K. Simmons
Written & directed by Scott Stewart
A family is terrorized by aliens.
‘Cause close encounters
are not all musical tones
and mashed potatoes.
Grade: C+
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Dark Skies is playing now in theaters nationwide.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2387433/?ref_=sr_1
Starring: Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, Atticus Shaffer & Winona Ryder
Screenplay by John August
Directed by Tim Burton.
After his dog is hit by a car, a young scientist brings his beloved pet back from the dead.
More evidence that
Burton’s best drawing from his
own mind, not others’.
Grade: B+
c2013
By Daniel J. Hoag
Frankenweenie is available on Blu-ray and DVD today.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1142977/
The Haiku Review 