A.J. Hakari

01 Nov 2007

Reviewers divided on Carell movie 'Dan in Real Life'

I like to review films with all the fairness I can muster, both as a critic and a fan, taking on each movie — no matter how lame — with at least some semblance of hope. However, regarding “Dan in […]

25 Oct 2007

Reviewers split on new vampire flick '30 Days of Night'

Even the best vampire flicks have this inherent cheesiness about them that comes as a result of having their antagonists prance around with their teeth jutting out and acting like they’re being paid by the snarl.   “30 Days of […]

19 Oct 2007

Hakari: Gritty cop drama ‘We Own the Night’ explores family turmoil

The New York we see in movies tends to be one of two places: the quirky wonderland in which Woody Allen characters work out their respective neuroses or the wretched hive of scum and villainy that flicks like “The Brave […]

11 Oct 2007

Fantasy knock-off ‘The Seeker’ cheesy and predictable

While the “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” franchises may be the supreme fantasy features of our time, their imitators persistently crawl out of the woodwork to this day. “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising” (a title every bit […]

04 Oct 2007

Action packed, star studded 'Kingdom' tackles terrorism

While such post-9/11 films as “The Guys” and “Reign Over Me” were more dramatic character pieces about attempting to move on past that horrible day, “The Kingdom” attempts to merge that volatile environment with the spirit of a shoot-’em-up action […]

28 Sep 2007

Latest installment of ‘Resident Evil’ falls short of hype

The dull way in which “Resident Evil: Extinction” plays out is a big indicator of how its predecessors gave movie fans too much, too soon. This is a series that played its hand way too early, going from a claustrophobic gore-fest to an apocalyptic blockbuster in the span of two movies.

21 Sep 2007

‘Brave One’ draws mixed feelings from reviewers

With the release of "The Brave One," there's inevitably going to be much discussion about how star Jodie Foster built her career on similar roles of emotional wrecks-turned-take-charge heroines in movies like "Flightplan" and "The Silence of the Lambs."

04 May 2007

'Kickin' It Old Skool' should be kicked out

Right now, I could be using this space to whip up a sentence or two about the tricky art of comedy, using an array of fancy words and descriptions that only go to show that I know my way around a thesaurus.

27 Apr 2007

'Hot Fuzz' slightly funny, not impressive

After reinvigorating the zombie genre with "Shaun of the Dead," the team of director/ writer Edgar Wright and writer/star Simon Pegg are back to take on brainless cop flicks with the pseudo-spoof "Hot Fuzz."

20 Apr 2007

'Aqua Teen' movie receives high reviews

As I sat down to write my critique of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters," I came to the realization that I had no freakin' clue how to review this movie.