A.J. Hakari

12 Apr 2007

Rodriguez, Tarantino film impresses duo

“Grindhouse” is a gloriously violent and unabashedly sleazy three-hour love letter to exploitation cinema, penned by none other than directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

06 Apr 2007

'Robinsons' provides wholesome entertainment

It was around the time I was in middle school that I started to pick up on the line Disney was and continues to feed the world, noticing the manufactured Fun and Happiness the uber-company churned out on a consistent basis.

23 Mar 2007

Serious Sandler film brings in mixed reviews

I’ve always dug Adam Sandler’s dramatic work more than his comedies. He’s always good for a few laughs, but I get an even greater feeling from seeing him pull off the unexpected and pile drive me with true acting skill.

23 Mar 2007

Epic battle movie ‘300’ draws in fans everywhere

By the time you read this review, it will be approximately two weeks after I first saw “300.” By then, I’ll still be trying to determine exactly how many varieties of ass this film kicked. I’m up to about fifteen so far.

08 Mar 2007

'Black Snake Moan' scores high with reviewers

If one didn’t know better, one might think that “Black Snake Moan” is a rather lurid tale of a black man keeping a white woman literally chained up in his house. But just as writer/director Craig Brewer proved with his 2005 debut, “Hustle & Flow,” there’s a lot more than meets the eye.

01 Mar 2007

'Reno 911!' goes from TV screen to movie screen

“Reno 911!: Miami” is, obviously, the Comedy Central show’s first stab at generating laughs on the big screen, and fortunately, its format is one that’s fairly easy to adapt for the cinema, unlike a lot of TV sitcoms agonizingly stretched out to 90 minutes (I’m talkin’ to you, “Bewitched”).

22 Feb 2007

Childhood favorite comes to life in 'Bridge to Terabithia'

When I first heard about “Bridge to Terabithia,” my curiosity wasn’t all that piqued. On top of being yet another cinematic tale of fantasy for the kiddies, this is the latest production from Walden Media, who’ve apparently decided to adapt every children’s book that enjoyed the most remote hint of popularity into a flick.

15 Feb 2007

'Hannibal Rising' disappointing in the movie’s series

Thump. Thump. You hear that? That’s the sound of a dead horse being beaten. In this case, the brutalized equine is none other than the Hannibal Lecter franchise.

08 Feb 2007

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ a hit with reviewing duo

After “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “Eragon,” and “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events,” I thought I’d had just about enough of fantasy movies featuring kids going on grand, epic adventures. But leave it to Guillermo del Toro, the twisted […]

02 Feb 2007

'Smokin' Aces' leaves a number of questions

You may have noticed lately that the action genre has been undergoing a minor overhaul. “Smokin’ Aces” illustrates how these flicks are starting to be a little rougher, a little meaner and tend to go that extra mile to show the viewer an explosively good time.