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White House Down (2013)
White House Down (2013)
I expected White House Down to be basically the same movie as Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Besides the actors, almost everything about each film looked very similar. It is very weird to me that two movies that are so much alike would be released the same year and so close to one another. For some reason I got it in my mind that White House Down was going to be the ugly cousin of Olympus Has Fallen.
White House Down follows a former military man (Channing Tatum) who brings his daughter with him to the White House where he managed to get a job interview to try to become a Secret Service Agent. He brings his daughter along with him to the White House because she is a huge fan of the President (Jamie Foxx). While there, they decide to take a tour. During the tour the White House is attacked and the man does what he can to protect his daughter and the President.
The film was directed by Roland Emmerich and the rest of the noteworthy cast includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Jason Clarke, Richard Jenkins, Joey King, Nicolas Wright, Jimmi Simpson, Michael Murphy, Rachelle Lefevre, Lance Reddick, Matt Craven, and Kevin Rankin.
This movie surprised me. It exceeded my expectations. I liked it a little bit better than Olympus Has Fallen. It was not quite as predictable as Olympus Has Fallen and I felt that the actors did a better job. Also, it seemed like White House Down had fewer flaws than Olympus Has Fallen.
The film was intense and exciting. The attack on the White House was eerily realistic. There was a lot of good action. As with most action movies, some of the action was a bit unbelievable at times. But, for the most part, this didn’t take away from the film.
Tatum was likable as he usually is. Foxx was better than I thought he would be as the President. When the two teamed up together, they were both pretty entertaining and even funny at times.
The rest of the actors played their parts well. Besides Tatum and Foxx, Woods and Jenkins stood out above the rest.
Overall, White House Down is a fun ride worth taking.
I rate this movie an 8 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Buy.
If you liked White House Down (2013), then you will probably enjoy the following movies:
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
The Company You Keep (2012)
The Company you Keep (2012)
The Company you keep is based off of the novel with the same name written by Neil Gordon.
The film follows a journalist (Shia LaBeouf) who discovers the true identity of a former member of The Weather Underground (Robert Redford) who is wanted in connection to a murder.
I was excited to see this movie because I often enjoy movies about investigative journalism, not to mention the cast is fully loaded with talent. Redford directs and stars alongside LaBeouf, Julie Christie, Susan Surandon, Stanley Tucci, Terrence Howard, Nick Nolte, Chris Cooper, Richard Jenkins, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Elliot, Stephen Root, Anna Kendrick, Brit Marling, and Jackie Evancho. Redford may be getting old, but he still has the star power to bring together a big A-list group of actors to make a movie.
The Weather Underground is an anti-war activist group that was around during the Vietnam War era. I had heard about this group before, but I went into the film knowing absolutely nothing about them. The movie explains what the group was all about, but given the fact that the story is based off of a novel, they sort of mix fact with fiction.
Like most films about investigative journalism, the story moves along at a slow to steady pace as the reporter tries to figure things out about the story that he is trying to tell. There is plenty of time for character development and the dialogue is well-written. Great actors tend to pop up out of the woodwork like weeds when these types of movies are made and The Company you Keep is no exception.
It was refreshing to see Robert Redford acting again. He hasn’t been in a movie since Lions for Lambs (2007). Although he has always been a tremendous actor, he really has aged. They tried to make him seem younger in the film by dying his hair and having him jogging in one scene. But, when all is said and done, the movie icon was too old for the part he was playing. This fact took a little bit away from the film.
The person that really stood out the most was Shia LaBeouf. He has strong screen presence, and when he is not doing a Transformers movie, his charisma can really take over a movie. The rest of the cast played their parts well but, LaBeouf was the glue that held the film together.
The Company you Keep was quality filmmaking with a few flaws. The flaws weren’t very noticeable until a little over halfway through the film. Redford did his best with the story that he had, but ultimately the movie was anticlimactic and it became predictable. The dialogue was great, the acting was superb, but there were few surprises along the way to make the movie stand out.
The film was worth seeing, if only to watch masters of the acting craft at work.
I rate this movie a 7 on a scale of 1-10.
Buy, rent, or run? Rent.
If you liked The Company You Keep, then you will probably enjoy the following films:
Trailer for White House Down (2013)
White House Down (2013) (click on the title for my full review)
It never ceases to amaze me how often very similar movies release in theatres just a few months apart from each other. White House Down appears to be basically the same story as Olympus Has Fallen (2013). Is it a coincidence how both movies have titles that are so alike?
White House Down is directed by Roland Emmerich who is known for directing The Day After Tomorrow (2004), The Patriot (2000), and Independence Day (1996).
White House Down stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Jason Clarke, Joey King, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Rachelle Lefevre, Jimmi Simpson, Lance Reddick, Garcelle Beauvais, Peter Jacobson, and Matt Craven.
The movie does look good. I will probably have to check it out in the theatre.
The film is set to release on 6/28/13.
Top 13 Disappointing Current Redbox Movies
Top 13 Disappointing Current Redbox Movies
There are many terrible movies out there. I have avoided renting movies at the Redbox just because they looked bad. You know which ones that I’m talking about. The ones that rip off movies that are actually popular by giving them similar titles and making the cover art look remarkably alike, but are actually knock offs that nobody should have to suffer through. That being said, there are probably worse movies at the Redbox than what are on my list. My list however, is a compilation of movies that actually looked like they could be good in one way or another. Something about these movies made me go to the theatre and watch them, or go to the Redbox and rent them. I made this list to save you time and money. Don’t get duped like I did. They might have a good cast. They might look funny. They might look scary. They might look intense and full of good action. They might look like they have a nice touching story. They are none of those things (well, sometimes except for the cast). They are poor excuses for movies. Stay far away from these awful creations.
With my list I have included the cover art to the movies, so that you know exactly what to avoid. I have not posted any trailers, because you don’t even want to waste your time with those. They will trick you. I have also listed my ratings of each movie. My ratings are on a scale of 1-10. My full review will be available for some of the movies. If the title is highlighted, then you can click on it for my full review.
I do not claim to have seen all of the movies that are currently available to rent at the Redbox, but I have seen 76 of them. Of those 76 movies, my Top 13 Disappointing Current Redbox Movies are:
1. V/H/S (2012) My rating: 1
4. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
6. The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) My rating: 3
7. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012) My rating: 3
8. Deadfall (2012) My rating: 4
10. The Liability (2012) My rating: 4.5
11. Lay the Favorite (2012) My rating: 4.5
12. The Cold Light of Day (2012) My rating: 4.5
13. That’s My Boy (2012) My rating: 5
Now that you know what movies to avoid, Check out my other Redbox related material. Click on the links below:
Current Redbox Movie Reviews September 2013
Current Redbox Movie Reviews August 2013
Current Redbox Movie Reviews July 2013
Top 13 Current Redbox Movies Vol. 2
Top 13 Current Redbox Movies Vol. 3
Top 13 Current Redbox Movies Vol. 4
Are you a fan of Netflix? Click on the following links below for Netflix related material:
Netflix Watch Instantly Movie Reviews September 2013
20 Best Drama Movies Based on Real Life Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
20 Best Classics Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
13 Best Mind-bending Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
13 Best Comedy Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
13 Best Romantic Comedy Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
13 Best War/Military Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
13 Best Gritty Action/Thriller Movies Available on Netflix Watch Instantly
Happy Movie Watching!
