White House Down

http://www.whitehousedown.co.uk/

As I have seen the last three Channing Tatum movies to be released in the UK, Magic Mike, GI Joe Retaliation and Side Effects, with my friend who is a big Channing Tatum fan, I wanted to wait until she was free to see this one. Although I try to convince everyone, including myself, that I don't really like the guy that much, it's better for my reputation if I say that I only saw one of his movies because my friend wanted to. In this case though, the dirty white vest on the poster was enough to me.

From that point on I referred to this movie as Die Hard at the White House, and that's pretty much what it is. The film tells the story of police officer John Cale (Tatum), who takes his politically enthusiastic daughter Emily (King), with him to the White House where he has an interview for becoming part of the secret service. Despite knowing the interviewer for the job, Carol Finnerty (Gyllenhaal), since college, Cale strikes out and resumes his White House tour with Emily. It is then that terrorists strike and it is up to Cale, who joins forces with the President (Foxx), to protect the hostages which include his daughter.

Whilst I missed Olympus Has Fallen when it came out in March, I understand that there are some similarities between that movie and White House Down. Although I have it on good authority from the friend I saw White House Down with that despite their similarities, they are still very different storylines. In her opinion Olympus was the better movie, but she said she'd rather see Channing Tatum than Gerard Butler in a dirty vest. So I guess your choice really depends on which actor floats your boat.

For my opinion on this movie, I really enjoyed it. Yes it's cheesy, some lines are pure cheddar, but it knows it's cheesy. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. But unlike director Emmerich's last movie, 2012, White House Down is still both believable (in terms of the main plot anyway) and not so over the top that it harms the movie. My advice would be to go in with the idea of not expecting too much and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised.

Tatum and Foxx are both very likable and work well together, both comedically and in the action sequences. Gyllenhaal, Clarke, Jenkins and Woods all give strong support that lends more weight to the proceedings. King gives a capable performance for one so young, and is enjoyable to watch in her scenes with the tour guide Donnie, who lends most of the lighter moments to the film. 

Overall, this movie had me laughing, it kept me engaged until the credits rolled, and Tatum in a vest is a sight I could get used to. 7.5 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 29th September 2013

UK Release Date - 13th September 2013

Cast Overview:

John Cale ~ Channing Tatum

President James Sawyer ~ Jamie Foxx

Carol Finnerty ~ Maggie Gyllenhaal

Emil Stenz ~ Jason Clarke

Eli Raphelson ~ Richard Jenkins

Emily Cale ~ Joey King

Martin Walker ~ James Woods

Donnie Smith ~ Nicholas Wright

Vice President Hammond ~ Michael Murphy

Melanie ~ Rachelle Lefevre

Director ~ Roland Emmerich

Writer ~ James Vanderbilt

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

http://www.gijoemovie.co.uk/

As my EE/Orange Wednesday buddy wanted to see The Croods, but I had already seen it, I allowed her to pick our next movie. She is a big fan of Channing Tatum and so her choice was G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Although oddly, neither of us had seen the first G.I. Joe movie. I therefore proposed a reverse movie experience, we could go to see G.I. Joe: Retaliation but we would have to watch G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra on DVD at some point afterwards.

The film is set directly after the events of the first movie and follows Duke (Channing Tatum) and his crew as they embark on another mission, unaware that the President (Jonathan Pryce) has been captured and that the man in the white house is actually Zartan (Arnold Vosloo), one of the bad guys from the first movie. The nanomite technology from the first film comes in handy to reconfigure Zartan's features, allowing him to impersonate the President. Zartan uses his influences as the President to frame the Joe's for stealing nuclear warheads and moves to disband them, ordering a military strike which kills most of the team. The remaining Joe's join forces with the first Joe (Bruce Willis) and their former enemy Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) to bring an end to Zartan's reign.

Despite not having seen the first G.I. Joe movie I found it relatively easy to follow the sequel. However, *Spoiler Alert* for fans of Channing Tatum or Bruce Willis I will say now that you'll probably be disappointed. Tatum is only in the movie for the first 20 minutes and then his character is one of the casualties of the military strike. *End Spoiler Alert* From here, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson takes centre stage, with Brucie coming in about half way through the movie and appearing sporadically with the sole aim of delivering some cheesy one liners. Although the best one liner has to be "So why don't you take Miley Cyrus and Ryan Seacrest and head that way" when referring to Flint (D.J. Cotrona) and Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) pictured below:

You see it's funny coz they do kinda look like Miley Cyrus and Ryan Seacrest...

Anyway, if you're not a fan of those involved then you'd better be a fan of action as it barely lets up in this movie, with lots of fast paced set pieces, one on wires over a snowy mountain makes particular use of the 3D. Other than that the film doesn't really have a lot going for it. The end sequence involving nukes from all countries is quite clever but it's not enough to save the film from falling into mediocrity. I'd only recommend this if you're a fan of the original/franchise or if you follow any of the actors involved. 4 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 3rd April 2013

UK Release Date - 27th March 2013

Cast Overview:

Dwayne Johnson ~ Roadblock

Jonathan Pryce ~ President

Byung-hun Lee ~ Storm Shadow

Elodie Yung ~ Jinx

Ray Stevenson ~ Firefly

D.J. Cotrona ~ Flint

Adrianne Palicki ~ Jaye

Channing Tatum ~ Duke

Ray Park ~ Snake Eyes

Arnold Vosloo ~ Zartan

Bruce Willis ~ General Joe Colton

Director ~ Jon M. Chu

Writer(s) ~ Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick

Side Effects

Mini Review

http://www.sideeffectsmayvary.com/

I have recently started making the most of Orange/EE Wednesdays with a friend from work. As I have a Cineworld card it means that with the Orange/EE code, she gets a free ticket. Bargain! We saw the trailer for Side Effects a couple of weeks earlier and as my friend is a fan of Channing Tatum it seemed to be a bit of a no-brainer that we would see Side Effects.

The film tells the story of Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a young woman who has suffered from depression since her husband Martin (Channing Tatum), was imprisoned for insider trading. Upon his release she assumes that they will be able to put the last 4 years behind them, but instead she finds herself slipping deeper into depression's grasp. She starts seeing a psychiatrist, Dr Banks (Jude Law), who prescribes her with an amazing new drug. The immediate effects are everything Emily and Martin hope for, but then the side effects of the drugs start to creep in and if they get out of hand, they could destroy the lives of not only Emily and Martin, but Dr Banks too.

I found Side Effects to be quite a different film from the one advertised in the trailer. For one, as my poor friend discovered, Channing Tatum's role is considerably smaller than the trailer indicates. That aside though I found that it was different in a surprising way rather than a disappointing sense. The film was a lot darker and had a lot more twists that I was expecting. From the trailer I guessed this was going to be more of a courtroom drama, looking at the side effects of the drug prescribed, but in reality the film is more of a psychological thriller and had so many double crosses that I had trouble keeping track of them all.

The only problems I had with the film were that it felt overly long, and after the main twist had occurred I'd already figured out what all of the remaining twists were going to be. So it felt more like a waiting game for everything to be neatly wrapped up. I did still enjoy the film overall and if you're a fan of psychological thrillers or any of the actors involved then I'd say you're likely to enjoy this. It's a popcorn movie but an enjoyable one, and at times, brain teasingly so. 7 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 13th March 2013

UK Release Date - 8th March 2013

Cast Overview:

Jude Law ~ Dr Jonathan Banks

Rooney Mara ~ Emily Taylor

Catherine Zeta-Jones ~ Dr Victoria Siebert

Channing Tatum ~ Martin Taylor

Vinessa Shaw ~ Dierdre Banks

Ann Dowd ~ Martin's Mother

Polly Draper ~ Emily's Boss

Director ~ Steven Soderbergh

Writer ~

Scott Z. Burns (Screenplay)

Magic Mike

Mini Blog

http://magicmikemovie.warnerbros.com/

The fact that Magic Mike is directed by Steven Soderbergh kinda tells you all you need to know about this film. For those who don't know, Steven Soderbergh is not exactly known for making light hearted, fun films. His previous films have included Out Of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Traffic and Che Part 1 and 2. So why the producers picked Soderbergh to helm a film about male strippers is beyond me.

Possibly the script by Reid Carolin is the reason the producers picked Soderbergh as this also takes itself way too seriously for a movie about male strippers. I'm not saying that strippers are just to look at and can't have a serious, intelligent side. But when you're going to see them perform, that's exactly what you want. And going to see a movie about them is kinda like going to see them perform. So your core audience is not going to want any accompanying story to detract from the stripping or to weigh it down. That's Magic Mike's problem right there. The story is far too heavy for the subject matter. 

Telling a story about a troubled drug addict is fine but not when your audience have turned up to watch a fun frolic with strippers. The actors are all very pretty but for me there was far too much of a serious story trying to be told which wasn't required. 

I (thankfully) have never seen Showgirls but I think Magic Mike might be the male version of that film. The stripping sequences were well choreographed and fun but the rest of the movie took itself too seriously. 4 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 12th July 2012

UK Release Date - 11th July 2012

Cast Overview:

Matthew McConaughey ~ Dallas

Channing Tatum ~ Magic Mike

Olivia Munn ~ Joanna

Alex Pettyfer ~ Adam

Cody Horn ~ Brooke

Director ~ Steven Soderbergh

Writer ~ Reid Carolin (Screenplay)

The Vow

Mini Blog

http://www.thevow-movie.com/

Despite the fact that the trailer for this looks cheesier than a block of cheddar, I knew I would probably see it owing to the draw of Rachel McAdams. I have seen almost every film she has done since The Notebook. But sadly not loved any of them as much as that first film I saw her in. That's not to say the films are bad, just not as good as The Notebook. So I hold out hope and continue to trek to the cinema for her latest releases. 

The Vow actually wasn't as bad as I'd imagined it would be. It's not great though, so let's not get ahead of ourselves! It's just not awful. Tatum is as wooden as ever but he does have a little bit of chemistry with McAdams. Just not really to the point that it's believable that they're married. McAdams is her usual, loveable self and portrays her character's memory loss convincingly.

I don't know if it's the fact that it's based on a true story or if I'm just sentimental in my old age but I did find myself rooting for the couple and did want them to overcome the odds to make their second chance relationship work. 

If you like love stories that aren't overly emotional, or if you like the actors involved, I'd definitely say The Vow is worth a watch. If that sounds like your idea of hell then I'd avoid it like the plague. 6 out of 10.

Viewing Date - 26th February 2012

UK Release Date - 10th February 2012

Cast Overview:

Rachel McAdams ~ Paige

Channing Tatum ~ Leo

Jessica Lange ~ Rita (Paige's mother)

Sam Neill ~ Bill (Paige's father)

Scott Speedman ~ Jeremy

Director ~ Michael Sucsy

Writer ~ Jason Katims, Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein (Screenplay) and Stuart Sender (Story)

The Eagle

http://focusfeatures.com/the_eagle

The Eagle is a strange one for me to peg. I'd only seen the trailer once and wasn't particularly fussed about seeing the film either way. But as I've said before, I always feel I should get the most out of my Cineworld membership and so I try to see as many films as I can, that are as diverse as Cineworld allows.


So I went to see The Eagle. I wanted to see Limitless again, if just for the sight of Bradley Cooper in his tiny black shorts, but my cinema buddy wanted to see The Eagle over Limitless so we went with The Eagle.


The film is set around 140 AD, the Roman's have invaded Britain and set up their stronghold in the south. Roman Centurion Marcus Aquila decides to undertake a journey to the savage north to retrieve 'The Eagle', an artifact lost by his father when he commanded the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army and brought disgrace to the family name. Aquila, determined to bring back 'The Eagle' and restore his family's reputation, sets out on this journey with only his British slave Esca to help him navigate the treacherous north.


Despite the film not really being my cup of tea I was pleasantly surprised by The Eagle. For one, the acting's not half bad. Channing Tatum, who I expected to just stand around with his shirt off looking pretty, actually pitched in with the fighting, getting as mucky as everyone else, and looking pretty beaten up and really quite sickly in some scenes. Hats off to him for at least getting in on the action. Jamie Bell, who I've never really taken to, was similarly watchable and both were convincing enough in their roles. 


What I will say is that the film really does try. It tries, and I would say succeeds, at not being a Gladiator rip off, it stands apart and tells a different story entirely. The only similarity being the 'swords and sandles' description which the film unfortunately can't escape being saddled with. It is what it is. But for me the similarities end there. It also tries to be as historically accurate as it can be, with depictions of how and why Hadrian's Wall was built, the inhabitants of the north during that time, how Romans built their fortresses etc. 


Despite it's efforts I still found the film to be a little dull in places but as I said, it's not really my cup of tea. I don't mean to be vague, I also don't want to sound as if I'd given up on The Eagle before I walked into the cinema but some films, no matter how much you want to like them, don't work for whatever reason. For me, I felt that The Eagle worked better than I expected it to, but that doesn't mean I loved it.


If you're a guy, or particularly like your swords to be wielded by men in skirts and sandles, then you'll probably really enjoy The Eagle. If you're a girl, chances are you'd rather re-watch Dear John or Step Up. 6 out of 10. 

Viewing Date - 29th March 2011

UK Release Date - 25th March 2011

Cast Overview:

Channing Tatum ~ Marcus Aquila

Jamie Bell ~ Esca

Donald Southerland ~ Uncle Aquila

Mark Strong ~ Guern

Tahar Rahim ~ Seal Prince

Denis O'Hare ~ Lutorius

Douglas Henshall ~ Cradoc

Director ~ Kevin MacDonald 

Writer(s) ~ Jeremy Brock (Screenplay) and Rosemary Sutcliff (Novel)