White House Down: Or Olympus Has Fallen Take 2 But This Time Make A Point to Shove Roland Emmerich's Political Opinions In Everyone's Face

Roland Emmerich can't seem to make an original movie. First it was "Deep Impact" being released the same year as "Armageddon", now "White House Down" is released the same year as "Olympus Has Fallen"...

OK, maybe it's only two examples, but still! And each of his movies have been worse than the other ones.

One word of advice, Roland? STAHP!!!!

OK, so we I feel as though I don't need to tell you what a movie as creatively named as "White House Down" is about, so I will just move on. The one thing that made "Olympus Has Fallen" great was that it didn't take itself too seriously. It knew it was a mindless action movie and didn't try to be anything else. "White House Down" forced political opinions in the opening 5 minutes. Granted, they are opinions that I agree with, but nothing bugs me more than a movie trying to mean more than it is.

No one is going to look at "White House Down" and think "Gee, I sure learned a lot about the War in Iraq and Afghanistan today! I'm going to volunteer at my favorite candidates campaign head quarters! Golly!" They're gonna look at the first hour of the film and say "Where the Hell are the explosions?! 'Olypmus Has Fallen' had killed like a hundreds guys by this point!". Stop trying to be something you aren't, Roland!

How can you root for someone who goes for a job interview

in the President's Secret Service with their tie tied like that. My tie looked better

at my first middle school dance! COME ON CHANNING!

In this, Jamie Foxx's character "The Leader of the Free World/The President of the United States" about a million times, presumably following it with "Woah, woah, woah". I don't know, I stopped paying attention. But, I highly doubt the President ever refers to himself as those things in any situation other than introducing himself to someone who just came out from under a rock, let alone in the privacy of his helicopter to his Press Secretary or whatever the heck Maggie Gyllenhaal was supposed to be.

There were only three things I like about this movie. Jason Clarke, Jimmi Simpson and Richard Jenkins. It just wasn't good. It does however do a great job at showing how stupid the media is.

SPOLIER! But not really, because I'm just saving you 2 hours of your life, 1 of which doesn't even have explosions in it.

If a girl is brave enough to post a video onto Youtube of her captors, DO NOT show her picture on-air when she is still in captivity... If the captors are smart enough to take over the White House, they're smart enough to be watching the news while they do so to see what's being said about them and the situation. The media is and always will be filled with idiots.

My Grade: C-

Side Effects

Having nine features released in the past four years, it’s a no brainer that Steven Soderbergh is one of the hardest working directors out there right now. Coming off his widely successful “Magic Mike”, where women could go to see male strippers without feeling the shame of walking into a strip club, Soderbergh goes back to his roots with the less six-packy (sorry ladies) and more psychological-thrillery “Side Effects” (I’m not above making up words).

“Side Effects” showcases an All-Star cast with the likes of Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum. It tells the story of a woman named Emily, played by Rooney Mara, who is struggling with depression. When she attempts to kill herself shortly after her husband (Tatum) is released from prison, her family just believes it is her long past with depression and thinks nothing of it. However, they decide to have her see a psychiatrist, played by Jude Law.

The psychiatrist prescribes her several medications, attempting to see which one works best for her. Eventually, he prescribes her a new drug, for which he is being paid by the company that produces it to test on his patients, called Ablixa. The medication works wonders for her with the exception of one of the side effects, sleepwalking. Her sleepwalking leads to her being the number one suspect in a murder trial. And as her psychiatrist tries to prove her innocence, his dark past is unearthed. As his life begins to fall apart, he rushes to discover the truth.

I went into the theatre not expecting anything great. I usually find myself pleasantly surprised in these situations, and “Side Effects” is no exception. Soderbergh proves himself as a great psychological thriller director. His best films (in my opinion) are always the ones that fly under the radar. While it is not the most mind-blowing thriller, the story flows and keeps you interested in the characters and the situations they are put in. Complimented by a great soundtrack, fine cinematography and wonderful performances, “Side Effects” is a well-hidden gem in a month jam packed with sub-par comedies, Nicholas Sparks’ “The Notebook 19”, and mediocre animated films.

My Grade: B