I have a massive review for you all today. Not only will I be reviewing "White House Down" and "The Heat" but I will also be reviewing "Despicable Me 2" which doesn't hit theaters until July 3rd (with some special showings on Tues July 2nd) as I was fortunate enough to go to an advanced screening. As usual I'd like to give a shoutout to the Free Gamer's Alliance YouTube channel. Their videos cover everything from walkthroughs, glitches, easter eggs, and various amusing video game related content, all of which is delivered with some colorful commentary while they have buckets of fun doing it. Here is the link:
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreeGamersAlliance/.
It's time to get started with "White House Down." Before I get started, I want to address the elephant in the room. I will not be comparing this to "Olympus Has Fallen" which is the other movie that came out this year about the white house being under attack. I haven't seen it, therefore, no comparison can be made. Here is the trailer:
- The action in this movie is unbelievable. So many fun explosions, gun fights, fist fights, etc. If you are a big fan of action, your adrenaline will be rushing.
- The pacing in this movie is excellent. It moves very briskly and you never feel as if it's being dragged on. Sure, there are quite a few things that could have been cut out but they never drag on to the point where it becomes annoying.
- The comic relief is excellent! I was laughing pretty consistently through the movie.
- Finally, what actually saves this movie is Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx. They both acted their parts wonderfully and worked off of each other very well. They both come off as incredibly likeable and they pretty much carry the movie.
- The writing is really bad. This movie was written by James Vanderbilt who wrote "Darkness Falls" and "The Amazing Spider-Man" so I'm not shocked. The plot is so dumb that it actually becomes numbing and makes suspension of disbelief very difficult. On top of that, the dialogue is generally pretty brutal.
- There are plot holes all over the place. It becomes really hard not to constantly pick them out. There are so many jumps in logic throughout the entire movie.
- The acting from pretty bad from most of the cast. Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx are the big exceptions but everyone else was really hard to believe.
This movie is poorly written and all around sloppy. Having said that, it is also kind of fun to watch. If you want to turn your brain off, shove popcorn in your face, and have a blast then I'd say this is worth the ticket price. If you are looking to be amazed, look elsewhere.
Time to move on to "The Heat." Here is the trailer:
- This movie is really really funny. It manages to balance the right balance of crude humor, not so crude humor, and physical comedy. I was laughing very hard throughout this entire movie.
- Even though this movie is a comedy, there is plenty of awesome action that goes on.
- There is a surprising amount of character development for a movie of this nature. This is especially evident with Sandra Bullock's character.
- I think that the biggest reason that this movie is successful is the wonderful performances of Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. They both have some absolutely funny moments and have amazing chemistry. They both work nicely as foils for each other.
- The plot is rather formulaic and predictable. It isn't the most well thought out narrative but that doesn't matter too much with a movie like this.
"The Heat" is incredibly funny and had a good amount of heart without being overly sentimental. I would easily recommend seeing this in theaters as your funnybone will be working overtime.
And last but not least, we have "Despicable Me 2." Here is the trailer:
- The animation in this movie is wonderful. Everything is fantastic to look at which is important in an animated movie.
- Like the first movie, the voice acting is spectacular as everyone is really well cast for their characters.
- The soundtrack is excellent. The songs will be stuck in your head for days and you will find yourself fighting the urge to tap your feet/break into dance when certain songs come up
- The 3D in this movie rocks, it's never obnoxious and really enhances the great visuals.
- The comedy in this movie worked and it worked hard. I was laughing constantly. Like the first movie, the humor was reminiscent of "The Looney Toons" and once again it works well! There is great humor for the kids but the jokes will also appeal to adults (including a couple that will fly right over the heads of most kids).
- Even though the movie relies on a good deal of comedy, there is still a lot of heart. It was written very well and you feel for each and every character. This makes it easy for the audience to be immersed in the movie.
- Finally, even though they may annoy some, I find the minions extremely funny, charming, and easy to relate to. They are given even more to do in this movie and it works tremendously well. Their antics never get old and they make me extremely happy.
The Bad:
- There are a few moments that are particularly silly. These didn't bother me but I can see them getting on some nerves.
like the first movie, "Despicable Me 2" manages to find the right balance between heart and "Looney Tunes" style slapstick humor. It never gets boring and it is a fantastic time at the movies for both kids and adults. I highly recommend seeing it and it is safe to say that it is my favorite movie of the summer so far. Check it out when it comes out on July 2nd/3rd
Thanks for reading everyone!! Feel free to leave a comment.