White House Down (2013)

3/5

Stop me if you've heard this one before: a terrorist plot to overtake a building is thwarted by a lone off-duty officer behind enemy lines. No, it's not Die Hard. It's White House Down. If you want to put it in a positive light, you can call it an homage or a re-envisioning. If you want to hate on it, you can call it a blatant rip-off. In truth, it probably lies somewhere in between, and it might have worked if Emmerich were a superior director.

The casting is the best part of the movie. Channing Tatum nearly matches Bruce Willis in terms of his on-screen presence and comic timing. (I say this knowing full well that I'll be blasted as a blasphemer or a Tatum fanboy.) But Emmerich takes it one step further by adding Jamie Foxx into the mix, turning it into a buddy movie with an undeniable chemistry between the two leads. It seems like it has all the right ingredients for success, but it just doesn't have that special sauce. Emmerich directs the action just a little too over-the-top. Even I could not suspend my disbelief (and this coming from someone who recently saw Fast & Furious 6). The bad guys are unoriginal and bland, even before comparing them to Die Hard and the inimitable Alan Rickman. The movie sags at around the 2/3 mark and it never manages to pick up the pace after that (even with the unnecessarily ludicrous plot twist at the end). For those of you that don't know, this is basically the exact opposite of what you want in an action movie.

Whereas Die Hard was a classic, White House Down will quickly fade out of our collective memory. That's okay though. It served its purpose as a summer blockbuster popcorn flick. It's entertaining enough for an action movie and I don't feel like I wasted my money. Just don't let the similarities to a much better movie get your hopes up.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2334879/

Date Night (2010)

4/5

Date Night is an incredibly fun movie that delivered non-stop laughs with an action twist. The plot follows Phil and Claire Foster (Carell, Fey) as two parents whose marriage is slowly becoming routine and whose children occupy the little free time they have after work. When their friends decide to get a divorce, Phil realizes that he has something special with Claire that he doesn't want to lose and decides to take her out to a special night in Manhattan at an upscale seafood restaurant. After arriving without a reservation, they take another couple's table and are believed to be the couple that stole a flash drive from gangster Joey Miletto (Liotta). They are chased around the city for about an hour and a half and finally end up happy together with their marriage secure. (Whoops, I just ruined the ending.)

The writing in this movie is perfect and the two NBC Thursday night stars pull it off with aplomb. Carell and Fey together are a dream come true; they are my ideal comedy duo and they do not disappoint. They should do everything together. The dialogue is 30 Rock gone mainstream and it flies. The humor was quick and the editing kept pace. There are too many funny scenes to even recount and there is absolutely no dead space in the 90 minute movie. It is literally laugh after laugh after laugh. The movie also has a little bit of heart thrown in there for good measure and, while it's not quite the tearjerker it intended to be, it's certainly got a little sap to separate it from the straight-up comedies we see all the time. I probably would've given this movie a higher rating had some unnecessary scenes been deleted and had the emotional aspect hit home harder. All in all, this is a terrific movie for anyone who loves Steve Carell or Tina Fey. Go watch it as soon as you can.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1279935/