The Day of the Doctor

Hmmmm....

I'll admit to having a bit of a falling out with the Doctor Who series. I haven't really kept up all that well since the end of the 5th season, and I think that's because it was starting to get a bit too much for me. I think it has a lot to do with what they keep doing with each new season and how they keep on 1 up-ing the last one in terms of stakes. I like the first season finale quite a bit because of how contained the whole situation was even though they had to go up against really tough challenges. Then, the next one involved a war on Earth that got a bit out of hand but it seemed to take place in just one area. The next one involved the entire world being enslaved with the final fix being a rewind button. The next one involved all of time collapsing, though, they actually did get pretty clever in their solution. The next, next one involved an even bigger collapse of time that involved Pandorica's Box and...stuff happens in order to fix that.

It just gets pretty tiring, following a series when it bends and breaks all of the newly presented rules from each new episode.

Still, with how incredibly popular this show has gotten, it's easy to see why it has been working so well even if plays fast and loose with what can happen(pretty much anything can happen long as The Doctor ends up preventing time from collapsing). It's because of the emotional connection that's in every episode. The reason why The Doctor has a companion with him is because that companion acts as a surrogate for your understanding of this strange new universe. These are the people who are incredibly eager to go on these adventures just as much as your eager to wish that there was a Doctor that can take you on these kinds of adventures. A Journey through Time and Space with new interesting planets, life-forms, and technology. That, and the show is also really well written.  Even the filler episodes that don't really affect the overall arching plot line of the series will be some of the best stuff you'll see on television.

So, while I haven't been keeping up too much with Doctor Who lately, I still looked forward to this 50th anniversary special where they bring every doctor in order to fight the good fight. And, no, I'm not going to get into anymore details into the plot if you haven't seen it already. But, suffice it to say, it's pretty damn incredible.

The one word I've heard described after the first time viewing this episode(yeah, I saw it twice. Once at home, the next at the movie theater), the word I heard described was "Epic." When I thought about it, it's kind of an unusual word to describe this particular episode, because most of it takes place in just a couple of rooms where people have long conversations with each other. Yes, there are a lot of glimpses of epic battle scenes, but a lot of the drama and conflict comes from The Doctor...and the other Doctor....and the other other Doctor. It's what's great about this series; it's able to bring out these high stakes and epic moments by conveying it all through just the characters. While most of the plot line revolves around other characters than the title character himself, this episode exclusively focuses on The Doctor.

Weirdly enough, the world didn't blow up when they showed David Tennant(yes, he's back again as The Doctor) and Matt Smith in the same scenes. And their time together is an absolute riot. I've always kind of felt like that these two actors were sort of playing the same kind of Doctor just by the fact of how quirky they like to act(maybe Matt Smith goes a bit on the quirkier side). The way they wrote both of these characters into the story doesn't necessarily confirm that they're playing the same kind of person, but I wasn't wrong to think og how similar they are. Either way, this episode goes to show how great either of them are as The Doctor. I think, by this time, people have finally settled into the fact that Matt Smith really is a good Doctor; he just had the misfortune of having to follow up on David Tennant, even though they both do exceptional jobs(I actually might kind of, sort of like Matt Smith just a little bit more than David Tennant and I'm going to miss him when he's gone, though, I'm looking forward to the new actor).

If it's anything this 50th anniversary special does is that it reminds us of why we like this show in the first place(much in the same way the recent Bond movie did that with its 50 year anniversary special). The creators of the show are just as excited of showing us a new episode as a lot of people are in watching these new episodes. The Day of the Doctor is here to commemorate the show and all of the Doctors and of all of the fans of the show as well. This episode has gotten me excited enough to maybe even get back with the series. The show definitely seems to be looking forward to the shows progress in the future. So, bring it on!

Also, as long as we're on BBC British Television Shows...

Hell...Yes!!!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

So, just a preface, everyone seems to have come out of this movie loving it. I wasn't one of those people. I didn't hate it, I didn't dislike it, but I also didn't really like it all that much either. It's not bad and it has its moments, but, just be warned that you're not going to see the most positive things being said about a movie that you probably really like.

Also, I haven't read the books either, so, feel free to distrust anything I have to say based off of that as well. Though, if there was anything to get me to read the books, then it would be to end on the worst possible way with one giant cliff hanger without any sort of resolution to anything.

Oh...wait...

Alright...here we go.

This movie had me asking a lot of questions by the end of it all. Questions like:

1. Why did they bother to introduce a bunch of characters and decide not to do anything with them ever again?

2. Why did they decide to make the final shot of having Jennifer Lawrence make one of the most hilarious looking faces since...well, I don't know when.

3. Why is everyone try to say "Peter" in a really bad British accent.

4. Oh, it's "Peeta"...why is everyone's names so silly?

5. Seriously! They introduce a character who carved her teeth to be able to bite people to death, but they never show her again throughout the rest of the movie, as far as I can remember.

6. Why are all the good guys normal looking people while all the bad guys look like they are one step away from being a part of The Rocky Horror Show?

7. If The Hunger Games take place in a dome, and it seems like they can create what every they would like, why do they always choose the most boring settings? The first time around, it was a forest. The second time around, it's another forest but with a body of water in the middle.

8. Seriously? They're going to end it right there?

*sigh*

So, it's half past the future and people are living in this dystopian world where the poor kids get sent off onto this reality TV show, called The Hunger Games, where they have to kill each other for the rich people's entertainment. The main character, Catfish Jellybean, gets caught up in one of these things, but, in order to survive, she pretends to fall in love with one of the other contestants, Pita Bread, in order to win the emotional support of her audience and to get help from sponsors. Usually, only 1 of the 24 people survive The Hunger Games contest, but Catnip and Pita Bread manage to both survive. Now, in the second part of this story for the second movie, Cataract has given people hope that they can somehow end The Hunger Games once and for all when she managed the unthinkable of having more than one person survive the last game. The richest of the rich people doesn't like that, so, he decides to throw her into another one of these games, only this time, it's with contestants who have already won before.

To be fair, there were a lot of things that I actually did like. Kit-Kat and Pizza Crust get caught up in the whole reality TV show thing where they really have to sell it to the audience that they're just hopelessly in love. It's a great satire on reality TV shows of today and just how BS the whole thing really is. Also, there are some things about class disparity, so and and so forth, but the whole reality TV show thing was really when the movie actually felt like it was trying to do something interesting

Other than that, the movie just kind of sits around, almost providing us a near identical experience of the first movie, and then finally goes, "Oh yeah! Hey guys, make sure you come around for the next movie, because that's going to be pretty cool and stuff...so, umm, see ya then" It's all well made and it's got good leading characters, but the movie just never really clicked with me. It brought up some good ideas, it likes to play with some interesting science fiction concepts, and a lot of the scenes(particularly the actions scenes) are even better staged than the last movie(even if it's just a small improvement).

Writing this part, I literally just saw the movie a couple of hours ago, and I'm already forgetting most of everything that happens other than the broad strokes of the plot and a couple of the characters names. This pretty much happened to me with the first movie as well. I could tell you that The Hunger Games was about a bunch of kids killing each other for rich people's entertainment, but having just re-watched it yesterday(in preparation for the new movie) I completely forgot about the relationship between Katniss and Peeta and how Peeta actually does start to develop feelings for Katniss, even though she's really only pretending just to help her survive. These things aren't exactly small plot points for the movie either.

Also, that ending. So, someone compared it to the Empire Strikes Back and how that sort of ends on a "To Be Continued" note. But that movie actually had a complete story and experience, even if the movie didn't exactly end with complete closure. It had characters and plot points that actually came into full circle in the end so it can open up a new story with its own plot points that come into full circle. Catching Fire, even if the entire movie was 2 and a half hours long, feels like it stops right in the middle of it all so it can force us to wait for the next part of the story...and then the one after that(Yes, they're splitting the last book into two parts for some, inexplicable reason).

I know it sounds like I'm being harsh and dissenting of a popular movie just for the sake of being harsh and dissenting, so, let me just clarify by saying that this isn't a bad movie at all. There were things that had me scratching my head, but it's all competently made and I was mildly engaged while watching it. But, it feels kind of weird when people get incredibly excited after the whole experience(there was a lot of cheering in the screening I saw) while I'm just kind of sitting back just thinking "Well, that was alright, I suppose."

The entire movie is really just fine. Sure, the movie is 2 and a half hours long, but it does go by at a good pace and I was engaged through most of it. Other than that, it is really hard for me to conjure any more of a reaction than just "Yeah, it was okay." It almost feels like a movie that was made because the books have gotten so popular and not because some people really wanted to bring these books onto the big screen. It is cool that a lot of people really do seem to be enjoying these movies and are even getting really excited for the upcoming parts. Hell, I'm at least looking forward to the next part. But it just sort of feels like these movies can do with a little more bite, if that makes any sense.

So, I liked it enough, I just didn't have that explosive experience that everyone else seemingly got. So, let's just say this movie gets my shrug of approval.

Summer Wrap-Up

So...I just met a guy who has a blog called "Sharks With Laserbeams" Now I feel a bit more obligated to go back and do this thing again. Also, you should be checking out that guy's blog as well, because it involves sharks with laserbeams. You also get more insight from somebody else rather than my boring opinions.

Anyways, let's get through all of the movies that I didn't get around to talking about because I got lazy and didn't really want to do anything for a while.

Man of Steel: Well...you know everything you like about Superman with his optimistic heroism and his stance for the greater good and justice and stuff? Well, none of that appeared in Man of Steel. It's not a bad movie, it's definitely an interesting visual experience, but it does have a really messy story and screenplay. The thing is, the movie is such an interesting and fascinating experience, I almost want them to just try again. But, it looks like they are trying to do interesting things in the future, but, those movies are going to be carrying the heavy sad weight that Man of Steel introduced.

2 Guns: HOLY CRAP! Did this movie SUCK! Okay, it's not exactly bad, but it's boring as all hell. It's not really worth getting into details, but, suffice it to say, I saw this with a couple of friends and they seemed to like it. After a couple of months, I brought this movie up in a conversation and they forgot that this movie even existed. They were incredibly sure that we did not even go see a movie together. "Sean, I swear, we did not go see 2 Guns!" After a while, at least one of them remembered. Shouldn't this be a crime or something? Two hours where it puts people in an unconscious phase that they'll never remember again.

Ugh...

The Lone Ranger: I really don't need to go on about this one. We all know it's pretty terrible.

Elysium: Hard, sci fi action? Awesome!

Kick Ass 2: If there's any reason why this movie is not as good as the first one, it's because there's never really been any other movie to sort of bring anything like the original Kick Ass. The original was shocking, disturbing, but also a lot of fun while also going into a weird, dark commentary on the super hero genre. The sequel is really just there to be a lot of fun. It doesn't have the same impact as the original, but something good has to be coming from this movie when I left in a really good mood.

World War Z: A complete waste of time. Not entirely bad, but nothing worth watching.

Monster's University: I'm still convinced that Pixar hasn't really been even trying ever since their super-good movie that was Toy Story 3. It's funny and even engaging and not a Car Sequels, but, maybe Pixar will get around to picking up the ball again.

The Wolverine: Probably worth watching so you can get a taste of what they're planning with their next movie. It's probably got some of the most well directed action scenes(The one involving a train was kind of awesome!), but, other than that, it's not much more than just a competently made movie. It's fine, it passes the time, and it's got Wolverine cutting people up with claws. Good enough for me!

Riddick: Weirdly enough, I just got done watching most of this today(People were watching this in the lobby of the college dorm place of where I'm staying) and it's just okay...It does have some genuinely awesome scenes(especially one involving a box), but, other than that, there's nothing really too special about this movie.

Prisoners: Go see this movie!

The Conjuring: This one is pretty interesting in the way that it does do a lot of things right but I still can't get away from that feeling that it kind of didn't work for me. It actually got an R-rating, not because it had excessive gore, violence, or swearing, but because it was too scary. Well, I wasn't really scared at all. It's got good jump scares and it understands that subtlety is power, but I really can't say what it is that kind of made this movie not work. It seemed like it was going to get more interesting than it was in how the movie is about Paranormal Investigators and that almost kind of play to "Is stuff here really happening?" but it turns out that things really are happening. I can't speak for people since it's kind of hard to scare me, but I guess I could say it's fun to watch....

You're Next: This movie has been growing on me, even though I've only seen it once. I really can't say anything about this movie without spoiling it, but it's pretty damn good!

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters: I actually liked this one. It's not particularly that good, but I liked the first one and I'm looking forward to their next movies.

Machete Kills: I LOVED the first movie. It's hilarious, violent, and even insightful. This new movie just goes all out meta. It's definitely funny and it gets pretty creative on how to stack up a body count, but it never really rises more than just a one note joke. Suffice it to say though, it manages to be funny all the way through.

Carrie:....the original is on Netflix. You're probably better off watching that instead.

Maniac: This one I caught on Netflix and wow....it's definitely really good and it has its impact, but this is really, REALLY not a movie for everybody. It's an entire movie where you see through the perspective of Elijah Wood as a serial killer, and, mostly because of this, this is NOT a fun movie to watch. But it is incredibly memorable(probably because of how provocative it's trying to be), but it's also fascinating and interesting in a good way(unlike Man of Steel). So, I'd recommend it, but, just know what you're getting into.

Pain and Gain: Michael Bay actually made a good movie. Who knew?

Gravity: Go see this movie!

Don Jon: Joseph Gordon-Levitt turns out to be kind of a really good director. I kind of wish that it didn't get a bit too predictable in its ending, but the entire movie does carry this sort of honesty that pretty much anybody wouldn't really be brave enough to say out loud.

The World's End: My favorite movie all year this year! Yeah! REALLY go see this movie!

Also, I'd like to apologize to anybody who I convinced to go watch Now You See Me. I probably gave that movie a little too much credit than it was worth. I'd like to see it again to see if I'd still have the same reaction, but, honestly, I really don't want to. I'd probably just come to the conclusion that it's really just a sort of "not there" kind of movie. It's pretty hard for me to stay mad at it even if I did watch it again and I would end up hating it because of how forgettable it is.

Oh well!

Oh, and judging by the Box Office of Thor: The Dark World, you've probably already seen it and would know there really isn't much to say about it other than that it's good enough to bridge the gap of Thor's storyline for The Avengers.

The Hitchhikers

So, here's the film!

We also won at the film contest!

DVDs will be out shortly for any of you who are interested.

Jake Burga Presents...

A film directed by Jake Burga.

Starring Sean Conner, Jordan Johnson, and Ty Astle, and Featuring Curtis Burga as...that guy on the radio.

So, you might have been one of the people I invited to go see the premiere. If not, and you want to see it, don't fret. Info is right here!

https://www.facebook.com/events/155380654647520/

So, yes, after talking about movies for a long time, I'm finally in a movie and did some things that involved some sort of creativity and stuff.

You could see the movie right now, if you'd like, but I would actually like to hold off until the contest for people to get to see it because I'd like to make this a sort of event thing and keep people in suspense, even if it does make me lose a couple of audience members.

But, if you really feel like you need to see the movie right now, you could look for it on youtube

So, the reason why I'm making this post is just to express on how pleasantly surprised I am on how good of a director my brother, Jake Burga, is! He seems to understand how to shoot things and film composition and cinematography. In fact, the movie probably wouldn't have been anywhere as good if Jake wasn't behind the whole creative process. He wrote the script, shot the scenes, edited though scenes.

I just added a Wilhelm scream.

So, well, excellent job Jake!

So, after this, you could probably expect more movies from me and my brother, and maybe I'll have the directors chair on one of these movies. I think I picked up enough from watching my brother point a device at things happening.

But, really, I think my brother has really done something special and it has a good chance at winning at the contest.

So, let's get our champagne bottles and pour glasses for the fact that we actually made a movie.

Our next movie will be coming out with an even bigger budget and more CGI. It's going to be called The Hitchhikers 2: Even More Hitchhikers! The movie will feature 5 hitchhikers this time with even more explosions and CGI!

Well, hope to see you guys at the competition!

Pacific Rim

Before seeing the movie:

"I'm not sure how it's different from Transformers"

After seeing the movie:

"That was probably the best of the summer!"

A quote not by me, I was actually excited about this movie. But, I feel like somebody who actually said this should be the only confirmation you need in order to see Pacific Rim!

It is really hard for me to stop myself from just saying "THE MOVIE IS AWESOME! GO SEE!" But, sometimes, that's just the case with some movies. Also, it seems to be equally as hard to get people to go see this movie, but it also seems that word is spreading that this actually isn't just another cash-in Transformers knock off. Pacific Rim seems like it's going to be the sleeper hit of the year that surprises everyone by just how good the movie is. It's an absolute marvel of a movie that puts aside cynicism and moral complications for an extremely well made movie with a lot of heart and care to give us the monster movie of the 21st Century.

The story, for a summer Blockbuster, is actually kept simple for once. Alien Monsters, called the Kaiju, are invading Earth by way of transporting through dimensions through the Pacific Rim. In order to fight back, the Humans build giant robots, called the Jaeger, and beat the living crap out of these monsters. The monsters start getting stronger as time goes on, so the plan is to make one big asserted attack in order to stop the Kaiju once and for all. You have the protagonist who is called back from a traumatic event in order to help fight the Jaeger, Mako is the eager trainee who hopes to fight one day, two off-beat, whacky scientists who are also kind of awesome,  Idris Elba playing the leader of the faction, and Ron Perlman playing as...well, you'll see!

So, why is this movie awesome you ask? Well, good film making for one thing. Even if your not familiar with Guillermo del Toro, he has managed to create a staple among many film fans. But, with this movie, it's his chance to shine with a wide audience. The reason why this film works so well is because of the simplicity of it that allows the film makers in order to capitalize on other things in this movie to make it work. We're presented with world building, as in, what it would be like in a world with the Jaeger and the Kaiju fight each other, there are 3-dimensional and even fun characters with clear motives and character actions, and, most of all, great action scenes of giant robots punching giant monsters IN THE FACE! 

I can't stress enough on how well made these action scenes are. It's not just how the movie actually shows the audience on what's going on(in other words, there isn't any of that shaky cam bullcrap), but it's just the overall design of the Jaeger and the Kaiju. These things actually feel like giant monoliths just going at it on each other. Every movement, step, or contact they make with other things just feels right when your watching these giants in action. Also, the design and look of these enormous mechanical monsters and the actual monsters are just spot on. Each of the Jaeger robots you see are uniquely designed and easily recognizable from each other and the same can be said about the Kaiju as well. This isn't some sort of mess thrown together in order to make incomprehensible giant things doing stuff in a thing that resembles a story like Michael Bays Transformers, Pacific Rim is the real deal!

Man!

Okay, all gushing of praise aside, there are actually problems I have with this movie, albeit small ones as they don't really matter that much in the long run when the whole damn movie just works. The only problem that involves the story is how there's an action scene towards the middle that felt like it should have been at the end because it had a lot of build up and an incredible pay off. The final action scene of the movie is still pretty awesome, but it didn't seem to have the proper build up like the first one had which kind of hit a rough spot for me.

There's another thing about this movie that's pretty great but also something I found lacking. What's great is that the movie doesn't frame itself on how the US is the one and be all country in order to save everyone. They've pretty much got the entire world involved in this movie in order to stop the Kaiju, and even one of the main characters is Japanese. There are also side characters like the Australians, who play into a big role into the movie, and the Chinese and the Russians with their own Jaeger suits. My problem is that the Chinese and the Russians barely get to do anything at all in the movie and I was a bit disappointed on how it all panned out for them.

Still, when it comes to this kind of thing, we are making steps in the right direction.

Really, in the end, I honestly just love this movie. I've seen it twice by now and I still want to see it even more times. So, if you guys really need to see Grown Ups 2, at least give this movie a chance as well. I know a lot of you guys are probably unsure about it because it isn't tied to any sort of well known IP. This isn't a Superman movie, this isn't something from the Avengers, this isn't a J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie, so, it's sort of understandable to be unsure about this movie. This is something new and different, even if it's a sort of familiar setting for many people, it sure isn't for a lot more others. But, let me testify that this movie is very much well worth seeing. This is the action movie of the year, a new movie with a director who deserves this chance to blow people's minds in exactly this way. 

Olympus has Fallen VS. White House Down

So, for whatever reason, people decided to make two Die Hard rip-offs within the same year and only a couple of months from each other. And, not only that, they both involve the White House. Maybe there was something going on that gave people the idea of making a Die Hard movie involving the White House would be a good idea at the exact same time. But which one was good? Were they both good? Were they a bad idea in the first place?

Well, let's prepare for a death battle and find out.

I'll be comparing the two movies in no particular way or style, just what ever I feel like talking about.

So, here we go!




THE SETUP AND PLOT

Olympus has Fallen

So, there this guy, who is the protagonist(Gerard Butler) and the president and the president's wife on some sort of convoy trip. There's a big accident where the protagonist saves the president but is unable to save the president's wife. This sets up some sort of dark history for the protagonist in order to create some tension between him and the president.

Some time passes and the Protagonist has PTSD about not saving the President's wife. AND THEN! The White House gets invaded by Koreans. There's no build up to it; Koreans come in with a bunch aircrafts, shoot some parts of the building, and then just invade it. It's up to Gerard Butler to over come his trauma in order to save everybody.

Things happen and there's nothing that gets resolved for the president and the main character by the end of it all.

White House Down

Mr. Obama(But with a more american name for some reason) is having a good run after his election. He's working on settling peace with the countries in the Middle East. He's a great president that people love even if he's a little over idealistic.

Channing Tatum takes the lead this time as NOT JOHN MCCLANE, a veteran who is looking for a job for the Secret Service while he is taking his daughter on a tour of the White House. The daughter Emily, played by Joey King, turns out to be well adept on knowledge of the White House and knows her politics. She also keeps a video blog on this thing called the internet. I'm not sure what this internet does, but I'm pretty sure it will come into play later.

This movie does set itself up in the most obvious ways in fact. There are a lot of scenes that scream "I WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER!" There was this one scene where they make sure to point out that President Jamie Fox has a gold watch and I knew exactly what the payoff was going to be on that one, though, it's hard to imagine anyone not calling that part of the movie.

Either way, the White House gets invaded, but there's actual build up this time around. Instead of a bunch of guys just charging in and shooting people, these guys sneak in using disguises, careful planning, and timing in order to take over the White House. It's not just something that happens in order to set up the plot as we actually get to feel things building up and turning for the worse instead of it just suddenly happening. And instead of it being Koreans, or some guys from other countries that The US is afraid of, they are angry republicans, white supremacists, and The Military Industrial Complex. That isn't going to make people angry at all!

It's up to not John McClane and Jamie Obama to save the White House.

Also, unlike Olympus has Fallen, everything set up in the movie comes in full circle. Maybe a lot of it can be contrived, but at least it's there in order to make somewhat effective story telling like how the Protagonist may not have voted for the person whom he is protecting and how he has some relationship issues with his daughter. Yeah, like I said, pretty contrived but at least it's there while also not giving us a bunch of go nowhere plot threads.

Bad Dudes

People have still yet to top the story of this!

THE CHARACTERS

Olympus has Fallen

There's the protagonist, there's the president, and there's a bunch of other people. We're supposed to care about them because they're American. One of the characters even recites the pledge of allegiance before she thinks she's about to die. Isn't that touching?

White House Down

The president is an idealistic, I.V League Graduate who is trying to settle peace with the Middle East and also trying to give up smoking. Channing Tatum's character is having relationship problems with his daughter and hopes to fix that by spending time with her...at the White House. He also hopes to be a part of the Secret Service. The bad guys all have their clear motives and reasons to want to attack the White House and do what they want to do, but to explain, that would be spoiling. But, I will say that it all pays off in a silly but makes sense in its context kind of way.

But, what I'm trying to say in this part is that I can actually remember the characters in this movie other than their role in the movie. There was actually stuff to them.

ACTION

Olympus has Fallen

The thing about action is that there's a lot more to it then just what's going on between the characters in conflict. There's a special note you have to give to the sense of geography, what we can see during these scenes, if we care who wins.

Well, Olympus has Fallen gives us one note characters in badly staged action scenes in one dark hallway after another. You can never tell where the characters are in relation to everything else in the White House, it just deals with a bunch of guys in boring hand to hand combat with obvious digital blood. The movie carries an R-rating, but since they don't even bother using actual physical material to make it look even the slightest bit real, they might as well have not have even tried.

White House Down

There are actual characters in this movie, and we're made sure to know where everything is, making the set actually feel real. The movie works under a PG-13 rating, but the action turns out to be even harder than Olympus has Fallen, even if it doesn't bother with blood effects at all. Even if it gets over the top and silly, we're still more invested into what's going on, making it feel more real than other movies that might even bother with realism. And yes, in the context of White House Down, realism might as well be a dirty word, but it's also awesome and competently directed.

THE POINT OF THE MOVIE

Olympus has Fallen

To make money.

White House Down

To piss of republicans with its unsubtle message. Sure, it's cathartic and silly, but at least the movie actually means something.

CONCLUSION

Olympus has Fallen

Olympus has Fallen might be one of the worst movies I've seen this year. It was a dumb, pointless action flick that tries to be a Die Hard movie that doesn't really get what makes Die Hard such a great movie. But, it doesn't matter, because this movie made a lot of money anyway. So, well done guys!

White House Down

White House Down is a really dumb and silly action movie. But it's also a really well made dumb and silly action movie that actually does have a point to it. Yeah, it's unsubtle, indulgent, and bound to make people(for people who both like and dislike Obama), but at least it's there in order to make this movie unique. It indulges in big, loud set pieces that happen to be really dumb, but also quite awesome. Whether you're laughing at or with the movie, you'll still be laughing and having a good time.