White House Down

Mmmmm... Channing Tatum. Oh excuse me, I thought I was alone. No but for real, he was the draw. I didn't expect much from White House Down. You would think I would have learned my lesson about picking films just because Tatum is in them after Magic Mike, but I didn't and in this case it worked out okay!

Going into the movie I thought okay this is another "the terrorists take over the White House," but that's not really the case. I wondered if Tatum could pull of the dad figure in the movie and I'd say he did well. Something tells me that the young actor Joey King makes it easy for anyone to act as her parents. She is adorable and honestly I almost felt like she stole the movie from Tatum and Foxx. She's at times that obnoxious kid that you see and you're like why does she call her parents by their first names but by the end you just love her.

Tatum and Foxx have their fun moments with this movie, which I feel is a reflection of who Foxx must be as a person, not too serious. It's a movie that I feel like both women and men can enjoy together, it's not necessarily for anyone under the age of 12 or 13.

The only part I struggled with during this movie were a few scenes where it is so clear they are not actually at the White House. Now, before someone jumps all over me, I know it's not the White House, but I also know how far we have come in film and some of those scenes could have looked a lot better. Overall though it was a decent movie. I wouldn't pay for it again in theaters, but I'd definitely rent it to watch with friends or family. I loved that the movie made the president a real person which I know a lot of people struggle to remember he's just a normal guy, fictitious or not. The end of the film is adorable and I was happy it came to completion the way it did.

So, rent it... it's a good action movie with a little bit of humor

Side Effects

As someone who is training to be a therapist it was hard to overlook some of the glaring obvious issues with this movie. However, I will try to get past the fact that no release of information was signed by the client for her current psychiatrist to speak to her past psychiatrist.

Moving right along, if you see the movie and you are in this world as well you will come to understand as I did why it did not really matter anyway. Between dual-relationships, lies, murder, and "side effects" you will be swept into the story just as I was. Initially I was concerned that this would be a movie showing all of the side effects of medication that can actually help individuals when used correctly, meds such as SSRIs and so on. I was quickly set straight however in that the story is so much more. Rooney Mara as Emily Taylor was, what's the right word? Interesting... Now, I know she is best known in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo but I have not yet seen that film. So, although she is in movies that I have seen I did not recognize her. That's not a bad thing, I'm becoming more and more a fan of people who are not in every movie. I struggled to believe Mara's character until the very end which I guess is what was most important. 

Overall, I really liked this movie and Jude Law of course does an amazing job. At one point I think the audience is lead to worry that he is losing it, but because of how hard he is trying you continue to be on his side. Zeta-Jones also does a fabulous job, especially in the case of the big twist which all of a sudden explains everything! Well done cast on a movie that stayed interesting and was not a repeat of something already out there.