Here We Go Again..."London Has Fallen"

London Has Fallen (2016)

Rated R

Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman,

Directed by Babak Najafi

The Story:

President Asher (Eckhart) heads to London for a funeral. Naturally, that's when a terrorist attack takes out all the leaders of the visiting nations except for the President, thanks to the planning of Secret Service Agent Mike Banning (Butler). Can he keep the President alive again, or is this finally the Vice President's (Freeman) chance for promotion?

Okay, I admit, I had a blast watching Olympus Has Fallen a few years ago. It was Die Hard...in the White House!

Much like the Die Hard franchsie, the setpiece has to get bigger, and this one plays more like Die Hard With A Vengeance as the two race all across London trying to stay one step ahead of the bad guys who want to catch and kill the President on live tv.

So that being said, this is a popcorn film, round two!

If you didn't like the first installment, you'll find nothing redeeming here.

Otherwise, if you didn't mind it, you'll have a good time watching London get blown up, real good.

;)

I'm not sure if they can pull off yet another sequel in the franchise.

Eventually, the President is going to stop going places, or run out of time in the office.

But if they decide to give it a go in the future, I'll be back.

I watched the DVD version, but now that this review has moved to the top to be published, you also have the option of streaming on Netflix.

It doubles your chances of being able to watch and enjoy some popcorn!  :)

Final Grade: B-

Would You Get "In The Line Of Fire" Between A Bullet And A President?

In The Line Of Fire (1993)

Rated R for language and violence

Starring Clint Eastwood, John Malkovich, Rene Russo, Dylan McDermott, John Mahoney

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen

The Story:

Secret Service Agents Frank Horrigan (Eastwood) and D'Andrea (McDermott) are working the counterfeiting portion of the Secret Service.  Then one night, Horrigan answers a phone call from a stranger (Malkovich) who informs him that he is going to assassinate the President.  This doesn't sit well with Horrigan, as he has already lost a President once: Kennedy.  He vows he's not going to lose another one.  He lobbies to get back on the Presidential detail, but he's old, cranky, and with the President facing re-election, the Chief of Staff (Fred Thompson) wants Horrigan nowhere near the President.  Will Frank be able to take a bullet to save a President this time, or is he doomed to fail again?

I think this is my favorite Eastwood movie.

Doing a quick rundown of titles, yeah, this and Kelly's Heroes are my two favorite films by Eastwood of all time.

The movie is extremely well written, there are excellent actors in every role, and the tension continues to build as the movie rolls along.

Eastwood plays the aging Agent perfectly.  Still with a love and drive for the job, he plays Horrigan perfectly.  The scene in the break room after his return to the Presidential detail is hysterically funny.

The attempted romance between Russo and Eastwood is handled well and does not overly complicate nor bog down the action and tension that is building in the movie.  It works to give the audience a chance to catch our breath as we prepare for the next stage of the game of cat and mouse.

Naturally, if you're going to give Eastwood a competent adversary, you want one of the best.

Cue John Malkovich as the quietly explosive assassin.  He wants the challenge of beating Horrigan at the game.  Bitter adversaries, yet with equal amounts of respect for what each other does and each work to not underestimate the other, because it will be costly to do so.

I would say it's been over a decade since I watched this one, and that's a shame because it really is an excellent film.

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do own it, and I'll have to put a sticky note to remind me not to wait over a decade to watch this one again.

And The Oscar For Most Overrated Film of 2013 Goes To... "Lee Daniels' The Butler"

Lee Daniels' The Butler

Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey,

Directed by Lee Daniels

The Story:

Cecil Gaines (Whitaker) begins work in the White House as a butler in 1957 for Eisenhower (Robin Williams).  This movie checks in on Cecil with the passing of each Presidential era and the parallels with the Civil Rights movement and his oldest son who is fully embroiled in it.

Wow...

This is one of those really hyped movies that as I'm watching it, and especially when it's over, I think to myself...

"really" ?

It was okay, at best.

The makeup is phenomenal as the actors often disappear into their roles.

Whether it's aging Oprah and Whitaker or making the actors that play the presidents try and look the part, they did a really great job.

As for the rest of the film...

Meh.

Civil Rights 101 for Dummies would be a more appropriate, and possibly less clumsy title for the film.

When all is said and done, this movie makes The Help look even better.

Final Grade: C

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: No thanks to either option. 

Tatum To The Rescue! "White House Down"

I get a feeling of deja vu...

The Story:

Cale (Channing Tatum) is a Capitol Service policeman attached to the detail of the Speaker of the House (Richard Jenkins).  But Cale is dreaming of working security for President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) to impress his daughter (Joey King).  Of course on the day he takes his daughter to the White House for an interview, well that's the day that some really bad guys decide to take over Washington D.C. and take the President captive.

And they might have gotten away with it, if only they would have left Cale's daughter out of it.

But they didn't, and now he's mad.

And he's going to get his daughter back!

Welcome to 2013, when terrorists taking over the White House is not the subject of one Hollywood movie, but two!

First was Olympus Has Fallen, previously reviewed right here on this very spot! http://talesfromthequeue.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-step-by-step-guide-to-overthrowing-dc.html  It's now also streamable on Netflix if you still haven't seen it, or would like to watch it again.

If that was "Die Hard in the White House", then I guess this go-round we're going for "Lethal Weapon in the White House".

It's the buddy cop formula as Tatum and Foxx team up for most of the movie trying to stay alive and one step ahead of those dastardly fiends that are trying to catch the President.

There was some good stunts, some funny lines, and there's nothing inherently wrong with this take on taking out the White House.

However, there's nothing really memorable here either.

In fact, this one actually makes Olympus Has Fallen seem better than it may have been in retrospect.

This one's a little too long, and a little too reliant on the daughter for too many plot devices, than it should be.

Probably streaming on Netflix in about 6 months, but for now you'll have to rent or buy it.

Final Grade: C+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could watch it again, but wouldn't go out of my way to do so.  If it comes on cable or something and the remote is too far... ;)