WHITE HOUSE DOWN available 10/29 on Blu-Ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Ever since its release in 1988, “Die Hard” has been the action movie that spawned a million imitators. It’s almost become a joke to those who pitch films… “It’s like Die Hard on an aircraft carrier!” (“Under Siege”). There’s Die Hard in a mall (“Point Blank”), Die Hard in a prep school (“Toy Soldiers”) and even Die Hard on a mountain (“Cliffhanger”)! Bonus points to “Executive Decision” which did Die Hard on a plane exactly 6 years after Renny Harlin did it in “Die Hard 2″. Ok, well that was Die Hard in an airport, but still… close enough. In any event, Roland Emmerich the man who brought us such shallow, yet enjoyable blockbusters as “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Independence Day” presents “White House Down” or Die Hard in The White House. Even if it’s not the deepest movie out there, it sure is a fun time. Read more
, written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, falls squarely in the middle of that spectrum. Like a comedy-version of Soderberg’s Ocean’s Eleven, the film succeeds on the chemistry of its cast, whose madcap performances liven up the mediocre material. 
” will arrive on Blu-Ray and attempt to run away from responsibility, heartache and the cold autumn of adulthood. 
“. As each name shows up on the screen, it dissipates into lines that recall the opening of “
“. Even the score sounds suspiciously reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann’s famous theme, with faced-paced violins pulsing away at your ears. Unfortunately, after Al, everybody else is just a pretender to the throne and while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, it usually just makes the end result look 2nd rate. Not so in this case. Neutzsky-Wulff’s movie comes off as 3rd or 4th rate at best and manages to enter that rare pantheon of films known as “So bad, they’re good.” I’d say I managed to scratch my head maybe three times before my mind was completely blown. 
“ opens beautifully. Home movies capture the backyard barbeques and birthdays of the Whipple family, who live and work in the cornfields of Iowa. We end up seeing 20 years of exposition in a little more than two minutes. It’s a smart, effective way of handling backstory. Unfortunately, it’s about the only thing the movie does well. 
“, “
“… “
“. These are films that were regarded as colossal flops, but in reality turned out to be… well, not so bad. Video helped these misfits of cinema find their loving audience and even became bona fide classics (in “
“), sometimes it’s not… like in the case of “
“, finally coming to Blu-Ray on 8/6 after years of delay from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Many people have ragged on the film over the years, including Gary Larson who mocked it in a “Far Side” panel, without ever having ACTUALLY seen the movie. Well, now’s your chance to give the film a fair shake… and it’s never looked better. 
“, “
” and “
” are just a few examples of watchable stinkers the studio has put out over the years. The key word here is “watchable”. I’m not expecting John Cena playing “
“, but I will get mindless fun albeit with a fair share of eye rolls and guffaws. But imagine my surprise to see that WWE’s latest, “
“, available on Blu-Ray and DVD July 9th from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, reunited “
” (original) director Niels Arden Olpev and his leading lady Noomi Rapace. It looks like this picture comes from excellent stock… and with nary a trace of HGH to be found in the cast. Could it be? Could WWE finally be putting out quality films? 