Olympus Has Fallen. To say that this political action film is derivative — it is almost a point-by-point cross-section of Air Force One and the original Die Hard, with the White House itself standing in for Nakatomi Plaza and the president’s plane — is not to diminish its effectiveness as an actioner. Great filmmaking? Of course not. Exciting entertainment with evil villains and a rah-rah patriotic message? Damn right. And, with actual tensions between the Koreas presently in the news, it has the added element of seeming plausible. That always improves a movie of this type.
The Croods. Mark my words: This will be the latest family film to be railed against by talk radio and the GOP as “indoctrinating” children in the “liberal agenda.” And why not: It portrays a family of neolithic cavemen (i.e., Republicans) confronting by the “scary” ideas of a larger-brained homo erectus (an unnerving dreamy young man, voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who doesn’t believe adherence to mindless tradition is a good thing. It also accepts Darwinism as fact. Escandalo! Pissing off John Boehner is reason enough to stand in line for it, one the best animated films of the past few years.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition March 22, 2013.