CliqueClack

White House Down keeps you laughing enough to miss how much it is insulting you

In my house, Die Hard has been the gold standard for action flicks my entire life. It is the perfect marriage of action and comedy. Bruce Willis brought something to John McClane that few leading men have been able to replicate ever since, but there have been many attempts. There’s been Die Hard on a battleship (Under Siege), Die Hard on a mountain (Cliffhanger), Die Hard on bus (Speed) and even Die Hard on Air Force One (Air Force One), to say nothing of Die Hard in an airport, NYC, the internet and Russia (the Die Hard sequels). They’ve worked to varying degrees, which makes it a genre of action filmmaking that is often recreated.

This summer, audiences have been “treated” to two Die Hard in the White House flicks: Olympus Has Fallen and now White House Down. I had a love/hate with the former, which was much more a straight action movie. White House Down is certainly meant to be much funnier, almost more of a buddy-cop film reminiscent of the Bad Boys series. The film gets a lot right: the comedic dynamic between stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx is spot on, the practical action and special effects are solid and the flick is filled with a surprisingly deep cast. But even though audiences are going to enjoy watching White House Down, the movie just isn’t very good.

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Bullock and McCarthy turn up The Heat

Buddy movies with two male actors are a dime a dozen. Think The Odd Couple, Lethal Weapon, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Silver Streak, The Sting, 48 Hours, 21 Jump Street or anything with Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, Hope & Crosby or Martin & Lewis. They all have in common two strong male characters, sometimes working together, sometimes a comically mismatched pair. Now think about how many female buddy movies there are … Thelma & Louise comes to mind as a modern Butch & Sundance but the list is really slim compared to male buddy movies.

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2013 FOX drama previews: what the Magic Eight Ball says

So far this week, CliqueClack has previewed the new upcoming drams from ABC, CBS and The CW. We’ll be finishing up the week with both Fox and NBC’s new offerings. Fox developed quite a bit more this year than last, where only The Mindy Project and The Following survived from the slate (The only other drama, The Mob Doctor premiered to horrid ratings and was put out of its misery in short order). The four new dramas this year are diverse, though do fit in to the “high concept” craze that affected all of the networks.

I was particularly impressed with Sleepy Hollow, probably because I came in with no expectations whatsoever. Almost Human is a show I was destined to love. Rake will probably do well enough, but I’ve got some questions about Gang Related.

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2013 The CW drama previews: what the Magic Eight Ball says

Over the past couple of days, I’ve previewed the upcoming new dramas for both ABC and CBS. Today, it’s time to look at The CW. I’ve always been a fan of the upstart network, though I thought last year’s slate of new shows left a great deal to be desired. Of the five that premiered, only Arrow and The Carrie Diaries survived. This year’s offerings, however, look much better. Of the five new shows that survived The CW’s development process, there’s only one or two that probably won’t find a place on my DVR.

There is one big question about The CW’s schedule: Where are they going to fit all these shows? They’ve got fourteen hour-long shows on the scheduled, compared to twelve last year. Nikita is already announced to have a shortened final season — much as Gossip Girl did last year — but I think considering the network’s shorter primetime window, that some of these new shows might only see thirteen episode seasons.

I just hope it’s not one of the ones I really like.

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2013 CBS drama previews: what the Magic Eight Ball says

Yesterday, I previewed ABC’s slate of new dramas. Today it’s time to take a look at what CBS is serving up. Since the Tiffany network is returning eleven hour-long dramas from last year (along with three hour-long reality shows), there’s not a lot of room for new material. You’d think with position like that, they’d be able to pick from the cream of the crop.

We’ve only had the chance to look at two of the three new dramas. One is a drastic change from the network’s regular fare, while the other fits right in. Will CBS’s strategy of trying something new work out?

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2013 ABC drama previews: what the Magic Eight Ball says

For most, summer is the time that generally means less TV watching. Sure there’s some great stuff on cable — more and more each year — but May marks the end of the networks’ regular TV season. For me, however, the end of one season means it’s time to look forward to what is coming in September.

The past couple weeks, I’ve been working my way through all of the drama pilots that the broadcast networks have been kind enough to share with us to preview, and I’m pretty excited. There’s a lot of good television that will be premiering in the next year: there’s a lot of high-concept stuff that accompanies a nice dearth of procedurals.

Of course, there are a couple of stinkers in the bunch as well. One or two were so bad they left me scratching my head and questioning the sanity of those with decision-making authority — then again, I look back at network executive’s track record in the last couple years, and I shouldn’t be surprised.

Over the next couple of days, we will preview the dramas coming in the next year. Today, we’ll be taking a look at ABC’s offerings.

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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone provides mild entertainment on Blu-ray

Ah, how I like to laugh. When it comes to motion pictures, comedy seems to be my preferred type of genre. With that being said, I’m still a little surprised at missing out on seeing The Incredible Burt Wonderstone during its original theatrical run. Critics hailed it as comedic magic and wickedly funny – axioms that practically beseech a person to drop a few dollars in order to see a movie. Nevertheless, despite my neglect, I was certainly excited to catch it on Blu-ray. I’m pleased to say that I was amused.

And why wouldn’t I be? After all, the film does feature the tag team comedy duo of Steve Carell and an aging (yet still formidable) Jim Carrey. Surprisingly, the two haven’t appeared together on screen since 2003’s Bruce Almighty. Joining them this time are Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde, Alan Arkin and the late James Gandolfini. In The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, Carell portrays the title character, a haughty magician whose friendship with a fellow magician is falling apart. To add insult to injury, his fame is also being threatened by the arrival of Carrey, who plays an extreme street magician of sorts. That’s a rather cheesy anecdote if you ask me. Fortunately, I like cheese.

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TV on DVD: CSI: NY, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Fat Albert

It’s a very slim week for new TV on DVD and Blu-ray releases, but if you’re a fan of CSI: NY, now is your last chance to catch the show as the final season comes to DVD. The second, and perhaps final, season of Todd & the Book of Pure Evil also gets a DVD release and an Indiegogo campaign to try to get a third season produced. Classic TV fans get another full season of Peter Gunn on DVD, and kids of all ages should be thrilled to see the complete series of Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids coming to DVD. To see what else is due on June 25, have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link to get more information or to make a purchase.

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New to home video: Burt Wonderstone, The Call, Upside Down and … Hangar 18

Some highly touted but under-performing movies come to home video this week with the release of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, The Call and Upside Down. If you missed them in theaters, now is your chance to get caught up. The bigger news this week comes in the catalog titles with the release of the acclaimed documentary Shoah from the Criterion Collection, a long overdue Blu-ray release of The Beatles’ Help! and a new Warner Archive Collection Blu-ray release of Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan (featuring Andie MacDowall with the voice of Glenn Close!). There is also a personal guilty pleasure getting a surprising Blu-ray release this week — Hangar 18, the story of a crashed UFO hidden by the government in the titular building, and starring Darrin McGavin, Robert Vaughn, Gary Collins, William Schallert and Dynasty‘s Pamela Bellwood. And Universal has repackaged a collection of titles in some nifty Steelbook cases with some cool artwork. To see all of the June 18th releases, have a look at our shopper’s guide and click on a link for more information or to make a purchase.

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Win free passes to an advance screening of RED 2 in Baltimore

The commenting period for this contest has ended. Winners will be notified by email.

CliqueClack has partnered with Lionsgate and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer our Baltimore fans a chance to see the new action film, RED 2, at an advance screening before anyone else! The film reunites original cast members Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Brian Cox and Neal McDonough and adds Catherine Zeta-Jones and Anthony Hopkins into the mix! This special advance screening will take place Thursday, June 27, 7:00 PM at AMC White Marsh. To enter, simply leave a comment below and we will draw 40 winners at random to receive a special code from GoFoBo.com. With the code you may claim up to two Admit One passes. You will have until Midnight, Wednesday, June 26 to comment so don’t delay! Good luck!

RED 2 opens in theaters July 19. All winners will be notified by email. Passes do not guarantee seats. Please plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the number of passes distributed or available seating at the theater.