Olympus Has Fallen
Every year there are movies that you enjoy that are perhaps not necessarily the films with the most interesting plot or characters - or films that are just not that great.
There have been a series of movies in the last twelve months that were as deep as a puddle, but really were a hell of a lot of fun. We take a look the guilty pleasure movies of us this year.
- Olympus Has Fallen
You cannot help but love a bit of Gerard Butler - especially when he is an all action hero as he is in Olympus Has Fallen.
Olympus Has Fallen is one of my favourite action films of 2013 - it is packed with dodgy dialogue, plenty of shootouts and a nice helping of blood and bodies; the movie did everything that it was supposed to do.
From start to finish, Olympus Has Fallen is a rip-roaring ride as Gerard Butler kills just about everyone in sight during his quest to save the President and his young son.
This movie is big and dumb but it is fantastic fun - I have even gone and bought it on DVD as I enjoyed it so much!!!! The great news is a sequel is in the pipeline.
- Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
We have seen a whole host of fairy stories get a big screen make over in recent years, and in 2013, it was the turn of Hansel & Gretel.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is set fifteen years after the original story and the brother and sister team hunt down and kill witches.
Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton play the leather clad, ass-kicking duo in a film that is entertaining from star to finish.
Naturally, this is a movie that was panned by the critics, but it did enjoy some box office success during its theatrical run. However, I found the movie to be a lot of fun as no one involved is taking what they are doing all that seriously.
There are some great action sequences, as well as the film being funny from start to finish. Oh yes, Gemma Arterton looks fab in leather!!!
- Riddick
Pitch Black is one of my favourite sci-fi films of all time as we were introduced to the character of Richard B Riddick for the first time. It is hard to believe that that movie is no thirteen years old.
This September saw Vin Diesel return to the role for the first time since The Chronicles of Riddick back in 2004. Riddick followed on from events of that second film, and saw Riddick stranded on a planet and left to die.
Death never comes easily to this character and soon Riddick is fighting mercs, as well as an enemy that thrives in the dark. I have to admit that I watched this movie through rose tinted glasses because I am such a fan of the first film.
I so wanted it to recapture the essence and spirit of what made Pitch Black so great; while it didn’t achieve that I still found that it was a movie that I thoroughly enjoyed.
- White House Down
White House Down was pretty much a carbon copy of Olympus Has Fallen - it is a shame when two very similar movies are made at the same time and released very close together.
The movie follows Cale, played by Channing Tatum, who just so happens to be in the White House when it comes under attack. The Capitol policeman springs into action to find and protect the President (Jamie Foxx).
Director Roland Emmerich knows how to make an explosive and exciting blockbuster film, which is exactly what he had done here. I know that the film is as deep as a puddle, but it is an action packed ride.
Tatum and Foxx make a fantastic double act and this central relationship is the heart of the film, and where most of the comedy comes from. Of course, like most Emmerich movies, White House Down is totally OTT, but that does not mean that you won’t enjoy watching it.
- The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
We have seen a whole host of young adult novels adapted for the big screen in recent years, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones was set to be the big success in this genre in 2013.
City of Bones is the first of Cassandra Clare’s novels to be adapted for the big screen and kick off another successful franchise.
The movie follows Clary Fray, a young girl who is plunged into a world of warriors, werewolves and vampires. Sadly, this was not the box office success that was expected as the movie struggled to win over critics and audiences.
I am a big fan of the books and thought that City of Bones was a fair adaptation; there is a lot of scene setting, character introduction and back-story to get through in the first book, and I thought director Harald Zwart handled all that well.
City of Bones was an action packed instalment and did not suffer from the lack of action that we so often saw in The Twilight Saga films.
