'White House Down' Showboats Absurdity in Typical Roland Emmerich Fashion

John Cale (Channing Tatum) protects President Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) in White House Down.

Isn't one hostile takeover a year enough for the White House to handle? For director Roland Emmerich, perhaps not. Back in 1996, Emmerich sicked a 15 mile-wide mother ship on America's seat of power in blockbuster hit, Independence Day and in 2013, nearly similar to Antoine Fuqua's Olympus Has Fallen a few months ago, there's no reprieve for the structure in White House Down.

Channing Tatum plays John Cale, a Capitol Police officer, who at the start of White House Down interviews for a post in the Secret Service, protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Concurrently, several key structures around Washington including the White House are targeted by a pack of terrorists motivated by financial and personal agendas. As the White House is compromised, Cale finds himself in the crossfire and teams up with the president to reach a safe point outside.

'Man of Steel' Sacrifices Superman's Origin Story for Cynical CGI-Fest

General Zod (Michael Shannon) vows revenge Jor-El and his son Kal-El, later known on Earth as the Man of Steel, Superman.

Superman, we hardly knew you. After enduring a pretentious two-and-a-half hour origin story, Zack Snyder's Superman reboot, Man of Steel forces the iconic epithet into the plot for one random instance. Snyder's iteration doesn't stand for truth, justice or the American way, rather assuming the role of an alien refugee attempting to remain off the grid except for the occasional phantom heroism.

Man of Steel goes through the same expected motions Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie did back in 1978. Still a carbon copy origin story, the alien planet Krypton is dying and in a last-ditch effort, scientists Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife Lara (Ayelet Zurer) send their newborn son to Earth for a chance to live and grow up to become humanity's savior.

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: 'Dark Skies' Crash Lands, 'Cleopatra' Celebrates 50 on Blu-Ray

The final Tuesday in May offers just two new major home media releases. The first 2013 blockbusters still have a few more weeks until their street dates hit in June, but in the meantime, home media audiences can check out Dark Skies and the debut of 1963 classic Cleopatra. 

First out of the gate is Dark Skies, a mixture of sci-fi and horror that copies several classic films from the two genres. Dark Skies, directed by Scott Stewart, poses the question of other beings living alongside us, particularly when young Sammy (Kadan Rockett) believes he's communicating with the Sandman.

Sixth 'Fast & Furious' Installment Adds High-Octane Fuel to Summer Movie Season

Fast rides and battle tanks duke it out on a European highway in Fast & Furious 6.

Change can do wonders. For a brief time, "The Fast and the Furious" franchise was in complete disarray courtesy of its third installment, Tokyo Drift, a film that stayed true to the high-octane racing niche, but failed to maintain the integrity of the initial 2001 Vin Diesel and Paul Walker action vehicle.

Much like the previous two installments, Fast and Furious and Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 breathes new life into a once-dying franchise, concentrating on unrealistic complex heists plus international vehicular warfare now added to the equation. Fast & Furious 6 picks up where the 2011 film left off. Dom (Vin Diesel) and Brian (Paul Walker) are living large overseas, putting a life of crime in the rear-view mirror.

'Into Darkness' Blasts Rebooted Trek Franchise Beyond Greatness.

Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) interrogate their mysterious prisoner (Benedict Cumberbatch).

Remember when it wasn't the in-thing to be a Star Trek fan, proudly clad in a Starfleet uniform, pointed Vulcan ears and comprehensive understanding of Klingon. Well, with the 2009 Star Trek reboot, JJ Abrams did the unthinkable transforming the franchise's 40+ year-old reputation of being an exclusive club of diehard sci-fi fans to reaching a much broader audience, now more appreciative to go where no man has gone before.

Star Trek Into Darkness continues where the 2009 blockbuster left off with James Kirk (Chris Pine), the hot-headed captain of the Enterprise with more experience under his belt, but still under the pretense that he's above the rules. After recklessly risking the safety of his crew on a primitive planet, Kirk is temporarily stripped of his captaincy until he's personally assigned to hunt down a terrorist (BBC Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch) with deep ties to Starfleet out to the far reaches of the galaxy.

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: Fantasy Pair 'Beautiful Creatures,' 'True Blood' Lead New Blu-Ray Releases

Vampires, crime dramas and a return of the "Governator" himself lead the pack in this week's heavily loaded list of new releases. While no major blockbusters are making their way to Blu-Ray yet for a few more weeks, home media audiences can still check out top new releases including Beautiful Creatures, Parker, Side Effects, The Last Stand and True Blood Season 5.

First up from Warner Bros. is Beautiful Creatures, based on the Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl romantic fantasy novel of the same name. Beautiful Creatures isn't here to be the next groundbreaking young adult book-to-film adaptation, but the film wrap still manages to wrap elements of the Deep South, forbidden love and dark magic into a stylistic cinematic interpretation.     

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Star Trek' Warps to #1, Misses $100 Million 4-Day Target

The burning question coming out of this past weekend was what just happened to Star Trek Into Darkness? Banking on the success of the 2009 blockbuster and the new found coolness to be a Trekkie, Into Darkness had its sights a reasonable $100 million over its first four days in release.

Not only did Star Trek fail to meet that milestone, but the sequel opened a notch lower than the previous film with an extra day and IMAX sneak peek. Granted, the switch from releasing Star Trek Into Darkness from May 17th to May 16th may have confused some moviegoers, but this less-than-stellar start will require substantial word-of-mouth to strike lightning twice.

Whether or not, Star Trek Into Darkness manages to cross $250 million or even $200 million remains to be seen, but the summer competition continues to stay fierce.

Del Toro's 'Mama" Reawakens the Old-Fashioned Scare Fest

Annabel (Jessica Chastain) and her family are haunted by an invisible spirit, known as "Mama."

Director and producer Guillermo Del Toro certainly has built a noteworthy reputation for having a keen eye for discovering finely crafted dark fantasy shorts that fail to find themselves on the mainstream radar. Taking these shorts under his wing with the goal of expanding a tightly focused narrative into a full-fledged feature film adding his own signature flair is hardly a gamble for the experienced Del Toro, however his latest project Mama treads way too similar waters.

Based on a 2008 Spanish short, Mama opens with a tragic car crash, leaving its survivors, a pair of young sisters to fend for themselves in an abandoned cabin in the woods. Nearly five years without human contact, Victoria (Megan Charpentier) and Lily (Isabelle Nelisse) are at last rescued and later adopted by their uncle and his rocker girlfriend, Annabel (Jessica Chastain). Things take a turn for the stranger when the girls begin communicating to their invisible guardian affectionately called "Mama."

BLU-RAY TUESDAY: 'Cloud Atlas,' 'Texas Chainsaw' Look to Find New Audiences on Blu-Ray

If you don't find success in theaters, there's always a second chance on DVD and Blu-Ray. That statement holds true to both of this week's top new releases, Cloud Atlas and Texas Chainsaw 3D.    

First up is Lana and Andy Wachowski's Cloud Atlas, an ambitious adaptation of the David Mitchell novel by the same name, which interlocks six narratives from six separate time periods. With top name actors, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving and a slew of others unable to draw audiences in on star power alone, Cloud Atlas exploits its complicated story to craft a story of intrigue and epic magnitude. 

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Gatsby' Parties Large at #2, Comes Up Short Against 'Iron Man' Repeat

It wasn't no surprise that superhero juggernaut Iron Man 3 and Baz Luhrmann's stylistic retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's American classic would pack a 1-2 punch during this weekend's Mother's Day frame.

But was anyone expecting Luhrman's The Great Gatsby to benefit from being pushed back from a Oscar-bait holiday release to being sandwiched between two of summer's most anticipated releases, a spot dreaded by many jockeying for heated positions? $51 million says differently.

Now two weeks deep into an already lucrative summer movie season, the studio tentpoles on deck in the coming weeks have their work cut out for them. And will any be able to catch up to Iron Man 3's overperforming haul?
     

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: 'Iron Man 3' Scores Second Largest Opening Weekend Behind 'Avengers'

Summer might not technically start until late June, but for the movie industry, the first week of May has been the traditional kickoff as the movie-going masses clamor to the first must-see event of the year.

2013 is no different as for the seventh consecutive year, Marvel Studios takes full advantage of the being the first big summer blockbuster of out the gate with the highly anticipated follow-up to last summer's The Avengers.

Attempting to bring down last year's record-breaking $207 million opening weekend behemoth seemed a bit too ambitious even for Marvel, however Iron Man 3 claimed the all-time #2 spot almost one year to the day with a franchise-best $175.3 million.

'Iron Man 3' Kicks Off Summer Complete with Energy and Laughs

Iron Man returns with more suits of armor than ever before, including Mark XLII.

Last year this time, Marvel embarked on its most ambitious outing ever with The Avengers. For the legions of rabid Marvel fanboys out there, witnessing its larger-than-life superhero dream team (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk and Captain America) joining forces for the very first time onscreen sparked a higher demand for more superior superhero flicks. That's all fine, except there's even greater pressure on Iron Man 3 to deliver the goods, more so than any previous installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Since the life-altering events of The Avengers, billionaire genius Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has found himself suffering from PTSD, unable to sleep and consumed in the bowels of his Malibu home lab with constructing newer variations of Iron Man armor. But those are just the start of his problems when Ben Kingsley as the Mandarin begins to terrorize the American people and its government. After an attack on his long-time friend Happy, Tony's war with the Mandarian gets real personal.

Trek, Superman and Hunger Games Trailers Debut With Darker Flair

Three of 2013's most anticipated releases all debuted brand new trailers this past week.

There should be no doubt in anyone's minds that the marketing minds in Hollywood are certainly kicking things up into high gear as of late. After countless months of wondering when we'll witness a glimpse of 2013's tentpole release, we not only get one (no, no), but count them three major trailers in a 72-hour block.

First up to plate is the final trailer to J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness, which no pun intended is still leaving Trekkies in the dark about this sequel to the 2009 reboot. All audiences can still gather is that Benedict Cumberbatch plays a charismatic terrorist who has it out for the Federation. And despite the warnings coming from all personal and professional directions, Chris Pine's hot-headed rendition of Captain Kirk takes matters into his own hands.

Independent Crime Drama Weighs In on Hard-Hitting Consequences

Desperate times call for desperate measures as stuntman Luke robs banks to provide for his family.

What else can be said about the aura surrounding Derek Cianfrance's crime drama, The Place Beyond the Pines other than simply calling it the most electric, impactful piece of cinema to hit theaters in the past twelve months, perhaps even longer? There are not many films out there that can say they firmly stay on the minds of audiences after the credits roll, however The Place Beyond the Pines takes that to another level completely with its masterfully crafted narrative that will keep audiences contemplating more than just a few hours afterwards.

In The Place Beyond the Pines, Ryan Gosling plays Luke Glanton, a traveling carnival daredevil who finds his world turned upside down after he finds out his one night stand resulted in an infant son. With no way to amply provide for his only child, Glanton turns to a life of crime as the Moto Bandit, partnering up with a reclusive auto mechanic to hit up various local upstate New York banks.

'Croods' Adventure Travels a Bland, Prehistoric Road

Rebellious cave teen Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the protection of her cave.

It's been quite a few years since DreamWorks last stumbled along with one of their family-friendly animated features.  Having found out-of-the-blue success with How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda, DreamWorks Animation was certainly giving Pixar a run for its money as the undisputed king of animated superiority. That is, until now.

Their latest animated feature, The Croods might lack the signature charm and wholesome value seen in DreamWorks previous cartoony flicks, but there's no denying that this escape to this prehistoric world has a few tricks up its sleeve. The Croods are one of the last remaining caveman families that have survived thanks to their overprotective father Grug (Nicholas Cage), believing that anything beyond their humble cave dwelling is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. Their plastic bubble is shaken when his teenage daughter Eep (Emma Stone) ventures out beyond the cave.

There's No Place Like "Oz," Even 75 Years Later

Oz (James Franco) finds himself in a magical world needing saved from the Wicked Witch.

No offense to Sam Raimi, but he's probably not one of the first directors that comes to mind who would attempt to reimagine the enchanting world of L. Frank Baum's Oz. Given his directorial track record of the Spider-Man trilogy, Army of Darkness and The Evil Dead, a land of munchkins, witches and wizards seems all too foreign for someone who made his mark producing cult-classic splatter-fests.

Oz the Great and Powerful reopens the doors to the whimsical parallel world made famous by Baum's series of novels and Victor Fleming's 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. But this trip misses a few of the key ingredients. No Dorothy. No Scarecrow. No Tin Man. No Cowardly Lion. In fact, the Wizard of Oz comes in the form of James Franco as a small-time magician from Kansas, continuously looking for opportunities to cheat and swindle the simple-minded.

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" Levels Up on Blu-Ray

Tired of being the bad guy, Ralph (John C. Reilly) tells other arcade baddies his concerns.

If you're one of the millions out there logged into XBOX Live or World of Warcraft hours and hours at a time, or perhaps spent your childhood battling side-scrolling adventures with Mario or Link, Disney's latest animated release, Wreck-It Ralph speaks to gamers regardless of age.

Wreck-It Ralph begins in the 8-bit world of Fix-It Felix Jr., reminiscent of a classic 1980s arcade game that borrows heavily on Mario and Donkey Kong. For 30 years, Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly) has been programmed to be the bad guy, whose only job is to demolish a solitary penthouse before his cheery hammer-wielding adversary, Felix fixes the wreckage. For once, Ralph just wants to be adored as the good guy and decides to venture off to other games in the arcade to win a medal. After battling bugs in a sci-fi first-person shooter, Ralph lands himself in a candy-coated go-kart game where everything isn't as sweet as it seems.   

Bigelow, Chastain Shine in Bin Laden Manhunt

Maya (Jessica Chastain) takes charge of a decade-long manhunt to bring Osama Bin Laden down.

Imagine if Zero Dark Thirty was released two, perhaps three years ago, sticking to its original premise immersed in the crossfire of the 2001 Battle of Tora Bora. While focused on one decisive event in the capture of Osama Bin Laden, award-winning producers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal would have found themselves boxed in by one of the most nail-biting "to be continued" cliffhangers for the most significant manhunt in American history.

Fortunately, the hunt Bin Laden ended in May 2011 as he was permanently compromised in his Pakistani compound. But that's just the end of the decade-long story. Zero Dark Thirty covers a much larger scope, commencing with audio clips from the September 11th attacks. Heartbreaking to listen to, the 9/11 audio ultimately serves its purpose in establishing the gritty tone for the next 150 minutes as the CIA interrogates every level of Bin Laden's hierarchy.

Latest "Chainsaw" Slasher Forgets Its Terrorizing Past

Leatherface prepares for another round of killing in Texas Chainsaw 3D.

Four decades have been more than plenty to terrorize the citizens of Texas, but after going for an gratuitous seventh slaughter-fest, Leatherface needs to be put out to pasture. Technically, the chainsaw-wielding maniac should have hung up his mask and signature weapon a decade ago, perhaps even two. Texas Chainsaw 3D is proof that there are limits to how far a series can go, and now this cash-grab is by far the laziest tactic for prolonging it.

Texas Chainsaw 3D opens up by recapping the events of the original 1974 film. Executed as nothing more than a vague setup even for those familiar with Leatherface, the first few minutes preface the lack of directorial heart and cliché narrative expected to unravel over the following 90 minutes. This time around, Heather (Alexandra Daddario) and her stereotypical slasher tagalongs have business down in Texas over her inherited estate. For Heather, there's more than just an estate, but also her crazy cousin, Leatherface.

Top 10: Most Anticipated Movies of 2013

Hollywood has its work cut out in 2013. 2012. For starters, where do superhero movies go from here after competitors Marvel and DC exponentially raised the genre's bar with The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises? How about smaller films? Lincoln, Argo and Silver Linings Playbook all transformed into critical darlings overnight and that magic is only duplicated for the rare few.

Even with audience expectations set at a higher level than before, there are still ten movies that must be experienced in theaters as early as possible. Below are my choices for my most anticipated movies released in 2013.