Silver-celluloid

  White House Down can be summed up in one word: fun. Basically, if you have seen Olympus Has Fallen you know the plot of this movie. John Cale (Channing Tatum) is a Capitol Policeman who has messed up with his eleven year old daughter Emily (Joey King). Emily is really interested in politics and the President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) is her idol so Cale calls in a favour to get tour tickets to the White House for them both as a present. At the same time he has an interview as a Secret Service Agent protecting the President. While they are there the White House is taken over by an armed paramilitary group and Cale has to save the day. Director Roland Emerich of Independence Day fame is determined to destroy the White House again in White House Down which is big, enjoyable and full of action. This is what a silly action movie should look like. The characters are engaging and likable in a way that was missing from this year's previous White House destroyer Olympus Has Fa...

Silver-celluloid often looks at the latest cinema releases but there is a film that did not enjoy a very wide release at the cinema and is now available to rent on DVD. It is a hidden gem. From the pen of Wentworth Miller, star of the 2005-2009 TV series Prison Break, Stoker stars Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman and Matthew Goode. It is directed by Chan-Wook Park, director of the cult hit Old Boy, and this is an interesting pedigree that has turned out exceptionally well. Dealing with difficult subject matter, something not entirely unexpected if you are familiar with Park’s work, this is a beautifully shot, well scripted, dark, intriguing film that is well worth a watch. India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska) lives with her mother, Evie (Nicole Kidman), feeling isolated and in mourning after the unexpected death of her father. When a previously unknown and long lost uncle, Charlie (Matthew Goode) turns up, he brings with him intrigue, questions, and an unsettlin...