Arts & Entertainment

Movie Reviews: 'White House Down', 'The Heat', 'World War Z' and More

Movie reviews and movie times for theaters in Ankeny, including "Man of Steel" and "Monsters University". Let Patch help you decide what you're going to see this weekend.

Movie information aggregated from moviefone.com

White House Down

"Skip it, and you'll be depriving yourself of one of the summer's most satisfyingly stupid pleasures." Entertainment Weekly. Full Review

"
Perhaps afraid that watching a symbol of liberty repeatedly go boom isn’t enough, Emmerich and screenwriter James Vanderbilt add family drama, an attack on Congress, a plane crash and the possible nuking of the Middle East. What isn’t tonally jarring ends up shatteringly inept." Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News. Full Review

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!

- - - - -

The Heat
"A bawdy and belligerent comedy, meant mostly for folks looking for nothing more than to enjoy a few laughs." Jeremy Legel, Film.com

"Give it up for Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy. You’ll never see them work harder at a comedy than in The Heat, a stumbling, aggressively loud and profane cop buddy picture where they struggle to wring “funny” out of a script that isn’t." Roger Moore, Movie Nation.

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!

- - - - -

World War ZThis nightmarish travelogue is coy about gore, but it’s still an effective thrill-ride. If the sequel happens, let’s hope it delivers some actual combat. Empire, Full Review
Go big or go home, they say; World War Z picks the wrong choice for its slow fade-out, and, instead of leaving you in fear of being chomped upon as you exit the theater, makes you feel enraged that you’ve been more than a little cheated. David Fear, Time Out New York. Full Review

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!

- - - - -

Monsters University
Speaking of second chances, Monsters University is exactly the rebound Pixar needed after 2011's "Cars 2" left some wondering if the studio had lost its magic. Entertainment Weekly, Full Review.

It’s easily the most enjoyable animated film so far this year, one that is visually stunning, wickedly subversive, incredibly funny (Day's character is a hoot), and (at times) lump-in-your-throat emotional. Drew Taylor, The Playlist. Full Review
Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!
- - - - -
Man of Steel
"Deploying an impeccable American accent, Brit Henry Cavill may be as charming as the late great Christopher Reeve." Lou Lumenick, New York Post. Full Review

"The local multiplex is lousy with celluloid crime fighters. So what turf is left for good old Clark Kent? That's the nagging question that director Zack Snyder's Man of Steel tries — and ultimately fails — to answer." Entertainment Weekly. Full Review

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!

- - - - -

This Is The End
"By the time September arrives, This is the End will probably be in the running for "funniest comedy of the 2013 summer." James Berardinelli, ReelViews. Full Review

"It's disheartening that, despite some half-hearted overtures toward shifting the comedy paradigm, the filmmakers make little attempt to expand their comedic palette." Jesse Cataldo, Slant Magazine. FullReview

Do you plan on seeing this movie? Leave a review when you get home and tell your neighbors how it was!

- - - - -

Now You See Me
"Now You See Me can’t quite claim to be the ideal crime drama – that would be “The Usual Suspects,” which justly won an Oscar for its script – but it’s only one level down." Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer.

"I left this movie feeling I’d been had. And not in a good way." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone.

Have you seen this movie? Tell us how it was in the comments!

- - - - -

Any of these spark your interest? Springwood 9 Theaters will be playing all of these flicks. Check out the Moviefone widget for showtimes.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Ankeny