The following is a review of the new movie, 22 Jump Street, and it will contain spoilers. If you have not seen the film, but are planning on it, I recommend that you come back after you've watched the movie, if you want, to get my take on the sequel. If you don;t care, one way or another, then, please, continue...
**********SPOILER ALERT!!!!!**********
The film, 21 Jump Street caught me completely off guard. I had never watched the television show, although I knew the premise of it, and was not really all that interested in the movie. Sure, it had Channing Tatum in it, but that still wasn't enough to get me to see it. Then I kept hearing all these great things about it. Finally, I decided to check it out... and boy, was I glad I did. Not only was it hilarious, but the chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum was out of this world. The movie made a bajillion dollars, so of course, a sequel was a no-brainer for the studio.
Fast forward a couple of years, and here we have 22 Jump Street. Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the movie opens with a funny bit about a bust gone wrong, where Jenko and Schmidt accidentally let the bad guys escape. They get hauled into the Chief's office, where they try to explain what went wrong. Because it worked so well last time, the police chief puts Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) back into the undercover program, now known as 22 Jump Street, because they were forced to move locations to across the street, when the Korean community bought back the church they were originally in. This sets off a hilarious running gag about the major increase in the budget, as their new offices are all state of the art and they actually have interns. Turns out that there's a new drug on the market, WHYPHY (Wi-fi... get it?) that's being distributed at the local college. The "McQuaid's" once again go under-cover, this time as college freshmen. Jenko is accepted right away, given his penchant for football and having a good time, whereas Schmidt has rougher go of fitting in this time. As they continue their investigation, cracks begin to show in their bond, as they are pulled in different directions. When Jenko's new BFF, Zook, is implicated as the drug dealer, it places even more tension between the partners. In the meantime, Schmidt meets the lovely Maya, who he then sleeps with. Maya has a weird, creepy roommate who constantly makes jokes about how old Schmidt is, while he continues to insist that he's a 19 year-old freshman. In another hilarious scene, Tatum takes the reigns and goes for it, when at the precinct it's revealed that Maya is actually Captain Dickson's daughter. The fall-out of this encounter also plays throughout the rest of the film. It leads to another intensely funny scene where Ice Cube goes crazy at brunch during parent's weekend at the college. Watching him destroy the buffet is awesome. Jenko and Schmidt eventually get a lead that brings them face to face once again with Ghost, the villain in the opening scene of the film who got away. Ghost manages to get away again. Traces of WHYPHY are found in the Psychology professors office, leading to his arrest as the drug supplier. In the meantime, Jenko confides in Schmidt that he's been offered a scholarship to play football, and that he is seriously thinking about doing it. Schmidt makes the decision for him, leaving the program and returning to the force, alone. Jenko tracks Schmidt down, who is back on patrol, and lets him know that WHYPHY is still circulating on campus. Schmidt tells him that he's been looking into the case too and that he figured out Ghost has been paying the tuition for someone at the school. The two decide that the supplier and dealers will target the kids during spring break, and head to Mexico to find them. They soon realize that Maya's weird roommate, Mercedes, is Ghost's daughter and is actually the drug supplier. Chaos ensues as they break into the room, guns blazing. Mercedes takes the captain hostage and is pursued by Schmidt, while Jenko follows after Ghost. Schmidt and Mercedes get into a very funny fist fight, before she's knocked out by Maya. Schmidt then goes to help Jenko, who is on the roof of the hotel with Ghost and his men. In an attempt to protect Jenko, Schmidt jumps in front of him as one of the bag guys fires off a shot, but he mis-times his jump and Jenko gets shot again. As Ghost is taking off in a helicopter, Jenko and Schmidt leap to grab it, and use the grenade that Schmidt has stored in his shorts to blow it up. As the crowd on the ground cheers, the partners realize that they make a good team and that they should stick together. As the credits roll, Dickson approaches them and tells them that he has another mission for them, this one in medical school.
I actually really liked this film. It was funny and well paced, and the chemistry between Hill and Tatum is spot on. I also liked the fact that this film knew what it was, and made the most of it. The cracks about this seeming familiar, the increased budget, doing the same thing over again, gave it a tongue-in-cheek kind of feel, that is welcome in a sequel. The problem with a lot of comedy sequels is that they just don't live up to the original. The jokes are never quite as funny or original and most of the time, it just feels like a rehash of the first one. While this one is exactly that, it knows that it is and doesn't shy away from the fact. It wears it proudly and practically screams it from the rooftops. It's approach is refreshing.
As I mentioned, the chemistry between Hill and Tatum is, once again, incredible. I remember reading an article about the first movie, where Jonah Hill called Channing Tatum and said, "I want you to be in this movie with me." Tatum then replied, "Why? I'm not funny." How glad are we, the movie fan, that Jonah Hill managed to talk him in to it? (Although, I would disagree with him, because he was hilarious in She's The Man with Amanda Bynes!) The two of them are like a comedy team, playing off one another is such a way that you actually believe in their bromance. While I'm sure, given the numbers that it's pulled in so far, another film, to make the franchise a trilogy, will soon be on it's way, I would actually like to see the actors tackle a different project together.
While this film is not perfect, it is good enough to say it's equal to it's predecessor. I wouldn't go as far as to say surpass, because I think that overall the first film was superior. This film had enough laughs in it that it's definitely worth the watch, although I could have done without the Rob Riggle/Dave Franco prison sex jokes. I enjoyed this film and would recommend it, although I wouldn't call it the comedy of the year just yet. I felt that Neighbors with Seth Rogen and Zac Efron was overall a funnier film, and the red band trailer for Sex Tape, with Jason Segel and Cameron Diaz, has now bumped that one up to my must watch list.
Showing posts with label Channing Tatum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Channing Tatum. Show all posts
Monday, 16 June 2014
Friday, 16 May 2014
Random Bits From The Week That Was...
So, here's my take on the random bits of news that I ran across this week, and was either too lazy to post about, or didn't require a full blog post to discuss....
Zack Snyder unveils the Batmobile...
Earlier this week, Zack Snyder hinted, via twitter, that it might be time for the tarp to be lifted. His tweet, accompanied by a photo of a tarp covered Batmobile, sent the internet into a tizzy. Not quite the tizzy, of course, that was caused the next day, when the picture he released was not only of the Batmobile, but a very buff and intense looking Ben Affleck as Batman. Now, I have not been a huge fan of this project from the outset, as I think that Superman deserves his own sequel... one that doesn't involve other Justice League characters and plots. As much as I didn't like the first Man of Steel, (it's not like I hated it or anything... I just think it had a lot of issues and they made it hard for me to love it). I still think that Supes is getting a bad wrap. That being said, Ben Affleck looks amazing! The black and white photo that was released is absolutely stunning! (I would frame and hang that guy on my wall!) The image invokes a tone and a feeling that I don't think all of us were expecting. While I wasn't a huge fan of the casting of Affleck at the time, upon further contemplation, I have come around to the idea. It's definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.
Channing Tatum is the new Gambit...
This news makes me less excited. While I like Channing Tatum and think that he's really grown as an actor over the last few year, I honestly don't see this as a good fit. I agree with Kristian Harloff over at The Schmoes Know, who thinks that the character is not well enough known by the general public to be played by such a popular actor. The audience is not going to see Remi LeBeau on the big screen, they are going to see Channing Tatum. And, if I'm being perfectly frank, I can't see him mastering Gambit's Cajun drawl, either. I personally believe that, while the movie wasn't well received (although I really liked it!), that the powers that be should have stuck with Taylor Kitsch, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The issue with that incarnation of Gambit were not Kitsch's fault and I do think that he's a better actor than Tatum, overall. I think that the recast will be kind of confusing and I think it was completely unnecessary.
Neighbours kicks the crap out of TASM2 at the box office...
Okay, so it didn't exactly kick the crap out of it, but it did do some damage. In it's second week, TASM2 fell behind the Seth Rogan/Zac Efron comedy Neighbours, which debuted last weekend. Neighbours opened with a strong $49M domestically, surprising both the studio and forecasters alike. Dropping a whopping 61%, The Amazing Spiderman 2 brought in only $35.5M domestically in it's second weekend out. (Although, honestly, Sony can't be happy with the $92M it made in it's opening weekend, as that didn't even top the opening weekend numbers put up by the far superior Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although it is being pulled along by the foreign markets, with stiff competition being released in the next few weeks, this movie might be hard pressed to top the box office results of the first Amazing Spiderman. Sony has got to be disappointed in these results. As of now, it is still trailing behind The Lego Movie and The Winter Soldier in regards to overall box office totals. It'll be interesting to see if it will surpass them or not, and what happens to Spiderman's numbers once both Godzilla and Days of Future Past are released in the next couple of weeks.
TV Trailers galore are dropped...
So, with the up-fronts done by all the major networks over the last few days, all kinds of juicy tidbits about the upcoming TV season have been dropped. The trailer for Gotham, debuting on Fox in the fall, looks amazing. The story of a young Detective Jim Gordon as he starts on the Gotham City police force, it's looks to be an origin story of sorts, of not only Batman, but all of his arch villains, as well. I was a little less enthused about the trailer for Constantine, debuting on NBC in the fall. Although the trailer looks interesting, this one I will have to watch a few episodes of first to fully get the tone and a feel for the series. The CW released a teaser and a full 5 minute trailer for their upcoming Flash series. The story of Barry Allen and his transformation into The Flash, this one is a spin-off of the CW's Arrow. The trailer looks fantastic, and I am optimistic, since the showrunners are virtually the same, that this will have the same kind of tone and feel as the aforementioned Arrow, which if you're not watching already, you really should be! Of course, there are many more bits and pieces out there on all the new shows that are coming, but these ones were the ones that caught my attention the most. I guess we'll see how everything looks in the fall. Usually, the ones you're looking forward to the most are disappointing and the shows that really catch your attention weren't even on your radar. Only time will tell on these ones.
Marvel's looking for a heart-throb...
So, apparently, Marvel is looking to shore up it's superhero properties, in the looks department, anyway, and has Zac Efron in mind to fill that position. I am actually a huge fan of Efron and think that he's a really solid actor. While I'm not adverse to this idea, I do think that it is almost the same issue as with Channing Tatum playing Gambit. I'm not sure if Zac Efron is too big to play a superhero or not. Rumour has it that Marvel is courting him to play one of it's heroes on their new Netflix Defenders adventure, so it will be interesting to see if there is any truth to it. I'm not sure that, at this point in his career and with the huge success of Neighbours, that Efron would be willing to take a part on TV, even if it is on Netflix. I guess we'll know soon enough, as the plan is for the first 13 episode run, rumoured to be Daredevil, to be released next summer.
Roberto Orci confirmed as director of Star Trek 3...
So, looks like Paramount is willing to gamble with the future of their Star Trek franchise. It was finally confirmed that writer/producer extraordinaire, Roberto Orci, will be helming the next Star Trek movie. With JJ Abrams off to direct a little flick entitled Star Wars Episode VII, Orci lobbied hard to be given this project. Paramount finally made it's decision and decided to give the $200M project to a guy who has never directed anything before, in his whole entire life. Seriously, not even a commercial or a sitcom episode. Nothing. While I actually really like Orci's work (I have been a fan since he and Alex Kurtzman began writing for Hercules and Xena in the 90's), I'm not sure that this is the right move for either him or the studio. While he knows this world inside and out, having written the screenplays for the first two movies, it is a lot of pressure for a first time director. I really hope that it all works out, as I love the new Trek franchise. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
And finally, the first trailer of Interstellar drops...
So, today, the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated film, Interstellar, dropped. And boy is it amazing. There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding this project, building the anticipation to astronomical levels. And, given the fact that it's Nolan's follow-up to the spectacular Inception (the Dark Knight trilogy was not my favourite!), a lot is riding on it. From the looks of this trailer, I think it is going to live up to the hype. While it is easy to get excited for a trailer, only to be disappointed by the final product (Michael Bay, anyone?), I have a feeling that there is no reason to worry in this case. My goal now is to try and avoid any further promotional information in regards to this one, as I want to go in with no pre-conceived notions or preconceptions. We'll see how that works out! :)
So, these were the news items that caught my fancy this week... although there were many, many more exciting tid-bits that were dropped about all kinds of projects going on out there. Check out the sources that I use for my movie and television news... I promise, you won't regret it!
www.schmoesknow.com
www.youtube.com/AMCtheatres
Zack Snyder unveils the Batmobile...
Earlier this week, Zack Snyder hinted, via twitter, that it might be time for the tarp to be lifted. His tweet, accompanied by a photo of a tarp covered Batmobile, sent the internet into a tizzy. Not quite the tizzy, of course, that was caused the next day, when the picture he released was not only of the Batmobile, but a very buff and intense looking Ben Affleck as Batman. Now, I have not been a huge fan of this project from the outset, as I think that Superman deserves his own sequel... one that doesn't involve other Justice League characters and plots. As much as I didn't like the first Man of Steel, (it's not like I hated it or anything... I just think it had a lot of issues and they made it hard for me to love it). I still think that Supes is getting a bad wrap. That being said, Ben Affleck looks amazing! The black and white photo that was released is absolutely stunning! (I would frame and hang that guy on my wall!) The image invokes a tone and a feeling that I don't think all of us were expecting. While I wasn't a huge fan of the casting of Affleck at the time, upon further contemplation, I have come around to the idea. It's definitely going to be interesting, to say the least.
Channing Tatum is the new Gambit...
This news makes me less excited. While I like Channing Tatum and think that he's really grown as an actor over the last few year, I honestly don't see this as a good fit. I agree with Kristian Harloff over at The Schmoes Know, who thinks that the character is not well enough known by the general public to be played by such a popular actor. The audience is not going to see Remi LeBeau on the big screen, they are going to see Channing Tatum. And, if I'm being perfectly frank, I can't see him mastering Gambit's Cajun drawl, either. I personally believe that, while the movie wasn't well received (although I really liked it!), that the powers that be should have stuck with Taylor Kitsch, who played the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The issue with that incarnation of Gambit were not Kitsch's fault and I do think that he's a better actor than Tatum, overall. I think that the recast will be kind of confusing and I think it was completely unnecessary.
Neighbours kicks the crap out of TASM2 at the box office...
Okay, so it didn't exactly kick the crap out of it, but it did do some damage. In it's second week, TASM2 fell behind the Seth Rogan/Zac Efron comedy Neighbours, which debuted last weekend. Neighbours opened with a strong $49M domestically, surprising both the studio and forecasters alike. Dropping a whopping 61%, The Amazing Spiderman 2 brought in only $35.5M domestically in it's second weekend out. (Although, honestly, Sony can't be happy with the $92M it made in it's opening weekend, as that didn't even top the opening weekend numbers put up by the far superior Captain America: The Winter Soldier). Although it is being pulled along by the foreign markets, with stiff competition being released in the next few weeks, this movie might be hard pressed to top the box office results of the first Amazing Spiderman. Sony has got to be disappointed in these results. As of now, it is still trailing behind The Lego Movie and The Winter Soldier in regards to overall box office totals. It'll be interesting to see if it will surpass them or not, and what happens to Spiderman's numbers once both Godzilla and Days of Future Past are released in the next couple of weeks.
TV Trailers galore are dropped...
So, with the up-fronts done by all the major networks over the last few days, all kinds of juicy tidbits about the upcoming TV season have been dropped. The trailer for Gotham, debuting on Fox in the fall, looks amazing. The story of a young Detective Jim Gordon as he starts on the Gotham City police force, it's looks to be an origin story of sorts, of not only Batman, but all of his arch villains, as well. I was a little less enthused about the trailer for Constantine, debuting on NBC in the fall. Although the trailer looks interesting, this one I will have to watch a few episodes of first to fully get the tone and a feel for the series. The CW released a teaser and a full 5 minute trailer for their upcoming Flash series. The story of Barry Allen and his transformation into The Flash, this one is a spin-off of the CW's Arrow. The trailer looks fantastic, and I am optimistic, since the showrunners are virtually the same, that this will have the same kind of tone and feel as the aforementioned Arrow, which if you're not watching already, you really should be! Of course, there are many more bits and pieces out there on all the new shows that are coming, but these ones were the ones that caught my attention the most. I guess we'll see how everything looks in the fall. Usually, the ones you're looking forward to the most are disappointing and the shows that really catch your attention weren't even on your radar. Only time will tell on these ones.
Marvel's looking for a heart-throb...
So, apparently, Marvel is looking to shore up it's superhero properties, in the looks department, anyway, and has Zac Efron in mind to fill that position. I am actually a huge fan of Efron and think that he's a really solid actor. While I'm not adverse to this idea, I do think that it is almost the same issue as with Channing Tatum playing Gambit. I'm not sure if Zac Efron is too big to play a superhero or not. Rumour has it that Marvel is courting him to play one of it's heroes on their new Netflix Defenders adventure, so it will be interesting to see if there is any truth to it. I'm not sure that, at this point in his career and with the huge success of Neighbours, that Efron would be willing to take a part on TV, even if it is on Netflix. I guess we'll know soon enough, as the plan is for the first 13 episode run, rumoured to be Daredevil, to be released next summer.
Roberto Orci confirmed as director of Star Trek 3...
So, looks like Paramount is willing to gamble with the future of their Star Trek franchise. It was finally confirmed that writer/producer extraordinaire, Roberto Orci, will be helming the next Star Trek movie. With JJ Abrams off to direct a little flick entitled Star Wars Episode VII, Orci lobbied hard to be given this project. Paramount finally made it's decision and decided to give the $200M project to a guy who has never directed anything before, in his whole entire life. Seriously, not even a commercial or a sitcom episode. Nothing. While I actually really like Orci's work (I have been a fan since he and Alex Kurtzman began writing for Hercules and Xena in the 90's), I'm not sure that this is the right move for either him or the studio. While he knows this world inside and out, having written the screenplays for the first two movies, it is a lot of pressure for a first time director. I really hope that it all works out, as I love the new Trek franchise. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
And finally, the first trailer of Interstellar drops...
So, today, the first official trailer for Christopher Nolan's hugely anticipated film, Interstellar, dropped. And boy is it amazing. There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding this project, building the anticipation to astronomical levels. And, given the fact that it's Nolan's follow-up to the spectacular Inception (the Dark Knight trilogy was not my favourite!), a lot is riding on it. From the looks of this trailer, I think it is going to live up to the hype. While it is easy to get excited for a trailer, only to be disappointed by the final product (Michael Bay, anyone?), I have a feeling that there is no reason to worry in this case. My goal now is to try and avoid any further promotional information in regards to this one, as I want to go in with no pre-conceived notions or preconceptions. We'll see how that works out! :)
So, these were the news items that caught my fancy this week... although there were many, many more exciting tid-bits that were dropped about all kinds of projects going on out there. Check out the sources that I use for my movie and television news... I promise, you won't regret it!
www.schmoesknow.com
www.youtube.com/AMCtheatres
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