21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street (2012)

Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Story by Michael Bacall & Jonah Hill

Screenplay by Michael Bacall

Stars: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, DeRay Davis and Rob Riggle

I was on the camp of every person that heard that they were making a comedic remake of the 80s series of the same name that it was going to be terrible. I chose to skip the movie when it was in theaters. Then, my movie nerds kept telling me that the film is actually pretty good. I would say that the movie is funny and ridiculous, but not the second coming.

The story centers around two losers, Jenko and Schmidt (Tatum, Hill) who were the outcasts when they went to high school together. Seven years later, they met again while in police academy training. They become fast friends for convenience. They thought everyday would be like COPS, but it's more like Pacific Blue. While on parole, they look at a gang smoking weed and they try to take them down, expect Jenko forgot tell the suspect his Miranda rights. Instead of getting the sack, they are resigned to previously defunct Jump Street mission to see who is dealing a street drug called HFS to high school students.

Before I saw one frame of the film, I thought it was going to be like Starsky & Hutch or The Dukes of Hazzard. I thought it was going to be a horrible comedic remake of a television show of a different genre. No idea why, but the concept kinda works here. You get guys that looks like a typical high school to infiltrate the school to find major shit going on.

It feels like the drug in question is not a big deal to me. It was like LSD and marijuana wrapped in plastic. It was not like it was bath salts or some other crazy shit that's out there. The chemistry between Hill and Tatum was very good. They worked well with each other.

Everybody knows the film has cameos by three of the main stars of the TV show: Holly Robinson-Pete, Johnny Depp and Peter DeLuise. I was surprised when a good portion of them showed up. I had to rewind it again.

My Rating

Trailer Tuesday - 11/8/2011

I  wanted to create a new ongoing series about the latest trailers that have been released over the past weekend and give my impressions of them. There is a mixed bag this week.



Here is the "fourth" installment of the American Pie series of films. I guess those shitty straight-to-DVD movies don't count. Shame. Everybody from the original movie are reprising their roles. Some have grown up and some have stayed the adolescent that they were.

The premise is that the graduating class of 1999 are coming together for a blowout party together. I just wonder how they are gonna reunite at year thirteen. Whatever.

It's slated for release in April 2012.



Michael Fassbender reunited with the director that made him a star, Steve McQueen with their latest collaboration, Shame.

Fassbender plays Brandon, a NYC man that is living with sexual compulsion disorder. His life is thrown for a loop when his younger sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan) moves into his apartment.

The movie opens on December 2nd.



The House of the Devil director, Ti West, delivers another suspenseful movie about a New England hotel called The Yankee Pedlar Inn is on the verge of closing its doors. The last employees there, Clarie and Luke (Sara Paxton, Pat Healy) want to investigate at the supposed haunting taking place in the inn. When a medium Leanne Rease-Jones (Kelly McGinnis) comes to invoke the spirits. Things get really strange.

The movie opens February 3, 2012



Project X is the movie that is produced by the Hangover director, Todd Phillips. It is the high school party to end high school parties. This is pretty much the premise.

The movie opens March 2012.



I saw the red band trailer of the big screen adaptation of the 1980s television show, "21 Jump Street".  My first thought was "What the fuck is this shit?" This is not the 'Jump Street' I know. It's like "Observe and Report meets "Paul Blart". Where the diversity in the cast? It's just a bunch of assholes who are elderly trying to integrate into a high school setting.

Jonah Hill looks gaunt that he lost his bloat. Channing Tatum is being a wooden actor as always.

The movie opens March 16, 2012.



This trailer has blown up on the Internet when it was released. The movie is about Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington), a CIA operative that went rogue and went eluded capture until he was apprehended. He is taken to a safe house in South Africa where a rookie operative, Matt Weston (Ryan Reynolds) has to babysit him. The safe house is comprised and they have to go on the run.

The movie opens February 10, 2012.



Paul Rudd re-teams with "Wet Hot American Summer" director, David Wain for "Wanderlust" with his "Object of Affection" co-star, Jennifer Aniston. I loved "Summer", but this trailer was limp. I didn't laugh at any of the jokes or gags or the R. Kelly references.

The movie opens February 24, 2012.