Short Term 12

Short Term 12 (2013)

Written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Stars: Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Stephanie Beatriz, LaKeith Stanfield, and Frantz Turner

This movie was recommended for me from Film Twitter. So, thank you for turning me onto this movie. I have never heard of it until earlier this month.

This movie tells the story of at-risk youth counselors Grace and Mason (Larson, Gallagher Jr)  as they try to navigate keeping their relationship private and helping the kids in their care.

LaKeith Stanfield was a standout in this movie. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his supporting performance.

The unlikely friendship between Grace and Jayden (Dever) was the heart of the film.

The performances across the board were solid. I had a problem with the third act of the film. It seems like Malek's character, Nate didn't have that much to do. I thought he would have a substantial role in the movie.

Rating: 7.5/10

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