Entertaining Entertainment Thoughts
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Movie Review: 21 Jump Street
Directed By: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Written By: Michael Bacall
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco
Plot: A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.
After seeing the trailer for 21 Jump Street a while back I thought that this movie could be pretty funny. But I also thought it would be the kind of movie that used up all of the funny moments in the trailer to get you to waste your money on it, so I was a little hesitant to go see it. It turns out though that I was completely wrong about it using the best parts in the trailer. 21 Jump Street starts the laughs in the first 30 seconds and doesn’t let you stop laughing until the credits roll.
A really well casted movie. Of course Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, and Dave Franco (who sounds and looks sooooo much like his brother James) are the stars so they deliver most of the comedy. But the smaller roles such as Ice Cube’s over-the-top police chief, Rob Riggle’s controversial gym teacher, and Chris Parnell’s way too easy going drama teacher, all provide some good laughs as well.
Probably one of the better written comedy scripts I’ve seen in a while. Usually you can tell when a script is written specifically for the actors to just improvise throughout the whole movie. While there are some moments in this that could be improvised, but most of the credit for the witty dialogue and physical comedy should go to the writer Michael Bacall.
Finally a movie where Channing Tatum isn’t learning how to dance, or playing some guy leaving his girlfriend to go to war. He was actually really funny in this. And him and Jonah Hill had fantastic chemistry together. They must have become best friends off-set because it was really believable in the movie. I can finally say I really liked something with Channing Tatum in it, and he was part of the reason I liked it.
Alright, I said most of the stuff I was a fan of, I guess I should start naming some stuff that didn’t work for me. First off, the exposition was way too fast. In the first scene Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum don’t really like each other, and then the next scene they’re best friends. I know it was supposed to be funny the way they did that, but they could have slowed that part down a bit. Also there were a few parts that were pretty predictable. For example in one part of the movie Jonah Hill says to Channing Tatum, “I’m kind of freaked out about going back to high school. We weren’t exactly friends in High School. You don’t think that’s gonna change when we go back do you?” And obviously that’s what happens, they start to grow apart a little bit.
Other than that I’d say it was a very solid movie. 21 Jump Street had me and everyone else in the theater I was in dying with laughter for the entire hour and fifty minutes. It had a very interesting story, a fantastic cast with a great cameo that I won’t mention because it’s a good surprise, and it was an all-around fun movie-going experience. If you get a chance to make your way to the theater this week, forget The Hunger Games, forget Titanic, forget The Three Stooges, and go see 21 Jump Street.
Rating: 8.5/10 -
Movie Review: Wanderlust
Director: David Wain
Writer: David Wain and Ken Marino
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux
Wanderlust tells the story of a husband and wife that decide to experiment with living in a rural commune, after Paul Rudd’s character loses his job and can’t handle living with his jerk of a brother and bi-polar sister-in-law. This is all decided pretty much in the first 10 minutes. The exposition is really rushed. One minute they are in New York and the next their like oh, well I guess we have to move to Atlanta with my brother. And they happen upon the only hotel within 80 miles, (which I find hard to believe because I’ve made the trip from New Jersey to Atlanta several times and there is no way they could be in a place that didn’t have a Comfort Inn within 10 miles at all on that whole trip) the Elysium Bed and Breakfast.
Once they are there the two come across a nudist, Wayne, played by Joe Lo Truglio. His penis freaks them out and they start backing up and eventually crash. Now they have to spend the night here. This leads to some awkward moments between the married couple and the odd group of people that live at the Elysium, as well as some nice moments for them. Then in the morning they work as a team to flip the car over and then they go back on their journey to George’s (Paul Rudd) brother Rick’s house. Rick is played hilariously by co-writer Ken Marino. Then they don’t like it there and want to go back to the Elysium so they do. The rest of the movie is pretty much,
“okay we really can’t stay here” “now I want to stay” “no but we really have to leave” “you know what we’ll stay”
The ending to this movie was beyond predictable and really lazy. They did the thing I hate where they end it and then cut to like a news story explaining what everyone is doing now. It was somewhat funny, with a good cameo from a famous actor that I won’t mention in case you go see it, but it’s just really a boring way to end a movie in my opinion.
For what the film lacks in the plot department, it almost makes up for it in the laughs department. This movie had a lot of truly funny moments. My favorite were pretty much anytime Jordan Peele or Alan Alda were in a scene, and also whenever Paul Rudd is talking to Malin Akerman. The funniest scene in my opinion is probably the one where Paul Rudd is talking to himself in the mirror. It made me and everyone else in the theater die laughing. I think Paul Rudd is easily up there with Michael Cera as the best at playing an awkward character.
One thing you have to know before considering seeing this movie is the number of weiners in this movie. There are a lot of weiners. Like more than Shame, Hunger, and Amistad combined. If you are afraid of weiners or it ruins your day when you see one (especially old ones), this probably isn’t the movie for you. But if you can handle a few scenes with them in it than you should be fine going to see Wanderlust.
Despite it’s poor plot and lazy writing, the jokes work for the most part. I’d probably watch this again just to see the Paul Rudd in the mirror scene. And for Paul Rudd’s reaction to the things Malin Akerman says to him. They both had me in tears. I’d be a liar however if I told you this was a must see. Honestly I probably would recommend you save the 10 bucks and wait until it comes out on Netflix or Red Box to see it. If this movie wasn’t funny, it would probably be a really horrible movie. But because it delivers some good comedy, I thought it was pretty decent. Also if you decide to watch this, make sure you watch the bloopers during the credits. They’re very entertaining.
Rating: 6.5/10 -
My Top 20 Movies of 2011
20. Bridesmaids - One of the better comedies of the year. Everyone has already seen it though so I don’t need to say too much about this.
19. Warrior - A pretty generic underdog sports story, but this is probably the best MMA movie made in a while or ever. And Hardy, Edgerton, and Nick Nolte give great performances.
18. The Ides of March - George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood. Those are the 6 main actors. If that doesn’t make you want to watch this movie, than you don’t know much about movies.
17. The Troll Hunter - A Norwegian Mockumentary about a guy that takes a film crew to hunt for trolls in Norway. Really interesting and unique story. Also it’s on Netflix Instant.
16. Attack the Block - Really fun British action/horror movie. Very cool story and lot’s of good action and suspense.
15. Martha Marcy May Marlene - Surprised I don’t have this higher on my list. Oh well, but anyway this was the Olsen twins sister Elizabeth Olsen’s first film. She’s great in it, and it’s about a girl who leaves a cult, but is afraid they are stalking her.
14. Win Win - Really heart-warming story. Also Paul Giamatti gives a good performance and Bobby Cannavale is hilarious in it.
13. Carnage - Hilarious comedy starring John C. Reilly, Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, and Christoph Waltz about two sets of parents that meet up to talk about their kids that got in to a fight. All 4 of them are so funny in this and it takes place entirely in an apartment building.
12. 50/50 - Somehow Seth Rogen was able to write a movie about cancer that’s really funny, but also touching. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic in this.
11. Beginners - Pretty interesting story. Christopher Plummer is probably gonna wins an Oscar for his performance. Ewan McGregor is great in it as well.
10. Melancholia - Depressing movie, but well directed, and great performances from Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg.
9. Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen’s newest movie. Such a creative story, and really well written. Corey Stoll plays a small part in this as Ernest Hemingway, but he really steals the show.
8. The Descendants - Every actor is good in this. Seriously I don’t remember on bad acting job in this whole thing. Very entertaining film.
7. The Artist - Most teenagers won’t like this because it’s a silent movie in black and white. But honestly it’s better than most color movies with sound. If you love film, do yourself a favor and watch The Artist.
6. Shame - Michael Fassbender. Michael Fassbender. Michael Fassbender. Tough movie to watch, but honestly everyone should watch it for Michael Fassbender’s performance alone.
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Love Rooney Mara in this. This is a brutal movie, but a really thrilling one at that. Very suspenseful and has some amazing cinematography.
4. Drive - Ryan Gosling beating people up. Albert Brooks giving a great performance. Cool cars, cool music. How many more reasons do you want before you watch this movie.
3. The Skin I Live In - Movie from Spain, so if you don’t like subtitles than this is for you. Very creative story. Great directing, and good performances. Not sure why it didn’t get nominated at the Oscars.
2. Moneyball - Looove this movie so much. Baseball is my favorite sport so I was sold on this from the beginning, but it lived up to my ridiculously high expectations. Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill are fantastic. One of the best scripts of the year. A lot of good humorous moments as well as some dramatic ones. Also you don’t have to be a baseball fan to like this.
1. The Tree of Life - Probably some of the best cinematography ever. Such an inspirational movie as an aspiring film maker. I can’t get over how amazing each shot looks. It’s not a movie for everyone. But if you love film, you’ll definitely appreciate watching this.
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Season 3 Premiere of Justified Tomorrow
CAN NOT WAIT! Love this show so much. If you haven’t seen the first 2 seasons yet get going because Season 3 starts tomorrow.
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Moneyball out on Blu-ray today.
Just made my dad go to Walmart to buy this movie on Blu-ray for me. Sooooo good. Saw it in theaters in August and loved it. I’d highly recommend it to anyone. I know people who loved it and hate baseball so don’t think you have to like baseball to like this movie. It’s only $20 for the Blu-ray/DVD Combo and it also comes with a 40 minute interview with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill. Incredibly worth it.
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Requests
If any of you guys have any movies you would like me to watch and review, let me know by replying to this or sending me a message or something. It can be any movie from any year including movies that are in theaters right now.
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Someone needs to make this a movie. Robert Downey Jr. swaps heads with a cat. The story of their quest to switch them back.
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TV Episode Thoughts: House of Lies - Pilot
House of Lies premiered last night on Showtime. I watched it today and I gotta say I’m hooked. It was a really entertaining pilot. It was smart, funny, paced well, and really just flat out enjoyable. Already looking forward to next week’s episode.
If you’re wondering what kind of show it is, I’d say if Mad Men and Entourage had a baby it would be this show. Don Cheadle is great in this and so are the supporting characters, I would like to see more from the supporting cast next week though, because Don Cheadle was in literally every single scene.
But anyway, if you’re looking for a cool new show to start following during the drought of good television, check out House of Lies.
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Sunday, January 8th Showtime Premieres
For anyone who has Showtime, or watches TV Shows on the internet, new seasons of Shameless and Californication start tonight. I haven’t seen Shameless yet but I’ve been meaning too. It looks pretty good. I watched season 1 of Californication, it’s a really entertaining show. If you haven’t seen them yet go ahead and check them out when you get a chance.
Also a new show on Showtime House of Lies starring Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell starts tonight as well. Here’s the plot summary for anyone interested:
A subversive, scathing look at a self-loathing management consultant from a top-tier firm. Marty, a highly successful, cutthroat consultant is never above using any means (or anyone) necessary to get his clients the information they want.
Sounds interesting. Also I love me some Don Cheadle and Kristen Bell and the guy who plays Jean-Ralphio on Parks and Rec is in this as well so I’ll watch this for sure.
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Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
When I went to see this movie, I went in without having seen the Swedish version or reading the book. So every plot twist came as a surprise to me. I loved the story, and the ending was great. The source material the movie was based on seems great. I want to read the books now, I probably won’t because I don’t read but it inspires me to consider reading. I also will be watching the Swedish TGWTDT soon so I can compare the two.
Daniel Craig and Christopher Plummer give good performances in this. Although he plays a smaller part, I preferred Plummer in this over his performance in Beginners from early in 2011. Stellan Skarsgaard (I’m too lazy to look up the spelling) gives a great performance as well. The real stand-out here though is Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander. Again I haven’t seen the original so I can’t compare her performance to Noomi Rapace’s, but I loved Mara in this. She was dark, emotional, and embodied her character. It’s my second favorite performance of 2011 behind only Albert Brooks in Drive.
David Fincher was the best person to remake this series in my opinion. He is great at directing dark stories such as this. He is easily one of my favorite directors working right now. Everyone should go see this movie right now so they will remake the next two movies in the series The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.
Rating: 9/10
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