22 Jump Street

 

After the unexpected success of 21 Jump Street I don’t think there were too many people unhappy with the announcement that a sequel was in the works.  The trick would be creating a sequel that, at the very least, equalled the first instalment.

PLOT:  As a new drug craze sweeps through the local college Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) head back to school once more to infiltrate the dealer and catch the supplier.  END PLOT

The tone of 22 Jump Street follows that of its predecessor and is aware of the unspoken rule that sequels have a bigger budget and tend to be noisier and more ridiculous.  The self-awareness makes for some hilarious moments especially during the “keep the expenses down” car chase through the campus.

The theme of self-awareness goes further than clichéd plot tropes with the characters themselves being desperate to rehash the events of the first film.  Again, this works in 22 Jump Streets favour and stops the viewer from looking too deeply into the script.

America’s Sweetheart Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are back and slot into their roles with ease.  The chemistry is still there and the film is at its best when the two are on screen together.  Ice Cube is back in an extended role and is great fun especially during his scenes with Hill.  On paper the cast seem an unlikely trio but they are the undisputed stars of the show.

I am notoriously miserable when it comes to comedies and I tend to see only a couple in the cinema every year.  22 Jump Street did not disappoint and I was in hysterics during Tatum’s “light bulb moment” and the “keep the expenses down” car case.

Overall 22 Jump Street is an excellent film and I had a bloody good time.  The only thing it lacked with the surprise factor which came with 21 Jump Street, nevertheless, expectations were high and it didn’t disappoint.

22 Jump Street is entertaining and the sequel ideas that played out during the closing credits made the film even more enjoyable.  Given my lack of interest in comedy it is a pretty safe bet to claim that 22 Jump Street will take that top comedy crown for 2014.  It gets 8/10.

23 Jump Street?  I won’t be unhappy...... unless it is a reboot.

Now You See Me

 

I saw the trailer for Now You See Me a few weeks ago.  It was the first time I had heard of the film.  The trailer appeared, I decided to see the film and I saw it.

Job Done. 

This is how the cinema cycle is supposed to work.  The preview for Now You See Me wasn’t in the trailer rotation for six months prior to the release date.  As I wasn’t sick of it due to over playing I was excited to see the film. 

Local cinema please learn from this.

PLOT:  Daniel, (Jesse Eisenberg) Merritt, (Woody Harrelson) Henley (Isla Fisher) and Jack (Dave Franco) are four street magicians who team up after receiving an invitation from a secret society known as The Eye.  After The Four Horsemen pull off several bank heists as part of their magic show Agents Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Dray (Melanie Laurent) set out to catch them.  END PLOT

I like a good heist movie as much as the next person and although Now You See Me handles this aspect fairly well I don’t think you will have to look too hard to find holes in the plot.  A tighter script would have made the film as clever as it already thought it was.  The weakness of the story didn’t hamper my enjoyment, it just meant that the film couldn’t rise above standard summer fluff.

The film just about got away with the final twist without me giving a snort of incredulity but turning the mysterious Eye and the tarot cards into something almost mystical just didn’t work.  Now You See Me ended on an “until next time” note so I expect this to be developed more in the sequel.  If the Fast and Furious series can get seven films, fuck it; let’s turn this into a franchise too. Franchises for all and all for Franchises!

The script had some problems but unfortunately the balance of screen time wasn’t right either.  The opening section focused on the initial heist however the true lead is Mark Ruffalo's Rhodes as the film then switches to his investigation and the Horsemen are almost forgotten about.  This is a shocking waste and is the films biggest fault.

Everyone knows how strong the chemistry is between Eisenberg and Harrelson but Isla Fisher more than holds her own.  These three Horsemen are the stars of the show and the film’s most noticeable dips came when they were not on screen.  Dave Franco is the fourth Horsemen but I can’t warm to him.  I feel like Franco is one slow drawl away from rolling his eyes at me – every time he speaks I feel patronised.  Luckily his role was minimal.

More of this was needed.

Ruffalo becomes the films surprise lead and he is as likeable as ever.  His scenes with Eisenberg are the best in the film and it's a shame that there were not more of them. 

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman pop up in small roles and help to give the cast list an ever bigger A List feel to it but neither are slumming it.

The film is slick and given a double helping of Hollywood’s gloss.  It looked gorgeous.  The set pieces are impressive and I enjoyed watching Bradley (Morgan Freeman) revealing how the tricks were performed. 

Now You See Me managed to over explain the heists and final twist yet left too many unanswered questions about The Eye.  I blame the length of 115mins (IMDB) for this as the film had too much time to mundanely ramble (yep, I refused to delete this).  The running time needed trimming and I want to re-edit the film to fix the balance issues. 

Now You See Me isn’t perfect by any means but it had enough charm to see it through.  It gets an 8/10.  This is possibly slightly higher than it deserves but the potential is there.  I expect better from a sequel I thoroughly hope it gets. 

Warm Bodies

 

The success of Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland prove that when in a capable pair of hands zombie comedies can work very well.

As my attentions have been focused on this year’s Oscar baiting offerings it feels like Warm Bodies has sneaked into the cinema under the radar.

Warm Bodies is of course based upon a novel which my uneducated mind has not read.

PLOT:  The zombie apocalypse has been and gone leaving in its wake hoards of shuffling zombies.  Zombie R (Nicholas Hoult) stumbles upon a group of survivors and surprises himself by having feelings for Julie (Teresa Palmer).  R saves Julie from being eaten and the two hide out in R’s aeroplane home.  As the two bond, R slowly starts to return to his human form however the violent “Bonies” and Julie’s father (John Malkovich) have other ideas about their friendship.  END PLOT

What immediately sets Warm Bodies apart from regular zombie films is that the story is told from the point of view of the zombie.  This turns out to be more entertaining than expected thanks to the narration by Nicholas Hoult.

The love story between R and Julie manages to be sweet without, for want of a better description, straying into unbelievable territory.

­Nicholas Hoult is excellent as R and makes for a very capable lead.  Hoult cannot use R’s dead and unblinking eyes but manages to convey human emotion through facial twitches which makes it impossible not to route for him.

Teresa Palmer appears to be a hybrid of Amanda Seyfied and Kristen Stewart but this turns out not to be a bad thing.

The supporting cast of John Malkovich, Rob Corddry, Dave Franco and Analeigh Tipton provide adequate back up in their limited and under developed roles.

The zombie effects are basic but Warm Bodies is not aiming for the gritty realism of The Walking Dead.  It is almost unfortunate that the Bonies are cheap CGI but the action scenes towards the end were surprisingly tense so in the end it didn’t particularly matter.

There are plenty of giggles scattered throughout, some of which are courtesy of brilliant musical cues, but the overall tone is just so happy it is impossible to watch a second of the film without grinning like an idiot. 

Warm Bodies won’t be in the running for the best film of 2013 but it is a strong contender for the sweetest.  It gets 8/10.  Nicholas Hoult is a face we should all get used to as his career is beginning to pick up some momentum.