22 Jump Street

  I decided that I needed to bust out of the shell of action or sci-fi movies and break into something a little different.  Well there is action in this flick but it is more of a comedy than action show.  It was a nice break from the overly digitalized CGI affairs that I have recented as of late.  I do enjoy a good comedy though, and of course how can you go wrong with a sequel to the 2012 Remake of 21 Jump Street.  I was not dissapointed as to the comedic aspect of the movie.  It is nice to see that big movie budgets aren't only spent of CGI oriented outings, but it would be nice to get a little more original with movie ideas.  The execs in Hollywood do seem to be grasping at straws more and more trying to find something that will sell instead of producing movies that are original.  There can be a whole other article about sequels and the unecessary greed that is the cause of them but I do not feel I need to digress to those levels at this time.  As sequels go, this particular one does not fall completely flat.  There are some good points in the movie but if you want to know more, just read on.

 

In the sequel we see a return of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum reprising the roles of Schmitt and Jenko.  This time around the awkward duo get to be undercover at college.  The movie pokes a loto fun at itself.  There is even a girl that makes fun of Schmitt's (Jonah Hill) apparent age.  There is no lack of jokes and some of the gags seem to be a little forced.  The acting is not the best in the world even for Jona Hill.  Some of the scenes seem a little forced and of course weighing in a little heavy on the goofy side.  That is exactly what one would expect from this type of movie though.

 

The tone throughout is lite and funny.  There are a few gut busting hilarious moments.  The story and plot line is a little predictable with a decent twist in the end.  Nothing that would be hard to figure out if you really pay attention.  The story does focus a little more on the relationship between Schmitt and Jenko and that has some funny moments to it as well. 

 

Overall I would say this is an adequate summer feel good movie.  There is a good bit of laughter and one can take a long time date to see this movie.  I don't recommend it for a first date but certaintly for those that are looking for a more light hearted movie.  It is great for the guys and girls.  Plenty of Channing Tatum to look at for the girls and lots of goof for the guys.  I do not recommend this one for children under 16.  The language is barely suitable for most adults.  If you are looking for a funny break from the graphics hardened world and want to just go into a mindless meld, then this show is for you.  If you are easily offended by language and crude humor then look for something else.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

If you haven't had the opportunity to jump on the Marvel band wagon do so now.  I mean that seriously.  They are raking in the dough with all of their movies.  This is the era of the comic books and even though some of DC's stuff is good, Marvel has the market cornered completely.  This new installation of X-Men brings back a lot of the old characters we saw have a not so great demise in one of the not so great previous installations.  This is a good thing actually.  The new movie has done pretty much what has happened to the Star Trek franchise and reset the timeline.  Thank GOODNESS.  With the new way of super hero movies coming out (refer to all my past hero movie reviews) being darker and more edgier, I think the producers and directors have finally realized that more is not always better. 

This is a Marvel Super Hero movie.  Though there are going to be a huge list of "Hollywood Sins", it was fairly well done.  We get to see a lot of the old characters return.  They return not only as their old incantations but as the younger and more attractive models as well.  It is also nice to see some new faces.  Amazingly enough I was surprised at how much I liked Quicksilver.  Before the movie even came out there was a lot of backlash over his character but after watching the movie he quickly became one of my favorite characters.  I actually found myself wanting to see more of what he could do.  Peter Dinklage also has a nice role in the movie too.  For all of you GOT fans it was interesting to see him in another role.

The movie itself has a much darker tone than some of its predecessors.  Again going back to what is actually popular and what more people want to see - hyper-realism.  It is an action film as well, with lots of unbelievable explosions and it even has giant robots.  There is death in the movie but not a lot of blood and there are a few curse words.  The movie had to maintain its PG-13 rating.  There is a pretty good life struggle story that tries to develop some of the characters and make them seem more humanistic and to help us understand their motives and emotions.

I highly reccomend this to all the X-Men fans out there.  The series has returned in a great way and is now paving roads to hopefully a new outlook.  Who knows for sure though?  I would avoid this with smaller children.  The death and explosions can be a little much.  They might also not get a lot of the darker tones.  They will laugh at some of the lighter bits but those are very few indeed.  If you are looking for a romantic comedy or even a more thought provoking outlook on life then this isn't your cup of tea.  This movie is about Mutants and the super powers geeks like me wish we had.