“Jump Street” brings the heat

Vulgarity is brought to new levels in the buddy-cop comedy film “21 Jump Street.” The film is not for the weak of heart or the easily offended, as it earns its “R” rating on language alone. Fresh young stars bring their A-games, but stars Jonah Hill (“Superbad”) and Channing Tatum (“Dear John”) elevate the film with their unexpected chemistry.

Chubby brainiac Morton Schmidt (Hill) and dim jock Greg Jenko (Tatum) are former high school classmates fresh out of the police academy. They are anything but spectacular, and during their first arrest they fail to give the criminal his Miranda rights. The two are soon reassigned to a revived undercover project from the 80s located at 21 Jump Street. Captain Dickson, played by Ice Cube (“Friday”), explains that this division was created to secretly infiltrate high schools in order to find the supplier of a new synthetic drug. Schmidt and Jenko are thrown back into high school, which turns out to be a completely different experience than their own high school days.

A supporting cast of young new talent really adds to the success of the film. Dave Franco (“Fright Night”), younger brother of James Franco, and Brie Larson (“Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”) play a popular couple which, surprisingly, the nerdy Schmidt has an easier time connecting with than the former would-be prom king Jenko. Franco and Larson fill their roles perfectly and really get a chance to shine in the third act. Ellie Kemper(“Bridesmaids”) plays Ms. Griggs, a chemistry teacher with the hots for Jenko. She immediately turns into a bumbling idiot and cannot help herself around him, constantly trying to grab on and flirt with him.

Even with an enormously entertaining supporting cast, Tatum and Hill are still the brightest stars in this film. They took a big risk with Tatum, casting him against type, and they lucked out. He shows the audience that he can be more than a heartthrob, and embraces his role as the socially out-of-touch doofus. In one scene, he is standing in front of his AP Chemistry class, reading a horrible poem about potassium chloride, while wearing a shirt covered in atoms and bonds. He plays it dead serious and is believable as a dopey guy trying to prove that he can be smart, too. Hill, on the other hand, shows off his cool side for once and takes on the role of the popular kid. In one of his first films since his recent weight loss, it is refreshing to see that Hill does not need fat jokes to be funny, although viewers are still treated to a couple.

Another aspect that helps this film succeed is that it does not go too far, unlike most recent comedies. It is an R-rated film – it has swearing, nudity, drug use, violence and underage drinking, but it does not get uncomfortable. The film is shockingly vulgar at times, but it fits the tone and the story and is never played simply for shock value. It is tasteful and that is thanks to writers Michael Bacall (“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World”) and Hill.

A modern comedy with a story arc this cohesive is rare, but “21 Jump Street” achieves it. It is far from a safe comedy, but does not take the jokes too far. “21 Jump Street” is not the nice suburban home next door; instead it is the party house across the alley where everyone is invited.

“21 Jump Street” receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Originally posted HERE

“Awake” shakes audiences

Detective dramas have been a staple of network primetime for decades and with a recent influx in supernatural shows, here comes a fresh take on the cop genre. “Awake” takes the classic police procedural and gives it a unique twist. An intricate story, amazing acting and gripping suspense are woven together into this new fantasy drama from NBC.

Following a car accident, Detective Michael Britten, played by British actor Jason Isaacs (best known for his role as Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films), is stuck between two realities. All of the incidents leading up to the accident are unknown to Britten but whenever he goes to sleep, he switches from one reality to the other. In one reality his wife Hannah, played by Laura Allen ("Terriers"), survived the crash, but their son did not. In the other reality, the opposite is true.

When Britten goes to sleep. he leaves the reality with his wife and wakes up in the reality with his son. In each, he is teamed up with a different detective. In the reality with Hannah, his partner is Efrem Vega, played by Wilmer Valderrama ("That 70's Show"), and in the other, his partner is Isaiah Freeman, Steve Harris of "The Practice." In each reality, Britten is also going to a psychiatrist to help him deal with his respective losses. In Hannah's reality, he is seeing the confrontational Dr. Lee (BD Wong, "Law and Order: SVU"), and in Rex's reality, the nurturing psychologist Dr. Evans (Cherry Jones, "24"). Each day, Britten deals with the self-doubt as to which world is real and who he will need to let go of to return to a normal life.

Warm and dark tones allow an easy transition between the two different realities. Two crime scenes are explored simultaneously, so this editing technique helps. Warm tones appear with the life in which Hannah is alive, whereas dark tones are used when Rex is alive. His life with Hannah is a bit strange because it seems as though she is coping with their son’s death in a positive way, by painting and redecorating the house. The dark tones represent the strain that Hannah’s death has put on Micheal’s already rough relationship with Rex. Both realities become increasingly stressful, but Micheal finds a way to cope since clues from one reality can help him solve crimes in the other.

Isaacs is accompanied by a cast of exceptional television actors, which allows the story to be much more believable. Isaacs shows great range when confronted with many unique situations. He becomes increasingly rattled and upset in his therapy sessions with Dr. Lee. When Efrem thanks Michael for helping him get promoted to detective, Michael ignores his appreciation, remarking, “I didn’t request anyone. If you got promoted it has nothing to do with me,” which allows a peek into how detached he has become from those around him.

Aside from the change in color, the show does nothing to push the viewer’s opinion one way or another as to which is the true reality.

Even the characters in each reality try to prove to Michael why their world is real and the other is not. Dr. Evans has Michael pick up a copy of the Constitution and read directly from it. Her reasoning is that if this is a dream, how he could know the Constitution word for word without having memorized it.

This complex storyline has its pros and cons. The obvious tension rising from trying to decipher which reality is real is an extremely entertaining perk. But how long can viewers stick around until their emotions are no longer being played? How long can a mentally unstable detective be allowed in the field? Hopefully, Michael will make a decision before he gets put into the loony bin.

“Awake” airs Thursdays at 9pm on NBC, and all episodes are available online at: NBC.com, Hulu.com and on iTunes

Originally Posted HERE

Cage goes up in flames

Since the previous "Ghost Rider" was a complete flop with critics, producers scrambled to concoct a new take on the dark rider's story, but ultimately failed. Fans were promised a darker side of  the hero in "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," and a writer from the newest Batman films (David S. Goyer) was even pulled into the team. The directing team that brought the "Crank" movies was put in the hot seat and given the chains to control this beast, but alas, the beast went out of control and got lost in a blaze of 3-D fire and smoke for 95 minutes.

Nicholas Cage ("National Treasure") reprises his role as Johnny Blaze, who is still dealing with the curse of turning into Ghost Rider when the wicked are near, but now he has traveled to Eastern Europe in an attempt to escape his past. There, Blaze meets Moreau, played by Idris Elba ("Thor," "The Wire"), who tells him that if he helps save a young boy, his curse can be lifted. Blaze obviously takes the deal, but soon realizes that he is simply adding more fuel to the flame.

Acting is the biggest issue with this movie, particularly with Cage's sub-par performance. Cage is surrounded by decent to above average actors, such as the main antagonistRoarke, played by Ciaran Hinds ("There Will Be Blood"), who is the human form of the devil. He has some of the least cringe-worthy lines of the movie, and he delivers despite how two-dimensional his character is. Cage, however, still manages to have no idea what he is doing. One scene he is screaming and singing at a man about how the Ghost Rider is "scratching at the door," and the next he is talking about his father and trying to create a serious and touching moment. Both attempts fail to hit home and instead leave the audience confused and disappointed. He is known for his over-the-top and crazed behavior, but in this case it just comes off as unwarranted and irritating.

The story is all over the place, and major pacing issues cause the movie to feel twice as long. No actual storyline is developed until about 30 minutes in, after Ghost Rider has already made his first appearance. Background story is provided in an animated storybook way, but besides that, no plot is presented. After the plot begins to emerge, the movie spirals into a formulaic mess of big action scenes followed by long poorly-acted scenes of exposition.

The action scenes are dull, even with Ghost Rider's new "spit fire" move. It seems as though no one knows how to put fire out in this film. Consequently, no one knows what sand or water is, so Ghost Rider is practically invincible. It is hard to rally for the hero when his opponents provide no sense of danger to him.

One of the stronger points of the movie is the improved computer effects, despite a budget of $65 million (compared to the first film's $110). The fire engulfing the Rider's head no longer resembles graphics from a cheap video game. The fire that spewed from his skull and bike actually look real this time. His design appears grittier than in the previous incarnation, with a black skull instead of a white one and ash coming off of his clothes instead of magically never catching fire like in the original movie.

However, no level of character design can save this burning ship. The tiny hint of talent sprinkled around Cage does him no good. It is as if he took the script and read it over before each shot, and that shot made it into the movie. "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" is simply messy and uninteresting. Hopefully Ghost Rider's chains do not actually reach beyond the screen, so others are not dragged into this woeful nightmare.

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" receives 1 star out of 5.

Originally posted here