Jun 13 2014

22 Jump Street

Having been so successful shutting down an illegal high school drug ring as undercover officers, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) are called upon again, but this time, a little older and a little wiser, their cover is as college students. Attempting to blend in with their fellow students the two are faced with new challenges of acceptance, gaining the trust of a local frat, becoming a football star, making sense of lousy sculpture art, and navigating college girls; all the while a new designer drug is spreading rampantly on campus. Find the source of the drugs, shut the operation down, and win the girl’s heart all without angering police Captain Dickson (Ice Cube), mission possible?22jump Fully accepting and embracing the flaws of a sequel, the thinly veiled references to Hollywood’s expectations sequels, budgets, plots, jokes, etc. are bold but on point and serve as a fine repeated poke in the eye to the motion picture business. And, while the plot and story is exactly the same as 21 Jump Street, the jokes stay sharp and fresh providing a number of laugh out loud moments. Continuing on the trajectory of the modern cinema comedy, situational awkwardness, dry wry sarcastic and sardonic wit rules as king. Acting from the ensemble let’s their charm and quirkiness shine through, human and fallible. If you liked the first one, you’re probably gonna like this, as advertised. 22 Jump Street is rated R.


Jun 13 2014

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Having made peace between humans and dragons the land of Berk appears to be a happy one. Now slated to become the up and coming town leader a conflicted Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon, Toothless, make a discovery that could change the balance between the species. Meanwhile, a new breed of dragon hunters is out to collect all the dragons in the land for Draco Bloodfist (Djimon Hounsou). It will take the combined efforts of Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid (America Ferrera), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Cristopher Mintz-Plasse), the twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut (T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig), and the mysterious dragon rider Valka (Cate Blanchett) to keep order, but is it too late?dragontrain2 Impressive animation and attention to detail make for a visually strong sequel. Coupled with well thought out writing, and the doctor recommended ratio of comedy to drama Director Dean DeBlois has shaped a family pleaser that moves with purpose and efficient plotting; although, perhaps not the most emotionally intelligent film, all other systems appear to be on target. Getting the vote for the family entertainment budget this weekend we have a winner. How to Train Your Dragon 2 is rated PG.