100 movies: 21 Jump Street

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100 movies of 2012
Every year I set myself a target, usually of about 100, of films to watch. These are new films. Not new, new films. But films that are new to me. Any time I’ve seen a new one, I post a bit of a brain dump of my thoughts on the film here. Enjoy!

21 Jump Street21 Jump Street (29/07/12)

A pair of under achieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.

So, film version of an old 80s TV show, eh? Starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum. Yeah, that didn’t sound like a good idea. Maybe that was the whole point. It was flying below radar. Undercover. Then BAM. It hits you with the funnies.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say, I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. Because I know I have. I’ve laughed harder. But the fact that I actually laughed out loud in while watching this is pretty damn impressive. I’m usually a silent smirker. Rarely an all out laugher.

Channing Tatum’s done well for himself here. He’s not the best of actors out there (A fact I think he’s stated himself.) but here, he just works so damn well. Ok, maybe not the greasy, long-haired high school version of his character. But the later version of his character. Ever so slightly dumb but a sensitive soul. Bless him.

Jonah Hill – I have never really been able to stand him all that much. And no, I have not seen Superbad. He’s one of the reasons I haven’t seen that film! But here, I could stand him. Perhaps it was the pairing of him and Channing Tatum. Two negatives make a pretty good positive. It just worked.

The film itself was a lot of fun to watch. Great mix of slapstick comedy and action. All culminating in a ridiculously over the top climax which I still chuckle to myself about. The cameos that were thrown in there were just the icing on the cake. The film probably didn’t need them – it stood up well enough without them. But it was a nice throwback.

A great little undercover comedy. Loved it.
Rating: 5/5

Read on to see all the films watched this year…

59 Films so far this year

  1. The Tourist 1/5 (02/01/12)
  2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 5/5 (03/01/12)
  3. World’s Greatest Dad 2/5 (14/01/12)
  4. Haywire 3/5 (19/01/12)
  5. Dead Snow 3/5 (20/01/12)
  6. The Artist 5/5 (21/01/12)
  7. Priest 2/5 (05/02/12)
  8. The Muppets 5/5 (15/02/12)
  9. Faster 4/5 (19/02/12)
  10. Chronicle 4/5 (22/02/12)
  11. Safe House 4/5 (24/02/12)
  12. Reservoir Dogs 4/5 (25/02/12)
  13. This Means War 4/5 (02/03/12)
  14. The Royal Tenenbaums 3/5 (03/03/12)
  15. Reign of Fire 3/5 (04/03/12)
  16. Dear John 2/5 (04/03/12)
  17. Road to Perdition 5/5 (05/03/12)
  18. The Three Musketeers 3/5 (06/03/12)
  19. The Eagle 2/5 (10/03/12)
  20. Everybody’s Fine 2/5 (14/03/12)
  21. Frankenstein 4/5 (15/03/12)
  22. Love and Other Drugs 2/5 (15/03/12)
  23. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 2/5 (17/03/12)
  24. The Big Lebowski 5/5 (18/03/12)
  25. The Hunger Games 3/5 (23/03/12)
  26. Headhunters 4/5 (07/04/12)
  27. Super 1/5 (07/04/12)
  28. The Cabin in the Woods 5/5 (13/04/12)
  29. Watchmen 4/5 (14/04/12)
  30. The Hurt Locker 3/5 (21/04/12)
  31. Avengers Assemble 5/5 (26/04/12)
  32. 22 Bullets 2/5 (28/04/12)
  33. Bad Teacher 1/5 (29/04/12)
  34. Red Riding Hood 1/5 (04/05/12)
  35. A Perfect Getaway 4/5 (05/05/12)
  36. Ca$h 1/5 (13/05/12)
  37. Kung Fu Panda 2 3/5 (14/05/12)
  38. Everything Must Go 2/5 (24/05/12)
  39. New York, I Love You 2/5 (25/05/12)
  40. Beginners 4/5 (26/05/12)
  41. Prometheus 4/5 (03/06/12)
  42. The Tree of Life 2/5 (04/06/12)
  43. The Lovely Bones 3/5 (05/06/12)
  44. Snow White and the Huntsman 3/5 (06/06/12)
  45. The Devil’s Backbone 4/5 (07/06/12)
  46. Britain in a Day 5/5 (11/06/12)
  47. The French Connection 4/5 (15/06/12)
  48. Insomnia 3/5 (16/06/12)
  49. Rebel Without a Cause 4/5 (22/06/12)
  50. A Lonely Place to Die 3/5 (26/06/12)
  51. Killer Joe 3/5 (29/06/12)
  52. The Amazing Spider-Man 4/5 (03/07/12)
  53. Raising Arizona 4/5 (04/07/12)
  54. Horrible Bosses 4/5 (06/07/12)
  55. Broadcast News 3/5 (07/07/12)
  56. We Need to Talk About Kevin 4/5 (07/07/12)
  57. Miller’s Crossing 4/5 (18/07/12)
  58. The Dark Knight Rises 5/5 (20/07/12)
  59. 21 Jump Street 5/5 (29/07/12)

22 Comments

  1. Glad you liked the movie so much! For me it’s so far best comedy of the year. Loved Depp’s cameo it was absolutely hilarious. I really like Jonah Hill, you should totally see Superbad, one of my favorite comedies and it never fails to make me laugh.

  2. I never thought about watching 21 Jump Street, but maybe your review will motivate me to give it a try. Also, the tagline on that movie poster is pretty funny!

    • It is a lot funnier than I was expecting!

      (Also, randomly, for some reason your comments came up in my spam queue!)

  3. Hey girl!!! How’s your vacation? It must be nice to get away from all the Olympic craziness, uh?

    Anyway, I loved this movie, too. I was quite shocked how funny it was going to be. I liked how the cool kids were kinda hippie-ish and that Hill and Tatum didn’t play their typical dorky/jock self. I liked that a lot. I think that was the saving grace of this movie. I wished they didn’t use Ice Cube as much. I wanted Ron Swanson (aka Nick Offerman) more. He is too funny. I thought the cameos were funny. I wasn’t expecting that at all.

    Great review, girl.

    • It was brilliant to get away from the Olympic craziness but I did spend a lot of time catching it on TV!

      I know I would NOT survive if I went back to High School right now.

  4. Very, very funny movie that made me feel that once again, Channing Tatum can and will be the next big star of Hollywood. And with a year that he’s had so far with 2012, it only seems like that’s going to be a true statement. Nice review Jaina.

    • Channing’s done very well for himself. As much as I don’t think he’s a huge talent, I’ve gained some respect for him, and do wish him to keep on going up. He’s done some great films this year.

  5. Wow, 5 of 5! Damn! It hit a home run with you, huh? 😀

    I liked it a lot, I was really surprised by it too. I think I’d be at more of a 4 though, but still.

    You know, maybe if you HAD seen Superbad, you’d LIKE Jonah Hill more. 😀 Superbad is awesome.

  6. I like this too, but not exactly a perfect score kind of film. Still, the fact that I enjoyed this so much and it’s got two actors I generally don’t care for is a pleasant surprise! I LOVE the Johnny Depp cameo!

    • The cameo was brilliant! Sadly, I sort of guessed it. Great having Dom DeLuise in there too, what with him being from the original too. That was a bit of a give away. But still, great cameo!

  7. Wow, shocked to see a full 5/5 here, but yeah this is definitely one of the year’s biggest surprises so far. I’m with Sati and Fogs here — now you’ve gotta see Superbad!

  8. Nice to hear you liked it. Like you I wasn’t expecting much of it and it was a very pleasant surprise.

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