21 Jump Street: Remedial Police Lessons

21 Jump Street

Directed By: Phil Lord and Chris Miller

Written By: Michael Bacall, working from a story by Bacall and Jonah Hill

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Dave Franco, Brie Larson, Rob Riggle, Chris Parnell, Ellie Kemper, and Nick Offerman.

Director of Photography: Barry Peterson, Editor: Joel Negron, Production Designer: Peter Wenham, Original Music: Mark Mothersbaugh

            Why exactly is Channing Tatum so great in the new comedy 21 Jump Street? The young star has been criticized by many for simply being a piece of man candy, whether in actions roles like G.I. Joe or romances like The Vow (those who know him from smaller works like A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints are aware of his supreme talent). Tatum’s best ability as an actor is that he can play dead serious, which might suggest he has little range, but works perfectly in a comedy like this where he must deliver absurd lines without a hint of irony. Tatum’s hot bod and true conviction, despite the absurdity of the situations the film places him in, help make 21 Jump Street a hell of a fun time.

            The film is of course a retooling of the little known television series from the 1980s with Johnny Depp, about an undercover cop who infiltrates a high school. Most of the film’s audience, including myself, have never seen the series (a fact one of the characters acknowledges in one of the film’s most humorous jokes). Thus, screenwriter Michael Bacall, who co-wrote the story with star Jonah Hill, retooled it as a buddy comedy and action parody, a genre that may have lots its edge, but works perfectly here. And while 21 Jump Street could hardly say to break ground at all, it certainly is a fun ride while it lasts.

Moneyball: Computing for the Fences

Moneyball

Directed By: Bennett Miller

Written By: Steve Zallian and Aaron Sorkin

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt, Robin Wright, and Kerris Dorsey.

Director of Photography: Wally Pfister, Editor: Christopher Tellefsen, Production Designer: Jess Gonchor, Original Music: Mychael Danna

Rated: PG-13 for the naughty words sometimes said on the field.

            Moneyball seems like the type of film made just for my own personal pleasure. It’s a baseball film (check), but not a conventional sports movie (check). Instead it deals with minutiae (check) that was seen as a rational approach to a game built on emotions (check), and it’s really about nerds attempting to take over the house (check). This is a film that may scare plenty of audiences—it’s about baseball statistics, after all—but has been artfully crafted for both mainstream and art house appeal. This ain’t no field of dreams.

The film, directed by Bennett Miller, is (loosely) adapted from Michael Lewis’s non-fiction bestseller, but has instead used the statistics story as a structure to approach a more classical underdog story. It’s the story of the 2002 Oakland A’s, a paltry baseball team with a payroll of just under $40 million. In the opening scenes, we watch the 2001 A’s get trampled on by the Yankees, a team with three times the amount of payroll. We watch Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the A’s general manager, attempting to stay away from the game. He keeps a radio on him, and can’t help but turn it on every once or so, eventually deciding to stomp it to death instead. Billy likes to win, bur what he can’t stand, is losing, and decides he’ll do anything to prevent that.