22 JUMP STREET (2014)

Genre: Action/Comedy
Running Length: 1:52
Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Peter Stormare, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens, Jillian Bell
Director: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
Screenplay: Michael Bacall and Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman, based on a story by Michael Bacall & Jonah Hill

As I've not watched 21 Jump Street and very little of the TV series, I had no expectations at all going into 22 JUMP STREET and it turned out to be an entertaining ride. The narrative isn't much but a series of humourous situations strung together. Some of the sequences are outright laugh-aloud funny (and borderline brilliant and bizarre) but there were also a few hits-and-misses. The movie could have benefited more if they had more action sequences. But beneath all its craziness, 22 Jump Street is first and foremost a buddy film. And Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum on-screen chemistry is ridiculously great; especially poking fun of the modern day bromance bordering on homo-eroticism. It is impossible to imagine both Hill and Tatum not having fun during the filming process. A special shout out to Ice Cube who deliciously plays (or more of overplays) the "angry black captain" role - he steals every scene in which he appears. The end credits sequence is worth staying for as it pokes fun at just about everything.

Rating: 6/10

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014)

Genre: Animated

Running Length: 1:42

Cast: (voices) Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Djimon Hounsou, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kit Harrington

Director: Dean DeBlois

When How To Train Your Dragon came out in 2010, it was the best movie experience for me. It got everything right; the flight sequences in 3D were exhilarating, the story had a lot of heart and of course, the super adorable Toothless. So, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 had an impossibly high expectations to clear no matter how hard I tried not to have one. Well, I didn't walk out with the same wonderment I experienced from the first movie but that said, HTTYD2 is a superior sequel considering how the film making industry works (Anytime a movie especially an animated one scores big at the BO, it instantly becomes a "trilogy". Creativity goes out the window but who cares as long as it hauls in the money). Thankfully, rather than retreading more of the same, the film makers chose to expand the scope and yet retaining all the elements that made the first one a success. The events in this sequel takes place 5 years after and thus, it explores the theme of growing up and finding out "who am I and what's my calling." Fortunately it didn't go all Shakespeare as there are plenty of action scenes, but the tone is darker and more complex than the original. There is a "everything's not going to be all right" feeling throughout the movie. Visually it doesn't offer anything groundbreaking but there is one BIG standout "mano-a-mano" battle scene which was jaw dropping. That scene itself justified the IMAX 3D surcharge. The relationships between the key characters are properly fleshed out especially the incredibly touching bond between Hiccup and Toothless; so much so it mattered deeply in the film's single most powerful scene.

Rating: 7.5/10