21 Jump Street

There’s a line early on in 21 Jump Street, the very funny live-action debut of directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, where Nick Offerman’s police chief character is explaining the premise of the undercover program that sends cops to work in schools. He states, in the trademark Offerman deadpan, that the police in charge aren’t creative enough to come up with new ideas, so they dust off old properties from the 1980s they’re familiar with and reboot them. No one can accuse this film of being unaware– this movie toes the line between earnest and ironic flawlessly, never becoming too serious or too tongue-in-cheek. It manages to parody while resting comfortably within the genres of high school film, cop film, and buddy comedy. While like most comedies nowadays, it runs at least ten minutes too long, it’s an appealing, sharp, and raunchy laughfest, more successful than any non-Bridesmaids studio comedy released last year.

In high school, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) was your typical nerdy loser harassed by popular kids like Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum), a terrific athlete who is dumb as a brick. In the police academy, they help each other make the force, but when a botched arrest leads to disgrace, they are sent undercover at the local high school to seek out the supplier of a new synthetic drug that all the students are using. The plan seems simple: Jenko will resume being a popular kid and Schmidt will be a nerd once more. However, a mix-up of the assumed identities along with the unexpected changes in the definition of cool leads Schmidt to fall in with the cool crowd as Jenko lingers on the outside with the losers. They both have to tackle their struggles from their youth while also attempting to weasel their way deeper into the drug community to identify the perps and save the day.

Lord and Miller, working off of a script by Scott Pilgrim vs. the World writer Michael Bacall, take every opportunity to flip a stereotype on its head. Take their first arrival to the new high school: Jenko informs Schmidt that they need to pull up in a slick car to impress the cool kids, but when they arrive, they criticize the poor gas mileage the car gets. Saving the environment is cooler now, it seems, than style. These brainy eco-friendly and generally affable villains endlessly frustrate Jenko. Ice Cube also gets plenty of laughs as the very self-aware “angry black captain,” who yells angrily even when he’s not angry. Beware the moment when the captain stops yelling. Every character you recognize from these high school and cop dramas is present, but they are all executed in inventive ways that would absolutely baffle lazier genre writers. It also helps when actors who are funny in every movie they’re ever in like Chris Parnell and Rob Riggle are in the cast

The buddy comedy narrative necessitates that the characters have some sort of falling out two thirds of the way through, only to get back together to help each other in the final act. The film didn’t need it– it strains to make that plot turn stick, and it adds unnecessary length to an already 2+ hour film. Outside of that sadly typical turn of events, the movie feels fresh and bouncy at every step. The humor stays raunchy without ever getting overly gross. Jonah Hill is right at home, and Channing Tatum has never looked more comfortable than he does in this self-referential role (it’s a far superior performance to Mark Wahlberg in The Other Guys). Most notably, the film serves as an announcement by Lord and Miller that their creativity and gleeful pop culture mining aren’t relegated to the world of animation. They are a major talent who know exactly how to gently mock and earn emotional investment from an audience– Mark Mothersbaugh, who also did the music for Lord and Miller’s last feature, the stellar Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, does terrific work again here as the perfect parody of the bombastic action film score. They have the line perfectly toed, better than any other American filmmaker dabbling in studio genre send-ups. 21 Jump Street got eye rolls from me from conception to commercial. The fact that it’s one of the funniest comedies in years shows that no matter what the property, always follow and trust in strong directors. Lord and Miller have penned their names on that list in Sharpie.

A quick postscript on spoilers in film reviews: there is at least one major surprise in this film that is being spoiled in countless publications, no doubt in hopes of drumming up further box office. It doesn’t need spoiling– this movie’s funny enough to have legs– and until you see the film, don’t read anything else about it.

Salt

Angelina Jolie is the best female action hero since Sigourney Weaver was playing Ellen Ripley. Her dramatic work has been fine, but every time she starts beating people up and running from bad guys, her charisma is twenty times higher. She manages to be gorgeous while also not being afraid to get dirty. She spends most of this film covered in some sort of blood and dirt, yet when she pauses to smile at someone, you can see why the other party is seduced. When have we had such a perfect blend of sexiness and badass? Salt is her best action film to date, a movie that, while utterly preposterous, manages to work on pretty much every level. Most exciting of all, it’s a thriller that actually keeps us guessing, with action scenes that actually keep us on the edge of our seat, and hand-to-hand combat that actually made me cheer. CGI is minimal, asses kicked are maximum, and with such a perfect and compelling lead, Salt is easily one of the most enjoyable films of the *pun alert* season.

No plot can possibly be revealed– only the set-up. Evelyn Salt (Angelina Jolie) is a spy for the CIA, married to a German spider expert (August Diehl) and preparing for her anniversary. A Russian man named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) comes in with information for the CIA: there will be an attempt on the Russian president’s life by a Russian mole planted in America. As Salt tires of his stories and leaves, he reveals the mole’s name: Evelyn Salt. Whaaaa? Salt’s long-time colleague Ted (Liev Schreiber) is sure the man is lying, but counter-intelligence officer Peabody (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is not convinced of Salt’s innocence. Salt is immediately concerned about her husband’s safety and decides to run to try to get to him. But running from the CIA is rarely something that the CIA smiles upon. Will she rescue her husband or get killed trying? Plus, how did her name get into that Russian’s head?

Kurt Wimmer’s script and Philip Noyce’s direction take the usual action thriller and avoid the usual trap: a more amateurish film would have had a “twist ending” where Salt would be the woman that the Russian says she is. This movie acknowledges that cliche and instead deals with it upfront– her behavior is the behavior of a guilty woman, yet she’s wrecked with thoughts of her missing husband. We get all of the necessary character development, but her motives are left unclear throughout, so that even as we root for her, we wonder whether these actions are of the hero or the villain. This could have become a device that tries an audience’s patience, but Noyce’s action scenes are so engaging and every moment is so tense that we never get a chance to dwell too much on it. It’s hard to overthink a scene while balancing delicately on the edge of your seat. Here is a film that realizes watching people fight hand-to-hand combat in long shots is often better than effects-fests or movies that chop their footage to hell before reassembling them into rapid-fire sequences. If we watch Salt run down a hallway, we know we’re going to see the full combat. Plus, Salt has so many tricks, such as throwing an empty gun at a man’s Adam’s apple and using a human as a silencer, it’s hard to not jump out of your seat if you’re an action aficionado.

Then, there’s Angelina Jolie. Schreiber and Ejiofor do solid work, but this movie rests solely in her hands– she’s in nearly every shot. It’s hard for most actors of any gender to pull off the kind of gritty stunts that Jolie has to do in this film, much less a woman (call it sexist, but name the legitimate action hero women in movie history and get to double figures, I dare you). Quiet as kept, although Brad Pitt carries the reputation for being a mainstream star with a taste for the subversive, Angelina Jolie has no problem getting gritty and dirty for a film. Jolie spends a lot of time sporting unflattering hats and hair, unflattering cuts and bruises all over her face, and doing traditionally “manly” things. Plus, while most A-grade star actresses would be completely unconvincing beating up massive scores of Secret Service agents, Jolie somehow sells the whole thing. Then, in between the dirt and grime of being an action star, she’ll flash that movie star smile, and although that’s what reminds you she’s gorgeous, you realize her charm is even stronger when she’s killing henchmen and blowing stuff up. Could there be a viable action movie franchise starring a woman action star? Tomb Raider never really took off, but if Salt is any indication, Angelina Jolie is more than up for the challenge. She’s the best action star of the most fun action movie thus far this year.

Toy Story 3

I don’t cry at movies easily. Yes, as those close to me will tell you, I am a bit of a softie at heart, and I’ll get choked up at a film or an especially moving TV show. Perhaps you may even see a tear roll out of my left eye– I’ve found that when a movie brings me to tears, my left eye is usually the weaker of the two. However, as Toy Story 3 came to a close, I realized this film accomplished what no other movie has to date: it made me cry from both of my eyes… for an extended period of time… in a crowded movie theater. Me! The hard-hearted movie critic! How, pray tell, could this have come to pass? Simple. Pixar knows that you must tell a story well, and you must care about the characters. From concept to execution to nostalgia for the previous films, you have a perfect storm built to conjure emotions without resorting to cheap manipulation. It’s all earned. It’s also, without question, one of the best movies of the year.

I’ll give only the most basic plot details, because the less you know, the better the experience will be for you. After a dazzling opening sequence, full of references to the opening sequence of the first film, Andy has graduated from high school and is off to college soon. Now comes a dreaded moment of growing up: Mom wants the room to be emptied out, so Andy needs to decide what toys are going with him to college, what toys are going up to the attic, what toys are being donated to Sunnyside Day Care down the street, and what toys are being thrown away. The numbers have depleted in Andy’s room– several toys have long since been given away, and only Andy’s favorites remain… but as they lament, they haven’t been played with in a long time. Woody (Tom Hanks) reminds them all what their purpose is: to remain there for Andy whenever he needs them, regardless of how long they have to wait or if they have to reside in the attic for years and years. The others have their doubts, but they follow their leader.

Through a series of circumstances not to be revealed here (including a hilarious blink-and-you-miss-it cameo by an old adversary), the toys end up going to Sunnyside, despite the fact that Andy was going to take Woody to college and put the rest in the attic. It seems heavenly at first, and they meet several nice new toys, led by Lotso (Ned Beatty), who explains to them why the day care is so great. Every day, all year long, the playrooms are filled with kids who want nothing more than to play with the toys, and after a year passes, a new batch of kids comes in. No growing old, no attics, no neglect– you stay loved forever. Everyone is happy… except Woody, whose loyalty insists that he leave and return to Andy. Woody’s adventure takes him to another house, while those at Sunnyside soon realize that their new residence is not as ideal as it seemed.

Remember how I said this movie made me cry harder than I’ve ever cried in a theater? Think about this: I was crying because Pixar has made me care about inanimate objects more than I care for all other human characters in the history of cinema. I know toys don’t get up and have private lives when I leave the room. Logic dictates that this is only a film. Yet their emotions are human, their friendships are human, their joys and fears are all relatable. How many people haven’t felt they need to stand up for a friend? How many people haven’t felt the betrayal of those closest to you not siding with you in a moment of adversity? How many people haven’t gone into something difficult feeling reassured, because you know those you love are by your side? And these toys, these pieces of plastic, capture these emotions more vividly than any real living actor can do on celluloid in years. Is that a compliment to Pixar… or an insult to the quality of live action films produced by Hollywood these days?

The idea that there was something moving in your home, something that you had no control over, something that you couldn’t see but you really wanted to. Toy Story captures that vivid imagination of a child. Everything that you thought and suspected and hoped might be going on in your room actually came true. Not only that, but it’s a secret legion of loyal friends, fully dedicated to making your life better. It’s wish fulfillment, for any child or anyone who remembers what it was like to be a child.

There are two moments in the final twenty minutes of the film that pulled my heartstrings like none other. One is a moment in which our heroes face their final fate, and they respond in a way that only the hardest of hearts wouldn’t respond to. The other, the one that I suspect anyone over the age of eighteen would sympathize with, is the moment in which Andy finally decides what to do with his toys. It’s both heartbreaking and utterly satisfying. I’m sure if anyone leaves comments, they will be riddled with spoilers, so do yourself a favor and skip them until you see the film. It’s the type of scene that after watching it, you realize you’ll remember it forever– it’s been fifteen years with these characters, and discovering what seems to be the end of one chapter of their “lives” has an emotional impact rarely found in film. If this is the end of the Toy Story saga, it is literally the best ending to a trilogy in the history of cinema.

Individual moments are all great. Each sequence seems as clever as the one before it. Unlike Toy Story 2, which I felt forcefed us some new characters, everyone we’re introduced to here fits wonderfully into the world, including Lotso, Ken (Michael Keaton), Trixie (Melanie Schaal), Chuckles (Bud Luckey), Chatter Telephone (Teddy Newton), and my personal favorite, Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton). Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head have a lovely rapport, and Buzz and Jessie appear to start striking up a romance of their own. These characters are growing and developing themselves, just like Andy. I was concerned when I saw the trailer, replete with poop jokes and Spanish Buzz Lightyear, thinking that perhaps the gimmickry that bogs down normal sequels (including, to a degree, Toy Story 2) would claim the legacy of one of the finest films of the past two decades. Instead, this film is a marked improvement over Toy Story 2 and serves as a worthy bookend to the original. It’s not a landmark in cinematic history like the first, but it’s a landmark in strong emotional storytelling, something not seen nearly often enough in today’s multiplexes. I hope this is the end of the Toy Story journey, but if they can keep coming up with ideas this wonderful and execution this flawless, then they can feel free to take this franchise to infinity and beyond.