Movie Review - The Book of Life

The Book of Life (2014)

Featuring the vocal talents of Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Kate del Castillo, and Ice Cube

Directed by Jorge R. Gutiérrez

Although visually stimulating, The Book of Life falls into a similar trap I've noticed lately of animated movies being unable to create an appropriate denouement at their conclusions.  It's a bit surprising actually as The Book of Life is quite solid at creating a love triangle between its three main characters, but when it treks into the folkloric and light-hearted Mexican "underworld" in the film's second half, the relationships are muted in a way that is detrimental to the flick's emotional impact.

The film is narrated by museum guide Mary Beth (Christina Applegate) who is showing a group of rambunctious kids artifacts related to the Mexican folktales of The Land of the Remembered and the Land of the Forgotten.  The former is ruled over by the lovely La Muerte (Kate del Castillo) and is inhabited by the souls of dead who are remembered by those still living making the atmosphere a fun party, vibrantly colored, and full of vigor.  The latter is where those who are forgotten dwell in darkened shadows hiding from ruler Xibalba (Ron Perlman).  At first, I was irritated by the set-up of the museum guide narrator, but as the film progressed, I appreciated the mini-historical aspects her character brought to the story...although I can't help but think that in a better scripted and thought out film this still may not have been necessary.

Nevertheless, La Muerte and Xibalba have a bit of a love-hate relationship going on, constantly battling one another for supremacy.  Upon one of the their visits above ground, they come across Manolo, Joaquin, and Maria -- a young trio of kids who are quite fond of one another with the two boys obviously harboring some love for Maria.  La Muerte and Xibalba make a bet -- if Manolo weds Maria when they get older, Xiblaba can no longer come to the surface and mess with human affairs; if Joaquin weds Maria, Xibalba will take over the Land of the Remembered and La Muerte will be forced to reside in the Land of the Forgotten.  As the kids grow older, Manolo (Diego Luna) becomes a sensitive guitar player who is forced to become a bullfighter by his father, whereas Joaquin (Channing Tatum) becomes quite the ladies' man, known for his machismo and his strength in battle.  Maria (Zoe Saldana) finds herself torn between the two men, both of whom have a genuine love for her.

Well-voiced, the trio of main characters is charming and quite enjoyable to follow.  Additionally, I found the vocal talent of Kate del Castillo and Ron Perlman as the two underworld gods to have an amusingly humorous rapport.  Animation-wise, The Book of Life looks quite interesting.  Since museum guide Mary Beth is telling the story based on artifacts, the characters of Maria, Manolo, Joaquin, La Muerte, and Xibalba all look as if they're wooden dolls -- which actually isn't as weird as it sounds.  In fact, it's a rather ingenious move that gives the film some much needed oomph.

Unfortunately, a major aspect of the film when one of our trio of lovebirds visits the underworld fails pretty miserably and severely hampers the final half of the movie.  There was potential here for something really unique and amusing and while that first adjective still is maintained, the film doesn't keep up it's promise of being boisterously fun.  The Book of Life isn't bad, but it's a bit disappointing considering all the positives it had in its favor.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - 22 Jump Street

22 Jump Street (2014)

Starring Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens, Jillian Bell, Peter Stormare, and Ice Cube

Directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller

From the film's opening moments, the screenwriters of 22 Jump Street has the characters inform us that their film is going to be, for all intents and purposes, a rehash of the successful 21 Jump Street released two years prior.  By blatantly spelling out the repetition we'll be seeing, certain expectations are created (or perhaps certain expectations are lessened) which bode well in director Phil Lord and Christopher Miller's favor with the film providing quite a few solid laughs, but unfortunately overstaying its welcome by having an action-packed third act never seems to want to end.

The chemistry of leads Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as undercover cops Schmidt and Jenko who head off to college to unearth an illegal drug ring is certainly what brings the humor to 22 Jump Street.  Without these two amiable fellows, this near carbon copy of the original film would've fallen flat.  However, fortunately, Hill and Tatum continue to impress with the charming, humorous bromance that they bring to the screen.  I'm still surprised by Tatum's ability to make me laugh and how much Hill's character in this series is oddly endearing which is something I don't find to be the case in some of his other comedic works.

Still, despite many laugh out loud moments in the film's opening two acts, 22 Jump Street takes a turn towards the action comedy realm in the final 45 minutes and it falls flatter than it should considering the impressively enjoyable story that precedes it.  Rather than wrap things up quickly, we're forced into watching what is essentially two denouements strung out as lengthy as possible with some poorly conceived comedic routines peppered into some poorly developed action sequences.  The combination doesn't work here and it's a shame given the goodwill the audience feels during the flick's first two thirds.  I'd still love to see a 23 Jump Street particularly because of the nice repartee between Hill and Tatum, but this sequel was a bit of a letdown.

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Movie Review - 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street (2012)

Starring Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, and Ice Cube

Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller

2012 seems to be the year of Channing Tatum, but 21 Jump Street is only the fourth time I've ever seen him act.  I'm not quite sold on the guy, finding him to have an onscreen presence that's rather arrogant and cocky, and the flick didn't really change my mind on the newfound star.  Still, this comedic reinvention of a dramatic 80s tv show (that I never watched once) has enough laugh-out-loud moments to make this worth checking out.

In 2005, Morton Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Greg Jenko (Channing Tatum) are both in their senior year of high school, but they are definitely on two different sides of the tracks when it comes to popularity.  Jenko is the popular school jock, while Schmidt can't find a date to prom.  Their lives barely intertwine and when they do, it's only for Jenko to throw a slightly demeaning joke Schmidt's way.  Cut to six years later and both young twentysomethings find themselves in the same class of recruits at Metropolitan City's police academy.  With Jenko failing miserably at the written exams and Schmidt bombing the more physical tests, the two team up to help one another and become good buddies.

Unfortunately, Jenko and Schmidt aren't given much respect and are relegated to patrolling on bikes through a typically serene park.  When they perform a drug bust that goes a bit awry, the young duo is sent on an undercover mission headquartered at 21 Jump Street in which Jenko and Schmidt will act as high schoolers in order to try and find the source of a new drug that is making the rounds amongst the teens in the area.

Though we get the standard comedic go-to's like mistaken identities, drug-induced hallucinations, and a bit of gross-out humor, 21 Jump Street is really a buddy comedy that works thanks to Hill and Tatum's chemistry with one another.  While I may not care much for either actor overall, together they are surprisingly appealing to watch.  Sure, I never got any sense that they were anything other than "Jonah Hill" or "Channing Tatum," but they both bring a nice sense of comic timing (a first for Tatum to display) to the affair.

What's perhaps most impressive and also quite promising is that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller's only other feature film is the charming and hilarious Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  For 21 Jump Street to be their first foray into live action is moderately astounding.  Yes, the movie isn't perfect -- a few of the scenes with the high schoolers fall a bit flat, some of the supporting cast like Rob Riggle as a gym teacher are a bit too over-the-top, and the whole thing runs about ten minutes too long -- but it's a darn good first try at live action.

The RyMickey Rating:  B