Neighbors [A Fat Jesus Quick Hit]

Let's be honest here, Zac Efron gets a lot of heat (here's a wrestling term 11 words in) for his roles in films over the years. But he's honestly not that terrible of an actor and has really grown out of his Disney star phase. When you can pair him with the people he was with in 'Neighbors' you get quite a pleasant performance out of him. All in a movie where you expect people like Seth Rogen, Dave Franco or Rose Byrne to outshine him. Why am I focusing on Zac Efron here? What I wanted to get across is, that even though he is a lead in this film, it shouldn't discourage you from giving this a watch. 'Neighbors' is actually a very fun movie.

'Neighbors' follows the story of Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) who have a newborn daughter, Stella. They are feeling alienated from their old lifestyle and being able to go out with their friends Jimmy and Paula (Ike Barinholtz and Carla Gallo). One day they notice they have new neighbors moving in, it's a fraternity called Delta Psi Beta. Led by Teddy Sanders and Peter Regazolli (Zac Efron and Dave Franco), the frat aspires to make its mark on Dela Psi Beta's history when they throw their end of the year party. One night, Mac and Kelly ask Teddy if the frat can keep it down. He agrees on the condition, they they never call the cops, but go straight to him. The next night, Mac is unable to get a hold of Teddy to turn the music down and Kelly convinces him to call the police. They try to send an anonymous tip, but the police officer identifies them to Teddy as the people who called it in. This marks the beginning of the ever escalating battle between Delta Psi Beta and The Radner's. 

I wasn't expecting much going into this, mostly because the trailer made this look like a very lackluster comedy. I love Seth Rogen and Dave Franco as well. But Rose Byrne isn't too big of a comedic powerhouse and Zac Efron isn't exactly filling the seats for comedy films either. Everyone surprised me though, as the main four have a fantastic chemistry and the interactions between Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jerrod Carmichael were side spilling at times. Don't get me wrong, Seth Rogen is great and Rose Byrne did a good job, but the biggest laughs this movie got out of me was from that foursome. The acting is fine in 'Neighbors,' for what this movie is, but the comedy is even better and that is what keeps this from being below average or mediocre. The story is quite alright too, it's coherent enough and has a lot more character development than I thought this type of movie would have. The supporting cast is pretty good throughout too as Ike Barinholtz, Carla Gallo, Hannibal Buress all play good roles and get time to let their comedic timing shine. The comedy isn't lacking either. It's produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, so it's filled to the brim it recurring gags, great one liners and awesome back-and-forths between almost every main character. There is some draggy parts, some scenes that didn't need to be in there and it might be a tad too long. None of this ruins the overall fun factor of this film, as you'll be hit with some good laughs all throughout this film. 

I really liked 'Neighbors.' It's not the best comedy of the year, but it's one that gets the job done. The story won't win any awards, the acting won't be the best you'll ever see in a comedy, but this is movie you won't feel bad for watching. Seth Rogen is endearing, Zac Efron delivers another solid performance, Dave Franco is getting better and better with each film and it's always nice to have Rose Byrne in a supporting comedic role. 'Neighbors' is just plain fun.

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22 Jump Street [A Fat Jesus Quick Hit]

'21 Jump Street' is a movie that I highly enjoyed. I went into thinking that it was gonna be a lackluster comedy, and came out of it praising it as the best comedy of 2012. Two years later they boys are back and bigger than ever. With the same writers, directors and core actors at their disposal, '22 Jump Street' is a rare sequel that is just as good, and at points, even better, than it's predecessor. Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are a wonder to behold in these two films. 

"Oh, hey, look, there's Korean Jesus."
"It's Vietnamese Jesus now, you racist motherf***er."

'22 Jump Street' is set two years after the events of the first film and follows undercover police officers Morton Schmidt and Greg Jenko (Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum). They thought they were going to a real college to tail drug deals, but instead are saddled with online courses. They eventually stumble across evidence that leads them to a drug deal going down at the docks. After a failed attempt at arresting the dealers, lead by a man known as Ghost (Peter Stormare), Deputy Chief Hardy (Nick Offerman) reunites the duo with Captain Dickson (Ice Cube) at what is now, 22 Jump Street. The team is now assigned to go undercover at a college and find the supplier of a drug called "WHYPHY" that killed a student photographed buying it. Seemingly exactly like their first big case, Schmidt and Jenko head off to college to infiltrate the dealers and find the suppliers, before WHYPHY spreads.

"Someone get the man some water! He's black, he's Been through a lot!"

This is a movie that I wasn't sure about from the trailers. I think I'm like that with a lot of comedies these days though. It looked like it was going to be different film. It looked like it was going to be far too over the top, when it didn't need to be all that different from the first. Luckily for me, it wasn't over the top at all. Most of the time it was almost exactly the same. The actors knew it, the writers knew it, the directors knew it and they let YOU know it in the film. And you know what? It totally hooked me in. The charisma between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum is immense. Scenes involving Ice Cube are splendidly done. While the supporting cast, especially Jillian Bell, meshed with the main cast so well. The writing wasn't too lacking either. There were some jokes and gags that failed, but those are few and far between, as there's so much more that worked in this film. The recurring twins gag, the campus chase scene, the parents day, anything happening at the 22 Jump Street facility, Vietnamese Jesus, the closing credits, etc. There's so much to sink your teeth into even without mentioning the fantastic one-liners and dialogue. The comedy was great and the story, which is mostly the same is good as well. There's more development in new characters, while there's a few good scenes where they really got to let emotion shine through. It wasn't just all comedy, this movie had a ton of heart. The action wasn't lacking either as I highly enjoyed the chase scenes, explosions and combat throughout the film. It was never too serious and always done in a lighthearted way. I love that about this film. The fact it was just fun, funny and easy to watch the whole way through.

"He has one class in Human Sexuality, and now he's Harvey Milk."

If this was how all comedic sequels were done, there would be a lot less flops in the comedy side of cinema. This film and the upcoming 'Horrible Bosses 2' are movies I've been highly looking forward to. One film I already love, this one, and I'm hoping they can do another good follow-up with 'Horrible Bosses 2.' Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are having a helluva year between '22 Jump Street' and 'The LEGO Movie.' While I liked the latter more, '22 Jump Street' is still one of the best comedies this year. The comedy, action, acting and writing is all done well. Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube and the rest of the cast reprise their roles really well and that contributes a ton to the overall feel. This is a film that doesn't try to be more than it is, a sequel cashing in on the success of the original. The biggest difference is, '22 Jump Street' nails it completely.

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Warm Bodies [A Fat Jesus Movie Review]

I love zombie movies and it's probably my favorite sub-genre of horror. From the original (and remake) of Dawn of the Dead to comedy inspired ones like Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, I'm a fan of zombies. I can agree with people who criticize that the zombie genre is over-done, but if you find the right movie, zombies can bring life to a good flick. There are a ton of bad zombie films lately. So going into one that turns the genre into a rom-com, well, it had me apprehensive. But Warm Bodies is a breath of fresh air to what can be a very "zombie" genre.

Warm Bodies follows the story of a zombie named R (Nicholas Hoult). Since the zombie apocalypse R spends his days pondering about his new life as a zombie while wandering around an airport. He lives in abandoned airplane and even has a friend, M (Rob Corddry). One day, he leads a pack, very slowly, in search for food. R and the rest of the zombies crave human brains, and when they eat brains they get the memories of who they eat. The pack runs into a group led by Perry Kelvin and Julie Grigio (Dave Franco and Teresa Palmer) with their friend Nora (Analeigh Tipton) with them too. They are sent out to scavenge for supplies from the leader, Colonel Girgio (John Malkovich), Julie's father, as they now live in a walled of city. R sees Julie and is strangely attracted to her. Perry shoots R in the chest, which prompts him to attack and eat Perry's brain. This only makes his infatuation grow and R rescues Julie from the rest of the horde and takes her back to his airplane. R could be regaining his once human form, and in this wasteland, Julie may be his unlikely cure.

I really liked this movie and it all started with the way they portrayed R as a zombie. They kept him zombie-like (obviously), but gave him an inner monologue. Which turned out to be a great addition to this movie. R was funny when it needed to be and got to the point when R needed to as well. From explaining what happened to the earth to start out the film, to thoughts and information about his emotions throughout, R was made perfectly. Hats of to Nicholas Hoult for his portrayal as well. More of that to come though. The character development was more or less limited to R and Julie (to an extent Perry). But that's really all you needed in this movie. Julie and R's relationship is the meat of this movie. Even with R not having much out-loud speaking, the gestures (and grunts) by R combined with the intuitive nature of Julie, make this relationship work. With the more subconscious development going to Perry as R remembers Perry's memories. The story is pretty original, and kinda gooey (in more than one sense of the word). But this is still a completely standard romantic comedy. Julie loses Perry, is "saved" by R, she leaves R and then they a reunited in the end. It's even got the teen-esque "father forbidding the relationship" story-line we've seen in a ton rom-coms over the years.

Johnathan Levine did a great job in directing this film and the scenes were done well. Zombies look, well like zombies. With the blood and gore, while scaled back, looking good on-screen. I liked his previous two films in The Wackness and 50/50 but this is still his weakest of his three latest. His screenplay adaptation of the book, by Issac Marion, leaves something to be desired. Everything was done well, but this is full of unnecessary stuff. There were a lot of times I felt myself bored and just wanting the story to continue. This isn't a long movie, but you don't want it to feel like a long movie either. But that's another one of the problems that occurs here. The movie is brought back by the acting of Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer. The on-screen chemistry between the two is great. Nicholas Hoult, in both acting and the voice-over thoughts, gives the strongest performance of the movie. Teresa Palmer also gives the love interest a little bit of spice as she does well as the lead actress in this. Rob Corddry was a great supporting comedy role and Dave Franco was good as the deceased ex-boyfriend. John Malkovich was a good protective leader with Analiegh Tipton filling in as Teresa's best friend well enough. The acting, while not outstanding aside from Nicholas Hoult, could've done a way worse job in a movie like this.

This is the first real toss-up for me this year I think. While Warm Bodies leaves a lot to be desired, it's a fresh take on the stale genre. With good to great performances by the the entire cast, this is crippled by unnecessary stuff littered throughout. I think it was made for guys who wanted to go on a date night. The zombies, action and violence keep the guys involved, while letting the ladies get into the emotional parts of the movie. Overgeneralization here, I know, forgive me. This has a lot funny moments as well as a good story. It think if you can get into this early, it'll carry over to the rest of the film. But if you're like me at all, a lot of the dragging stuff will leave you wanting to be a zombie yourself.

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21 Jump Street [A Fat Jesus BluRay Review]

Let's start with the commentary track on this set as it's pretty damn awesome. You get the two directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller along with the two main stars in Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, all together for one of the first times watching the final product. You don't mind missing some of the funniest lines and parts cause Jonah Hill, who is very outspoken in this track, still refers to Emma Watson as Hermione and can't help but point out scenes with Ice Cube and when Rob Riggle grabs Brie Larson's boobs. Also there's funny behind the scenes stories from Channing and Jonah's scenes with Rob Riggle, Dave Franco and Ice Cube. Also there's an unnatural love for getting drunk during scenes, since it was filmed in Louisiana, and their love (and frankly my love too) of Korean Jesus. There's a unanimous decision between the four, that the "F*ck you science! *Walks off*" line is the best in the movie. Hard to argue. This track was a blast to listen too, and if you like this movie you'll love this commentary.

The deleted scenes ended up being more extended scenes or alternate scenes. There's a five minute extended one where Jake Johnson, the schools principal, just improvises with Channing and Jonah that had me in stitches. There's also a few more good ones involving Nick Offerman, Dave Franco and Chris Parnell. Gag-reel is hilarious as well as it gives a huge behind the scenes look at watch actually made the actors in his laugh. Let me tell you, a lot set these guys off and most of that same stuff set me off too.

There's a ton of featurettes on this set as well. We'll start with these three in "Back to School," "Brothers In Arms" and "Peter Pan on the Freeway." Back to School goes behind the scenes with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as they transform back into high-school kids after being assigned to 21 Jump Street. It's a neat watch as things have changed (and even in the writing) since the two were in school. Brothers in Arms is another behind the scenes featurette with Jonah and Channing. It shows the transformation into the cops that they portray in the movie. It's sort of a continuation of "Back to School" with more pointing the prop guns at each others crotches and firing to see if they were loaded. They had to shut down half of a highway to film the chase scene in this movie. Jonah comments on how that there's live traffic on the other side of where they're filming. He even gets (what turns out) an undesirable message (the first of it's kind) on the highway itself.

We're not done with featurettes either, there's still three more with "Cube-O-Rama," "Johnny Depp on Set" and "The Rob Riggle Show!" Cube-O-Rama may be the best on this set cause it Ice Cube yelling his lines from the movie and improvised lines too. Ice Cube is a riot in the movie and there's lines that were cut could've easily been put in. Also everyone is in awe of his birthmark near his eye (as said on the commentary track too) and are mesmerized by it. Now onto Johnny Depp on Set. There's a pretty big cameo by Depp, who was in the original series, that no one could stop asking about once the inception of 21 Jump Street started. The actors on set felt they could talk to Johnny while he was in his scene clothes (and Depp even went out and about without being recognized). But once he was out of them everyone suddenly got starstruck. Finally we have The Rob Riggle Show and this is amazing. Riggle is a hilarious guy and steals the movie behind Channing and Jonah. The whole cast agrees as again we get to hear about Riggle grabbing Brie Larson's boobs, making Jonah and Channing ruin so many scenes due to laughing and putting his own penis in his mouth.

This set really has it all. The great movie with an awesome commentary track. The deleted scenes that felt more like extended ones. Along with a side splitting gag reel. And there's six awesome featurettes that keep the behind the scenes knowledge flowing. There's a ton of extras on this set and if you liked 21 Jump Street like I did (my favorite comedy of 2012) you really need to get this set. Well worth your money. 

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