Unless you’re at least a few episodes into the new season Agencyor I haven’t started watching them all Screaming movies in order Paramount+ yet, then you’re either too busy enjoying the weather (well, you are) or these options might not be your jam.
I really hope this week’s suggestions (or at least one of them) are suitable for movie night, and they couldn’t be more different. There’s a double dose of Channing Tatum — one in uniform, one on the very wrong side of the law — plus a razor-sharp ensemble that makes the 2008 financial meltdown something you’ll enjoy watching.
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22 Jump Street
Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are going back to school
I wrote about the original film in this hilarious buddy cop franchise when it appeared on Paramount+ this month. But I found myself going back for round two, 22 Jump StreetWhile Sony recently announced this 24 Jump Street is officially in business – with the tag line “.It took so long to make, we had to skip one.” Meanwhile, 2014 22 Jump Street He teams up with mismatched cops Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) for another crazy undercover job, this time posing as a student at a local college to track the supply of a new, dangerous party drug.
Of course, the too-old-for-school partners are also terrible at adjusting in college, which leads to all kinds of awkward comedic moments as the franchise plunges into college life—Jenko hooks up with a beefy football player, Schmidt approaches an art partnership and drifts apart. Directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Spider-Man: To the Spider-Verse) back behind the wheel, taking the opportunity to make lazy, money-grubbing sequels highly meta-entertaining—the end credits take it to another level with movie poster gags.
Of course, some familiar faces from the first film return, including Ice Cube as the ever-angry Captain Dixon, as well as Dave Franco and Rob Riggle to round out the cast. Come for Hill and Tatum’s amazing chemistry, stay for Tatum’s endlessly memed “My name’s Jeff” scene.
22 Jump Street
- Release date
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June 13, 2014
- Execution time
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112 minutes
- Director
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Christopher Miller, Phil Lord
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Big Short
The 2008 mortgage crisis and the people who saw it coming
Adam McKay’s 2015 financial drama Big Short has a laundry list of leading men — Bale, Gosling, Carell, Pitt, Strong — who deftly take the most convoluted and messy financial disaster of the last two decades and somehow make it sing.
Adapted from the bestselling book by Michael Lewis The Great Short: Inside the Doomsday Machineit follows the scandalous mortgage meltdown of 2008 and a handful of financial outsiders who saw it coming and bet against the entire US housing market. Twitchy, barefoot hedge fund genius Michael Burry (Christian Bale) discovers the bubble first; grumpy, amoral trader Mark Baum (Steve Carell) jumps in out of indifference; cocky banker Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) speaks with a permanent smile (and the occasional fourth wall break); and retired guru Ben Rickert (Brad Pitt) reluctantly guides two hungry men to earn their living as best they can.
Speaking of fourth-wall breaking, McKay uses it brilliantly throughout the film, connecting with celebrities like Anthony Bourdain, Selena Gomez and Margot Robbie to explain basic financial concepts like credit default swaps, CDOs and mortgage bonds. With five Oscar nominations, including Best Supporting Actor for Bale and Best Director for McKay, the film won only one award for Best Adapted Screenplay. It’s a film that will enthrall and enrage you, earning an 89% critic score.
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Roof man
You’ll be rooting for Channing Tatum’s lovable thief on the lam
And now for the second Channing Tatum movie on this week’s list, it’s a good one. Just ask Rotten Tomatoes, where it has an 87% critic score. If you’re looking for a quirky, feel-good watch that refuses to sit in any one genre, Roof man is a charming comedy that’s part crime drama, part romance, part weirder-than-fiction biopic, and an easy yes.
Writer-director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine, A place beyond the candles) builds Roof man Around the truly incredible story of Jeffrey “Roofman” Manchester, an army veteran who robbed McDonald’s restaurants in the late 90s by cutting the roofs off and very politely relieving the employees of their cash. And here’s the tame part: After escaping prison in 2004, Manchester managed to live undetected (mostly on M&Ms) at a Toys “R” Us in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Tatum was rarely better, playing Manchester as a sweet, basically decent guy who’s just been torn apart by a mountain of terrible choices and just wants something semblance of a normal life. While camping out at the store – monitoring the staff via a network of secretly placed baby monitors – he takes an interest in employee Leigh (Kirsten Dunst) and the two start seeing each other outside the toy aisles. Her double life inevitably gets messy, but Manchester is so lovable underneath it all that you can’t help but root for her. Dunst brings real warmth and earnestness to single mother Leigh, and Peter Dinklage is a scene-stealer as Mitch, the Toys “R” Us manager.
Something for everyone
It might be a bit of a 90-degree turn to go from one of these movies to another, but it won’t make for a dull week. But if none of my options are up your alley, How-To Geek’s stream section There is a list of more recommendations to help.
- Subscription with ads
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Yes, $8 a month
- Synchronous streams
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- Live TV
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Select live sports (NFL on CBS and UEFA Champions League)
- Price
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It starts at $8 per month or $60 per year
