21 Jump Street

CHICAGO – Holly Robinson Peete is a notable television actor (“21 Jump Street,” “Hanging with Mr. Cooper”), but her true life’s work is as a national spokesperson for autism. Currently, her family is featured on the reality show “For Peete’s Sake,” on the OWN Network, and she has written a new book, “Same But Different: Teen Life on the Autism Express.” She recently appeared at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Ill., to promote the book.

CHICAGO – What a year Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill have had. Tatum has starred in three $100-million-plus films — “The Vow,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Magic Mike” — along with another film directed by the great Steven Soderbergh (“Haywire”). He’s had one of the best years for a young actor in recent memory. And so has his “Jump” co-star who earned an Oscar nomination for his work in “Moneyball” and is set to appear in next year’s “The Watch.” These are likable, talented guys and they carry “21 Jump Street,” an inconsistent but often very funny comedy.

CHICAGO – The female heroine driven film “The Hunger Games” had held the top spot for the past four weeks but has been knocked out by “Think Like a Man” based on Steve Harvey’s best-selling book. The movie is directed by Tim Story and written by Keith Merryman & David A. Newman starring Michael Ealy (“Barbershop”), Jerry Ferrara (“Entourage”), Meagan Good (“The Steve Harvey Show”), Regina Hall (“Death at a Funeral”), Kevin Hart (“The Five-Year Engagement”), Taraji P. Henson (“The Family that Preys”), Terrence J (“Sparkle”), Jenifer Lewis (“Meet the Browns”), Romany Malco (“Baby Mama”), Gary Owen (“Daddy Day Care”), and Gabrielle Union (“Bad Boys 2”). The weekend gross was $34 million almost tripling the reported production budget of $12 million.

CHICAGO – Not too many surprises in the box office this weekend, as pretty much every film placed where it was predicted to finish. Lead by “21 Jump Street,” which came in at number one, the top five was rounded out by “The Lorax,” “John Carter,” “Project X,” and “A Thousand Words.”

CHICAGO – There are various opinions about TV-to-movie remakes, mostly negative. That is why “21 Jump Street,” based on a 1980s TV show, manages some grudging respect. Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Rob Riggle, Nick Offerman and Ellie Kemper create some goofy laughs in this farce.

CHICAGO – A good comedy film lives and breathes through the right casting of character roles. In the new film “21 Jump Street,” Ice Cube is the angry police captain who guides his undercover recruits Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum as they infiltrate high school. Rob Riggle pitches in as a wacky high school coach.

CHICAGO – Combining comedy and action is always a delicate balance, and Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum do it right in the upcoming movie remake of “21 Jump Street.” Goofing on the concept of two police officers undercover in high school, the story has fun with its two back-to-school characters.

CHICAGO – Now that we’re so close to the holiday season, it means that the whole movie trailer landscape has changed yet again. We’ve spent the last three months watching the previews for the Christmas season blockbusters and the end-of-the-year Oscar hopefuls nonstop.

CHICAGO – In the 1980s, you couldn’t swing a burnt-out remote without coming upon either a Stephen J. Cannell created series or an episode that he’d personally written. The amazingly prolific and populist television icon – best known for “The Rockford Files” and “The A-Team” – passed away last week at the age of 69.