Movie Review- Ted

Seth Macfarlane had a good idea with Ted, but failed with the execution. It just wasn't funny. I expect crude humor with Macfarlane, but this was just too much. I felt like Macfarlane was trying to one up himself with all of the dialogue between Ted (voiced by Macfarlane) and John (played by Mark Wahlberg). It was like when you see two comedians or anyone who thinks they are funny, having a conversation and it's just joke after joke with nothing meaningful being said. It was as if Macfarlane was having a conversation with himself and all of the jokes were old, but he thought that he was being hilarious. Meh.

The plot is entirely predictable and transparent. Although I loved Giovanni Ribisi as the creepy guy, his storyline was so obvious that it was painful to watch it play out. All of the attention was clearly paid to unfunny jokes and not coming up with a creative plot.

The actors were all fine, but I could not stand Wahlberg's character, John. As a kid, John is awkward and can't make friends. He transitions into adulthood where he is still a child and can't seem to ever make a decision for himself. His self esteem is so in the gutter that it was hard to either like him or feel sympathy towards him. I could not buy that Lori ( played by Mila Kunis) would fall in love with him.

They did a good job with the physical look of Ted and his interactions with the actors. I liked the 80's references, some funny, some silly.

The movie may have been a bit better if the trailers had given less away. A lot of the funnier bits were in the trailer and that killed laughs in the theater. This isn't a great movie, but I would have enjoyed it much more, if I had not seen the traile

Movie Review- The Dark Knight Rises

I've been hearing ( and reading a lot on FB and reviews sites) of people comparing The Dark Knight Rises to The Avengers. There is absolutely no comparison. They are nowhere in the same league. The Avengers is a typical summer release, overdone fluff piece of crap. The Dark Knight Rises is a well crafted drama.

Sure, it has some of the trappings of summer fare, like big special effects and cool gadgets. However, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan have written a complex story that is a strong foundation for the entire movie.

I loved the cast. I have had a longtime crush on Christian Bale, so any movie with him is an automatic win. Although, I really prefer him out of the Batsuit, don't cover up my Christian! As much as I love Bale, Anne Hathaway as Selina (Catwoman) managed to steal the spotlight. She was awesome. I would love to see her in a Selina centric movie.

The movie had a lot of heart. Batman isn't the only hero in Gotham City and there is much focus on the ordinary citizen in a very sadistic world. I found the movie to have some unpredictable twists that really worked. For all of the fantasy, it feels like a movie very much rooted in reality with contemporary themes. The scope of this movie is huge and far more a drama than an action type of movie. It is weighty.

Movie Review- Safety Not Guaranteed

I've wanted to see this movie for awhile and was surprised to find it still playing in my local theater. The quirky premise and the producers ( Little Miss Sunshine being one of my favorite films) swayed me to want to see Safety Not Guaranteed.

I wanted to like this movie more than I did. It was slow. My mind wandered nearly the entire movie. I walked away feeling that there was a good idea that just didn't gel. It has some meaningful moments dealing with lost opportunities and lost youth, but it was hard to feel a connection to the characters or the story.

One trap that it didn't fall into, was being too quirky for it's own good. It keeps it simple and doesn't ever get too crazy. This made me go along with the bits that were outlandish.

A problem that it did have, was unlikeable characters. In particular the reporter played by Jake Johnson. Johnson's character was such a jerk, that it was impossible to feel sympathy towards him. I also didn't care for the spineless intern played by Karan Soni. It wasn't the acting, they were fine, it was the way that the characters were written.

Saving the movie, was the character of Darius played by Aubrey Plaza. Plaza stole the show everytime she was on the screen. It is really her story. I also enjoyed Mark Duplass as Kenneth, the nutty writer of the Time Travel Ad. Kenneth works as a grocery store clerk and is the resident crazy guy. I feel like everyone can relate to having worked with that type of coworker.

I loved that there was a credit for a "Time Travel Consultant".

This movie had it's moments, but was lackluster enough that it's hard to recommend it.