Ted ...not just a kid's toy

 You could call it the first adult comedy of the summer. You could be shocked that Mark Wahlberg is doing this kind of movie. You could say that it it's completely ridiculous. On all counts, you would be right, but there is something about Ted that is a nice change of pace. We are in the middle of a summer that has boasted epic failures, huge successes and nothing like the Hangover for us to laugh at. Seth Mcfarlane is changing that.

 Ted is rude, crude, and you might even have fun with it. A boy who has no friends wishes his teddy bear could be alive and the wish is granted. We are introduced to a world that is accepting of a real life stuffed animal. Ted even becomes a celebrity for a while. The bear starts out cute and lovable , but quickly becomes a booze drinking, pot smoking, and foul mouthed roommate of Mark Wahlberg. Wahlberg plays a 35 year old car rental salesman who has pretty much been wasting his life. The one thing he does have is a very hot and successful girlfriend played by Mila Kunis. Her boss has a thing for her, but she loves Wahlberg and the problems begin when Ted comes between their relationship with his antics.



 The movie is full of crude humor, but it is entertaining. Seth is not afraid to poke fun at Family Guy and even though he's showing his age, Wahlberg plays a good stoner. The best part of Ted is the supporting cast. Joel Mchale does great as the self centered boss, but small appearances make the movie. Giovani Ribisi is the perfect creaper and the cameos are fantastic.  Nora Jones and Ryan Reynolds show up and work great, but it is Sam J Jones from the cult favorite Flash Gordon that makes the movie.

 It's not the Hangover, but it is a good adult comedy. It's not or kids, but if you allow yourself to laugh at how silly this movie really is, you might just like it. I know I did.

  Ridley Scott finally unleashes the prequel to Alien or does he? We meet a couple of scientists who think they have discovered the origin of the human race. They get on a big ship funded by the Weyland Corporation. If that name sounds familiar, it should. It is the constant in all of the alien movies. The ship journeys two years into deep space lands on a planet in the middle of no where. The crew consists of mostly tech and science people. Charlize Theron is the corporate liaison and Michael Fassbender is the android. Those are also staples in the Alien films. Sounds like we've got ourselves a prequel, right?

 The crew searches through what they believe to be a pyramid and find clues of an alien race. Things go wrong and they discover a horror that could be our end rather than our beginning. In typical fashion people begin dying and the fate of earth is in question.

What works? There are alot of familiar images. The Geiger-Esq art, creatures that gestate inside a human host, and Michael Fassbender. I enjoyed his performance as the android David. You never know exactly what his motives are, but the same thing I loved also annoyed me. There is a rather intense "medical" scene that was kind of cool and might even make you cringe a bit. Guy Pierce done up as elderly man was also a cool visual.

So what lacks? Quite a bit. You never really know Fassbender's motives. He can watch some one's dreams, but it's never explained why or how? Charlize Theron is completely wasted. You could've put anyone in her role and it wouldn't have made a difference. The creatures were lacking. The best part of the previous alien movies were the aliens. They were terrifying. These might be the birth of those creatures, but they lack a lot of aggression. Prometheus lacks suspense. There are a couple of moments, but the film really lacks the "edge of your seat," suspense that you might expect. My biggest problem with this movie is the fact that it's boring.

 If there were no previous movies, I don't believe this is a solid enough movie to stand alone. The film exists in the same univers, but never says it's a prequel. The story is sub par and the so are the special effects. In a summer where The Avengers and Men In Black entertained, Prometheus feels like it belongs on cable.

Snow White and The 2 Hours I can't get back !

  The title of this blog might be harsh, but the high hopes for this movie that I had were really let down. If you go by the track record, Snow White is something best left to Disney. Earlier this year audiences were disappointed by Mirror Mirror and Snow returns to grace the big screen again. The summer movie season always brings high expectations and Snow White has some potential, but just doesn't play.


 The story is twisted around and Snow is imprisoned by an evil queen and escapes to reclaim her fathers kingdom. A huntsman is hired after she ventures into the forest and though charged with bringing her in, becomes her protector. She meets Dwarfs, 8 of them, and a rebel army. They all join forces to over throw Queen Ravenna the most evil woman in the land. Sounds like an OK story, but the problem begins with the cast.

 The film does incorporate several favorites from the Snow that most of us grew up on. Her with the various animals, the apple, dwarfs, and of course the mirror and prince. Kind of. The altered story isn't bad, but it feels longer than it actually is. Rupert Sanders does an OK job of giving this film and epic scale with beautiful shots of the land, but I think they are wasted on a story without heart. I am sorry, but Kristen Stewart is a horrible actress. She is Bella Swan in a Snow White dress. I would've loved to have seen an actress with more depth take on Snow. My choice would've been Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries , but that didn't happen. Stewart is too awkward for Snow and her lack of depth really shows during her speech to rally the troops.

 While Stewart might fail, Theron shines. I liked her as The Evil Queen and it's a shame that a good villain is wasted on a sub par movie. She does a great job of giving the queen heart and making you dislike her at the same time. The big problem is only little girls will fear her and that makes it tough for an adult Snow White.
I would have liked to see her with a better supporting cast of minions. She is good when she shares the screen with Hemsworth, but she carries Stewart and it shows. The huntsman is an OK character. They try to get into the back story and develop him, but I feel like this character has been done before and done better. Helmsworth need not worry for he hath another Thor on the horizon and seems to have already owned the summer as an Avenger.

 Let's talk about the Dwarfs. All eight of them join the cause. Yes there are eight most likely due to a little Disney conflict. Some will say that they are the best part of the movie, but I will disagree. Bob Hoskins, Ray Winestone, and Ian McShane are easily recognizable and do well with what they are given. They cannot use the name "Doc," but Hoskins wheres the "bird like " mask of a medieval doctor. I spent more time trying to figure out who each dwarf was supposed to be based on their Disney counterpart than I did enjoying their screen time.

 This movie had a lot of the right ideas, but they were not executed correctly. You are stuck being torn between the Prince, who isn't a prince and the Huntsman. They changed a classic story and I am OK with that, but this movie drags on. Snow is fresh out of a 13 year prison sentence, but can grab a sword, put on some armor, and lead an army. It just doesn't play. I feel for any fantasy movie. Peter Jackson set the bar too high with Lord Of The Rings and like Conan, Narnia, and so many others, Snow White and The Huntsman fails to reach the bar. Bad casting and a story that fails to deliver. If you are dying for a movie fix this weekend, see The Avengers again. You won't be disappointed. Snow White fans will always have the original or ABC'S Once Upon A Time.

Battleship: It could've been worse!

 
 Some of the early reviews are pretty harsh on this wanna be epic adventure, but I gotta tell you I've seen much worse. G.I. Joe, Aliens VS Predator, Skyline, and the list goes on and on. Peter Berg has made a few good movies. Most of us enjoyed Hancock and this is another trip into the Sci-Fi action genre. The bar is set higher given this is billed as a summer blockbuster so the question becomes, does it deliver ?

 Berg assembles his cast led by Liam Neeson and Taylor Kitsch. Skarsgarrd is a fan favorite and is believable as a by the book Navy Captain. The action is good and special effects are well done. It is an OK story given the premise was based on a game from the eighties or even earlier. In the present day we have discovered away to send messages to planets we believe to be similar to ours. It is this that causes an alien race to land on earth. Enter Hopper a screw up who, after a comical attempt to impress Brooklyn Decker, is forced by his brother (Skarsgarrd) to join the Navy. He becomes a uniformed screw up and is in a relationship with Dekker who is the daughter of a Naval Admiral (Neeson). War games go badly when the aliens attack and Kitsch and his crew become our only line of defense. The alien race has surrounded the Hawaiian Islands with an impenetrable shield. A lone Naval Destroyer is on the inside and Kitsch is its unlikely commander.

 The alien race I found to be cool. Some would say the aliens look like soldiers out of Halo, but I liked the concept. The look of them without armor fits well with the little back story we get on them. I wanted more about them. Where are they from. How did their tech work? Why all the destruction?
Their ships and weapons were cool. The battle scenes were very well done and I give Berg credit for the way they implement the board game into the film. Involving the Missouri is a very nice touch and the way the find the alien weakness is allright.

 I liked a lot of things about this film, but the parts that didn't work for me were big. The cast being the biggest. Dekker is great eye candy, but little else. Rihanna is useless. She is a far better singer than actress. She could've been replaced by any no name actress and it would be the same or better. She is more distraction than added value. Many will disagree, but I am still not convinced the Kitsch is leading man. He was not a strong lead in John Carter and he is average here. Liam Neeson is good, but he doesn't get enough screen time and the same can be said for some of the other cast.

 Battleship wants to be epic so very badly, but it just misses the mark. It isn't a Transformers rip off and it comes with a decent story, but in the end it's not a great summer movie. I didn't want to leave the theatre, but I wasn't cheering out loud like I did when the Avengers assembled.
The movie doesn't sink, but it certainly doesn't hit it out of the park either.

AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!

 The summer movie season is finally here! A new Batman, Spider-Man, and G.I. Joe are on tap and ready to got for summer 2012. The Avengers is the first and there is a lot of hype around Marvel's big blockbuster team up. The movie is breaking records over seas and I won't go into how disappointed that an American Comic Book movie opens across the pond first. The question everyone wants to know is, does it work?
 
 YES!! It has everything comic book fan boys will want to see and it is entertaining enough for the average movie goer. Action is there, comedy is there, and more importantly so is the story. There are moments where you may have to suspend belief, but that's what comic book movies are about.  The film does a great job of picking up where the characters left off from their previous solo outings. They tell you how Thor comes back to earth, you are informed as to what Captain America has been doing, and Tony Stark is still, Tony Stark.

 The movie works for two reasons. The first is the cast. Hemsworth and Evans are Thor and Captain America. The cast works brilliantly together. They are great alone, but in ensemble they come alive. Robert Downey Jr. was born to be Iron Man. He embodies that character. He steals the show, but it isn't all about him. The great thing about the film is the fact that everyone gets their share of time. Tom Hiddelston as Loki is a perfect villain for the teams first outing. I was a big fan of Edward Norton's Hulk. I thought he did a great job of nailing Banner, but Mark Ruffalo is certainly not a bad choice  at all. The Hulk definitely works well in all aspects of The Avengers. It would've been to see how Norton would've played it here.

 The other thing that works is Joss Whedon. He is a comic book guy and he gets it. Hollywood is notorious for trashing source material. I think they forget where the core audiences for these films come from. Whedon gives you everything. Larger than life characters, hints at other Marvel villains, and a good story that doesn't get lost in the hype a la Green Lantern.

 Marvel hits another home run with this one. They brought your child hood superheroes alive in epic fashion. I was left wanting more and excited for the teams next outing. The Avengers is the perfect summer blockbuster. Be sure you stay for the scenes after the credits and don't be shocked when you see grown men and women in costumes. Is it the greatest comic book movie ever, no. It is , however, pretty damn good!

Wrath of a Bad Sequel

  Let me start by saying that I was not a hater of the "Clash Of The Titans" remake like so many were. I found the first movie a nice update of the classic. It had horrible 3-D conversion and I wasn't crazy about the cast, but I was entertained. Was I craving a sequel? No. I don't know many who were, but Warner Brothers decided to give us one. The 3-D is better, but the cast and story lack.

 I think this was a risky move for a sequel anyway. Sam Worthington is back as Perseus. Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes return as Zeus and Hades. Hades strikes a deal and teams with Zues' son Aries (Edgar Ramirez) to release Chronos, the most powerful titan, into the world. The gods are dying and their time is coming to an end. Zeus is taken and Poseidon is killed, and hope for mankind is bleak. Perseus must accept his destiny and set off for the underworld to stop this diabolical plot. He teams with another Dem-god. Agenor the son of Poseidon and Andromeda who is now a warrior queen. The only weapon that can stop Chronos is a spear formed from Poseidon's trident, Hades pitchfork, and Zeus' thunderbolt. Perseus is at first reluctant to leave his son, but soon realizes that if he doesn't save the world, his son is doomed anyway.

 What worked? The scenes with the Cyclops were great! The 3-D is much better and the nods to the original are fun. The sword Perseus carries is more like the original than what he used last time out. The mechanical owl also make an appearance. I liked Edgar Ramirez as Aries and the fight scenes with him are well done.

 What didn't work? Many people will think the fight with the Chimera is cool. I felt like I saw it before. First in Transformers and again with scorpions in the first movie. I wasn't a fan of the cast. Neeson,Fiennes, and Nighy seemed to be just going through the motions and I have never been a big Sam Worthington fan. It's a different Andromeda and the supporting cast was not given much to work with. The story was ok, but Chronos just didn't work for me. He was just another giant C.G.I. monster terrorizing the world. The end battle became a visual eye sore and in the end I found myself not caring who won or lost.

 I would say that it was mildly entertaining, but I feel like fantasy movies are at a disadvantage. Lord of the Rings set the bar too high. Unless you can come close , don't even bother.  I would put Wrath of the Titans on the same level as the first one.

Game On! The Hunger Games are here.

  If you are a female between the age of 12 and 35, Christmas has just come early. The Hunger Games are here. I walked out of the theatre and saw the lines of young girls already formed for tickets to see the teen drama. While it is less sappy than Twilight, it is certainly a story that we have probably seen before. Let's put people in an environment where they are forced to fight for their lives. The Running Man, The Condemned, and Surviving the Game. These came first and most guys have seen it done. Why is their so much hype surrounding this book/movie? Probably because this one is for the young ladies.

 The Hunger Games is set in a post apocalyptic North America called "Panem." The rich and powerful live in the Capitol and control the other twelve districts. It's an interesting concept.
As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol in which a 13th district was destroyed, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (called "tributes") must fight in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. The movie follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from the Appalachian region of District 12 who , a baker's son whom Katniss knows from school, who once gvolunteers for the 74th annual Hunger Games when her sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is selected.  Peeta Mallark is also selected from the district. He once gave Katniss bread when she was starving. He also has a crush on her, but has not told her his feelings yet. Gale (Liam Hemsworth), her best friend and hunting partner, gives her advice for the games. She promises her sister that she will try and win and makes her mom promise to take care of them.

 Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) are taken to the Capitol where their drunken mentor, Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), winner of a previous games, instructs them to watch and learn the talents of the other tributes. They are then put on display to the Capitol audience in a televised session with interviewer Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). It is here that Peeta reveals on-air his long-time unrequited love for Katniss. She  believes this to be a ploy to gain audience support for the Games, which can be crucial for survival, as audience members are encouraged to send gifts like food, medicine, and supplies to their favorites during the Games. The Games begin with 11 of the 24 tributes dying in the first day, while Katniss relies on her well-practiced hunting and outdoor skills to survive. The death toll increases as the games progress. increases. Katniss develops an alliance with Rue (Amanda Stenberg), a 12-year-old girl from District 11 who reminds Katniss of her younger sister.. During a plan to destroy the supplies of the others: Rue is killed by another tribute. Katniss sings to her, then spreads flowers over her body as a sign of respect—and of disgust towards the Capitol. She then holds up the sign for District 11 for the world to see.

Supposedly due to Katniss and Peeta's beloved image in the minds of the audience as "star-crossed lovers", a rule change is announced midway through the Games, stating that two tributes from the same district can win.  Katniss searches for Peeta and eventually finds him wounded. As she nurses him back to health, she acts the part of  falling in love to gain more favor with the audience and from her sponsors. After they become the final two, the Game makers reverse the rule change in an attempt to force them into a dramatic finale, where one must kill the other to win. Katniss, knowing that the Game makers would rather have two victors than none, retrieves highly poisonous berries, that she had kept earlier, and offers some to Peeta. Upon realizing that Katniss and Peeta intend to commit suicide, the Game makers announce that both will be the victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

  She survives the Games and is treated to a hero's welcome in the Capitol but, Katniss is warned by Haymitch that she has now become a political target after defying her society's authoritarian leaders so publicly. Afterwards, Peeta is heartbroken when he learns that Katniss's actions in the arena were part of a calculated ploy to earn sympathy from the audience. However, Katniss is unsure of her own feelings, and from the look of it so is Gale.

 The movie is close to faithful to the book, but fans will notice some changes. Lenny Kravitz, Elizabeth Banks, and Donald Sutherland are used very well. Wes Bently is also well cast. Thanks to American Beauty he will forever be creepy, but it is good to see the talented actor clean and working. Jennifer Lawrence is a rising star and this is a great vehicle for her. She looks slightly different than Katniss in the book, but plays her vulnerability very well. I wasn't crazy about Hutcherson, but he does enough with what he is given. The games are fun to watch play out and scenes with the wasps and the "American Idol" like television show are great. Stanley Tucci was my favorite character to watch.

 What scares me is the fact that this may one day happen. Maybe not to kids , but in our Internet video watching world, are televised fights to the death that far off. One would hope not, but nothing surprises me anymore. So is the hype warranted? The Hunger Games is fun to watch. It's an interesting look at a warped American society. Twilight is ending and for young girls, this is the next hot thing. The sequel will happen and the movie will make a ton of money. It may not be for everyone, but it's audience will love it.