Film Review - Ted 2 (2015)

Ted 2 continues on from the first Ted film and again stars Seth McFarlane as the talking teddy bear (he also wrote and directed the film) but this time his wish to marry and start a family with Tami-Lynn hit a snag when he is declared property by the Government so he and John (Mark Wahlberg) hire a young lawyer Samuel (Amanda Seyfried) to sue the Government and get his civil rights back.

Ted 2 is not a terrible film in any way at all (there are some very fun gags and cameos, one in particular made me smile big time) but it is also a typical Ted adventure in that he has a fun adventure, he pals around with Wahlberg and smokes a lot of hemp and there are a lot of references to pop culture (and this really comes to the fore in the films climax.)

As for the performances well Seth as Ted gets much more screen time than in the first film and it is a fun character to watch but I also feel that it's become sort of old hat now and that we know what to expect from Ted, Wahlberg plays off him nicely but the show stealer I thought was Seyfried who does a really nice job with her character and her chemistry with the guys is great, I really did enjoy seeing her let her hair down in this role and after a run of misfires she's earnt a new chance from me.

And so that was Ted 2 which is not terrible but very stale as a sequel and just more of the same frankly, if you can see it at a matinee price then do so but if not then wait for the DVD before seeing it, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Jurassic World (2015)

Jurassic World is the newest film in the Jurassic Park series and this Dr Hammond's (the late Richard Attenborough) vision of a fully realized Dinosaur theme park from the 1993 original film has come to fruition but the attendance is starting to shrink so the Park engineers create Indominous Rex to boost ticket sales but Owen (Chris Pratt) isn't comfortable with this idea fearing it will go on the loose.

Jurassic World is merely okay and a lot of this is due to Pratt himself (he is the glue that really holds this film together) he is extremely likeable here and I was reminded of a young Harrison Ford and Tom Hanks rolled into one plus his character is pretty much the only character in this film with any level of intelligence or practical thinking (he actually feels like a real person) whereas the other humans are just knockoffs of the human characters from the original film.

Oh and Vincent D'Onofrio is good here even though he looks a lot like Joe Hockey.

But my principal problem here is that the film in just about every 2nd or 3rd scene shoves in a reference to Jurassic Park and this film pales very very heavily in comparison with Steven Spielberg's film as the story here is not that interesting (it's basically the same plot as the first film.)

And the endless references to the first film really started make me think after a while "Why am I not watching the original film" because at least that film did something neat with the Dinosaurs whereas here they feel like soulless CGI creations that you don't find interesting, I kept wishing Grimlock from Fall of Cyberton would show up in the climax and basically destroy everything, kill everyone and end the film.

But you know the more I've thought about this movie the more I begin to feel just how much it exemplifies this current era of films we live in right now, it has a fanboy for a hero, its loaded with nostalgia for the past and it tries to go for bigger and better Dino battles at the expense of any human emotional connection (not to mention the fact that the middle range budget films like Wall Street or When Harry Met Sally have been pretty much made extinct save for the arthouse and independent markets.)

And that is Jurassic World which is only worth seeing for Pratt, 2 out of 5.

Film Review - Inside Out (2015)

Inside Out is the newest Pixar production and concerns 11 year old Riley who moves with her family from Minnesota to San Francisco and inside her head are 5 emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust but when Joy and Sadness go missing Riley starts getting moodier.

Inside Out has been getting great reviews but mine will not be one of them but before I go into those reasons I want to talk about what I did like:

- The first is the ideas on display here and they are very good regarding the 5 key emotions and how they influence the mental and emotional health of the person they're inside of, it's a very strong idea especially if it regards a young person heading into adult years and the turbulent feelings they develop.

- The second is the voice acting, Amy Poehler is infectious as Joy and she really gets you invested in Joy's plight though my favourite has to be Lewis Black as Anger who has a lot of fun moments in the film.

But despite these strong elements on an emotional level I was never engaged with it and I feel that the problem lies within the script itself, the focus of the story never feels cohesive and what I wish had happened was being more about Riley being on the verge of adolescence and the more child like qualities in her mind trying to stop that but as it is I didn't really care about Riley as a character and her family just kept going on and on about the moving van for most of the film and as a result while the climax is well done I just wasn't all that interested.

And here is where I have to say that I'm not really a big fan of Pixar's work despite loving their Toy Story films, I just find a lot of their work sentimental and emotionally manipulative bordering on blackmail now I love their Toy Story films and some of their emotional points are well done (the opening of Up is wonderful) but most of the time I feel manipulated and not in a good way, it's hard to explain I know but this is how I feel.

And lastly there is a short called Lava before the film but it's not very good and can easily be skipped.

And so that was Inside Out, it has some good ideas and voice work but comes across for me as the Dreams of Ordinary Men to quote the Dragon song, 1.5 out of 5.

Film Review - Minions (2015)

Minions as Geoffrey Rush tells us have been on this planet far longer than mankind but their purpose to serve the most despicable villain around is not always one that meets with success until they learn of Scarlet Overkill (Sandra Bullock) the first female super villain and the Minions decide to sign to her goal of world domination.

This has easily been one of my most anticipated films of the year so far mainly because I really love the Minions themselves (they're very unique characters with their funny language patterns and slapstick humour) and the previews for this film made me laugh out loud but could this film possibly deliver or just end up slipping on a banana peel?

Well happily this film did indeed deliver the goods as I had so much fun watching it in the cinema, there were times where I was literally laughing out loud and like a hyena and the first is that the 3 main Minions Kevin, Stuart and Bob are very likeable here and their comedy routine reminded me very much of Lt Frank Drebin and the original Naked Gun film from 1988 plus Bob is really well handled here taking what could've been an annoying character into one of the films real highlights.

But that's not all, the use of the 1960's is really really well handled here and there were references that made me laugh but not many others in my session and Villain Con is just brilliant with all of these great supervillains and clear Comic Con inspirations and references it made me want to get the guide book the little girl in the trailer has (oh and that family is really funny as well and also I was reminded very much of Dr Claw from Inspector Gadget whilst watching the Villain Con scenes.)

If I have a complaint (and believe me it's a minor one) I will say that the 3rd act of the film does stumble a little bit but the film is very tightly put together that if it did go for a slightly longer length than its 91 minutes it might have bored some in the audience.

So all in all Minions is easily one of my favourite films of the year so far and it delivered the goods for me, 4 out of 5.

Film Review - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and he also stars in it as Dr Victor Frankenstein the man who creates the monster (Robert De Niro) but unwittingly thinks he has died after being created and this mistake will cost him dearly.

Now I love Sir Ken Branagh I really do, the man has made some great movies (most recently his work on the live action Cinderella and the underrated Peter's Friends) but sadly this is much more in line with his work on Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit last year as it is a real bore to sit through.

And the problem is that despite all of its visual and audio splendour the script (co-written by Frank Darabont of all people) just fails to engage you on any level and the performances are just ridiculous and Ken has to be first up as for the most part he runs around with his shirt off whilst screaming "ELIZABETH, LIVE, NOOOOOOOOO" and you just sit there cringing at the blatant over the top acting going on with him.

But he isn't the only one, Aidan Quinn a good actor is wasted in his small role, Robert De Niro brings nothing to the role of the monster and just mumbles his way through, Helena Bonham Carter is miscast as Elizabeth (I kept wishing Emma Thompson had done that role instead) and finally Tom Hulce doesn't get a lot to do here as well.

But what I did like was the visual design by Tim Harvey, the costumes by James Acheson and especially Patrick Doyle's musical score and you can see some seeds here watching their work in this movie of what Branagh would eventually do with his Cinderella film which has a very similar feel to this movie in terms of its visuals and musical score.

But alas those elements don't save Frankenstein from being an unengaging bore to sit through, sorry Sir Ken but you dropped the ball this time around, 1.5 out of 5.

Film Review - Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987)

Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn is directed by Sam Raimi and again stars Bruce Campbell as Ash who manages to survive the events of the first Evil Dead film but is still stuck at that cabin with the Book of the Dead which still has plans for Ash's soul.

Um, WOW!

This Boys and Girls is how you do a Horror movie as Raimi and Co absolutely nailed it as this is just exhilarating filmmaking to watch which is where I want to start my gush about this film as Raimi doesn't just pile on the blood and guts here he makes sure to grab you by the throat and shake it 8 ways from Sunday while you're watching the film and not only does he do that well he leaves you feeling unsettled as to what could be thrown at you next and the fact that he would recreate this feeling in 2009 with Drag Me to Hell shows that when he has full creative control he can accomplish something marvellous.

But my praise doesn't end there, it extends to Kaye Davis's editing which is just terrific with its fast paced cuts and use of camera angles to create tension, Joseph Lo Duca's musical score which is nicely balanced with the sound work and the effects work and finally the script by Raimi and Scott Spiegel is expertly done balancing high tension horror with splatter comedy.

Also I have to talk about Bruce Campbell's Ash he is terrific here as the proverbial gauntlet is thrown at him and he also has great backup support with Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley and Richard Domeier while the effects work here by Mark Shostrom is also great especially the zombie and stop motion effects some of which are quite funny.

Alright that was my gush about Evil Dead 2 and all I will say now is GO WATCH IT! 5 out of 5.

Film Review - Aloha (2015)

Aloha is written and directed by Cameron Crowe and stars Bradley Cooper as Brian Gilcrest a former officer who comes to Hawaii to bless a new pedestrian gate for the Army Base there but while there he meets his liaison officer Captain Allison Ng (Emma Stone) and his ex Tracy (Rachel McAdams.)

I was looking forward to this movie before heading to see it for two reasons: The first is that I loved the preview I saw for the film and second there is a big part of me that misses movies like this (you know ones like Wall Street, When Harry Met Sally, Dead Poets Society, The Player etc) so I became hopeful on both fronts this could deliver the goods.

Sadly it did not but I don't in any way feel disappointed with this film like I did with the Avengers Age of Ultron but more in the sense that this was a bad film for these reasons three:

- First of all is that the storyline is a mess and has 2 plotlines (one concerning his reason for being in Hawaii and the other being the love triangle) that could have been entirely separate films in their own right and they just do not mesh well together and as a result the film feels very jarring to watch.

- The second is that the characters here are unlikeable to watch, Brian is an arrogant shit who does one thing in particular in this film that really made me mad, Allison is the stereotypical fast talking take no nonsense woman who slowly falls for the handsome and charismatic man that she works with and Rachel is the stereotypical ex who secretly still feels something for her previous man before the one SHE ACTUALLY SMEGGING MARRIED and then there are the stereotypical natives and the stereotypical military officers and corporate guys.

- And lastly the performances are really bad and from people who have normally done good work, Cooper who really impressed me with his work in Guardians of the Galaxy and American Sniper was really smug here which is a shame to say, Stone and McAdams are wonderful actresses but are just simply Capital W Wasted here while Alec Baldwin and Bill Murray get very little if anything to do but hopefully Baldwin will redeem himself in the upcoming Mission Impossible Rogue Nation later this year.

Look I wanted to like this film I really did but I have to be fair dinkum and say that I didn't due to its messy script, unlikeable and stereotypical characters and bad performances from normally solid and reliable actors, avoid this film, 1 out of 5.

On the Air Season 2 Episode 5: The MAD Ages

Well here we go folks, a new Radio episode where I talked about the following:

- Pitch Perfect 2
- Mad Max Fury Road
- The Avengers: Age of Ultron
- American Sniper

As always to listen to the show click on the stream option in the link or right click on download audio to save it to your Computer.

The link is here: http://blogs.abc.net.au/sa/2015/06/friday-flicks-pitch-perfect-2-max-max-fury-road-the-avengers-age-of-ultron.html