A lonely young boy called John who has no friend’s wishes that he teddy bear was real. The next morning his wish has come true and Ted becomes his best friend for life. Many years later and they are still best friends although the strain of having a teddy bear as a best friend is starting to put some doubts in to John’s and his girlfriend’s Lori’s relationship.
The humour in the film is very typical to an episode of family guy, rude, crude and very stupid not to mention Ted basically being a Teddy bear version of Peter Griffin however there is also a serious nature to the film. It deals with the pressures in a relationship and how a best friend and not growing up can affect your future.
There are some really funny scenes in the film that will have you laughing out loud but at the same time there are some slow scenes that don’t make this an all-out classic comedy. Seth has definitely taken elements from his Family Guy roots such as the fight scene between John and Ted being very reminiscent of Peter and the Chicken fights. One thing you will do throughout the film is play spot the actor to the voice over as almost everyone who voices a character in Family Guy is in this film.
Recommend
If you are a fan of Family Guy and a fan of some crude and silly humour then yes you should see this film, although at the cinema probably wouldn’t be necessary. I enjoyed it but wasn’t blown away. I can think of many other comedies that would rank higher than this.
TheFriedGold rating – 3/5
Film Hottie
Mila Kunis, as usual, is looking very hot.
Film Fact
The “white trash girl’s names” scene was done in a few takes without having any cue cards for Mark Wahlberg, who wrote down a wide number of female names that sound “white trash”
Following thefriedgold’s recent post on top 10 films to look out for in the rest of 2012 and the comment of not having Brave (how can Brave not make the top 10? It’s Pixar dammit) on the list, here are the next 10 to look out for. These could go either way in terms of quality, but I think they could be worth a watch.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything
Directed by Crispian Mills
Starring Simon Pegg, Sheridan Smith
Crime author Jack has an overriding fear of being murdered. His big break comes followed swiftly by a bigger breakdown.
Reason to watch: Pegg.
Release date: 8th June
Ted
Directed by Seth Macfarlane
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis
The creator of Family Guy steps in to the film world with this: a boy has a teddy bear that is alive. What happens if the bear grows up with the boy?
Reason to watch: Lewd humour and the juxtaposition of a child’s toy drinking and smoking. Could be laugh a minute or all the laughs could be below.
Release date: 1st August
Brave
Directed by Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman and Steve Purcell
Starring Kelly Macdonald, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane
Merida, an independent young archer, is forced to undo a curse she has brought upon her family.
Reason to watch: Are you kidding? Pixar’s output is second to no-one. Even if you “don’t watch cartoons” I would recommend you see this film – it will change your mind. Plus you get a bound-to-be-excellent short before the main event. See this.
Release date: 17 August
The Watch
Directed by Akiva Schaffer
Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Richard Ayoade
Four friends form a neighbourhood watch to get away from their wives. They are forced in to action when they discover an alien invasion plot.
Reason to watch: Formerly “The Neighbourhood Watch”, The Watch reunites Vince Vaughn with Ben Stiller in a film written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad). Potential for comedy greatness if they are all on song…
Release date: 29 August
Total Recall
Directed by Len Wiseman
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, Kate Beckinsale
A factory worker suffers from nightmares. But are they actually nightmares – could they be suppressed memories trying to return and could he be a spy with the power to change the world?
Reason to watch: A remake of the Arnie version, directed by the guy who gave us Die Hard 4.0 (enjoyable action, worthy addition), Colin Farrell headlining, written by the guy who wrote Equilibrium (dsytopian sci-fi). I enjoy a big budget complex sci-fi and if they can get close to the quality of the 1990 version, this could be good. The trailer looks really good. Plus Kate Beckinsale is in it.
Release date: 22 August
Dredd
Directed by Pete Travis
Starring Karl Urban, Lena Heady
No nonsense lawman Judge Dredd teams with young Judge Anderson to track and take down a drug supplying terrorist organisation.
Reason to watch: Forget the Stallone version, self-confessed fan Urban is taking on the helmet and becoming The Law, promising a more faithful interpretation of the 2000AD character.
Release date: 7 September
The Sweeney
Directed by Nick Love
Starring Ray Winstone, Damian Lewis, Hayley Atwell, Ben Drew
To protect the law and their city, virtuoso flying squad cops are forced to break the law.
Reason to watch: An update of the 70’s TV show sees Nick Love and Ray Winstone do what they do best – The Sweeney is a Lahndahn film filled with Geezahs fighting other Geezahs. But this time Love is working with an established property and Danny Dyer is nowhere to be seen so I’m hopeful this Brit-flick, which looks classy in the trailer, is going to be a worthwhile watch.
Release date: 12 September
Looper
Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
Joe is a hitman, killing people sent back from the future. One day his future self is sent back. What does he do?
Reason to watch: We have JGL playing a young Bruce Willis trying to kill him in a time-travel film directed by the man who brought us Brick. Two heavyweight actors and a strong director playing with a mind-bending premise. What more reason do you need?
Release date: 28 September
Taken 2
Directed by Olivier Megaton
Starring Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace
The father of a kidnapper Bryan Mills killed when his daughter was abducted has retaliated by taking something precious to Mills. This has pissed him off and a rampage will begin.
Reason to watch: If you like action films and haven’t seen Taken yet then you have a treat awaiting you. If you have seen Taken then you know exactly what the reason to watch this is: Liam Neeson waging a one man war. Directed by the man with the best name in action films.
A young boy, Pi, finds himself adrift in a lifeboat with a zebra, a hyena, an orangutan and a Bengal tiger following a shipwreck.
Reason to watch: I’m a big fan of Ang Lee who has a strong record with adaptations (Sense and Sensibility, Brokeback Mountain) and Life of Pi is based on the highly acclaimed novel of the same name. It’s bound to look good, the story will be strong – much will rest on the performance of newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi.
Release date: 21 December
Obviously all dates are subject to change…I’ll try and put trailers in as and when they are released. And I’m sure I’ve left off something good…
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Amy Adams
The Fighter is based on the real story of boxer Micky Ward, and his brother and ex-boxer Dicky Ekland, and how he started in the professional boxing scene. The brothers are faced with many challenges which they have to face together and on their own which include dealing with each other, their family, relationships and drug addiction.
Christian Bale’s performance as the crazy and drug addicted Dicky Ekland was fantastic. He acted the role so well and you can see his likeness to the real Dicky during the end credits when he shows up saying thank you. His performance was noticed by the Academy Awards as he picked up the ‘Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role’
award, which was very much deserved.
The combination of Mark Wahlberg as Micky and Amy as his girlfriend Charlene worked well as they played off of each other. Charlene is the rock that Micky needed during all the problems with his family trying to take control of his life and his brother Dicky’s drug problem and going to jail.
Melissa Leo plays the role of Micky and Dicky’s mother Alice Ward. Her performance as a stern and bossy, yet just wanting the best for her children, mother is fantastic. She puts real heart into the role and you really believe her performance. Melissa Leo also picked up an Academy Award for her role, the ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role’, which once again was very much deserved.
What makes this film great is the realism that each actor gives to their character, especially Bale, Adams and Leo. What helped achieve this were the real Micky and Dicky, amongst others, helping build the characters before and during filming. Bale spent so much time with the real Dicky as to perfectly match his mannerisms and give the performance of his life.
I would recommend this film to everyone. Do not think of this as a boxing film. Take it as a drama based on the real lives of a family and their struggles that are fantastically played out by actors.
Film Fact
The film was nominated for 7 Academy Awards – Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Achievement in Directing, Best Achievement in Film Editing, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Writing, Original Screenplay – Winning 2 of them.
RT @OspreyGames: Take your friends and family to the Wildlands over the holidays! Retweet and Follow for a chance to #win a copy of Martin… 4 years ago
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