Would you like to know what made the wizard of Oz so great and powerful? Well here we have the story of a young magician who gets transported to another world and comes across witches and flying monkeys.
I love the way the trailer starts in black and white and then changing to colour and going full screen once he has been transported giving the viewer that sense of familiarity with the story when being compared to The Wizard of Oz.
A couple of things that grab me about this is we have 3 sexy witches in Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz and the film is directed by Sam Raimi.
Two people who have just come out of relationships meet and immediately strike up a great friendship. The friendship becomes a friend with benefits relationship but are there feelings bubbling underneath.
I have seen Timberlake in a few other films and never really believed him as an actor. However in this he actually came across as a decent actor,
perhaps the rom-com is the way forward for him instead of the action star – see In Time. The film features a lot of sex scenes between Timberlake and Kunis but you never see any nudity, apart from the odd bum. The film did have some funny moments although the main comedy aspect in Woody Harrelson was barely seen. There was a slight lull in the film where it became a bit boring and the tone of the film slightly changed however this picked up again towards the end. After watching this film Mila Kunis has gone straight to the top of my favourite ladies at the moment. She was incredible hot in this film, probably to do with the always being in her underwear, and has overtaken Emma Stone as hottie of the year who also makes a cameo in this film.
Recommend
I preferred this to the film out at the same time by the name of No Strings Attached. This is a rom-com with a story that plays out just like in the movies. You are probably thinking that is what all rom-coms are. Except they play on that idea by introducing a film within the film showing a classic rom-com. The film itself is very predictable but this isn’t there to win awards. For the men you will happily watch this for Mila Kunis. Girls, you will happily watch this for Justin Timberlake. If you want something fun to watch then see this.
TheFriedGold rating – 6/10 – Kunis and Timberlake are bringing sexy back
Film Fact
When Mila Kunis is picking up Justin Timberlake from the airport at the beginning of the film, she uses an old sign that says O. Penderghast on the back. This stands for Olive Penderghast whom Emma Stone played in Director Will Gluck’s previous movie Easy A.
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…
thefriedgold 