Ted

Expectations:
As everyone knows, Ted was sold on the fact that it is the creation of Seth McFarlane of Family Guy fame. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of Family Guy. It is funny, but it has too many stupid, stupid moments for me. However, there is no denying that McFarlane and crew are geniuses when it comes to creating stories and characters. Because I knew of McFarlane's genius, I knew that I would be pleased with the outcome of Ted. The trailer was hilarious... The idea was amazing... And there was even a great cast. The only unsure thing was whether or not McFarlane could create a complete story with some substance over the course of one and a half hours.

Plot:
Much to my surprise, there was a fairly deep plot for a comedy. Actually, it was too deep. There was this huge attempt to establish some sort of emotional connection to the characters, which works in some comedies. However, it did not work with Ted. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't awful, but it would have been much better if they had gone with the straight up raw, dirty comedic approach. It is just so hard to take a talking teddy bear seriously.

Characters:
While the connection or plot between the characters was not so great, the individual characters were, for the most part, decent. The only big problem I had character-wise was that Ted was not quite the center of attention. It really felt like John (Mark Wahlberg) was the main character. I have nothing wrong with Mark Wahlberg, but, when you have a character as great as Ted, you have to run with that 100%.

Negatives: As I have said before, Mila Kunis rarely impresses me (save Friends with Benefits), and she let me down once again, as Lori Collins, in Ted. I don't know why, but I just don't like her! Lori's boss, Rex (played by Joel McHale), was probably the worst character of the entire film. While I don't usually care for Kunis, I find Joel McHale quite funny, so I was a bit surprised. Finally, Donny, played by Giovanni Ribisi, was an extremely low point plot-wise. Donny shouldn't have been in the film at all, but oh well.

Positives: As expected, Ted (voice by Seth McFarlane) stole the show as far as characters are concerned. He was a brilliant creation, and I wish I was half the genius that McFarlane is. Aside from Ted, there were a couple of other performances that I thought impressive. Patrick Warburton, as Guy, and Sam Jones, as himself, added a great amount of comedic relief to the attempt at a serious plot. However, there weren't that many great characters, further proving the need to focus on Ted.

Conclusion:
I just want to say how excited I was to see billions of people at the movie theater this past weekend. While my expectations for Ted were high, I had no clue that it would make $54 million in its first weekend. Kudos to America for almost making me run out of gas trying to find a parking spot! As far as Ted goes, I wasn't completely impressed. Let's just say that, if I would have run out of gas, it wouldn't have been worth it. The movie was funny, don't get me wrong. It just could have been much, much better. With the great amount of money made, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Ted sequel or a similar production from McFarlane and crew. Maybe they will learn from past mistakes and make up for it the second time through. I give Ted 2.77 out of 5 stars.

Great Expectations: June 2012

This was supposed to be posted about a week ago, but I completely forgot about it. Sorry for the tardiness:

The second month of summer movies is upon us! It's so exciting to have a movie to watch every single weekend. The movies are so much more fun when everybody is there. Plus, you can avoid the heat outside by moving into the cushiony, air-cooled rooms known as the theater. It's quite refreshing just thinking about it.

The coolest thing about June is the fact that I am going to New York City for a week, and I am sooooo excited! While in New York, I am going to the midnight premiere of Prometheus right outside of Times Square. I have already brushed up by watching Alien this past weekend. It is going to be fantastic! Also, look for me on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, June 6! I have a feeling Jimmy is going to come talk to me. Hope your month is as full of excitement as mine will be! Check in frequently for new reviews...

Snow White and the Huntsman (June 1)

Prometheus (June 8)

Ted (June 29)

Summer Preview: 2012

Hello to all! It is finally that time of year. Time for summer movies!!!!!!! Now, if you are a movie freak like I am, you understand my excitement, and you can't wait for midnight May 3rd!!! (The Avengers). If you aren't excited, then I invite you to become excited very, very soon, because the time has come.

Just so you know, I deem the summer months (for movies) May, June, July, and August. So, as you read what I have to say, you can realize what time range I am covering here. Last year, as I have said before, was a disappointing year for movies. Looking back on what I expected heading into last summer, I realize that my expectations may have been a bit high. Last year, there was at least one movie coming out that I wanted to see on each and every weekend from the first of May to the first of August. That alone is just crazy. It also shows you how many movies I tend to want to watch. However, looking forward to the upcoming summer months, I just don't have THAT many movies that I want to see. That means that there are only three or four each month that I want to see (rather than last year's thirty a month).

I don't know why, but I just don't feel like this summer is full of big hits. Certainly, there are great movies coming out that are sure to make loads of cash and be seen by almost everyone--TWICE. Might I interest you in some Dark Knight Rises or some Avengers or maybe even some Spiderman? These films are going to blow the box office away, but, when you look beyond these three super-hero films, there aren't many big films to get excited about. There are movies that I am going to want to see, and there are movies that you are going to want to see. The problem lies in the lack of movies that EVERYONE is going to want to see. Last year, there were tons of HUGE movies. There was Transformers 3, Cars 2, The Hangover 2, Thor, Pirates 4, Captain America, Bridesmaids, The Help, and, of course, Harry Potter. All of these movies were so, so big, and there just aren't that many summer movies (aside from the three mentioned above) that are going to be super huge. Or at least that is what I think. Here are a few lists of movies that contain my predictions for the summer of 2012. Hope you enjoy:

Highest Expectations
3. The Amazing Spiderman (July 3)

2. Prometheus (June 8)

1. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

Lowest Expectations
3. Men in Black III (May 25)

2. Battleship (May 18)

1. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29)

Funniest Expectations
3. What to Expect When You're Expecting (May 18)

2. The Dictator (May 16)

1. Ted (July 13)

Cha-Chingiest Expectations
3. The Amazing Spiderman (July 3)

















2. The Avengers (May 4)

1. The Dark Knight Rises (July 20)

Check in frequently to see what reviews are up! There will likely be one or two new reviews each and every week during the summer, so don't miss them!