Ted: Blu Ray Review

Ted: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

In this cinematic debut from Family Guy/ American Dad creator, Seth MacFarlane, Mark Wahlberg stars as John Bennett, who as a lonely little boy wished his Teddy (given to him by his parents at Christmas) would be his best friend forever and come to life.

Due to a Christmas miracle (and a falling star, of course) John's wish is granted and Ted springs to life, a fully sentient, walking talking teddy bear. Initially famous, Ted (MacFarlane) is the star of the world but years pass and it all changes.

John's now a thirty-five year old man, living in Boston who still rooms with his now pot smoking, hard drinking, sexed up teddy bear.  Except, John's not fully a) realised his potential or b) lost the plot. Stuck in a dead end job, he's been dating the beautiful Lori (Kunis) for four years.

But Lori's looking for the next level of commitment - and one evening, after the pair return home from an anniversary dinner, they discover Ted's gone too far and Lori decides he needs to move out.

So, Ted and John's friendship which has endured over centuries is facing the biggest test of all - will John finally grow up and ditch the Teddy forever, despite having promised to be BFFs?

This vulgar, R-rated comedy about a hedonistic bear and his unable to grow up owner from the creator of the consistently offensive Family Guy has been a massive hit in the States already - and it's easy to see why.

It's a boundary-pushing, potty-mouthed treat which you know you shouldn't laugh at because of its shock factor, but you just can't help yourself.

It's got MacFarlane's paw marks all over it; without a doubt, his trademark offensive, pop culture referencing , shock tactic humour is there right from the beginning. And by goodness, it's certainly unexpectedly and consistently funny throughout its running time despite the story of romance vs bromance which we've all seen before.

The key to the success of this is a wickedly funny script and some great performances from Wahlberg, as the Bostonian man-child who can't resist the call of his furry friend and Kunis, who makes her long suffering girlfriend feel real rather than a one note bitchy character who simply wants her boyfriend's best friend out of the equation. Put in some hilarious cameos, some self referencing moments and you've got the recipe for one of the most unexpected hits of the year.

That's the thing with Ted - in amongst the shock factor, cartoony feel and Family Guy style random digressions, there's actually a great deal of heart in this story, which is swathed in whimsy and 80s nostalgia 

Throw in a great performance from himself as the caustic, sarcastic and acerbic bear as well as some cool CGI as Ted the bear, and this film is one which will leave you in fits of laughter, frequent moments of appalled and with a warm and fuzzy - but slightly guilty - glow as you finish it.

Extras: Deleted and extended scenes, gag reel, the making of, feature commentary

Rating: 

Hobbit: Shots from Wellington

Hobbit: Shots from Wellington

As we ready ourselves for the Wellington world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey on Wednesday, it's clear the capital is getting ready for a party.

Take a peek at various shots from around the capital as we get ready for the red carpet premiere this week.

 

When Vikings Attack: PS3 Review

When Vikings Attack: PS3 Review

Platform: PS3/ Vita
Released by Sony Computer Entertainment.

In a move that may astonish you, When Vikings Attack is a title which does exactly what it says on the tin....

Developer Clever Beans is the brains behind this latest disposable title, which sees hordes of cartoon Vikings invading the green and pleasant lands of England. It's up to you and a bunch of mates on the screen to repel them by getting your hands on whatever you can and hurling it at them.

From benches to parked cars, haybales to chairs, you just roll your group of characters over them and chuck whatever you can to knock them down. It's a multiplayer effort which you can play online or solo; but the numbers of people you control fluctuates on how many you roll over on the screen - and the bigger your horde of good guys is, the heavier the objects you can lift to throw.

Objects can be intercepted and returned to sender if you time it right, but most of the time you'll have to be careful as your numbers swell. Faster runners can be recruited to the cause, and end of level bosses need to be taken care of as well.

When Vikings Attack is a simple proposition - it has a bit of humour thrown in as the groups pick up their heavier objects and mumble disgruntedly at what's expected of them. Graphically, it's quite cartoony and the 3D characters work nicely. Each level sees you unlock further characters which get to join your marauding masses but to be honest, you may be pushed for enthusiasm to collect them all.

The problem with When Vikings Attack is one of repetition. There's little else to do in the levels and the game itself other than throw stuff left, right and centre and after a while, it has to be admitted that that becomes somewhat of a drawback. Disposably fun in short bursts, with more of an emphasis on playing with friends, When Vikings Attack is an intriguing peek into a new developer - and it's to be hoped their next title has a little more depth and longevity to mark them as a major player in the marketplace.

Rating:

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey World Premiere in Wellington - Red Carpet Live

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey World Premiere in Wellington - Red Carpet Live

Here we have it then.

READ THE HOBBIT AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY MOVIE REVIEW HERE!

The World Premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington. And I'm fortunate enough to be down in the capital to take in the atmosphere, build up to it and be involved.

I'll be live tweeting as much as I can from the event, the red carpet and various events - so follow me at http://www.twitter.com/geekboy73 or keep up with my latest tweets below!

(Make sure you keep refreshing the page to keep it all upto date!)

Largest Hobbit graphic unveiled

Largest Hobbit graphic unveiled

Air New Zealand's started The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ball rolling this morning with a new graphic on the side of a 73 metre Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

It's the longest aircraft in their fleet and took six days and nearly 400 man-hours to install and at 830 square metres it’s the largest ever graphic to be applied to an aircraft.

The graphic is part of the activities for the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which takes place in Wellington on Wednesday November 28th.

Don't forget to join me on Twitter for the latest from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey world premiere!

Picture of Air NZ graphic from Weta Workshop Facebook page

Snow White and The Huntsman: Blu Ray Review

Snow White and The Huntsman: Blu Ray Review

Rating: M
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Earlier this year, we had a more family friendly (some would even say lighter comic) version of the Snow White story - with Julia Roberts and Lily Collins starring in Mirror, Mirror. (Get my take on this version with the Mirror Mirror movie review here).

And of course, this film is now notorious for the whole Kristen Stewart cheating on Robert Pattinson with Rupert Sanders scandal which rocked it after its release....

In this somewhat darker version, teen fave Kristen Stewart takes on the role of the fairest in the land, who's imprisoned in a dark tower when the Evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) kills the King and takes control.

When the mirror tells the Queen that Snow White poses a threat to her, she decides to have her killed and promises Chris Hemsworth's Huntsman his dead wife back if he kills her.

But the huntsman is betrayed and the pair team up to rid the land of the Evil Queen once and for all...

So the question is - is this version of Snow white better than the earlier effort this year?

Well, the answer is: sort of.

This latest is a more adult, gritty and medieval take on the fairy tale with its opening portentous voiceover and is blessed with some stunning visuals and some impressive performances.

Charlize Theron's evil queen Ravenna is certainly impressive.  Despite bellowing a lot of lines, she gives us a damaged Queen, a Queen ravaged by the darkness of the magic she was exposed to as a child. Prone to menace in all of her scenes, Theron is certainly the star performance of the piece without straying too far over the top. It's interesting though that Hollywood doesn't just go for completely evil characters any more, preferring to give them a back story and history which prevents them from being down and out baddies.

Unfortunately, Kristen Stewart seems a little miscast as Snow White and in between her acting through half closed eyes most of the time and channelling that teen awkwardness that made her popular, her Snow is a little weedy and weak, spending a lot of her scenes looking pained and almost constipated.

Hemsworth is fine as the Huntsman (apart from an accent which is all over the place) - he's all boyish bravado despite a vulnerability and sadness lurking beneath the exterior - but the chemistry between him and Kristen Stewart is sadly lacking. And when they show, the digitally shrunken dwarves are a welcome respite from the long slow paced thematic darkness which precedes their entrance.

One major problem is that there's no real passion in this; it's curiously flat at times - in dialogue, story and emotion -and is lacking a central love story which is really the heart of this fairy tale.

Despite Sanders bringing some mightily impressive visuals to the screen (a sojourn to the Fairy Kingdom is beautifully realized with its lush verdant greens and colours in comparison to the nightmarish dark forest with its twisted trees and ghoulish spectres), he has a tendency to not rise above his commercials directing background. His over-reliance on slow-mo shots proves too much and his lack at propelling the narrative along in places is all too evident.

All in all, this version is to be commended for bringing some of the nightmares back into fables but it's hardly the fairest of them all.

Extras:  A few behind the scenes pieces, commentary, dwarves- feature commentary and 360 Degree set views

Rating:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey World Premiere

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey World Premiere

READ THE HOBBIT AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY MOVIE REVIEW HERE!

It's almost time.

Wednesday November 28th will see the world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in Wellington, New Zealand.

I will be attending the events leading up to the premiere and on the red carpet itself - and you can follow all of the action right here on this blog.

But, because, sometimes it takes a little longer to write these blog posts, I will be posting via Twitter - and you can keep up with my tweets from everything to do with the Hobbit premiere below:

So, join the world premiere for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey right here!

Tweets by @geekboy73