ted.

If you can't take being offended, this is not for you!

First there was Caesar the ape, then there was Gollum & now we have Ted!? If you thought motion-capture animation was beyond the range of of foul-mouthed R-rated comedy then think again, here's your evidence. 

For Seth MacFarlane's directional debut, i may not be paying to watch his second work. But for the creator of 'Family Guy' he has taken his love for characters who shouldn't behave like humans behaving like humans to the next level & to the big screen with his cohesive hit 'Ted'. Fans of Seth are pleased to know the comedy pioneer has remained cold with his racist, sexist and consistent vulgar remarks you can't help but smile about. It's not easy to keep scoring laughs using the same non-sequitur formula over and over again but fortunately 'Ted' is more comically adherence effort than you'd expect from the king of unexpected jabs, references & political incorrectness which there's plenty of.

If you haven't been curious enough to find out what the film is about already, 'Ted' tells the story of how young John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) who grows up by going through life struggling to find/hold on to a friendship. Every year he has trouble fitting in as a kid until the long awaited teddy bear called 'Ted' arrives on Christmas day. Excited, he falls asleep on the words 'I wish you were alive Ted', his wish comes true and Ted becomes world famous, even appearing on the Johnny Carson show. But as Patrick Stewart lovingly & frankly reminds us in his role as narrator: like Corey Feldman and Frankie Muniz, eventually, people stop giving a s**t. 

Despite a serious four year relationship with Lori (Mila Kunis), nearly middle aged John (Mark Wahlberg) is still ripping bongs & lounging around on the sofa watching 80's 'Flash Gordon' with his equal counterpart, irresistible, irresponsible and highly immature teddy bear best friend. John must start to grow up and start to make sacrifices if he wants to be the adult Lori wants him to be, and Ted is arguably the chief reason for his inability to shape up. Great moral to the story, it had so much promise you'd think but in majority of comedies they loose their sense of morale & guidance, Ted lost the point wanting John Bennett to grow up and see Ted out of his life but for the final finale in the last half an hour the moral of the story contradicts itself completely. However there aren't exactly any curve balls in this story, but that's when you realise you're watching a film in which is a man is trying to stop hanging out with his profane teddy bear, despite the obvious outcomes, 'Ted' has to be considered an original comedy.

The only thing that feels a little out of place is a subplot involving Giovanni Ribisi as a creepy  single father who has been a longtime admirer of Ted's and enquires about purchasing him for his overweight son. You've never seen Ribisi like this and that alone is amusing, but the focus of the film is on how John & Ted's mischief impacts his ability to grow up and get more serious with Lori, and this sort of butts into things.

Overall the film will make you laugh into hysterics at times, but you yourself must be up to date with the jokes & the constant referencing of people to get a better grip of the humour that is 'Ted'. Audiences will write you off if you deliver them something inconsistent & scatter-brained that goes beyond 30 inconsequential minutes of their lives, and MacFarlane and co-writers Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild make the majority of adjustments needed to Honor that notion. 'Ted' is as engaging as it is clever, funny and ridiculous. 

  

©Joe Taphouse  

The Dark Knight Rises

"Bat's all folks"

Finally the epically awaited trilogy from the cunning and brave antics by Christopher Nolan & Jonathan Nolan are finished for the time being..

The Dark Knight Rises is such a charismatic & character driven piece of genius. Christopher Nolan has quite frankly outdone himself in this one. Perhaps what made the film so powerful to the previous predecessors was the consistent genuine heartbeat amongst characters especially Bruce Wayne & Alfred, purely guided by powerful powerful emotions. I felt this could be the flaw of the previous Nolan films - the vision of emotion was there but very weak & hollow. In this I brought it, I felt it, hero and villain alike. Christian Bale had distinctive qualities about his character (Bruce Wayne/Batman). Nolan embraced Bruce Wayne in the final instalment that gave Bale the chance to add emotional depth to the character that i believe went astray in The Dark Knight - picking up from the development made in Batman Begins.

Tom Hardy as Bane had to fill the shoes of Heath Ledgers' masterclass in The Dark Knight, but was he up for fight? The Joker is a dog chasing cars, he wouldn't know what to do with one if he caught it! he just does things....right? Bane you could say is a better class of criminal & he definitely gives' it to them. Jokes aside, Tom Hardy was quite simply a terrifying individual, he was frightening. No longer made out to be such a dunderhead enforcer being Poison Ivy's 'Bitch' but one of the greatest criminal masterminds behind "Gotham's Reckoning", coupled with a physical dominance strong enough send shivers down your spine or in this case, send anguish & pain to Batman's vertebra consistently pummelling him to a inch of his life. Nolan has found the ultimate physicality in a man who is Tom Hardy, certainly the power of his eyes can strike fear through a man even Batman not just his '8inch' fists. The breathing mechanism of his mask added to the horror & made him more menacing but thoroughly keeps the 'vicious old gentleman' alive.

Let's not forget Anne Hathaway playing 'Selina Kyle' she defied my expectations, who else thought the actress playing in Princess Diaries could fulfil an intensely physical role like Catwoman. But here I am hugely impressed with her own portray that added immeasurably to the value of the film. Hathaway was incredibly precise & articulate about the psychology of the character, she really built it from the ground up, it was such a delight to see. She sure would of gave Michelle Pfeiffer a run for her money. However, this part has hugely inspired many directors & producers globally for her own spin-off movie, who knows in a few years time we can be awaiting an ambitious jewel thief praying on certain individuals with her cat-like antics.

At a running time of almost 3 hours, the film never becomes dull which personally is very impressive to say the least. The movie's action sequences are spectacularly well created & very intense especially the first meeting of over confident Batman and highly underrated Bane. The fight was very one-sided. Chris Nolan sure highlighted the importance of Batman & his relationship to the audience who were 'Gasping' at every punch. These sequences weren't just explosions & visuals like in many other movies; Cough 'Avengers Assemble'. Nolan creates a grand, dirty, engrossing world in which his action sequences were humming to the heavens.

It can be done. Such a gorgeous reminder that perfect writing & direction can enhance movie-going experience; even hero/superhero movies who to many people, are highly unrealistic & petty. I am hugely satisfied with Christopher Nolan's vision of a world on the brink of chaos and corruption and he interpreted it with such style. Here's to a wonderful trilogy.




Long live Bane & In Nolan we trust.

Marvel

If like myself, many of you have a calendar on your wall for the latest releases on any Marvel action film, especially notes saying Thor 2 & Captain American 2. Well go & tippex them off straight away as Marvel have confirmed the titles for latest saga's in Thor & The Captains' stories set to release in the next few years. Thor 2: The Dark World, sounds very promising, it could be indicating that the sequel will explore the seedier side of Asgard. It certainly hints a new direction for the explosive character & the series; the first film had it's melodramatic moments, but by & large it was a romp. It will be interesting to see Chris Hemsworth's God of Thunder grappling with darkness from within & without, I'm confident I'm not the only 'Geek' when it comes to explosive Marvel news hitting the public. Apparently for the Cap's new saga, old chum Bucky from the previous film returns as a psychotic Russian Assassin brainwashed obviously to be a major pain for Cap's behind..


More News on these Epic films' at a latter stage..


@WhatTheFilmm 

Chernobyl Diaries.

Four words: "Don't waste your time!" 

As much as i despise the storyline of a few 'fearless' teenagers strolling into the deserted town of Chernobyl situated in the north of Ukraine, south west of Russia. All is dandy breezing past a bunch of armed soldiers patrolling the facility but why risk the inevitable just for some 'fun?' 

I am a huge fan of Paranormal movies & how they create such a fear in the eyes of the audience even though the last one was the weakest but still enjoyable nonetheless. Chernobyl was not in the same league as attempted by previous predecessors, for a suspense/horror movie it was juvenile & predictable. The characters were shallow, cardboard cut outs to the extent, it was just very unbelievable. Despite the storyline being really poor, the whole idea & concept had certain promise with the Chernobyl accident being the perfect backdrop for a great horror story..

While the film operates along the same lines as an traditional radiation-centred horror movie, the camera work provides something unique & insightful to the film. Seeing as the story written & created by Oren Peli (Paranormal Activity [2009]) elements of the shaky cam aesthetic but not it's simple format. The quality of film is highly advanced from the release of 'Paranormal' with clearer vision for the viewers but still your typical 'shaky cam'. Chernobyl's shaky moments are far less frequent & less motion sickness, leaving the viewer with a better sense on 'what's going on' rather than 'what could be going on'.

Personally I didn't like the movie, I didn't care for characters at all, i had no remorse for them either. If you can't walk 13 miles to the checkpoint to be safe is utterly an insult to the viewers with extreme love for movies like myself. 

Luckily it was orange Wednesdays'.

To the view the trailer, click here..

The Dark Knight Rises

I've been on the prowl seeking precious information about the new Batman 3 movie since the first climpses' back in Britains winter blues last year, is this really the last of the Christopher Nolan francise..?


You can watch the The Dark knight rises trailers via Apple movie trailers & Youtube. We'll be posting our review of The Dark Knight Rises here as soon as we've seen it - and we want to know what you think too - so keeping checking this page for further information, also we'd love to hear what you guys have to say about the box office blockbuster in the comments below.

'City of God'

City of God - Film Review

Cast: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Frimino da Hora, Phellipe Haagensen, Deu Jorge, Matheus Nachtergaele, Douglas Silva
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Producers: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Mauricio Andrade Ramos
Screenplay: Braulio Mantovani, based on the novel by Paulo Lins
Cinematography: Cesar Charlone
Music: Antonio Pinto, Ed Cortes
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
In Portuguese with subtitles

The irony calling this film City Of God is out the question for every visiting viewer. Seeing as it’s in the slums of Rio de Janeiro round places such as the haunted town for gang violence in favela - at the best of times, purgatory, and, at the worst of times, hell. God is nowhere to be found. Poverty is a way of life & with as much power you can have you’ll never succeed from it. Greed, drugs, violence all play on these streets of this Brazilian town & yet when the gang war erupts, prepubescent children arm themselves with guns and join the fray. In my opinion the ability to use a fire arm is more important to them as a trait then to be able to have the ability to read & write.

The violence of City of God is very extreme & quite shocking to say the least although there virtually isn’t any blood. Part of the reason is to do with the age of murderers & obviously the victims. Many gang members are children, it’s a horrible sight to see these children running around with AK-47’s as young as most people’s younger brothers. Death is no respecter of age in the slums of Rio de Janeiro, they kill with the same ruthless as an adult would. Their overall goal of a seven-year old homeless boy is not finding a family or a friend to get him out of these nasty ways but finding a gun.

The directorFernando Meirelles had an unique way of portraying this distinctive motion picture, one takes us into the streets with an unsurpassed intensity & immediacy. Meirelles’ style is a some sort of rip with many fast cuts, hand held camera sequences to give off that sort of roaming the streets reality feel to the equation & other instances of visual potency. 

If there’s a message that the film espouses, it’s that in a culture where violence begets violence, only the names change. When one gang lord is deposed, another will rise in his place. And, as often as not, it’s the children more than adults, who have to be watched.

The Amazing Spiderman by Joe Taphouse

Ten years ago since the first original Spiderman come out starring Toby Maguire playing the arachnid hero with Kirsten Dunst as Mary-Jane Watson - Spiderman/Peter Parker’s squeeze. Director Sam Raimi’s trilogy devastated box office reviews by a gross of $114 million dollars in it’s first weekend alone which to this day was unheard of. With that sort of accomplishment back then it would be hard for Marc Webb’s reboot to cause an effect. 

The best comparison I can think of would be Christopher Nolan’s reboot of batman ‘Batman begins’ & how did that turn out? Much how ‘begins’ reinvented the Dark knight for a new generation by focusing on a more grounded, character-driven arc for Bruce Wayne. Amazing Spiderman does the same thing for Peter Parker; in this one the new web head CAN exist in the real world as himself, this is a Peter Parker who…? Who is still technically a ‘nerd’, is not a garbage can holder & definitely far from being a goody-two shoes. 

Andrew Garfield should no question take full credit for the film to be such a success, an advantage of his acting skills over Toby Maguire is that he highlighted the duality of Peter Parker & ‘Spiderman’ when Maguire never did, ‘Spiderman’ isn’t just Peter Parker in a mask, ‘Spiderman’ is Peter freed from all the restraints of his identity, all the consequences of his actions. The difference between Raimi’s & Webb’s ‘Spiderman’ films, Webb never rushed to get him into the the legendary suit & fight crime for everyone to see. You can tell regardless how good the first original film was, you’ll always see ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ has back bone symbolising Peter doesn’t become ‘Spiderman’ overnight..rather, his is a journey that encompasses the whole narrative of the film until, by the end, we finally see him become the heroic legend we all know and love. The biggest difference you can see from Garfield’s character & Maguire’s at least on a superficial level, is the fact that the new Spidey plays tricks, cracks & jokes on everyone especially the criminals, due to the fact he’s a 17 year-old kid going through lots of hormonal stages, he certainly acts like a kid that’s for sure!

Beyond the excellent portrays though, you cannot doubt the sublime characteristics & true strength of a brilliant script, this had some excellent direction from Marc Webb. Towards the end, there are a few plot threats left hanging..mysteries left unsolved in the inevitable future instalments. However, Spidey fans’ including myself will just admire this ‘love letter’ remake to Stan Lee’s creation.