SPIDER-MAAAAAAAAAAAA,
SPIDER-MAAAAAAAAAAAN
RADIOACTIVE SPIDER MAAAAAAAN
DODADOOOO - okay you get the idea I really really really like Spider-man. From the earliest of comics all the way to this new movie I will always like Spider-man. He's a punk ass with super powers flying around New York city with a camera. Whats not to like? For the record I like the first and second of the Sam Raimi movies, regarding the second as the best super-hero movie of all time. Does this one measure up? Well I'll tell ya...
I loved it. I thought the acting was great, I thought the writing was great, I thought the action scenes were legitimately memorable and most importantly I thought this was a faithful rendition of the Spider-Man origin I know and love. The writing feels great, and there isn't more than one seen where the acting feels forced.
..we'll get to that seen in a moment. The acting is great, while this cast isn't any bigger or more star studded then the last but for the times it's definitely no less. And on top of that what really matters, the caliber of the acting, is fantastic : Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field these are some strong actors and they all pull their weight. Nothing that was written too cheesily really comes off that way when they deliver the line, nothign feels over the top or unnessary for a super-hero movie. Everything falls pretty perfectly into place. If this was the whole movie i'd be pretty thirlled.
The problem this movie seems to have on its hands is the Lizard played by Ryhs Ifans, he isn't a bad actor he just doesn't seem to have much to do. Once his connection to Peter Parker is explained he really only gets a small handful of scenes to develop a motivation, a character, an alter ego, and finally an evil master plan. It isn't awful but he feels rushed and under cut. What could have been a deep interesting and tormented character gets kinda shoved to the side. I mean this movie does put a lot more polish on Spidey's story but it doesn't let the villain pop. And being that Spider-man has some of the best villains in the marvel universe that's really saying something.
All in all I say this movie is worth a look and I hope it kicks of a new more stable franchise of good Spider-man movies. As you'll notice I didn't mention the third Sam Raimi film becuase it was terrible. Go check out this summer super-hero block buster that definitely ...is worth a look. But is not as good as the other super-hero movies we have already seen or are about to see (Avengers and the Dark Knight Rises respectively.)
Walking into Ted I expected a simple kinda half assed version of every dude bro-ship clashes with relationship comedy, except made worse by having to stare at a cheaply animated teddy bear. What I got was in fact a shock, one of the best dude bro-ship clashes with relationship comedies in recent memory, that actually had some decent characters, good acting, and .. well a few cliche's but we can't win em all!
Ted opens very simply; a young boy without friends gets a new teddy bear for Christmas and wishes that he come to life. Contrary to what probably should happen, the bear comes to life and assumes the mantle of the young boy's best friend. And because he's a magical talking adorable teddy bear the two become quiet famous. Years later the fame has died down, leaving the two now young adults at an emotional level of man-child because they're always had each other. When the guy (played by Mark Wahlberg) starts getting serious with his girlfriend (played by the dazzling Mila Kunis) she asks if maybe after all these years Ted (Voiced by writer and director Seth MacFarlane) could move out so they can start a life together.
Annnnnnnnnnnnd you can see where that takes them, the idea isn't terribly original and the curves in the plot can be picked outta the crowd like bright red tomatoes in a bagel factory.... see even the metaphor I used was more confusing then the plot of Ted. What makes it worth watching are three things ; the acting, the writing, and Mila Kunis. Now Mila Kunis is self-explanatory beautiful and a good actress but most importantly actually a funny and deep female character in this sort of a movie with a real motivation we actually believe. The jokes , while I won't get too specific, are a mix of all MacFarlane's favorites playing out in proper live action. And for what it's worth his jokes only work for me half the time so to say that I think its funny is some evidence that it should have a broader appeal then Family Guy. It's a mix of obscure references to his favorite era in which he grew up and very precise political humor that rarely crosses over to the offensive side.
But what really does it for me in this movie is in fact the acting, everyone plays their character so well ; Wahlberg uses his classic accent to stay in a kind of meta-immaturity,
Giovanni Ribisi plays the perfect - OH I'm sorry didn't you know he was in this movie? Ya he is and he's f*cking weird. He plays the hell out of his weird creepy character but still... ick. Even Patrick Warburton, who you will immediately recognize, who has less than five scenes in the movie is hilarious.
I can't promise you'll love this movie but isn't too long, it's funny, and when it suits the film its actually kinda sweet. Worth a quick look.
