Friday 27 November 2015

Double Bill Mini Musings: Naughty Bears and Loving Aliens...

Ted 2:
What's it about?
When Ted's status as a 'person' is called into question by the state, the little fuzzy chaos machine and his 'Thunder Buddy' John - with the help of a pot-smoking newbie lawyer - must fight for Ted's civil rights. Naturally, gross-out gags and mucky-mouthed silliness ensues.
Who would I recognise in it?
Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried, Giovanni Ribisi, John Slattery, Jessica Barth, Morgan Freeman, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Having read some less-than-kind reviews of this follow-up to the well-received original, I couldn't help but think "Why?" Featuring a solid story (the fight for a sentient teddy bear's civil rights proves to be surprisingly involving) and several laugh-out-loud gags to accompany the general mirth, Ted 2 is just as much fun as Ted. A handful of resurrected jokes from the first movie do threaten to derail proceedings and send it careening down into a pit of self-referential 'remember this' laziness, but these call backs are soon dispensed with as the main thrust of the plot takes hold. It may not be as fresh as it once was, but what else would you expect? It's a sequel, after all - but MacFarlane, after a wobble with the patchy "A Million Ways To Die In The West", manages to give fans what they want and tell a good story. Arguably it's a smidge overlong (the Extended Edition adds in 11 minutes), but even scenes like the indulgent opening musical number are entertaining enough to paper over the cracks. The replacement of Mila Kunis with Amanda Seyfried (as new love interest Samantha L. Jackson) is well handled and allows the immaturity of John and Ted to run wild, sensibly leaving the "it's about time you grew up" shtick to the original movie. A little mustier around the frayed edges, but still as much fun as ever - if you dug Ted, you'll dig Ted 2. Good.

Click "READ MORE" below for an intergalactic love story...

Starman:
What's it about?
John Carpenter's 1984 sci-fi drama sees a bereaved widow swept up into a cross-country road trip when an alien is shot down and arrives on her doorstep in the guise of her dead husband.
Who would I recognise in it?
Jeff Bridges, Karen Allen, Charles Martin Smith, and more.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Combining a melancholy love story with the comedic curiosities of a fish-out-of-water tale, John "Halloween" Carpenter tackles heartfelt emotions as deftly as he did scenes of nail-biting tension and terror. The central conceit - that a widow is reunited with (almost) her husband - plucks at the heart strings from the get-go, and yet the narrative complexities are presented with that very particular 1980s style of straight-forwardness (with added military distrust). There are scenes of the fantastic, especially in the first act, but these never get in the way of telling a very human story. The film rests almost entirely on the shoulders of Bridges and Allen, in turns lost and awkwardly innocent, emotionally fragile and yearning. Wrestling with the nature of love, life, and closure - among other things - the film manages to balance heartbreak with wonder. Beautifully realised on all fronts, Starman - a film which I've at long last seen for the first time - proves to be an enduring classic. For my money it's one of the best love stories ever told, and its strange to think that it also involves explosions, a Coppola-sized fleet of helicopters, and a transformation sequence akin to An American Werewolf In London - the flashier moments are wondrous, but it is a testament to the quality of the script and direction that these parts seamlessly melt into the rest of the film. Great.

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