Ed's Review Dot Com

Hammer & Tongs, Illumination Entertainment, Universal Pictures,

Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Tori Kelly, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, Scarlett Johansson

Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) is the owner of a failing theater in the city. He has an idea to host a talent show and pay the owners 1000.00 which is the last of his money, but a clerical error prints the flyers at $100,000. Hundreds of animals line up for a chance to audition to win the grand prize including a misunderstood gorilla son, a very shy elephant, and a fun mixture of musical animals. Buster needs help to try to save the theater or it’s all lost.

On the day after Christmas 5 of my grandchildren and their parents, and my wife and I saw Sing in 3D. I have been waiting for this one for quite some time. I was not disappointed. This was a beautiful little film. The music is really good and the comedy was non-stop. Everyone from the smallest 6 year old to the oldest 65 (myself) and every one in between thought it was really good. The animation is top notch and the picture is great. There are some great voices in there, and the characters were very well played. I must say, “Very Well Done”. If you get a chance to catch this one in the theater, don’t miss the opportunity. Give yourself one more Christmas present this year!

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Universal Pictures, Media Rights Capital, Fuzzy Door Productions,

Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, Jessica Barth, Aedin Mincks, Bill Smitrovich

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a lonely child who had no friends. None of the kids liked him, so one Christmas this little boy made a big Christmas wish that his favorite teddy bear, Ted (Seth McFarland) would become real and be able to talk to him. Well, it came true, and Ted and John became best friends for life. But just like “Puff, the Magic Dragon” John grew up and found Lori Collins (Mila Kunis) and fell hopelessly in love with her, and though she was very tolerant of John and Ted’s antics, eventually you know it’s going to cause a big problem. Having a stuffed toy for a best friend definitely delayed John’s maturity, but somehow he’s going to have to grow up. This is a buddy picture, but it’s definitely not a kids movie. Ted is one naughty little teddy bear!

This was a very popular film, and I understand that. It’s unique, that’s for sure. Like movies like “The Muppet Movie” where they treat puppets like they are real people, this film just accepts Ted for what he is, a live teddy bear. But it’s probably closer to “Child’s Play” character Chucky than it is to the Muppets. There are several things I really liked about this movie. One has to be the narration which is hysterical. The narrator gets off on a tangent, and says the most unexpected things sometimes, but it’s done in the serious voice that any fairy tale would have. Secondly is the way everyone treats Ted like you would a live teddy bear. He becomes a celebrity for a while, until everyone gets used to him and his 15 minutes is all used up. Ted gets his shot on the Tonight Show, but soon he’s just accepted as normal. This is funny too, as it’s the opposite of how they usually do things in this kind of movie. Remember the classic Warner Brothers cartoon where the guy found a singing frog? Every time someone was around he would stop singing and just sit there and say “Ribbit”. Well, that’s not very realistic. Ted, on the other hand, acts like anyone else would. When young Johnny tells his parents that his bear has come to life, of course they don’t believe him, but Ted steps right out and says hello.

There are some other jewels in this film as well. Patrick Warburton has a role that is really out of character for him and is really funny at several points in the film. He’s John’s co-worker at the rental car place and is a surprising characters. Joel McHale also has a small role that adds a lot to the humor as Lori’s horny boss. Mila Kunis as Lori is also a big add to the movie. I don’t think anyone could have done a better job of playing this character, and she does a really good job!

The key to the humor in this movie is just like Seth MacFarlane’s other work, like Family Guy, where it’s all about saying the most inappropriate things at the most unexpected time. This is definitely all Seth’s movie, and if you’re not the kind to get shocked by a foul mouthed talking teddy bear, but are a fan of his other work, you’re going to enjoy Ted. It definitely is different, but I found out why it was so darn popular. It’s really funny in it’s own unique twisted way.

Here is the red band trailer for “Ted”

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2oth Century Fox

Dwayne Johnson (don’t call him “The Rock” anymore), Ashley Judd, Stephen Merchant, Ryan Sheckler, Seth MacFarlane, Julie Andrews

The most amazing thing about Tooth Fairy is that it DIDN’T SUCK!  Yeah, I was sure it was going to.  But I figured I HAD to see it, so I put it at the top of my queue, and lo and behold, it didn’t suck!

Derek Thompson (ex-Rock) is a minor league hockey player.  We’ll not really a player because his primary role is knocking the teeth out of the opposing team.  Hence, he carries the nickname  “The Tooth Fairy”.  He’s not a very nice guy, and he has a bad habit of dashing kid’s dreams.  “You wanna be a hockey player?  You know what?  There are a thousand kids better than you, and you don’t have a chance”.  That kind of meaness.  But when he dashes a little kids belief in the Tooth Fairy, he’s in for a harsh sentence.  30 days as an actually Tooth Fairy.

Now you’ve seen the previews and ads.  Dewayne Johnson in a pink tutu with wings.  But it’s got heart.   He starts out half hearted and doing a terrible job, but little by little finds out there is some value in having dreams.  And he begins to learn his lesson.

Now why the bat signal never came on when Batman was in the shower or something, I never understood.  He’s always standing there waiting for the bat signal to come on.   But Derek isn’t so lucky.   The pager goes off at the worst possible times.  Maybe that’s part of the punishment.

Now this is not a movie that a bunch of guys would rent, crack open a six pack, and spend Saturday night watching.   It’s a kids movie after all.  But if you have something you’d like to watch WITH your kids, this is great choice.   The kids will love it, but there’s plenty to watch for the ladies and men in the adult kingdom as well.  The ladies will love wathing Derek deal with the complications in his love life, and the guys will enjoy some of the uncomfortable situations that are really funny, and some decent hockey action too.  All in all, it’s a great family togetherness film, and believe it or not, it really DIDN’T SUCK!    Julie Anderews was a pleasure to watch too.  Her role, though small, adds a great deal to the film.

Enjoy.