Because Everybody Else Has One

Well, I like it... This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about When Ted (the talking teddy bear voiced by Seth MacFarlane, for those of you just tuning in) and his new wife, Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), try to adopt a child, he quickly learns that he is considered not a living, sentient being but property by the state. Enlisting the help of his best friend John (Mark Wahlberg) and a wet-behind-the-ears young lawyer, Samantha (Amanda Seyfried), Ted takes the matter to court to reinstate his rights as a person – an act that is complicated both by Ted and John's habit of making tremendous messes of their lives and the re-emergence of an old nemesis. What we thought Ted 2 has already been met with a certain amount of hostility, by professional critics and “regular” cinema goers (an impressive feat considering it only opens today worldwide) alike, so I'm apparently going against the grain here but it has to be said: I loved Ted 2. Yes, it's crude...

More like Insidious Chapter 0...  This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about Set before the events of the first two films, Insidious Chapter 3 sees our psychic, Elise Rainier reluctantly coming out of retirement to help a young woman, Quinn Brenner, exorcise a demon from her house that she mistakenly believes to be her recently departed mother. What we thought Effectively Insidious: Origins, the third film in this overly familiar horror franchise actually sets itself apart from most prequels in that it may well actually be the best in the series. At the very least it's a tremendous step up from the frankly terrible second film. And yet, for all that, it still barely manages to scrape past “not bad”, which may genuinely be “not bad” for a modern American horror film but it's still a far cry from the genre at its best. On the positive side, the actual plot in this third instalment is probably the best yet, as it gets to delve deeper into t...

Pixar returns with a vengeance. It's been five years since the once faultless animation studio last truly wowed us with the glorious Toy Story 3 but Pixar, having taken an unprecedented year off, picked themselves up after a couple of relative misfires (the weak Cars 2 and the enjoyable but slight Monsters University) with a film that reminds us exactly why we fell in love with their movies in the first place. Inside Out, in fact, not only recalls the highs of Toy Story 3 but is actually something of a thematic followup. In particular, if Toy Story 3 was punctuated by a poignant final act about leaving "childish" things behind, Inside Out is all about that often quite painful transition from childhood to adulthood. Like those heartbreaking scenes in Toy Story 3, Up and Wall E, Inside Out will undoubtedly speak profoundly to adults in a way that it won't to kids but, this being Pixar at its best, it still has tons to offer the younger members of its audience. ...

Buuuuuuum... Bum bum buuuuuum After untold years in development hell, we finally have a new Jurassic Park movie. It's a fun, occasionally thrilling and unquestionably enjoyable trip back to the 1993 original and it is, most probably, the best of the sequels (it's been a while since I've seen the Lost World). Does it add anything new to the franchise, though? Of that, at least, I'm resolutely unconvinced. The basic structure of the film is basically identical to Jurassic Park and the theme of "you were so busy wondering if you could, you never stopped to consider if you should" (to paraphrase the much missed Dr Ian Malcolm) is as central as ever. And frankly, the latter question can just as easily be applied to the film in general. Jurassic World wisely ignores the original's unquestionably inferior sequels, but at least those sequels felt like actual followups. Or, at least the second one did. The biggest problem with Jurassic World is that it carve...

Reteaming once again with Paul Feig, will Spy be the movie to cement the over-exposure of Melissa McCarthy or will it rejuvenate her once incredibly promising movie career? Yes... Reuniting for the third time with her Bridesmaids director Paul Feig, Melissa McCarthy once again applies her considerable comedic talents to a major Hollywood comedy: this time tackling the time honoured tradition of the spy comedy. And even if I can't quite give Spy the glowing thumbs up of most reviews, as it is very, very inconsistent, I can say that it's almost definitely the best comedy released this year so far and, though she comes close to being outdone by two of her co-stars, it's also a nice step forward for McCarthy who was very much in danger of being typecast as the profane, often repulsive "trailer trash chick" that already started to grate in her second collaboration with Paul Feig, the Heat.     McCarthy plays a mousy but sweet CIA desk-worker who works mostly as...

Yet another film that should be several million times better than it is. This review is also up at Channel 24 What it's about Lilly and Gerri are two very different best friends spending time together in the last summer before they both head off to different colleges. But what starts off as a lot of fun in the sun is soon complicated by family problems, treacherous secrets and a love triangle with an older boy that they both hope will take their virginities before the summer ends. What we thought Very Good Girls is the sort of film that you can't help but really, really want to like. Its basic coming-of-age plot is promising enough on its own terms but throw in a top notch cast, led by increasingly impressive young actresses, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen, and a highly acclaimed screenwriter making her directorial debut, and you have a recipe for something that should be great indeed. Or, at least, very good. Sadly, Very Good Girls is actually ...