Ted Review

'Family Guy' creator Seth McFarlane has a movie. It's called 'Ted' and it's about a deadbeat car salesman who lives with his girlfriend and his talking teddy bear. The situation is familiar and the comedy is very similar to the aforementioned show as well as 'American Dad' and 'The Cleveland Show'.

The film stars Mark Wahlberg as the sympathetic loser John Bennet and Mila Kunis as his girlfriend Lori. McFarlane uses his remarkable voice to bring to life the titular character Ted. The film starts off strong and sweet with young Johnny growing up as a shy and lonely kid. His inability to make friends forces him to wish for a best friend. The narrator (Patrick Stewart) reminds us that nothing is more powerful than a boy's wish so Ted comes to life, scaring the shit out of John's parents.

Much like Macaulay Culkin the bear enjoys a brief but intense period of fame. But when the years finally catch up with him he's a drunk, drug-addicted, swearing teddy bear with an unhealthy adoration for the movie 'Flash Gordon'. Johnny and Ted waste their lives watching television and cracking rude jokes. Lori, the only grown-up in the entire movie, feels John is wasting his potential. In true Hollywood fashion she makes him decide; live a forfilling life with her or an unfilling one with Ted.

This is a well-explored story in many romantic comedies over the last few years. Logically, it's not the most interesting part of this film. The character Ted is the main attraction and he doesn't dissapoint. McFarlane makes him crude but equally endearing. His relationship with John feels genuine, quite an accomplishment for a CGI teddy bear.

The humor is truly that of McFarlane. If you like 'Family Guy', warts and all, chances are you like 'Ted'. It does suffer from the fact that it's a live-action feature. Some jokes would work a lot better in an animated medium like 'Family Guy' but don't really hit the right tone for live-action. There's only a few of these misses  and the amount of succesful gags almost make you forget about them. 

There's also an entertaining sub-plot about an obsessive fan (Giovanni Ribisi) and his overweight son. Both of them are screwed up in a fun way and try to kidnap their biggest idol. This part of the movie doesn't get as much attention as the troubled relationship between Lori, Johnny and Ted making it feel like padding. It might have worked better if it had been integrated more organically into the story. 

What makes 'Ted' memorable is its good natured tone. There's lots of cracks at ethnicities, sex, diseases, the mentally handicapped, 9/11, the physically handicapped, prostitution and religion but at its heart the film is quite sweet. With its music (obviously inspired by John Williams) and its romantic/bromantic sensibilities the film is not only funny but also heartfelt. 

Iron Sky Review

No, this isn't some weird conspiracy theory, rather it's the premise of the movie 'Iron Sky'. The project originated from Finland where a group of amateur filmmakers set out to use the internet to get their movie financed. On their website Wreck a Movie the producers established an online community of film fans. People connected to this community could donate money or otherwise aid the filmmakers.

The film's concept is ludicrous. In the last days of the Second World War the Germans execute a secret mission. Their plan is to use their anti-gravity technology to colonize the moon. Amazingly, they succeed and while old Adolf is blowing his brains out in Berlin, his sympathizers are bouncing around the moon. In 'Iron Sky' we see what happens when the vengeful Space Nazis return.

I've been following this production ever since I saw this enticing teaser back in 2008. Due to the nature of the project it took a long time to get started. But judging from the film this way of filmmaking works quite well for director Timo Vuorensola. Fortunately, the film doesn't take itself too seriously. After all, 'Iron Sky' is about goddamn Space Nazis!

The film opens in 2018 with a moon landing, executed primarily to boost the current US president's approval ratings. Quickly, the two astronauts encounter a group of Nazi... Nazmonauts? Anyway, after dispatching one of the newcomers the Nazis arrest the survivor. They are surprised, and more than a little offended, to find a black man inside the suit with a computer the size of a moon rock.

The phone holds enough computing power to activate the Space Nazi's ultimate wunderwaffe. However, when the phone's battery goes dead so do their plans of invading Earth. Now the search is on for more cell phones.

In tone 'Iron Sky' seems like a cross between 'Mars Attacks!' and 'Starship Troopers'. Much like those two films the satire feels forced, but there a few moments of genuine comedy. In one scene there's a wink to 'Dr. Strangelove', which undoubtedly served as a major inspiration for Vuorensola. Unfortunately, the movie suffers from its amateur origins.

First off, the pacing is all over the place. More than once the film grinds to halt in order to deliver an elaborate and goofy gag. One of the them is a parody to 'Der Untergang'. This scene in particular is characteristic for 'Iron Sky'; it is a film which wears its nerdy fetishes on its sleeve.

Vuorensola's attempts at satire feel strangely dated, quite possibly due to the long time it took the produce the film. For instance, The US president and her slogan ''Yes she can!'' riff off of Sarah Palin and the 2008 election. With the next elections coming up in less than a year these references lose much of their power.

After four years of waiting you can't help but feel a bit disapointed. 'Iron Sky' has become nothing more than a curiosity. A film which you might watch once or twice just for the silly concept. However, as a piece of independent satire it falls flat.

There's no trace of the strange melancholy from the original teaser. The whole film is a just too goofy. One of the primary reasons why good satire works is because the people inside the movie don't know they're being satirized.