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Non-Review Review: Ted

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Darren

Ted is an impressive directorial debut from Seth McFarlane, the creator and star of Family Guy. Those familiar with McFarlane’s work will know what to expect from Ted. It’s loud, it’s crude, it’s full of retro pop culture references, but it’s also constructed with almost surreal innocence and earnestness. McFarlane can be brutal at times, and he does make a few cheap shots here or there over the course of Ted. (Take that, Justin Beiber! Take that, Brandon Routh!) However, for the most part, the film actually does a remarkable job of balancing its crass in-your-face offensiveness with a weird emotional warmth. At it’s heart, Ted is still the story of a boy and his teddy bear. It just so happens to be a really messed up teddy bear.

Bear with me…

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The Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus (Review/Retrospective)

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Darren

The Amazing Spider-Man by David Michelinie & Todd McFarlane Omnibus is a fun comic book collection. Todd McFarlane was one of the rising stars at Marvel in the late eighties, and it’s no exaggeration to suggest that his work on The Amazing Spider-Man (along with Jim Lee’s work on Uncanny X-Men) had a massive influence on how the company would develop during the nineties. McFarlane’s artwork still looks absolutely superb, but it’s easy to forget that McFarlane worked for an extended period with author David Michelinie, crafting stories for the iconic web-crawler. While the stories and characterisation might not have been as strongly influential as McFarlane’s artwork, they still remain impressive until today. This might not be the finest or most important collection of Spider-Man adventures ever collected, but it reads incredibly fluidly and has a great sense of fun behind it.

Itsy-bitsy Spider...

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Trailer for Seth McFarlane’s Ted

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Darren

I know that Seth McFarlane is a bit of a controversial figure, with a lot of commentors quick to criticise his more recent output (and even some of his earlier work). While I don’t like The Cleveland Show, I’ve actually enjoyed the handful of American Dad episodes I’ve seen and I’m still quite fond of Family Guy. And I think that, even if some of his work might be a little unfocused (probably from spreading himself too thin), he’s a prodigious comedic talent. So I am actually quite looking forward to Ted, the actor/writer/singer/songwriter/comedian’s directorial debut. It will star McFarlane as a foul-mouthed teddy bear who has grown up with John, played by Mark Wahlberg, and causes friction in his best buddy’s love life. I’m very curious about this, I must confess.

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