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A Million Ways to Die in the West Review, A Painfully Unfunny Parody of the West

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A Million Ways to Die in the West

Directed by: Seth McFarlane

Starring: Seth McFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Neil Patrick Harris, Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Silverman, and Giovanni Ribisi

Family Guy is by far one of the most popular cartoons airing today, along The Simpsons. It has made Seth McFarlane a star, leading to two other TV shows and two movies. Seth McFarlane is certainly a talented man but at this point I feel that he is overreaching when it comes to his humor. His humor works sometimes but sometimes it’s just so grating that it ruins any other joke he just told. Million Ways to Die in the West had a funny concept but was so poorly executed that it is hard to find anything funny or humorous within the movie.

In 1882, in the same town of Old Stump, Arizona, sheep farmer Albert Stark (Seth McFarlane) is dumped by his lovely girlfriend Louise (Amanda Seyfried). Desperate and alone, Albert seeks the help of his friends which fails entirely. One night, during a fight, Albert saves Anna (Charlize Theron) from certain danger. Telling her about his problem, Anna agrees to help Albert get back his girlfriend and prove that he is a bigger man than she thought he was. Meanwhile Anna’s husband Clinch Leatherwood (Liam Neeson) is making his way to town to reclaim Anna and escape with the money that he stole. Albert is the one that has to fend off Clinch and proves that he has changed.

It is strange to see a comedy that takes place in a Western setting but when it happens it succeeds, like Blazing Saddles. Seth McFarlane’s second film failed to even achieve a similar level of comedy as Ted did and when you think of comedies that take place in the West it couldn’t even achieve any thing close to what Blazing Saddles so masterfully did. Seth McFarlane’s comedy usually involves cut away gags that really don’t affect the story or progress it, they are just there to get laughs. Family Guy does it all the time and sometime it works with the story and other times it feel like they are padding the runtime. A Million Ways to Die in the West does the same thing and they are there only to pad an already bloated runtime. Running just shy of 2 hours it is already longer than it should have been. The content of the film should have only been around 80 minutes but it keeps going and going until you get to the showdown between Albert Stark and Foy (Neil Patrick Harris) and then you realize that you still have 40 minutes left of a movie that should have been over at this point.

The run time isn’t the only problem, the acting ruins any kind of humor that was presented. I don’t think that Seth McFarlane can act, he does well with voices but emotions is a different story. Every delivery of his lines was really flat and bland. He brought nothing to the character and proved that he should stay behind the scenes. Only certain directors can achieve both acting and directing at the same time, it’s even harder when you’ve never acted before and only directed one other movie. Charlize Theron is able to provide some character development but even her acting feels stale and boring. Liam Neeson provides the typical archetypes that he is now known for but his limited screen time doesn’t do much with the material to have an impact.

My biggest criticism of this movie is the story. It is called A Million Ways to Die in the West but never really embraces the premise. There are several intercuts of wacky deaths that occur during the movie but it always felt like a after thought. The actual story felt like a typical romantic comedy. It is all about the man getting his girl back . It follows similar cliches that your typical rom com follows. It never felts risky like I’ve gotten use to with McFarlane’s humor. It was a safe execution without any attempt to make something interesting or fun. It was boring to the point of hatred. I will say when there was a joke involving the core concept it was actually humorous but those jokes are downplayed towards the rest of the movie.

I was hoping that Seth McFarlane would make something that was interesting and funny. Never have I been so bored of a movie recently. Outside of the core concept there is nothing that makes this movie good.

Grade: D-

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Ted Review

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Ted

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane

I’ll have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Family Guy, American Dad, or The Cleveland Show but when I heard that Seth MacFarlane was directing his first movie I could help but be intrigued, wondering how his brand of comedy was going to translate on to the big screen. The premise is a rather simply one, bromance that gets in the way of actually romance done in I Love You Man, but the introduction of a living teddy bear changed it up a lot for me because it was something that no one else has done before and that Mark Wahlberg, an actor that I am starting to enjoy more and more with every movie that he does, and Mila Kunis, who is a good actress and come on she is super hot, makes this movie more entertaining than other films of this nature. There is a lot that I really found funny in this movie and a lot that I think fell flat but what this movie is really about is maturation of John (Mark Wahlberg). It works well on a emotional level and still remains funny even when the story drags on and some of the acting and dialogue can be a little weak. Right now I have to say that it is the best R-Rated comedy of the year, thats not saying to much since the other two of the summer happen to be The Dictator and That’s My Boy. In the end I really enjoyed the final results despite the fact that it is a different sort of comedy for me.

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a perfectly normal Boston native whose childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life comes true. The bear, Ted (voiced by (Seth MacFarlane), remains his best friend from the age of eight into his adulthood. Twenty-seven years later, conflict emerges when Ted’s irresponsible and vulgar slacker lifestyle comes in the way of John’s attempt to embrace adulthood and his love-interest Lori (Mila Kunis).

There is a lot that sets this movie apart from similar movies like the entire story revolving around a mans relationship with a Teddy Bear but I think that the movie hits the mark more often than not and I think that some people are not going to enjoy it as much as I did but it is a interesting movie that is much more that a raunchy comedy, deep down it has a lot of heart to it.

8 out of 10

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Black Swan Review

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Black Swan

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

It would be an incredible hard task to market a movie like this, you have to attract an audience and not ruin the movie in the trailers or other marketing, it did succeed at marketing it well. What really attracted me to this movie originally was the fact the it was a Darren Aronofsky film, he is one of my favorite directors right now, and I wasn’t sure how it would turn out since it was about ballet. What it ended up being was a tense physiological horror movie that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. It is easy to admit to this but Natalie Portman deserved the Oscar that she did win, she isn;t my favorite actress but she can surprise me sometimes, for the role of Nina Sayers. It is good to see the Academy to award the right person for the awards which doesn’t happen all the time, like Rooney Mara. What Darren Aronofsky has done is created a movie that is both emotionally and physiologically daunting, which he is good at like Pi or Requiem for a Dream, and a movie that has fascinated me every time that I’ve watched it.

Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side – a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

What I find interesting about this movie is that it makes a good example of over perfection and how people will always try to be perfect and will do anything to obtain it. She is desperate to to obtain perfection in her role that she becomes crazy, hallucinating and doing things she would never have done before she got the role. Mila Kunis plays the polar opposite of Nina perfectly, she is essential what Nina needs to be to fill the role of the Black Swan, I am surprised she didn’t receive an Oscar nomination. The ending, I think is the most important because it is a showcase of Nina essential killing off the good side of her personality and full embracing the bad side. It was a perfect way to end the film and it shows, even at her death she did all for perfection and her dying words showcase exactly that. I truly find it hard to write a lot about the film, but thats just my perspective, and I know for a fact that there is a lot that can be written about it, if you take the time to analyze it, which is not what I am doing. I find this movie to be something that everyone should experience but it may be to much for some people. One of the best movies of 2010 and my third favorite of that year.

9.5 out of 10

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Ted Theatrical Red Band Trailer

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What I find funny is just how weird the premise of this movie is, talking bear come on, but from what I’ve seen it actually looks pretty hilarious. I am not the biggest Family Guy fan, the series has become a little stale recently but Seth McFarlane, though he sounds way to much like Brian and Peter in this movie, has always provided me with a laugh. Mark Walhberg as well has become something of a funny actor and that the trailer signifies that. Mark Wahlberg plays John, a perfectly normal Boston native whose childhood wish for his teddy bear to come to life comes true. The bear (Ted) — voiced by MacFarlane himself — remains his best friend well into his adult years. Conflict emerges when Ted’s irresponsible and vulgar slacker lifestyle comes in the way of John’s attempt to embrace his adulthood and the woman of his dreams, Lori (Mila Kunis). Hope are high, just like the characters in the trailer, kidding aside I am looking forward to seeing this with friends and have a good time doing so.