Geek of Oz

Worthy successor to original. So wrong, yet oh so right. - Stu  Ted 2 is in cinemas from today. If you see the flick and agree or disagree with my thoughts, feel free to angrily throw a beer bottle at me in the comments below. 

This film, the latest in Michael Bay's multi-BILLION dollar franchise, is critic proof. There's nothing that I could say that the viewing public doesn't already know or anticipate. This is another Transformers film which is better than its predecessors in certain aspects and worse in others. Transformers: Age of Extinction is a Michael Bay film. Set four years after the previous film, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the Autobots are on the run from a special CIA squad, "Cemetery Wind" (aka Corpse Fart), which has been tasked with the eradication of mechanical alien threat. Optimus finds himself begrudgingly teamed up with Marky Mark and not-Megan Fox before they destroy a great chunk of Hong Kong. Don't go blaming me for spoiling anything. This is all in the trailer. This film sees Shia LaBeouf replaced with Mark Wahlberg and while Marky Mark's emotional range doesn't seem to extend beyond a perpetual quizzical look, he's a welcome cha...

Lone Survivor, the latest film from Peter Berg (Welcome to the Jungle, Battleship), plays more like a recruitment video for the U.S Army than a film with any real depth. The film is an adaptation of former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell’s account of the 2005 Operation Red Wing, a bungled covert operation in Afghanistan that sees four U.S soldiers are grossly outnumbered by a hostile enemy. Despite the jingoistic flavour, excessive torture porn and overly simplistic script, Lone Survivor has enough thrills to scrap through with a pass mark. The film opens with a montage of actual Navy SEAL hopefuls being put through their paces. We see their fatigue, their determination, their will to be the best … yeah, yeah we get it, these aren’t normal every day soldiers. The sequence tells you all you need to know about the film: it’s an unabashed love letter to the military. The plot is kept pretty straightforward and the characters even more so. We meet each of Navy SEALs and get given a li...

Sometimes you’ve got to be smart to get away with being stupid. Michael Bay’s latest offering Pain and Gain is proof that if a film is going to be silly and ridiculous it has to stay fully committed to make it work. Mr Bay has taken a break from his goliath Transformers franchise to tell the real life story of three jacked-up, protein-munching body builders who get embroiled in extortion plan which goes horribly wrong. 

Much to the chagrin and/or delight of geeks worldwide, Paramount Pictures and Michael Bay have confirmed details of the next installment in the phenomenally successful Hasbro franchise. While no massive revelations are involved in the press release, a surprising cast member is named as the new front man of the series while Australia's own REBEL WILSON gets a nod! Check out the official press release after the jump!

Ted is the heartwarming story of young John (Mark Wahlberg) and his childhood friend, Ted (voiced by Seth MacFarlane). Ted just so happens to be a stuffed teddy bear who is given life through a magical Christmas wish. Sounds lovely, doesn't it? Well, that's where the niceties end because from here on in it's all dicks, balls and fart jokes. This basic story isn't a unique one in itself and is at times reminiscent of Short Circuit or Howard the Duck albeit with bongs, cocaine and a tonne of pop culture references. The story of a boy and his childhood friend, especially a magical friend, is nothing entirely new but it is well utilised as a vessel to showcase a buddy comedy that breaks every law of good taste and decency. Sounds awesome, don't it?!? Check out the rest of our review after the jump.

Contraband is the latest film by Baltasar Kormakur (of 101 Reykjavik fame) which follows a few days in the life of reformed smuggler, Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg), as he is drawn back into the game following his brother-in-law Andy’s (Caleb Landry Jones) bungled job for drug lord Tim Briggs, played by the ever-menacing Giovanni Ribisi. Chris reunites with his old crew and heads to Panama for the traditional ‘one last job’ in order to placate a disquieted Briggs and protect his family from his punitive fury. Whilst Chris is away he entrusts the welfare of his wife (Kate Beckinsale) and two children to his best friend Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster).