Opening up in theaters this weekend of June 29, 2012 are: Ted and Magic Mike.

Somehow a young boy’s wish is granted, and his cherished Teddy Bear comes to life. They’re best friends who never leave each other’s sides. At first the world is shocked and Teddy becomes a celebrity of sorts, but time passes and he just becomes a normal schlub like any other former child star. Within 20 years, the two friends are just getting stoned and watching bad movies together, just trying to get by.

It’s essentially Calvin & Hobbes meets Harold & Kumar. It’s definitely not for young kids, no matter how cute Ted is.

Seth McFarlane of Family Guy fame makes his live-action directing debut in Ted, which he also wrote and does the voice of Ted (the Teddy Bear). Mark Wahlberg stars as his best friend John who’s seemingly stuck in a delayed adolescence, and the beautiful Mika Kunis stars as the girlfriend that comes between us and demands that John grow up and not just spend his days hanging out with his Teddy Bear.

It does sound ridiculous and over-the-top, but it’s actually quite funny and does have a lot of heart to it. The audience I saw it with, were laughing so hard so often and so hard, that we surely missed a bunch of jokes. Seth McFarlane proves that he’s here to conquer the big screen just like he did TV. And, we forgive you Mark Wahlberg for making The Happening and ruining The Planet of the Apes with Tim Burton, you’re back baby! Mile Kunis as the bitchy girlfriend, well- you’re beautiful?!? *LOL* And any movie that puts Flash Gordon, Savior of the Universe on a pedestal like this movie does, is worth seeing!

It’s about male strippers, it stars all of Hollywood’s beefcake stars such as Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, True Blood’s Joe Manganiello and Matthew McConaughey. If you just saw the ad, it’d seem like this was just a funky dance movie with hot, well-oiled muscular studs gyrating to bad dance music for the ladies – and there is quite a bit of that, but it’s also a look at a subculture of stripping and sex much the same way that Boogie Nights did with the porn industry. With a director like Steven Soderbergh, you know that there’s going to be much more behind the “prettyboy” visage that draws most people into this movie. That being said, most of the crowd of ladies who swarmed the early preview on Wednesday night, were whooping and hollering as if there was a real show going on. Definitely a movie with a lot going on for it, that you can enjoy in a lot of different ways, mostly due to Soderbergh’s genius as a filmmaker.

Movies opening this weekend of June 15, 2012 are That’s My Boy and Rock of Ages.

That’s My Boy

Adam Sandler movies seem to be getting even dumber and grosser as time goes on, That’s My Boy seems to be continuing that downward trend, except this time SNL’s Andy Samberg is along for the ride.

The premise this time, a 13 year old boy ends up having a questionable relationship with his hot-to-trot teacher. They get caught. She goes to jail. She discovers she’s pregnant and has his baby in prison. The boy ends up being a single dad bringing up the boy, mostly on candy and bad tv. As soon as that baby boy hits 18, he takes off and starts his life fresh. Years pas, the boy gets engaged, and guess who shows up to his wedding – his dad. The dad is played by Adam Sandler, the son by Andy Samberg.

If you expected something gross, dumb and silly – this is the film for you. It is what it is. Whatever “edge” Sandler once had is completely gone, just as it disappeared for fellow SNL alumni Eddie Murphy years ago. Hopefully, Andy Samberg, fresh off SNL – doesn’t join him on that trip.

Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages is an adaption of the hit Broadway musical of the same name. It’s about a small town girl named Sherrie (played by Julianne Hough) who goes to the big city with dreams of becoming a famous singer in the late 80’s. Upon arriving, she ends up getting a job as a waitress at the famous Bourbon Room. She meets a city boy named Drew and they fall in love. Their story of love and their quest for fame is told through this musical starring an ensemble of Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Malin Ackerman, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Diego Boneta. The music of the film, is the embarrassing but delightful soft metal music of the 80’s such as stuff by Journey, Foreigner, Joan Jet, Poison, Bon Jovi and Pat Benetar.

There’s honestly not much to the story, it’s just a great excuse to zone out to the cast having fun singing this music, kind of like an All-Star karaoke. Tom Cruise in particular will blow you away, he dominates in the role of an Axl Rose like singer on stage. It’s a shame that they couldn’t have just built a film around his character instead.

Movies opening this weekend of June 8, 2012 are Prometheus, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and Safety Not Guaranteed.

Prometheus

Director Ridley Scott returns to the Aliens universe with Prometheus, a kind of prequel to the Aliens saga. Back again (for the first time) is the Weyland Corporation, the evil Corporation that was a part of the other Aline movies. They send out a crew to explore a distant planet to seek answers to a mystery, answers that may prove Biblical in proportion. Along for the ride are Noomi Rapace (from the original The Girl With the Dragon tattoo), Idris Elba (The Wire and Luther), Michael Fassbender (Shame and X-Men: First Class) and Charlize Theron. Performances are top notch. The CGI and special effects are incredible and a nod to the weirdness of HR Giger who was responsible for the look of the original films. It’s an epic, creepy science fiction film that’s a great addition to the existing Aliens’ universe.

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted

That lovable bunch of animals from the Central Park Zoo are still trying to get back home, except this time they’re traveling through Europe under cover of a traveling circus. As usual it’s a lot of fun and kids of all ages will love it. If anything, it’s an improvement over the others, a rarity in sequels.

Safety Not Guaranteed

In the classifieds of the newspaper, an ad reads:

*WANTED* Someone to go back in time with me. This is not a joke. You’ll get paid after we get back. Msut bring your own weapons. Safety not guaranteed. I have only done this once before.

Three cynical magazine employees see the article and decide to explore the mystery behind the article. They find the guy behind the ad, who believes he’s found the secret of time travel and wants to go on the journey soon. Together, they see what happens next.

It’s a small independent film with a lot of heart. It has a great cast including Parks and Recreation’s Aubrey Plaza (who shows great star potential with her deadpan, understated performance. It’s fun and quirky and has a lot of charm.