Entertainers of the Year 2014

Chris Pratt
2014 was Chris Pratt's year. The awesome body, The Lego Movie, the top grossing Guardians of the Galaxy. Then on tv he hosted the SNL season opener and before the year end holidays, Parks and Rec wrapped its final season. Next up for Pratt, Jurassic World hits theaters June 2015.

Reese Witherspoon 

Witherspoon produced Gone Girl, produced and starred in Cheryl Strayed's memoir Wild for which she has already received Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice nominations. She is likely to obtain an Oscar nomination. While a much more under the radar film, her performance in The Good Lie was excellent. She also appeared in the awards fodder flick Inherent Vice, which reunited Witherspoon with her Walk the Line costar Joaquin Phoenix. Next year in May, Witherspoon costars with Sofia Vergara in the buddy pic, Don't Mess With Texas. 

Mark Ruffalo
Three superb roles across big and small screens. Ruffalo was heartbreakingly amazing in HBO's the Normal Heart. His performance earned him Emmy, Golden Globe, Critics' Choice TV and SAG nods. Begin Again with Keira Knightley was an indie delight. For his most recent work in Foxcatcher, Ruffalo received SAG, Critics' Choice Movie and Golden Globe nominations. An Oscar nom for Foxcatcher is likely. 2015 will have Ruffalo in the Avengers sequel in May and another indie in January.

Cameron Diaz
Diaz had the surprise spring hit The Other Woman and authored a wildly successful book about the female body. She was sitting pretty to weather the mediocre reception of Sex Tape in the summer. She hosted SNL for the fourth time just before the release of holiday pleaser, the Annie revamp. Diaz was on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon four times in 2014 and she even has her own door onto his set. Diaz produced the tv adaptation of Bad Teacher and it is rumored that Bad Teacher 2 will film in 2015.

Sex Tape

Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel star in the latest R rated comedy to hit theaters this summer. Segel co-wrote the script and executive produced the movie. Reuniting his stars from Bad Teacher, Jack Kasdan directed. Reactions via imdb and Rotten Tomatoes were poor and critical reviews were unfavorable. Entertainment Weekly sent a mixed message of a C+ rating and yet included the movie in its Must List in the movie's release week. With a domestic opening weekend box office just under 15 million, Tammy fared better in its recent opening Independance Day weekend with 21 million. I found myself laughing much more at Sex Tape than I did at Tammy. While criticized for being uneven in tone, I found the juxtaposition of raunch and heart warming moments provided a good balance. I am the comedy lonewolf this summer. I did not enjoy 22 Jump Street as much as everyone else -- I liked it, but I did not love it; I would be happy to keep rewatching the first one. I actually thought Sex Tape was good, and I am among the few. Diaz and Segel's characters were sweet and there was a good supporting cast in Rob Corddry and Ellie Kemper. There were also a couple of fantastic surprise cameos.

This summer my comedy conclusion is that the success of comedies is one of the most difficult of genres to predict. Horror movies always make money. That's why there are always so many sequels. They are cheap to make and bring in box office regardless of star power or quality. Next up in the R rated comedy releases is Let's Be Cops. That movie would not exist without the success of the Jump Street movies.

If asked prior to both of their releases, I would have thought Sex Tape would be Cameron Diaz's big comedic hit of 2014, not The Other Woman. Both Diaz and Segel have solid enough careers as stars and in their behind the scenes work to weather the weak reception of Sex Tape. The movie has also made back the money it cost to make it in two weeks' time. Diaz is still having an amazing year with her movie releases overall and the huge publishing success of The Body Book. Girl has her own door on the Tonight Show, come on.

The Other Woman

Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton star as the trio of unlikely gal pals plotting revenge on the philanderer that deceived all of them. Hijinks ensue. There was a feeling that was reminiscent of The First Wives Club, this time with all three women out to get the same creep. The physical comedy of Diaz and Mann was hilarious and somehow the friendship between the women was believable. Yet even more surprising was the continued believability of the relationships with the addition of Upton's stereotypically ditzy character. She seemed more like their kid sister than a recently discovered second mistress.

Taylor Kinney plays Leslie Mann's brother in the movie and he definitely stands out. Kinney stars on tv's Chicago Fire. The hunted husband is portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from HBO's Game of Thrones. While I was not aware of either actor prior to this movie, Coster-Waldau slipped into another accent by mistake a couple of times leaving a less than stellar impression. Nicki Minaj, who always seemed annoying, was funny in her supporting role as Diaz' assistant. The casting of Diaz' lothario father was an amusing surprise so I leave that for the reader who has not yet seen the movie as well.

Nick Cassavetes directed. He is best known for directing The Notebook and previously Cameron Diaz in My Sister's Keeper. His father was independent film legend John Cassavetes. While the score did not particularly stand out, it was good and the soundtrack was very strong.

At the box office The Other Woman has been dubbed a surprise hit. Despite negative reviews from critics, the movie led last weekend's box office against Captain America and has made more than 47 million worldwide. My friend saw a screening of the movie and had been disappointed that it was not as funny as she had hoped. This lowered my expectations and led to me enjoying the movie much more than I would have without that warning. There was also a really great Sopranos joke that I think much of the audience I was in missed.

As April ends, the slump that follows Oscar season and precedes the summer blockbusters, is coming to a close. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens this Friday, May 2nd, X-Men: Days of Future Past opens May 23rd and Maleficent opens May 30th to name a few.

What to Expect When You're Expecting

This past Saturday night at the movies, I was not seeing the number two box office finisher Prometheus. It found me at a very strong, large scale ensemble comedy. When done right, this genre can be my favorite. Kari commented after the showing at Bridgeport that it was better than she thought it would be. We discovered that we each had not expected much. Funny that a movie with expect not once but twice in its title had so much to do with expectations as a movie goer. It goes to show that the genre has not been doing so well lately when lowered expectations make for an improved viewing experience.

I think a big part of the success of the ensemble was that while the cast was large, it was not unmanageable large much like Valentine's Day or New Years Eve. Both movies I enjoy watching but by no means favorites or extraordinary. The well know actors, Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez, were charming and funny. The film is honest about pregnancy not being all hearts and flowers and glow. The movie is also very heartwarming. I would even go so far as to say that it was well written. Editing five plot lines together well plays a big role in the success of the stories being woven together believably.

If you like these types of movies, go see it! I had even thought about waiting for DVD...but do go with low expectations, makes all the difference. From what I hear, the theme of this week's movie goers regardless of genre seems to be managed expectations.

And on DVD...
Happythankyoumoreplease

I have been eager to see this 2010 independent movie since I first saw the trailer and heard it had been to Sundance (it premiered there on my bday of that year). It is written, directed and stars Josh Radnor, Ted on How I Met Your Mother (which will henceforth be known on my blog as HIMYM). So well done. I watched this movie Sunday and now Wednesday it is still with me. Shout out to the Tigard Library for placing it in my line of vision and letting me renew it twice before finally watching and loving it. The film is about a 30-ish writer in New York, as two people enter his life, a new love interest and a young boy, as well as the lives of those closest to him. I really did not know what to expect as it had been sometime since I had been interested in the movie. In following with today's theme, go in with no expectations and see what you like. NPH, Jason Segel, Radnor -- HYMYM is overly abundant with talent and a cast that will have long careers. Even when they finally tell us who the dang mother is.

Bad Teacher

Movie night takes a field trip to the theater. I am extremely tickled to say that all four of my teacher friends made it to see Bad Teacher this afternoon -- Dana, Kari, Laura and Marla. The group was rounded out by the Kates -- me and Katy.

Me with the good teachers - Kari, Laura, Marla and Dana

The movie is funny, clips right along and thankful has a plot. I was a little concerned that it would just be the trailer or that all the good parts were in the trailer. Poor Justin Timberlake, his character is just sad (will have to see him in Friends With Benefits with Mila Kunas next month). My favorite scenes were those in which Cameron Diaz' character and Jason Segel's interact. Though brief, Eric Stonestreet (Cameron on Modern Family) is odd and funny as Diaz' Craiglist roommate. Not a new favorite, but all in all a fun flick. I am fairly certain that I laughed more during Super 8. Sounds odd, but that movie is really funny. Yes, I am still singing its praises. I do love summer movie season though. Looking forward to FWB, Larry Crowne, The Help, Crazy Stupid Love, and of course, the last Harry Potter. September 30th is going to be a funny weekend too, 50/50 and What's Your Number? both come out that day. A nice way to bridge summer to fall. Do I have you on imdb or youtube yet watching trailers?

My review of Split is not as kind. The cocktail menu on their website, not current. The new one is being printed, so in the meantime, they do not have one. The mojitos Dana, Katy and I had before the movie were not the best or as Katy so kindly put it, they were "different." It is so conveniently located to the Bridgeport movie theater, I have a hunch I will give it a second try.