How to be Single

I shouldn't have to watch a film about how to be single, considering I've basically been single my whole twenty-six years, save about a month, and have perfected my independence enjoying the moments that are not fleeing for me, reading like a nerd. It's not like I get many opportunities, unlike Alice (Dakota Johnson). She has a great boyfriend, Josh (Nicholas Braun, who needs more roles in Hollywood) but decides that they should take a break as she's never been single and wants to experience what that is like for a little while, despite quickly regretting it when Josh moves on before her.
Fortunately, Alice meets wild party girl Robin (Rebel Wilson) who love being single and having one-night stands with randoms. She isn't ashamed of her lifestyle. And even introduces Alice to bartender Tom (Anders Holm) who is a afraid of a permanent relationship while one of his regulars, Lucy (Alison Brie) wants nothing more in the world to get married and is awkward about it, carrying a wedding planning book on her person at all times.
The last main character is Alice's level-headed career minded older sister, Meg (Leslie Mann) who likes focusing on her career until she is forced to hold a patient's baby and falls in love and decides to use donated sperm to have a baby.
This film follows the characters over the course of a year and a half, with Alice struggling to get over Josh and her failed relationship with the widower David (Damon Wayans, Jr.) who doesn't talk about his late wife. And though Lucy might have feelings for Tom, he realizes that he does also too late as she is already engaged to the awkward George (Jason Mantzoukas), leaving him alone but willing to be open to something permanent. Robin still loves her single lifestyle and Alice finally accomplishes one of her dreams, hiking the Grand Canyon on New Year's Eve, which must be truly amazing.
Meg has a baby and even accepts the love of the younger Ken (Jake Lacy) despite herself trying to sabotage the relationship as she never even told him that she had IVF, but she is in a happy, secure relationship because she wants to be, not because she needs to be, which is how all relationships should be.
Now, while the film had some good qualities, including my surprise that Lucy and Tom don't end up together when they should, the guys are all pretty decent, honest and up front with the women in their lives. But it shows how people can change, if they meet the right person. I have to hope that real life works like that.
Mechanically, the film works pretty well, though Lucy's story doesn't fit in well with that of Alice, Robin and Meg, yet, steady performances anchor the film.
However, the problem I have in general is that all the women are too willing to just hop into bed with people they barely know, which isn't realistic or typical. It causes men to think that sex is guaranteed without so much as a conversation about it first. And it's a shame, as this film is pretty good, though it isn't funny, but I liked it anyway. Grade: B

Sully

This is finally a film that caused me to get misty eyed.
The film is a simple one. Is Sully (the always great Tom Hanks) a hero or not? Was he capable of landing that plane back at the airport or was landing in the Hudson his best option?
Taking place directly after the miracle landing, Sully has several interviews and is the subject of a lengthy and in-dept investigation regarding what he did, as the mathematics and computer stimulations show that Sully could have made it back to the runway or been diverted to another airport closer in New Jersey.
The film unfolds slowly, not even showing the crash until half an hour in. The whole city pulled together to save those people stranded on the wings of the plane. I sobbed, it is devastating and heart-warming at the same time. But the people are saved, after a few harrowing moments in the frigid weather. And Sully is determined to make sure everyone is okay, not resting until he knows everyone is accounted for.
But he suffers from PTSD and has nightmares of the plane crashing instead into a building and he is at fault.
In the end, Sully is cleared as the pilot simulations are too robotic and mechanical, not allowing for human error and the time a person would need to process everything of that devastating event of birds flying into the engine and both engines blowing out at 2800 feet.
Hanks is amazing, showing utter devastation at what happened but refusing to bow to the pressure, yet he is a reluctant hero, showering his co-pilot Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart, also good) with praise. Laura Linney isn't in many scenes as his money-conscious wife who doesn't realize how serious what her husband survived is at first.
The crash scenes are realistic and it is truly a miracle that everyone on board survived with barely any major injuries. It was a harrowing twenty-four minutes but the city of New York needed a good story and it doesn't get much better than this.
Sure, there are some problems, like you don't really know what the problems with the Sullenberger marriage is and the investigators including Mike O'Malley and Anna Gunn are stick figures, but some of the passengers are humanized and given personalities, which is wonderful. This film is a must-see and among the best of the year. Grade: A-

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

I could watch Gene Kelly dance all day.
The film is a swift one, filled with several elaborate dance numbers and some witty dialogue.
Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is a big-time movie star, despite his humble and rough beginnings. He goes together with Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) like bacon and eggs. They are the Angelina and Brad of their day, only he doesn't really like her and she believes all the fake headlines about them. But they have a great partnership, something Don doesn't question until his accidental meeting of Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds) who doesn't think film acting is real acting like stage acting is. She says that if you've seen one film, you've seen them all, words Don takes to heart. But he likes his job and the money it gives him.
And then, sound arrives, meaning that Don and Lina will need to refilm their picture but Lina's voice is high-pitched and squeaky, unbearable to listen to for long. The picture is a disaster, but fortunately, Don gets the idea to transform it into a musical and his friend, Cosmo Brown (Donald O'Connor, with bright blue eyes) is struck with inspiration that Kathy can dub Lina's lines and musical numbers, which is the launching point to her career. But then Lina discovers the truth and threatens to ruin Kathy's budding career, only to have the audience hear her finally speak for herself.
Everything is right in the end. Don and Kathy are together, how wonderful must that be. I'm only a little cynical about love at the moment, knowing that that will probably never happen for me, but at least this film allowed me to forget about all that for a little while. Singin' in the Rain is truly a glorious song, what a wonderful feeling, I'm happy again, if only for a fleeting moment.
The dancing and singing is incredible, with O'Connor giving Kelly a run for his money with the dancing, matching each other beat for beat. Reynolds, despite not being trained as the men were, more than holds her own. It is also interesting to see how the studios adapted to adding sound to the films, and how awkward it was and how much of a learning cure there was.
Now, I do have a few problems with the film, mostly with Kathy's character, who is weak and underdeveloped. At the end, though Don had a master plan to destroy Lina, he must use Kathy to do that, and she is bitter, knowing her career is ruined as she signed a five-year contract and Lina wants Kathy to solely dub her voice in films. Kathy does that, but never wants to see Don again, of course, that doesn't happen and they end up happily together. She isn't angry enough and doesn't fight for herself enough. Lina is a much more developed character and Hagen deserved far more than her mere Oscar nomination for this role. She's great.
But the film is a masterpiece, with excellent songs and dance numbers and brilliant sets and costumes. This film is not to be missed. Grade: A

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this film before, but here it goes.
Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, a tradition, but the coordinator, Doris Walker (Maureen O'Hara) has a huge problem, her Santa Claus is drunk. Fortunately, she is in luck, the actual Santa Claus, Kris Kringle (Edmund Gwenn) himself has arrived to save the day.
He is much loved and almost immediately becomes some sort of local celebrity, and is even hired to be Macy's mall Santa and as he has the child's happiness to be the most important thing, he gladly tells the parents exactly where to find the correct toy, even if it is at another store. At first, this policy isn't much liked but soon, with all the high-praise Macy's receives, they embrace it.
But Kris Kringle's plight is also a personal one, as Doris has been jaded by her divorce when daughter Susan (Natalie Wood) was only a baby so she doesn't believe in fairy tales, make-believe or Santa Claus and he wants to convince her that she's wrong.
He and lawyer neighbor Fred Gailey (John Payne) have the same method, get to the mother through the child and Kris Kringle starts to make Susan believe as he can speak Dutch and is wonderful with the children. He has only one enemy, Mr. Sawyer (Porter Hall), the psychiatrist Macy's has with issues of his own. He is what nowadays we would call a quack and even back then is just odd, believing that no good deed is done selflessly or out of kindness. Kris gets into a large argument with Mr. Sawyer and lands himself in the mental hospital which leads to a trial to prove that he is indeed Santa Claus.
With Mr. Gailey representing him, the case quickly goes to trial and things get awkward, with one side determined to prove him wrong and the other determined to prove that Santa Claus is real. Finally, the US Post Office delivers all of the letters it receives for Santa and the judge is forced to admit that Santa is real. Doris and Susan believe and celebrate Christmas for a change with Fred and Kris and just when Susan starts to doubt his existence, he finds her wish, something that she didn't even tell her mother. He finds her perfect little house with a swing in the backyard. Everything is right in the world.
Now, the film is simple but the performances are great and yes, you do have to suspend disbelief for this film to work for you. Do that anyway. This film is a treasure to be watched over and over again, despite the plot holes. How did the romance really develop between Doris and Fred? And at the beginning, the plot moves quickly with a lot of stuff happening on the day after Thanksgiving and having the last part of the trial on Christmas Eve? A little far fetched, but that all being said, this film is great, with all the little details portrayed correctly. Gwenn won a much deserved Oscar for this role and Wood is a treasure who died far too young. Grade: B+

Manchester by the Sea

Casey Affleck is phenomenal in this film, fully deserving of every award he receives for his role of Lee Chandler, a depressed man who can't see the joy in life anymore, not after (spoiler alert!) a fire claims the lives of his three small children.
He lives in Boston, whittling his days away as a janitor/handyman, not understanding or caring when a woman flirts with him, he picks fights for no good reason at a bar. And then his brother, Joe (Kyle Chandler) dies of a heart attack. The poor man had congestive heart failure and he wasn't even fifty yet. Lee returns home and is greeted with his brother's dead body.
The main plot of the film is Lee being given guardianship of Joe's sixteen-year-old son, Patrick (Lucas Hedges), something Joe never bothered to mention to Lee as Lee almost without a doubt would have said no, with good reason, as some members of the town blame Lee for the fire, including himself. But he temporarily takes custody, though it is a struggle, even planning Joe's funeral is challenging as the ground is too frozen for Joe to even be buried yet and Patrick isn't thrilled with Joe's body being shoved in a freezer until that time comes.
And seeing his ex-wife Randi (the great Michelle Williams) with her new husband and new baby is just painful, clearly etched on his face.
But Lee ultimately wants what's best for Patrick and tries to stay in that town as Patrick actually has stuff doing on, including two girlfriends, a band and plays hockey. Lee only likes one of the girlfriends.
It is a struggle for Lee to get out of bed in the morning as he blames himself for not putting the screen in front of the fireplace before he left the house to get some snacks and just when you think Patrick understands why Lee isn't able to make small talk with another grown adult, the point is never brought up. Patrick wants to stay and keep his father's boat going. Fortunately, by selling some valuable collectible guns, the motor is able to be replaced and that also leaves the temptation of Lee once again trying to shoot himself off the table.
Patrick also reconnects with his mother, Elise (Gretchen Mol) who is now a recovering alcoholic but that meeting does not go well. Her fiance, Jeffrey (Matthew Broderick) is controlling and no longer wants her to have any contact with her only child, so that leaves Lee to care for Patrick.
And he tries, though he is still battling his old fears, confronting them head-on when he leaves something to burn on the stove, but this time, nothing bad happened, but it makes him realize that he can't care for Patrick. He arranges with George (C.J. Wilson), a good friend of the family to care for Patrick until Patrick turns eighteen. Earlier in the film, he mentioned that he was trying to get rid of kids instead so I don't know why he changes his mind. But he will at least put in a better effort to be closer to his nephew, as that is all the family he has left.
While the plot is simple, though the use of flashbacks is both odd and necessary, it is a little odd. The film is almost Lee's stream of conscious as all the memories in the past are his. Despite this, and the overall depressing ton without really any redemption at the end, the film is excellent with great, natural performances from everyone. The scenery is great and the camera angles are well thought-out. The film makes you grateful for everything you have, perhaps that is reason enough for the film to be made. Grade: A-

The Middle: A Very Marry Christmas

Welp, this episode picks up right where last week's left off, with Sue (Eden Sher) not believing that she heard Axl (Charlie McDermott) correctly. He couldn't have married April (Greer Garson). He finally starts to realize that he didn't think things through, after getting married at the courthouse, they went to a taco truck and because she had to work, he took her back to Orson. And, the worst part is that he married her to piss off Mom (Patricia Heaton).
Brick (Atticus Shaffer) has his own issues, being forced to watch the Peterson kids and Mrs. Peterson (Emily Rutherford) doesn't even ask his name first. She has to take the baby to the doctor's and her other kids will tear the place to shreds. Now, while it is odd that Brick watches the three kids at the Heck house, he kills it by forcing them to use their imagination. However, he does so well, that the kids want to come over all the time. And he is sick of it, trying to hide from them, even burying himself in a snow pile for a too-long period of time. But later in the episode, the Hecks are freaking over over Axl's big reveal, she tells her kids never to go over there again, ending Brick's plight.
Axl might have tried to get out of everything Christmas in the past, but not this year; he decorates the tree, bakes Christmas cookies, sets up the Christmas village and doesn't even default putting the people in compromising positions. Frankie is thrilled that he's back and he can't bring himself to tell her the truth, not wanting to disappoint her, while the secret is eating Sue alive, causing her to throw up every so often.
Mike (Neil Flynn) doesn't have much to do until later but he is befuddled by Bill Norwood (Pat Finn) gifts him some awesome sunglasses. Mike tries to get him something of equal value and is upset that he's thinking about Bill Norwood now and finally settles the score with cold, hard cash, but he does love the sunglasses.
And then April's mom calls Frankie who acts calm, cool and collective on the phone and then turns around and promptly beats up her oldest son. She is livid and Mike asks the question, did Axl have to marry her? Which he didn't and that only makes it worse, according to Mike. As the Petersons watch the Hecks freak out, she tells her kids never to go over there again, ending Brick's plight.  This leads to the conversation of whether Axl should stay married or not? Finally, Mike says that if he has to ask, then he shouldn't be married so instead of that lovely new transmission for his car, they get him an annulment and then he and April go out for pizza. So life goes on, hopefully he's a little wiser now.
Despite the funny moments of Brick being adored by the neighbor kids and the great reactions of Frankie and Mike when they discover Axl's secret, I wish more time had been devoted to each plot as they were both so strong and vital for some major character development. The performances were great, but I wish Axl's plot line had ended differently. Unfortunately, this is the season's weakest episode so far. Grade: B
Side Notes:
-Axl started having second thoughts in the line at the courthouse but didn't want to get out of line because everyone else said how young and cute they were.
-Also, Sue is upset that she wasn't a bridesmaid.
-I guess Axl didn't have time to buy a ring which would have been a better way for Frankie to find out though that already happened with Sue and Darrin (John Gammon).
-Of course Axl would put the librarian with the baker as she does need to get some. Yikes. She's long overdue. Great sneaky pun.
-Sue makes some great references to depressing shows, believing this secret is a cloud over this lovely celebration.
-Never buy glue-on nails at a gas station. Frankie had arm numbness up to her elbow.
-Sue was so stressed over Axl's big secret that she twisted her hair until some came out.
-Brick gives not knowing the location of Doris as one of the reasons why he shouldn't babysit.
-Brick looks up reasons for obtaining an annulment in Indiana and one of the reasons is if a member of the union is crazy and that is the reason I'm assuming is listed on the paper.
-Sue also reversed her reversal comforter.
-Brick also uses Mike's toothbrush, but for a purpose that doesn't involve brushing his teeth.
-My favorite line is when Axl is hiding behind a light-up wise man and Mike tells him that he has no business being around wise men now.

Joy (2015)

Jennifer Lawrence is a good actress, killing it in basically every role she has ever taken and Joy is no exception.
She's dead-broke, her dead-beat but kind ex-husband, Tony (Edgar Ramirez) living in her basement, her mother, Terry (Virginia Madsen) stuck in her bedroom wasting her life away in front of the TV filling her head with lame soap operas and now her father, Rudy (Robert De Niro) has been dumped by his girlfriend so she has to divide the basement to fit him too.
She is brilliant but had to stay at home to care for her mother and help her father with his business but that changes when she gets another idea for a self-wringing mop. She is on the boat of her father's new girlfriend, Trudy (Isabella Rossellini) and a few wine glasses broke on the boat deck and she gets her hand's all scratched up by wringing out the mop filled with glass shards. And now the film really begins. Joy's story is interesting the film moves along quickly, her struggling to get her product patented, to find a factory that would make her products and then to finally sell her product. She finally meets Neil Walker (Bradley Cooper) who works for QVC, he was an old friend of Tony's and Joy doesn't exactly know what she's getting into. He takes on her product but the spokes model botches its TV debut. So Joy takes matters into her own hands and urges him to sell it on TV herself and fortunately, her life-long friend Jackie (Dascha Polanco) calls in and gets Joy to stop focusing on the bright lights and the product sells itself, which is good as Joy took out a second mortgage on her house and is up past her eyeballs in debt only her battle isn't over. The factory out in California ups the price on the parts needed and her half-sister Peggy (Elisabeth Rohm) makes matters worse leaving Joy to head out there herself. Once there, she discovers that Trudy's lawyer didn't know what he was doing when he researched her patent and now the company owns her idea. Fortunately, Joy stays up all night reading the fine print on her contract and fortunately, discovers that they never owned her idea and that the person who had a similar idea didn't know if said idea would actually work so Joy comes out on top and will go on to become a millionaire.
Now, the film is a little weird, using magical realism from time to time, letting Joy live in the soap operas her mother adores and Diane Lane as the grandmother, unrecognizable, is the narrator only she dies halfway through the film is an odd choice and while the film takes place mostly in 1995, it looks like it takes place earlier, with a cell phone never appearing at all. I wish the ending would have been different with her success being shown differently instead of Joy walking down the street like she owned it.
Fortunately, though Lawrence is too young for the role, she is excellent. Everyone else is pretty good but she is amazing, lifting this film to something above a mediocre film and that is impressive. Grade: B+

The To Do List (2013)

Aubrey Plaza is Brandy Klark, a character whom could not be any more different than her signature role of April Ludgate on the great, late Parks and Recreation. Brandy is intelligent, well-spoken and organized. She is prepared to go to Georgetown in the fall, after graduating at the top of her high school class, though many can't believe she's still a virgin. She doesn't really care until her friends, Wendy and Fiona (Sarah Steele and Alia Shawkat) take her to a minor rager against her will. There she sees the super hot, older Rusty Waters (Scott Porter) whom she instantly develops a large crush on. It is then she is determined to do things leading up to her losing her virginity to Rusty.
She is organized, writing everything down, even if she has no idea what it means and gets to work.
The film meanders around things, including her summer lifeguarding job with her lazy boss, Willy (Bill Hader) who has no problem hazing his new employees. She has no emotions when it comes to her list and even lets Wendy's ex, Duffy (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) dry hump her. Wendy is very upset but Brandy doesn't really understand why it is that big of a deal as no emotions were involved. She ruins her friendship with the kind Cameron Mitchell (Johnny Simmons) as he has feelings for her but she doesn't in return. And yes, eventually she does lose her virginity to Rusty, though by this time everyone knows about her list. With Rusty's reaction to it, I thought things were going to go differently, but I was wrong. In the end, Brandy realizes that sex can either be a big deal or not, depending on how you approach it.
I also liked Rachel Bilson as Brandy's sexually experienced older sister who dumps her fiance and takes her sister's advice, a man is not needed, she can support herself. They also had the funniest scene with Amber listening to the phone conversation of Cameron asking Brandy out on a date and the two sisters got into a fight. Connie Britton and Clark Gregg kill it as Brandy's parents.
Now, I didn't truly understand why the film took place in 1993, though the music was good and it was weird not seeing the characters constantly on their cell phones. And I wish the film told a better message but at least they made the ride enjoyable. The ending should have made a better impression and Brandy should have learned something more important and relevant. But she was in control of herself and was a strong character. I'm glad she mended fences with her friends and decided that they were more important than any guy, which is always refreshing to see. Grade: B+

Pitch: Series Recap and Reaction

First of all, I'm calling it, this show will not be renewed despite the devastating cliffhanger. But with a mere 2.5 million viewers per week, this show won't be allowed to continue.
That said, I can't wait to see what happens next as the show ends with Ginny (Kylie Bunbury) going into a CAT scan machine, having severed her relationship with her huckster brother, Will (BJ Britt) and fiery, fierce agent Amelia (Ali Larter, great), and most likely not pursuing her budding relationship with billionaire Noah Casey (Tyler Hilton).
Ginny truly does come into her own in the finale, though I wish the season built that up better. Ginny is not the most consistent character, having broken her own rule and dated another player in the minors and was foolish enough to have some naked pictures taken. She had every right to do that and while she should have known better, the fact that everyone is scandalized that she has some, it doesn't matter what or how many risque photos the guys have on their phone. It is a double-standard that needs to stop. She deals well with the dated sexist comments her coach, Al (Dan Lauria) said along with a taking a stance on the rape of a female athlete. She even has a breakdown after signing a lucrative deal with Nike, not believing that she belongs on the same list as President Obama and wondering what her life would be like if she had gone to college or wanted to do something else other than baseball. But she recovers and handles the ridiculous underground release of her photos with ease. And then her brother shows up. He is first portrayed as a person who wants the best for his little sister and forces her to take Amelia as her agent but now, he isn't thrilled that Amelia doesn't trust him. Will is deep in debt and owes people money, but Ginny nevertheless writes him a check to start his own restaurant. Amelia forces Will to tell Ginny the tell truth, which Ginny picks out of him, devastated that he used her money for a purpose he never told her about. If he had been honest, she still would have given him the money. She wants her brother back. But she's still mad at Amelia and Amelia has had it, leaving Ginny to fend for herself.
Now to my main problem with the show: Ginny's relationship with catcher Mike Lawson (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). At first, it's rocky though Mike eventually grows to respect Ginny as a teammate and fellow athlete and dates her agent which she abruptly ends it, though he wasn't over his ex-wife, journalist Rachel Patrick (Joanna Garcia-Swisher). Then, he decides he wants to be traded, after fifteen years of being a Padre. He doesn't realize that he has a crush on Ginny until he tells another teammate that there is no way Oscar (Jason Canela) likes her because he doesn't even know Ginny whereas Mike does. And he does like her. It gets awkward on what we believe will be Mike's last night in San Diego, they almost kiss and I was livid and then he doesn't even get traded and some of his teammates are furious as Mike had given up on the Padres.
During Ginny's last start, as statistic guru Ross (Josh Peck) is worried about Ginny's pitch count, she is throwing a no-hitter and nearly faints after seeing that zero on the big board, Mike goes to calm her down and she calls him out, saying she doesn't need a man to rescue her, doesn't even need a billionaire to take her around the world, she's on the mound and needs to own the moment which she nearly does, until she injuries herself fielding a routine bunt. Amelia sees this on the TV at the airport and boards her flight nonetheless. It is wonderful having a main character decide she doesn't need a man to succeed, only it doesn't exactly work out for her, which is a shame, the moment is wasted.
Now, that is only Ginny's plot line, and I didn't even get into all the flashbacks, some of which worked better than others, which is probably the last three episodes were far superior than the previous seven. We know that Ginny's father was killed by the alcoholic drunk driving father of one of her best friends in high school and that Mike's mother was con-artist but at least Ginny's past doesn't translate well into her present, never mentioning how much the characters drink though you never see her drive, which I find interesting. But all Mike wants is a family and might have a chance as he sleeps with his ex-wife in the finale. Things might work out between them now, as she does even show up at the game, witnessing Ginny's injury firsthand.
I haven't mentioned Ginny's center fielder Blip Saunders (Mo McRae). First of all, what kind of name is Blip? He is sort of a jerk, not understanding how many sacrifices his wife, Evelyn (Meagan Holder) makes for him and doesn't appreciate her for it. Evelyn is actually not a bad character, supportive of Ginny, who doesn't have many female friends and is the one who finally sees through Will's crap and cuts him out of the business but still wants to pursue it herself, opting to focus on herself for a change. That marriage is slightly rocky as Blip wants another baby.
And the office staff including new president of operations (Kevin Connolly) hasn't yet meshed with the general manager Oscar (Mark Consuelos), but their action isn't the most important.
While the acting is top-notch the plot lines are all over the place and though this show might be cooperating with MLB, it isn't accurate. There are too many day games, not enough road trips and Ginny develops a new pitch too quickly, among other issues, but the show is sound, with great music and cinematography and it is a shame that the acting is wasted. Bunbury, Larter and Gosselaar kill it every episode but despite the importance of this show, I feel that it quickly be forgotten and that is just a shame. Bunbury is the real breakout star, doing much better work here than in her previous TV venture, Under the Dome. This is the one she should be remembered for and she deserves a great career. Grade: B

The Middle: Trip and Fall

Well, just when Mike (Neil Flynn) thought he had everything under control, he thought wrong. When he's leaving work, he trips and falls down the three steps outside of his trailer and falls flat on his face. His men rush to his side coddling him in their odd way but Mike doesn't want to make a big deal out of it though Dave (Malcolm Foster Smith) is in charge of safety and has to report the incident which means a visit from OSHA to teach them how to properly walk down steps. And then corporate comes and ruins their accident free list, meaning they won't get a cupcake party. Needless to say, the men are mad at Mike, mouths already watering from the mere thought of those cupcakes. So Mike attempts to make some himself, with some help from Brick (Atticus Shaffer) who says that he does embarrassing stuff everyday but never lets it bother him and if it isn't bad enough for him to go cry in a cave, then it really isn't that bad.
Mike puts himself out on a limb and shows the tape to corporate, biting his tongue as they laugh but his men love him forever as they get their cupcake party.
Sue (Eden Sher) is hell-bent and getting Axl (Charlie McDermott) is reconnect with the family. She loves that he messes up all the nice plans they have for Christmas. The Heck's Christmas will go smoothly without him and that isn't how they roll. But he is resilient at first, as he can't be around people who don't love April (Greer Garson).
Frankie (Patricia Heaton) is about to call off work, siting mental health reasons, when Rita Glossner (Brooke Shields, great in this role) shows up ordering Frankie to drive her somewhere. Frankie is reluctant at first, but then they bond over the perfectness of Nancy Donohue until Rita saws off her ankle bracelet. Fortunately, this trip to Georgia turns out unexpectedly. Rita's a grandmother and the item in her bag wasn't anything bad, just a beautiful custom ornament. Frankie nearly cries as she sees Rita hold her grandson so she decides to mend things with Axl, despite the cost.
April comes to visit Axl and says that her family doesn't like him, they believe she can do better which is sickly funny. Axl is a real catch for her. But, as he insists, they have each other.
And then, the bomb. Axl runs to find Sue, still in her temporary housing and announces the bombshell, he did indeed do something stupid, he marries April. I'm just grateful she wasn't pregnant. I wonder how the Hecks will react to that news.
Again, this was another solid episode, with great performances all-around and I love seeing Mike's crew and Rita is always welcome. There aren't any laugh-out loud funny moments, but this show will quietly charm you. And make you wonder what will happen next. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Chuck (Greg Sipes) has room to drive Mike home on his dirt bike.
-Sue has always been a good dice roller.
-When Rita says Cheez-It she means only one.
-I love when Sue yells over her shoulder saying that journalism is dead and to start a blog.
-A mixing bowl is a good place to store your mail.
-And yes, the paper around cupcakes is important.
-Sprinkles do make everything more festive.
-Rita drives Frankie's car with her feet.
-Good callback to that Halloween episode where Frankie abandoned Rita in that forest.

Love the Coopers (2015)

This film had one good plot line, the rest is a toss away.

The good one: Olivia Wilde previously having caught her fiance doesn't believe in love and under values herself by sleeping with a married man and avoiding the disappointment in her family. Fortunately, she runs into her total opposite Jake Lacy, about to join the army. He is a Republican. But they slowly fall in love and she even gets him to pose as her boyfriend for her family, though he takes it one step further saying that he is her fiancé. It is beautiful, watching the two of them fall in love so quickly and perfectly though even this plot line is slightly ruined when Olivia dumps her doctor boyfriend also quickly, but it needed to happen.

Now to all the other crappy plot lines: Diane Keaton and John Goodman are the parents of Ed Helms and Olivia Wilde and are having struggles with their marriage and are on the brink of divorce. They haven't had the best marriage and still haven't fully recovered from the death of their daughter decades ago.

Alan Arkin is great as another grouchy old man bewildered as to why his daughters don't exactly like each other. He eats at a crappy diner every day just because he bonded with the young waitress Amanda Seyfried, missing the opportunity to steal scenes in her painfully underwritten role. Amanda wants bigger things and is moving elsewhere leaving Alan with little to look forward to each day.

Ed Helms is unemployed and still upset over his divorce, struggling with his kids, and that's pretty much it.

Marisa Tomei steals things and is upset over never having settled down but the world's longest record police ride with Anthony Mackie forces her to face her life for what it is. Mackie does make the most of his underwritten role.

Everything works out in the end, though the opportunity is missed to either have Amanda and Ed end up together or have them just be friends. I would have also liked an epilogue or something at the end, though the St. Bernard, Rags (voiced by Steve Martin) narrated the whole film, which is just odd, the dog with the unstainable appetite telling the whole story.

This film was a disappointment, with no humor and too many serious plot lines with uneven screen time between them. The talent was sorely wasted which is just unfortunate, please pick better projects next time. Grade: C+

Eye in the Sky

The plot is fairly simple, launch the missile to stop some nasty suicide bombers but kill a young girl in the process or let them go where they could most likely kill many, many more.
This film is done in almost real time and spans almost the whole world with Coronal Katharine Powell (Helen Mirren) in command, the one who wants the Syrian terrorists, living in Kenya killed, including previous British nationalist who turned when she was young. But it is the Americans, including the pilots Steve and Carrie (Aaron Paul and Phoebe Fox) who have the titlular eye in the sky and the missile to launch when given the word while the Kenyans have some ground forces including Barkhad Abdi who might have a character name.
The little girl is selling bread right in front of the house where the terrorists are loading up their suicide vests and though Abdi tries to buy her bread, his true identity is almost uncovered and the girl merely picks up the fallen loaves and continues selling while Steve simply can't while the girl is in range of most likely ending up dead, which once again sets off a whole international debate with the British having the biggest issue while the American Secretary of State doesn't mind a few minor deaths if the main people are eliminated.
In the end, the missile's position is moved but needs to launched again to kill one of the targets and the poor little girl dies in the crude Kenyan hospital with Steve and Carrie having tears streak down their cheeks. But they did probably save many more lives.
The acting is top-notch including Alan Rickman as another military man who is on Powell's side but has to convince the government officials and legal that this move is the proper one. The dialogue is also great and the plot is tight and realistically done looking at the decisions from all angles.
It would be nice to get some background on the characters especially as to why Steve can't aim the missile once he sees the little girl, but nevertheless the film is intense and heart-wrenching and will force you to think about things differently and will leave you wondering if the right decision was actually made? Grade: A-