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Widowed and left with three daughters, Jim (Adam Sandler) is finding himself a bit out of his depth as his girls are getting older. Meanwhile, Lauren (Drew Barrymore), the single mother of two young boys finds herself struggling to keep order in her house as well. Having been on a blind date together that went horribly sideways the two would appear to have little in common; but, when the freakish coincidence to vacation in Africa together comes up, the modern day Brady bunch seems to be in the making, this can’t go wrong…Right? Bringing little to the table as new ground in cinema, where Blended lacks in originality, the charisma and charm of Sandler and Barrymore together again seem to balance things out. Mind you, there’s still heaps of typical Sandler crude and sexist played out humor; but, there are also a handful of moments that are actually funny, refreshing. Plus plenty of screen time from funny men Kevin Nealon, Terry Crews, Joel McHale, and Shaquille O’Neal make for some forgettable but laughable moments as well. And, with production levels at a reasonable quality it’s hard to pan the film for poor crafting. All told, while not great, there’s still some entertainment value here, perhaps a matinee but really still more of a rental. Blended is rated PG-13.

Hungry for the all mighty dollar, mildly conceited, but good hearted, JB (Jon Hamm) is a sports agent in need of a whale client to float his business in order to survive. Trouble is, that whale doesn’t seem to be anywhere in sight and desperate times call for desperate measures, an idea is hatched– tap the untapped sports market of India. Find the diamonds in the rough and bring them to U.S. to play baseball professionally. It’s a crazy idea that just might work, but what will it take to help Rinku and Dinesh (Suraj Sharma and Madhur Mittal) reach their potential? And, what about this svelte neighbor Brenda (Lake Bell)? Based on a true story, writer Tom McCarthy feels right at home with this feel good family sports drama; and, while we’re not challenging the norms of society or bringing anything new to cinema, the story’s overall charm is certainly enough to entertain the whole family for the requisite two hours, congrats Disney. Acting all round is solid, production value is high, score is right on, it’s almost a little too perfect. Still, keep the tissues handy for the final inspirational speech. Certainly worthy of the matinee value and maybe more, Million Dollar Arm is rated PG.

Decades since the discovery and cover-up of a giant lizard beast that lives near the earth’s core and feeds on radioactive energy, modern day Japan and San Francisco are about to be greeted with the apex predator to end all predators– GODZILLA! Raised by his scientist parents, Joe and Sandra (Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche), Lieutenant Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) may hold the keys to understanding Godzilla and his natural predators, then again, he could also just be an onlooker in what could be the world’s undoing. Mission accepted, save the planet, save his family, see to it that Godzilla returns from whence he came….again. But is it too late? So let’s not mince words here, this is the totally impossible story about the totally fictitious and ridiculous monster to end all monsters, this isn’t exactly the type of film to expect a “realistic narrative” from right? And yet, oddly enough, that seems to be exactly what one might hope to see now that so many cinema franchises have been re-booted with grittier more down to earth approaches; well, nope, that’s not what you get here. Just as nutty and impossible as the originals, there’s little or no effort made to legitimize what you’re about to see. Of course some could claim we’re looking at the allegory to end all allegories with a subtext rich in politics, U.S./Soviet embattlement, global health, Middle East chaos, man’s own undoing through science, the list goes on, but really, we’re talking about a giant lizard that smashes everything in search of giant locust things, let’s leave it at that. Instead, let’s look at the one dimensional family dynamics at play, yawn, no wait, let’s look at the thrilling special effects, there we may able to get some traction. From an effects standpoint you may actually enjoy the popcorn chomping nature of this one, just mark my words, the laughably bad dialogue is as true to form as the originals. Go ‘Merica! Maybe a matinee maybe more. Godzilla is rated PG-13.