Movie Cast of the Year

Some movies rely heavily on special effects and hope to God that you don’t notice the lackluster script and horrible acting (… Michael Bay!). Others have a great script, but drop the ball when it comes to casting because they’ll go for big names, instead of the right names (…Michael Bay!). But when a movie is casted right, it is worth shelling out the $10 to watch them on the big screen (Michael Bay, you still owe me $10 for Pearl Harbor!).

• Monsters Vs Aliens
I have a soft spot for the toons. Some would say it is an unhealthy spot for a 26-year-old man, but to those people, I say, “Kiss my surprisingly firm ass!” How can you pass on a movie with Reese Witherspoon, Rainn Wilson, Kiefer Sutherland, Seth Rogan, Hugh Laurie, Will Arnett, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, Jeffery Tambor, Paul Rudd, Ed Helms, Renee Zellweger, and John Krasinski! *pant* *wheeze* I can’t believe I did that all in one breath. Wow, I’m a little light headed right now.

• The Proposal
This nomination comes on the strength of two great performances by Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds and followed by the sound and sturdy support of Betty White and the Coach Craig T. Nelson. Sure, the script got incredibly cheesy with the Indian fire dance scene, but that was quickly remedied by Sandra Bullock being able to convert a raunchy song into an Indian chant. “To the windows (to the windows), to the walls (to the walls), ‘til the sweat drips from my…”

• I Love You, Man
This one should win for sheer variety. What other movie can you find Paul Rudd, Jason Segal, Rashida Jones, Jon Favreau, Jaime Pressly, Jane Curtain, JK Simmons, Andy Samberg, Thomas Lennon, a really old man, and the Hulk? I’ll tell you what other movie! Nothing! No movie can put a group like this together and make it work.

• Star Trek
When you hear that the biggest names in a big budget blockbuster are Simon Pegg and the bad guy from Heroes, you’ve got to scratch your head. But you watch it anyway because it’s freaking Star Trek! Then you start to dig the casting and really enjoy the movie. Sure, it’s a little lame that Eric Bana is the main threat to end the universe (slightly expected, though), but the rest of the cast is worth cheering for in this movie and the many, many sequels I hope will come. P.S. Zoe Saldana is H-O-T hot!

• The Hangover
Unlike the other nominees on this list, I heard little to nothing about this hilarious flick until a couple weeks before its release, but what I heard was so great, that I shelled out the cash (or was it the Doc that sneakily paid for that one while I searched for my wallet?) and watched it in the theaters. To me, this was Bradley Cooper’s coming out party with unparalleled performances by Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms. Then there were the great cameos by Rob Riggle, Mike Epps, Ken Jeong, Rachel Harris, and even a musical Mike Tyson. The only thing missing from this movie was a topless scene by a hot blonde… Oh wait, there was one (Heather Graham)!

And the Winner is…

The Hangover!

Let me just say that the day this came out of Blu-ray, I bought it, but I couldn’t open it until after Christmas because I heard a rumor from the Doc that I may be getting a copy from Santa. Unknowingly to the Doc, I’ve been on the naughty list ever since I discovered self-love and never turned back. Those days between purchase and Christmas were excruciating because I wanted to watch those zany antics and the scenes with baby Carlos. But I couldn’t because opening the package would make it harder to return it if I did get it for Christmas and by then, the people at Customer Service would have developed a thick, uncaring shell that would numb them to my problems. It would have been even more stressful if I didn’t bury myself deeper into the naughty list those weeks… if you know what I mean.