I’m going to have to make yet another confession here (seriously, I should just title this blog: Confessions of a Geekaholic): Cameron Diaz is one of my least favourite actresses. My favourite role of hers is hands down Shrek and that’s thanks largely to the fact that I don’t have to see her onscreen and that she turns into a green ogre somewhere along the way. But hey, before you think I’m being way too harsh (which I am), I do have to give credit where credit is due.

This is bearable...

And why would I say this? Well, Diaz’s latest flick shows off her acting gusto because she isn’t forced to act outrageously out of her mind. Gone are the days where Diaz is forced to put a weird substance in her hair that makes it stand up ridiculously (There’s Something About Mary) or where she breaks out into song (My Best Friend’s Wedding)… now she’s a real actress (she’s gone all Pinocchio on us!).

Not so bearable...

Then again, she is given a helping hand in The Box by one of my favourite actors, James Marsden (yep, I was onto this hunk way before he became ‘famous’ in X-Men… I’m talkin’ way back in time when he made Gossip starring alongside Katie Holmes). Not to mention, I am into the whole supernatural genre more so than anything lovey dovey or pointlessly silly.

To open or not to open... that is the question!

When I watch one of these kind of flicks, I can’t help but question what I’d do in a similar situation. In other words: if a box showed up on my front doorstep, would I open it knowing that while it will bring me great things, someone else will die? Gotta say, I’d probably open it and think about the consequences later but hey, maybe that’s just the recklessness in me. As much as it pains me to say it, I really enjoyed The Box and even found myself sympathizing with Diaz (oh my…).

You had me at hello... sniff, sniff

Speaking of actresses that don’t exactly float my boat (don’t you just love rhyming?) let me turn my attention to Renee Zellweger. What is it about her that I struggle a little to swallow? Hey, don’t get me wrong, she’s a fine actress who’s shown a lot of versatility portraying everything from an excessively kind single mother with a massive “thang” for Tom Cruise (before he jumped on Oprah’s couch) in Jerry Maguire to a wannabe stage star matching it alongside Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago.

Interesting...

Yep, Zellweger’s a great actress but she doesn’t warm my heart like Sandra Bullock or Drew Barrymore do and I blame the gossip mags! I don’t want to see any more pictures of Zellweger exercising obsessively (look at the arms, I hate the veiny arms!) and then reading she’s bingeing for another Bridget Jones’ Diary a week later.

Motherly? What the?

Whew! Thanks for putting up with my whole Dr. Phil moment so that I can get on with saying something about Case 39, the actual film I began talking about (can you believe that I’ve been accused of babbling in my time?). Before I saw this flick, if you’d said to me that Zellweger could really nail a mothering kind of role, I’d tell you that maybe you’d been channeling Bridget Jones and had one too many liquor-laden chocolates for your own good (my, is that too harsh?).

But as much as it pains me to say it (and it really does – again!), she’s incredible as a case worker who takes in a 10-year-old that even her parents have attempted to harm (creeeeeepy!). Of course, there’s more to the story than meets the eye when little Lillith (Jodelle Ferland) turns out to be one very disturbed child (seriously, she’s as bad as the little horror in Orphan).  How’s Emily going to get out of this one? Case 39 is a ripper of a film and even features the very fantastic Bradley Cooper who steals the show in a terrifying bathroom scene (you’ll think twice the next time you take a shower).

I always enjoy seeing a father showing emotion

Speaking of ex-Bridget Jones’ Diary actors, Colin Firth also has a new flick out by the name of Genova (funnily enough, it’s set in Genova, Italy as in pizza and pasta!). While this is a very strong film, it didn’t exactly leave me feeling terribly happy… I needed my Sorbent tissues more than I needed my popcorn through this movie (and that really is saying something!).

Pondering...

Joe (Firth) has just lost his wife and his two daughters, Mary (Perla Haney-Jardine) and Kelly (Willa Holland), are struggling big time after losing their mother. In a bid to help his daughters begin to recover from their loss, he accepts a job in Genova, Italy which immediately works wonders as Kelly finds that Italy is quite the place for ‘discovering her sexuality’ (in my books, that means bonding with hot Italian stallions!). But Mary continues to struggle to cope and is a little freaked (and rightly so) out when she begins seeing the ghost of her mother. I know I’d be scared stiff…

So there we have it: the excitement of this week’s new releases is over for yet another week. I’m done for now but you’ll want to buckle up because on Friday, I’m getting into some television action that’ll rock your socks off!