Pitch Perfect 2 / *** (PG-13)

Beca: Anna Kendrick

Fat Amy: Rebel Wilson

Emily: Hailee Steinfeld

Chloe: Brittany Snow

Jesse: Skylar Astin

Bumper: Adam DeVine

Kommissar: Birgitte Hjort Sørensen

Pieter Krämer: Flula Borg

John: John Michael Higgins

Gail: Elizabeth Banks

Universal Pictures presents a film directed by Elizabeth Banks. Written by Kay Cannon. Running time: 115 min. Rated PG-13 (for innuendo and language).

So when “Pitch Perfect” was released in theaters in 2012, I’m guessing I wasn’t alone in thinking, “Yeah, a movie about a cappella singing competitions? I’ll catch it at home if it gets good reviews.” The movie only made a little over $5 million on its opening weekend. Not exactly breaking the box office. Then people started talking about it, and word of mouth was that it was worth the admission price. By the end of the year it had netted over $68 million at the U.S. box office and was a huge hit on home video formats. A $5 million opening weekend isn’t supposed to do that.

With its snappy dialogue, great musical numbers and the introduction of Rebel Wilson as a fresh face in comedy, a “Pitch Perfect” sequel became inevitable. So here it is three years later, the girls who make up the musical group The Bellas are three years older, and the audience gets pretty much the same treatment for their encore. That’s what we’re paying for, so that isn’t a complaint. As a critic, it leaves little to discuss beyond the plot, but I enjoyed myself, so I’ll give it another whirl too.

Penny Thoughts ‘15—Moneyball (2011) ****

PG-13, 133 min.

Director: Bennett Miller

Writers: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin, Stan Chervin, Michael Lewis (book “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game”)

Starring: Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, Chris Pratt, Stephen Bishop, Reed Diamond, Brent Jennings, Ken Medlock, Tammy Blanchard, Jack McGee, Vyto Ruginis, Nick Searcy, Glenn Morshower, Casey Bond, Nick Porrazzo, Kerris Dorsey, Arliss Howard, Reed Thompson, Spike Jonze

The 2015 regular season of Major League Baseball began today. There was a time when I never would’ve known it was the first day of baseball. I wish I still did not. I hate baseball. I hated it when I played it as a child. My parents made me play. Despite my hatred of it, that was probably the right thing for them to do. It did help build my character. They only made me play for so long and once I was a certain age they let me decide. The last year I played was the first year my age group did our own pitching; and the coach wisely chose me to be a pitcher. For the first time ever I actually enjoyed playing the game. No more left field. But sure enough, when I had a choice the next year, I didn’t even flinch when my parents asked if I wanted to play again. Nope! I was done with baseball.

Penny Thoughts ‘14—The Longest Yard (1974) ***

R, 121 min.

Director: Robert Aldrich

Writers: Tracy Keenan Wynn, Albert S. Ruddy

Starring: Burt Reynolds, Eddie Albert, Ed Lauter, Michael Conrad, Jim Hampton, Harry Caesar, John Steadman, Charles Tyner, Mike Henry, Jim Nicholson, Bernadette Peters, Pervis Atkins, Tony Cacciotti, Anitra Ford, Michael Fox, Joe Kapp, Richard Kiel

Long before 7’2” tall actor Richard Kiel portrayed one of the most famous James Bond henchmen in “The Spy Who Loved Me”, he appeared in a smaller role in the Burt Reynolds prison football comedy “The Longest Yard”. You wouldn’t have noticed from his performance as Jaws in the two Bond films in which he appeared, but Kiel had a very clear speaking voice. Seeing him speak in “The Longest Yard” is somewhat shocking, because you’re really expecting him to sound a little more like he has marbles in his mouth.

Draft Day / *** (PG-13)

Sonny Weaver, Jr.: Kevin Costner

Ali: Jennifer Garner

Coach Penn: Denis Leary

Anthony Molina: Frank Langella

Vontae Mack: Chadwick Boseman

Chris Crawford: Sean Combs

Bo Callahan: Josh Pence

Tom Michaels: Patrick St. Esprit

Earl Jennings: Terry Crews

Ray Jennings: Arian Foster

Barb Weaver: Ellen Burstyn

Summit Entertainment presents a film directed by Ivan Reitman. Written by Scott Rothman & Rajiv Joseph. Running time: 109 min. Rated PG-13 (for brief strong language and sexual references).

Oh man, do I love football! I just can’t get enough of it. I wasn’t always this way. As a kid, I remember watching my father and his zeal for the game. He brainwashed us. We watched the New York Football Giants every Sunday in the fall. He plastered our walls with posters. The Super Bowl was a family event every year. He taped games and watched them over again. It’s the only reason he knew how to work the VCR.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—The Forward Pass: A Football Life (2013) ***

TV-PG, 45 min.

Featuring: Chuck Klosterman, Boomer Esiason, Bill Walsh, Joe Namath, Steve Young

Narrator: Josh Charles

I’ve now reviewed three of NFL Network’s episodes of “A Football Life”. The first two I did out of my fanaticism for everything involving the New York Football Giants. This one I do out of love for the game, and this one seemed to be the most informative of any of the documentaries I’ve seen from the NFL. I actually learned a thing or two about football watching this doc.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—Michael Strahan: A Football Life (2013) ***

TV-PG, 47 min.

Featuring: Michael Strahan, Gene Strahan, Louise Strahan, Jay Glazer, Kelly Ripa, Tom Coughlin, Howie Long

During a season like the New York Football Giants are having this year, a fan like me needs specials like “Michael Strahan: A Football Life” to keep us going. It allows us to remember better times. It reminds us of the passion we hold for a game that has become a punishment of late. And, it shows us that everything comes around.

Rush / *** (R)

James Hunt: Chris Hemsworth

Niki Lauda: Daniel Brühl

Marlene Lauda: Alexandra Maria Lara

Suzy Miller: Olivia Wilde

Lord Hesketh: Christian McKay

Clay Regazzoni: Pierfrancesco Favino

Universal Pictures presents a film directed by Ron Howard. Written by Peter Morgan. Running time: 123 min. Rated R (for sexual content, nudity, language, some disturbing images, and brief drug use).

I’m not much of a car man, although I do watch “Top Gear” whenever I have a lazy Saturday afternoon to waste, but that’s more for the entertainment of it’s manboy hosts. I really don’t know much about car racing. I know NASCAR is pretty big stuff in the Kansas City area. I know nothing about the Formula One circuit. The new movie “Rush” isn’t exactly the best learning tool for the uninitiated, but it does tell the story of one of the sport’s biggest rivalries from the 70s between Austrian Niki Lauda and British driver James Hunt.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—Roller Town (2012) ***½

NR, 76 min.

Director: Andrew Bush

Writers: Andrew Bush, Mark Little, Scott Vrooman

Starring: Mark Little, Kayla Lorette, Scott Vrooman, Adam Robert Bayne, Jordan Talbot, George William Basil, Brian Heighton, Pat Thornton, Evany Rosen

Perhaps my mind is just a little too warped, but I liked this movie much more than it might seem to deserve on its surface. “Roller Town” is a Canadian spoof of… what? I can’t exactly say. The 70s? Roller skating? Hollywood formula? I don’t know, but it’s funny as hell.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—Rocky (1976) ****

PG, 119 min.

Director: John G. Avildsen

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith, Thayer David, Joe Spinell

I’ve placed “Rocky” on my list of 10 Best Sports Movies. I’ve never formally reviewed the movie. I think it is a wonderful movie. It’s as much, if not more, a romance than it is a sports flick. It doesn’t succumb to cliché. It created them. But, I don’t really want to talk about what a great movie it is. I want to talk about why we watch movies that we already know very well.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—Chasing Mavericks (2012) ***

PG, 116 min.

Directors: Curtis Hanson, Michael Apted

Writers: Kario Salem, Jim Meenaghan, Brandon Hooper

Starring: Johnny Weston, Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer, Leven Rambin, Devin Crittenden, Taylor Handley

Gerard Butler is in a lot of movies. He produces most of the ones he’s in too, which means not only are these acting projects he’s choosing to do, these are productions he feels should be made. Most of the movies he makes are bad. Some are just plain bad. Some are good ideas that are poorly executed. “Chasing Mavericks” is the rare worthwhile picture that Butler gets behind.

Penny Thoughts ‘13—The Super Bowl Ads (2013) **

NR, several 30-90 sec. ea.

Directors: various

Writers: various

Starring: M&Ms, Clydesdales, a goat, farmers, Naya Rivera, Danica Patric, Bar Rafaeli, Amy Poehler, Dwayne Johnson, The Flaming Lips, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Will Ferrell, Willem Defoe, Matthew Terry, Benedict Cumberbatch

Last year I was in no condition to review the Super Bowl ads. With my Big Blue in the big game, I didn’t really have the room for their distraction. Once it was all over, I was so elated every commercial seemed like the best I had ever seen, because it came along with the Giants’ fourth Super Bowl victory. Did it really matter if they were any good?

Penny Thoughts ‘13—Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012) ****

NR, 111 min.

Director: Stacy Peralta

Starring: Tony Hawk, Steve Caballero, Lance Mountain, Rodney Mullen, Tommy Guerrero, Mike McGill, Stacy Peralta, George Powell, Craig Stecyk, Tony Alva, Fred Durst, Shepard Fairey, Ben Harper, Christian Hosoi

For anyone who had anything to do with skating in the 80s—even if it was just watching your older brother fall on a halfpipe—Stacy Peralta’s new sports documentary “Bones Brigade: An Autobiography” will be a nostalgic rush back to a turning point in your life. Peralta’s film gives the entire history of the skate team he formed from a bunch of unknown and well under age boarders that would eventually become the most famous skateboarders of all time and would revolutionize the sport on professional and pop culture levels.

Penny Thoughts ‘12—America’s Game: The Superbowl Champions: 2011 New York Giants (2012) ***

NR, 45 min.

Narrator: Alec Baldwin

Starring: Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin, Justin Tuck, Victor Cruz

After the 2008 Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots, it never occurred to me that the same situation could arise again after only four years. It certainly never occurred to me in the middle of November last year when the Giants looked like their late season implosion would occur even earlier than normal. But, even once the team had made it to the playoffs, no such thought ever entered my head.

Penny Thoughts ‘12—Road to the Super Bowl (2012) ***

NR, 43 min.

Narrator: Tom Selleck

Starring: Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith, Matt Stafford, Victor Cruz, Cam Newton, Tom Coughlin, Tony Romo, Tim Tebow, Bill Belichick, Jim Harbaugh, John Harbaugh, Rob Gronkowski, Calvin Johnson

NFL Films has long been the pinnacle of professional sports documentary filmmaking. Each year they produce numerous films highlighting that season’s teams, victories and losses. Their entire league season overview “Road to the Super Bowl” debuted early in the day on Super Bowl Sunday as part of NBC’s daylong build up to the Super Bowl XLVI rematch between the New York Football Giants and the New England Patriots.