Goon

This Isn't Baseball

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Rated: R   Brutal violence, non-stop language, some strong sexual content and drug use.
Release Date: March 30, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 31 mins

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Director: Michael Dowse
Writers:  Jay Baruchel, Evan Goldberg, from the novel "Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey" by Adam Fraasio and Doug Smith.
Cast: Seann Willaim Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Liev Schreiber, Marc-Andre Grondin, Kim Coates, Richard Clarkin

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SYNOPSIS: Bar bouncer Doug Glatt failed to live up to the high expectation of his brainy doctor family. After knocking out a local hockey player, Dog gets an opportunity to work his way into a minor league team as an enforcer in an effort to get a bunch of under performing players to live up to their potential.

REVIEW: Director Michael Dowse, known for the Topher Grace rocker flick Take Me Home Tonight, stays in the arena with a new underdog sports movie starring Sean William Scott. Based the Adam Frattasio and Doug "The Hammer" Smith novel entitled "Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey", Quebec-born actor and writer Jay Baruchel and Vancouver-bred scribe Evan Goldberg (Superbad, The Green Hornet) create a screenplay for a sport that, for them, is a national pastime. 

Bar bouncer Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott, American Reunion) lives his life in a black T-shirt with SECURITY written in tall letters across it. He is kind to all patrons until someone gets out of line. With a successful doctor brother and father, Doug's trade is considered lowly and not something to be proud of. With his pal Ryan (Jay Baruchel, How to Train Your Dragon), foul-mouthed local Orangetown, Massachusetts hockey 'Hot Ice' wrap-up TV and online host, they take in an Assassins home game to hep cheer Doug up. When an opposing team's hockey player, fresh into the penalty box, climbs the glass to get at Ryan and his rants, Doug steps in and lays the player out cold. Seeing the most lively display of enforcement in a while, coach Rollie Hortense (Nicholas Campbell, SyFy's Haven) asks Doug to try out for the Assassins hockey team. After a few games Doug proves to be a great thug on the ice, even if his skating skills are less than graceful. Impressed, the coach decides to send Doug up to his brother Ronnie (Kim Coates, Resident Evil: Afterlife) minor league Halifax Highlanders team in an attempt to use Doug's fists as a way to get the rest of the team out of their underachieving slump and on the way to a possible play-off berth.

In the spirit of Paul Newman's Slap Shot, Goon uses violence in order for a team to come out its lethargy and finding its strength to win. Where Paul Newman's hockey hooligans all took to the ice with fighting in their hearts and fists, the Halifax Highlanders do not have the backbone in put up much of a fight. Super star Xavier Laflamme (Marc-Andre Grondin, Mike) was a skating and shooting prodigy in the majors until he was checked by career enforcer Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber, Salt), giving him a triple concussion, a trade to the minors, and a fear of performing. Gord Ogilvey (Richard Clarkin, Land of the Dead) worries more about his divorce and being a bad father than his work on the ice. Goalie Marco Belchier (Jonathan Cherry, Final Destination 2) struggles at the net as much as he gets razzed by his own teammates in the locker room, All in all, the Highlanders are a team of misfits, had-beens, and players that just do not have the heart or want to push themselves to win. Doug, similar to Mark Wahlberg's Vince Papale in Invincible, hopefully has the thuggery to pull the rest of the team off the bench and onto their skates.

Doug Glatt knows how to use his heart and his hands, but fights an uphill battle with get his hockey mates to care about the Highlanders as much as he does. In addition to those woes Doug falls for 'bad girlfriend' Eva (Alison Pill, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) that is turned on by hockey players and fights but has a nice boyfriend at home. And to top it all, the road to the end of the season and possible playoff slot may lead Doug and the Highlanders against the premier enforcer in the league, the man known at Ross 'The Boss' Rhea that sidelined Laflamme in the majors three years ago.

The film is a semi-serious endeavor laced with the icing of Sean William Scott's kind smiles and innocence. His light side just emphasizes the flip of the switch that occurs when he finds his friends and teammates in trouble and he finds the insatiable need to spring into action for their defense. Jay Baruchel's Ryan spouts out nothing but obscenities, both in his show and in the stands, but its nowhere near as endearing as Scott's performance. The rest of the team pitches in with both good skating and perpetual frat boy antics.

Based on the true story of Mike "The Hammer" Smith, a local hockey goon who somehow found himself in the middle of a minor league hockey club, I think Scott does the story justice, in his unique way. The film is not awe-inspiring or patriotic as Kurt Russell's Miracle, have the nameplate of Newman's Slap Stick, or the kid appeal of The Mighty Ducks franchise, but Goon has something that all good sports films need - an underdog team looking for its heart and using that emotion to find a way to win.

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WORTH: DVD or Rental

Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

The T-Virus Seems to be Running Its Course

[Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller, Boris Kodjoe]

image from joblo.com

RANT: 3D here, 3D there, 3D everywhere! So many directors and studios want to utilize this new movie medium, but most don't have the discipline or skill to match what Cameron did with "Avatar". Some studios recognize that not everyone is interested in witnessing poor 3D execution by offering both a 3D and non-3D theatrical version (a $3 - $5 savings), while others just expect us to fork out the extra money like cattle for the 3D version. Luckily, I am here to make sure you spend your dollars as wisely as possible.

SYNOPSIS: Alice comes back for vengeance with a "few friends" as she attempts to take down the Umbrella Corporation's global network. Along the way she makes her way to Arcadia in Alaska where she hopes to find other survivors. When that expedition proves fruitless, she follows a path to Los Angeles to find survivors, remnants of the North American Umbrella Corporation and thousands of the undead!

Milla Jovovich returns as Resident Evil's Alice in this fourth installment of the movie series. Picking up a few months after "Resident Evil" Extinction" left off, Alice and her clones set out to destroy the remaining Umbrella corporation facilities. After barely escaping with her life, Alica flies to Alaska to join the survivors she left in Nevada. When she only finds Claire as a mindless savage drone with a device on her chest in Alaska, Alice takes Claire with her on a flight down the coast in search of her friends. In Los Angeles, Alice finds more survivors in a prison surrounds by thousands of the undead trying to break in. As a freighter anchors in the Pacific and Claire's memories return, the entire group realizes that their hopes of survival rests in escape to the ocean.

Paul W.S. Anderson returns to his franchise as director after passing the reigns to others since the original film. Anderson has written and produced all of the films, but returns to direct "Resident Evil: Afterlife". As with the original, this sequel returns to its more moody, action-horror roots. While "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" was "Escape from New York" campy and "Resident Evil:Extinction" was a "Road Warrior" horror-western, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" returns to Anderson's style of movie-making like what he as perfected with "Death Race" and "AVP2".

Jovovich is still kicking ass and blowing the undead away after 4 films. I enjoy her look and her narrative, which is consistent throughout the series. I liked how Umbrella depowered Alice a little bit in this outing, because she was getting some crazy, scary psychic abilities at the end of the third film. Kim Coates as ex- Hollywood producer survivor Bennett is as scary as any of the undead. Ali Larter returns from the last film as survivor leader Claire, bringing some of her "Heroes" multi-roles experience to her role. Wentworth Miller from TV's "Prison Break" is expertly cast as new survivor Chris with a plan to escape from the correctional facility to the Pacific.

The action is fun to watch. Alice and her clones take apart the Umbrella facility at the start of the film. She even gets to go against a gamer-worthy big boss in a non-steamy shower scene. The 3D works in parts of the film, although I would not have paid the extra money if I didn't have to. The problem is really in the story. Although it races along at a good clip, the plot just doesn't seem to be as tightly wound as the other films. I know this film is the biggest opener of the series, and there are plans for a fifth film (especially based on the ending of "Afterlife"), but I hope that this franchise doesn't fall into the "Star Trek" plight where I only like every other film. Of course that would mean that the next one would be really good!

Worth: Netflix or DVD (for the fans)

I am also trying out a new rating system shown below based on reader reaction to my somewhat complex monetary rating scale. I will give both ratings and see what kind of reaction I muster. A movie can receive up to 5 popcorn buckets. Why popcorn buckets? Because I am a slave to the thousand + calorie delight! Enjoy!