Goon

Sports movies are always something of a crapshoot. Sometimes it’s all hackneyed and cliched and not especially compelling; other times the effort captures the inherent drama of the game perfectly; and the rest of the efforts fall somewhere in between. This film sits closer to the good end of the spectrum than most such movies. The two great strengths here are Seann William Scott’s low-key, almost childlike performance as the titular brawler, and a script—written by Canadians Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg—that nails it in terms of hockey culture both on the ice and among the game’s devotees. There’s a lot of fun throughout, including big (if rather profane) laughs, excellent hockey action, and even a touch of cute and sweet in the relationship between Scott’s unlikely hero and Alison Pill as a reluctant and less-than-ideal love interest. Yes, this film does include that most prevalent of sports flick clichés, exposition through broadcaster narration, but that’s a minor sin in relation to a whole lot of good deeds. To mix appropriate metaphors, he shoots and lands his punches. Light the lamp. 

Midnight in Paris

A work of singular irony, in that the most retro--some might even say backwards, or stuck in the past--of all filmmakers, Woody Allen, has made a movie that ultimately celebrates forward motion and moving on to new things in life. So much for context. The film itself, in terms of story, characters, and presentation, is fine, maybe even better than fine, though lightweight enough that it has little impact beyond a cute and clever way to kill a couple of hours. There is the barest subtext, fitting for these times, about the awfulness of rich people, and why Owen Wilson's protagonist is better off making the choice he eventually makes--but there's no ringing declaration made here. This is, after all, just a movie--one good enough that you should give it a look, if not an award.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

After five minutes, I really wanted to hate this movie. It seemed determined to prove that video games really do make you stupid. Plus it seems to declare, in giant flaming letters, the end of the "Michael Cera era"--you get the worn out feeling of watching the same guy playing the same character in the same kind of movie...And yet, somehow, the movie finds away, through all of its visual hokum, its all-too-clever hipster/millenial street cred, and all of the reworked Matrix and Kill Bill moves, to rise above and deliver enough wit, good cheer and fun times to make for a movie that's impossible not to enjoy. A neat trick, and worthy of our appreciation.

Pieces Of April

Not your typical holiday movie, but that's a good thing. A lot of its humor flies below the radar, and the climax is a little too pat, but there are plenty of subtle and smart laughs to be had here. And, if that's not enough for you--and you're very eye-candy conscious--please note that no matter how tarted up she may be, Katie Holmes is still Katie Holmes.