Goon

Labeled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.

IMDb

Rottentomatoes

Sean William Scott [American Pie, Role Models] plays Doug Glatt. Doug is a bouncer, a brother to a gay ivy-league-er and adopted son to a former ivy-league-er. Doug doesn’t belong. When his friend and host of a basement produced hockey talk show Ryan, played by Jay Baruchel [How to Train Your Dragon], takes him to a hockey game, one of the players jumps the stands to beat Ryan up, and Doug puts him on the floor. The coach of the local team sees this, and asks him to try-out. He learns to skate and plays the role of your typical hockey goon. After liking what he sees, he sends Doug to his brother’s minor league team to see if he can’t spark a former #1 draft pick and the team to play like they should.

‘Guilty Pleasures’ Addition: Speed Racer

[ 38% |  31%]

A young driver, Speed Racer, aspires to be champion of the racing world with the help of his family and his high-tech Mach 5 automobile.

This movie was trashed by the box offices, critics, and most of my friends. But I stand firm in my belief that this is on of the better movies of the past few years. Although the story is pretty shallow, it is fun and has a lot of spirit in it, which goes well with the absolutely beautiful ‘cotton candy’ visuals of the film. Emile Hirsch, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, and Roger Allam are all perfect for their roles, and I just think this is one hell of an entertaining movie.

Warrior

Brendan, the youngest son of Paddy, an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he’s trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament — a path that puts the fighter on a collision corner with his older brother Tommy.

IMDb – 8.3

RottenTomatoes – 83%

Moneyball

The story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful attempt to put together a baseball club on a budget by employing computer-generated analysis to draft his players.

IMDb

RottenTomatoes

Now that it’s almost Oscar season, with the nominations being released in just a few days now, this movie is getting a lot of talk, from Best Movie and Best Actor to Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay. Brad Pitt is a favorite among many for best actor, and Jonah Hill is easily going to earn a nomination for his supporting role. And then you have the award winning Aaron Sorkin adapting the screenplay, looking for his second straight Oscar for the subject.

Read the rest of my review after the break.