Goon: A Netflix Steal

As a current and frequent user of Netflix on my Xbox I found myself with the need to watch something I have never seen before. Under the "comedy" section of the popular video network lied a hockey movie named "Goon" that I had passed up for months before finally giving it a try.

I was very surprised to find out how great this film was. It stars Seann William Scott as a simple yet dimwitted hockey player who was simply hired to be an "enforcer" on the team. For you all not familiar with hockey terminology an enforcer's job is to protect the team's most valuable assets through frequent punishment and fighting with those who dare try to hurt a star player.

Although it appears as a guy-flick is without a doubt a quality film. Check it out. 

USA, USA, USA!

One of the most important aspects in films would be dialogue. It has the ability to make or break films. For example the movie The Room, has horrible dialogue and everyone makes fun of it for that reason. Like many key aspect in films like lighting, audio, camera work and editing, if done right it will be unnoticeable. If it is phenomenal  it will stand out.
This is the case for the dialogue in the film Miracle. Since taking the Public Communication class here at Ithaca College, I've paid a lot of attention to speeches. In Miracle the most influential speech is the locker room speech while playing the Soviet Union. This falls under the category of a ceremonial speech. Coach Brookes speaks to the team to get them amped and ready to be the first team in a long time to beat the Russians.
Here is a sample of the writing throughout the movie.
"Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that's what you have here. Tonight boys. That's what you've earned here tonight. One game. If we played them ten times they might win nine, but not this game, not tonight. Tonight we skate with them, tonight we stay with them, and we shut them down because we can! Tonight! We are the greatest hockey team, in the world. You were born to be hockey players, everyone of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done, it's over. I'm sick and tired hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw them. This is your time, now go out there and take it!"
This speech moves me when I watch the movie, as if I were one of the hockey players in that decade trying to beat the Soviets. Anything that moves an audience in a film shows exceptional talent.

Road to the Winter Classic

I recently watched the HBO 24/7 Road to the Winter Classic. There were some things that stood out to me. The largest difference was the mood in the two different locker rooms. The Capitals were on a five game losing streak and there attitude was terrible, they always had there heads down and seemed depressed. Pittsburgh was on an 11 game winning streak and they were goofing around. I know that there may be a difference in tone, but I was surprised that the difference was this large because both teams are professionals so they know that teams get hot and cold throughout the season. I was wondering if HBO just exaggerated the difference through editing. What do you think?