Tag Archives: Seann William Scott

Never thought I’d see a movie in theatres with Third Eye Blind, Semisonic and Eve6 on the soundtrack…

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Right, so when they started showing American Reunion trailers on TV, I never said, “Man, I’ve gotta see that the day it comes out!” but sure enough, I did.  Hey, there’s nothing open on Good Friday cept the movie theatres, and I have absolutely no interest in The Hunger Games.  Besides, the original American Pie was a classic film, one of the movies that defined a generation…  OK, here I go again with this generational crap.  Enough of that.  But let’s just say that the 90′s alt-rock soundtrack brought back a few memories.

Of course, while the original film was a smash hit, the franchise also produced a couple of half-baked sequels, before spinning off into a bunch of “American Pie Presents…” flicks that had nothing to do with the original, aside from an appearance by Eugene Levy.  Y’know, I loved the guy on SCTV, but his role as “Jim’s Dad” has really defined his career.  I must say that he’s back and better than ever in this one, but by now I think the character is such an extension of Levy that he doesn’t need to put much time getting into it.

The rest of the gang’s all here, too, including several minor characters who make brief appearances near the end, y’know, for old time’s sake.  We’re also introduced to Dania Ramirez as the fat band girl-turned hot bartender (though she wasn’t in any of the previous films), new flames like Katrina Bowden (of 30 Rock fame), Jay Harrington (who once had a stint on Desperate Housewives),  and Ali Cobrin as the girl next door.  Most importantly, Oz is back, after being left out of American Wedding–and he’s now a celebrity sportscaster, which leads to some of the film’s funniest moments.

Of course, the all-American couple, Jim and Michelle, are still going strong–they even have a kid.  Although Alyson Hannigan’s probably the only original cast member who had to clear her schedule for this shoot, Jason Biggs is still very much the star of this show.  Let’s just say that he shows a lot more of himself here than he ever has before.  We also see a bit of a spark between the other original American Pie couples, as well.  Tara Reid actually looks hotter now than she did in ’99, if you ask me…

Mind you, there’s slightly less gross-out humour here than in the original series.  Stifler is still Stifler, but the rest of the guys have grown up.  Next to a few funny sexual mishaps, we also get some pop culture references, like an 18-year-old referring to the Spice Girls as classic rock–or Oz’s hilarious Rocky IV speech on the fictional reality show Celebrity Dance-Off.  This Reunion is a more mature film, albeit one that, like its executive producer (a certain Mr. Scott), hasn’t entirely grown up yet.  I do hope this is the last of the series, though.  Once the whole 90′s nostalgia trip starts taking over Hollywood, I’m gonna start to feel old…

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My take on TIFF 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Zombies

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Just got back from my final screening at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  I saw six movies this year, which is maybe a bit more than usual; it seems I generally go to four or five.  As with past years, I hand-picked a handful of independent Canadian and foreign films, avoiding the premiere galas in the process.  I just don’t see the point in paying upwards of 40 bucks (once you add the tax) for a shitty seat off to the side of a theatre, where all the good ones are reserved, just to catch a glimpse of Brad Pitt–especially when his new movie opens next weekend.  That said, I kinda wanna see Moneyball, but I’ll wait till it’s out in theatres.

The six screenings I attended can be placed under three categories: The Good, the Bad and the Zombies.  Because everybody needs a little Sergio Leone in their lives from time to time… ;)

The Good

Sons of Norway.  A side-splitting Norwegian punk-rock coming-of-age story, featuring the music of the Sex Pistols and a cameo from Mr. Rotten himself, who also showed up at the screening.  Great stuff!

The Last Gladiators.  A gripping documentary about the hockey goon centred around ex-Habs star Chris “Knuckles” Nilan, but featuring candid interviews with other former fighters as well.  This one’s actually showing one last time tomorrow nite at 9:15.  Well worth the price of admission, if there are any tickets left.  Should win the People’s Choice Documentary award in my humble opinion.

Goon.  Although the sight of Seann William Scott on skates may seem a little strange, he stars in this Michael Dowse-directed film as a kind-hearted hockey scrapper who fights his way up to the top minor league.  I’d imagine this one will get some sort of theatrical run north of the border, but I didn’t mind paying a couple extra bucks to see the premiere–even if I was seated way off to the right of the screen.

The Bad

Play.  This Swedish film just didn’t resonate with me, for whatever reason.  A true-life tale of teenage bullying, it left me feeling cold and detached in spite of the subject matter.  There is a recurring scene with a crib on the train that, while mildly humourous, doesn’t add anything to the storyline, yet they kept going back to it for comic effect.  (A bit of levity, perhaps?)  The ending scene is also slightly strange, to say the least.

Hard Core Logo II.  My curiosity drove me to see this film, despite the strong belief that a sequel to Hard Core Logo should never have been produced.  An egotistical attempt at an art film with a tenuous connection to the original, bringing back the great Bucky Haight (played by Julian Richings) as a record producer and with Toronto band Die Mannequin replacing the Hardcores.  Bruce McDonald reprises his role as the documentary filmmaker while also casting himself as the ever-present narrator, unlike in the original, where his on-screen presence was minimal.  If McDonald really wanted to reuse the name, he should have called his last film, Trigger–which I quite liked, actually–Hard Core Logo II and renamed this one Die Mannequin!  Kill!  Kill! (or something like that), ditching the Joe Dick Exorcist bullshit in the process.

The Zombies

Juan of the Dead.  The first zombie film ever shot in Cuba, Juan is certainly more like Shaun, rather than Dawn of the Dead.  It follows two loveable losers and their offspring as a zombie outbreak strikes the communist country.  There is plenty of Cuban-spiced humour on tap, like the state TV news anchor who keeps referring to the zombies as political dissidents paid by the Americans, or the mass exodus of homemade rafts from the island.  An interesting new take on a classic horror theme.

My TIFF take on… hockey-fighter films

Posted by gruesomegreg on

Although it’s taken a bit of a backseat in the past few days to concussions and faulty Soviet aircraft, fighting in hockey remains a hot-button issue.  And while I’m sure the TIFF organizers had their lineup of films put together months in advance, the fact that there were two movies about the fine art of hockey pugilism screening today at the festival couldn’t have been much more timely.

The Last Gladiators was a truly great documentary, following the career and post-hockey struggles of ex-Habs enforcer Chris “Knuckles” Nilan, while taking a broader look at that side of the game by interviewing tough guys like Terry O’Reilly, Tony Twist and the late Bob Probert.  (They also shot footage of Probert’s funeral.)  We even got both sides of the McSorely/Brashear incident from the men themselves.  Incidentally, when they shot Brashear, he was playing semi-pro hockey in Quebec, and the film crew got access to one of his games, as well as a day in the life of another not-so-famous minor-league fighter.

Nilan himself was in attendance, even for the 9:15 am second screening of the film.  Walking on crutches, you could tell he’s had a rough time, but he was just as dynamic in person as when you saw him on film.  He even showed a bit of distaste for Gary Bettman, who he feels is trying to take fighting out of hockey, warning that if you take it out of the game–and piss off all those Canadians and the American rednecks who watch hockey–it’ll be hard to put it back in.

My second screening of the day was a big premiere event, though hardly a black-tie affair.  The movie Goon, directed by Michael Dowse of FUBAR fame (fuckin’ giver eh!) is based on the autobiography of real-life minor-league scrapper Doug “The Thug” Smith and stars Seann William Scott of American Pie fame in the leading role.  Though I haven’t read the book, it’s safe to say that Dowse and the crew did their homework after having seen a documentary about the real deal.  At one point, the antagonist Ross Rhea (a tribute to Rob Ray, perhaps?) is suspended for a McSorely-like stick-swinging incident, and there is definitely a Gretzky/McSorely relationship between Scott and Marc-André Grondin, who stars as a cocky, Ovechkin-inspired Québecois star player who’s lost his touch after suffering a big hit to the head.  (Sidney Crosby, anyone?)

Although the on-ice action is pretty true-to-life, the locker-room and bus-ride scenes pay homage to Slap Shot while clearly showing that this movie was directed by the same guy who did FUBAR.  Some of the supporting cast, like the pill-popping goalie from Saskatchewan and the two wisecracking Russians are pure comic gold!

For the record, I gave The Last Gladiators a perfect five points on my People’s Choice ballot, while Goon got a four.  Great movie, but sometimes there ain’t nothing like the real thing, and The Last Gladiators is worthy of the People’s Choice Award in my humble opinion.