ENTER TO WIN A "GOON" PRIZE PACK

Goon Prize Pack

With Goon hitting theatres today via Alliance Films, how about we do another Giveaway to celebrate the hysterical Hockey-Comedy's release?  Included in this Prize Pack are: two shot glasses, a commemorative novelty hockey stick, character trading cards and a key chain!

To enter, click "like" on this Post at Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven on Facebook and remember to follow on Twitter here too before March 10, 2012.

I chat with the Cast of Goon on the Red Carpet at its Toronto Premiere on Wednesday night.  See what Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, David Paetkau, Seann William Scott and Michael Dowse had to say right here.

Good luck!

INTERVIEW: THE CAST OF "GOON" - FEATURING SEANN WILLIAM SCOTT, LIEV SCHREIBER, JAY BARUCHEL, MICHAEL DOWSE & MORE

Seann William Scott at the Toronto Premiere of Goon - February 2012

Canadian Director Michael Dowse (Fubar, It's All Gone Pete Tong) premiered his latest Hockey-Comedy back in September at TIFF to rousing reception and now is ready to unleash a "rink of fire" to the masses.  Alliance Films has shown its firm vote of confidence in the distinctly-Canadian Film, touring it over the past week with stop-offs in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal and tonight, Toronto.  

Montreal's Jay Baruchel not only co-wrote Goon together with Evan Goldberg, but also stars in it.  He is said to have been moved to tears by a surprise visit from now-Fiancée and then-Co-Star Alison Pill. The two developed a romance on-set and thus, the Film can be said to be a Labour of Love, in more ways than one. In addition to Dowse and Baruchel, talents David Paetkau, Liev Schreiber and Seann William Scott graced the Fan and Media-filled Red Carpet also at Toronto's Scotiabank Theatre.

Goon centers upon Doug (Scott), a Jewish-Canadian Bouncer and trained Boxer whom after years of struggling to find his niche, gets hired aboard a floundering Halifax Hockey Team as someone whose purpose solely is to help his Team win fights on-the-ice, fully utilizing those Boxing chops. Doug turns out to be a much better at his job than anticipated and this causes some friction within his Team, especially with its Captain of many vices Xavier (Marc-André Grondin), and also a competing team's soon-to-retire star, the tough-as-nails Ross (Schreiber). Along the way, Doug falls for Eva (Pill) whom at first appears emotionally unavailable, but nonetheless he is determined to win her affections. With the support of his Team and Buddy Pat (Jay Baruchel), he enjoys a celebrated, although stormy rise to the top - even if it should come at the expense of his overachieving Parents.

Certainly not lacking controversy, Goon has gained much Media attention of late for both its shocking Posters, showing Baruchel in what might be considered a lewd act, but more so its violent on-ice beatdowns.  A Representative for the City of Toronto has denied that it ordered the removal of the offending Posters namely from bus shelters, according to a probe by The Globe & Mail.

Baruchel poked fun at the situation, performing quickly an encore of the said lewd act for the Cameras, shouting "Here you go, one more time!".  On a more delicate note, I asked Baruchel about how this Film might be misconstrued solely as a tough, violent Film when in fact much of it actually is a Love Story.  "Yes, that's exactly right. I was raised to believe that toughness has nothing to do with being a good person or not", he comments.   "It's also a reaction to a terrifying trend in movies where they're always cynical and always come from a mean-spirited place. I just wanted to bring a happiness and heart back into Films.".

ENTER TO WIN A DOUBLE PASS TO THE TORONTO PREMIERE OF "GOON"

Official Artwork for GOON

Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven and Alliance Films are pleased to offer Readers a chance to attend the Toronto Premiere of GOON, the hilarious Hockey Comedy from Director Michael Dowse which made its celebrated debut last September at TIFF.  The Guardian, The Observer and Time Out already are raving about this story about an Underachiever named Doug (Seann William Scott) who finds his niche in a Semi-Pro Hockey Team, knocking out anyone getting in the way of a victory! Also starring are Jay Baruchel, Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill, Eugene Levy, Kim Coates and more.

To enter to win a Double Pass to the Toronto Premiere of GOON on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, click "like" on Mr. Will-W.:Pop Maven on Facebook and also this corresponding Post.  Don't forget to follow me on Twitter also! You must enter before Saturday, February 18, 2012 to qualify.  Good luck.

And did I mention that GOON Stars Jay Baruchel, Seann William Scott, Liev Schreiber and Director Michael Dowse all will be in attendance on the Red Carpet?

Watch the Trailer in full below:

ANGELINA JOLIE SALT REVIEW

Salt isn't a very good movie in all honesty, but you just cannot keep your bloody eyes off the screen for the 100 minutes of a hot mess that it is. Please don't get me wrong, despite having a limited range as an actress, Angelina Jolie is fantastic at what she does. Nobody does dead-pan, sexy action-hero like Jolie but this is far from her best work. The problems here all lie in Kurt Wimmer's (Thomas Crown Affair, The Recruit) near non-existent script and director Phillip Noyce's over-dependency on action sequences (albeit amazing), even when they aren't needed.

The story revolves around CIA agent Evelyn Salt (Jolie) who we learn is a great asset to the Secret Service, undergoing torture and interrogation by the North Koreans at the beginning of the film; she is suspected of being an American spy. She denies this vehemently before being released back to the U.S. with the help of Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), when of course we realize that she is in fact a Spy after all. We see that she is greeted by her husband Mike Krause (August Diehl) and get a bit of back story on their relationship. Mike is an author and despite her hesitations, they fall in love even knowing the risks involved in marrying a Secret Agent.