The Wrestler

[KingGeno]

Darren Aronofsky's new flick, starring Mickey Rourke as a broken down old wrestler. Some are saying this is an oscar-worthy performance.

Seeing the trailer below got me really excited about seeing it. Looks fantastic!

http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_searchlight/thewrestler/

[TheMojoPin]

Can't wait to see this, and I hope it gives Rourke the huge comeback he's been looking for. The guy is a fucking mess, but when he's on he's one of the best actors I've ever seen and one of my all-time favorites.

[Furtherman]

Entertainment Weekly had a good interview with Rourke last month. It's a condensed story of his Hollywood rise and fall, with Mickey talking frankly about it.

The Wrester is touted as a "comeback", which bothers me because they only mention Sin City once, and it's not even mentioned he starred in it. He was f'n awesome in that movie.

I'll check this out because I'm a Aronofsky fan. I'm thinking he might be able to have wrestling entertain me.

Mickey Rourke's comeback -- The once-promising ''Body Heat'' actor talks about his downfall and his new film, ''The Wrestler'' (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20236933,00.html)

[foodcourtdruide]

I am absolutely dying to see this movie. Great director and Rourke looks incredible in it, what awesome casting.

I loved Rourke (and Clive Owen) in Sin City, but I wasn't crazy about the movie. It had the same problem I felt 300 had, it was a graphic novel posing as af film. It was too in love with its own gore and it engulfed the story sometimes, which made for sadistically nice visuals, but left me bored.

Anyway, this is my most anticipated movie of the year, by far.

[TheMojoPin]

it was a graphic novel posing as af film

I'd argue that that's natural, since the mediums are both so visual and paced similarly. Movies start out as storyboards, which are basically just comic book versions of the film, and comics are structured by scripts that are almost identitcal to film scripts. They're ultimately genres that are very alike.

The Last Boyscout was on TV a week ago, and re-watching again I was struck by how much it seems like Bruce Willis is trying to look and act like Rourke did in the 80's. It wouldn't surprise me if Shane Black originally wanted Rourke for that role.

[foodcourtdruide]

I'd argue that that's natural, since the mediums are both so visual and paced similarly. Movies start out as storyboards, which are basically just comic book versions of the film, and comics are structured by scripts that are almost identitcal to film scripts. They're ultimately genres that are very alike.

The Last Boyscout was on TV a week ago, and re-watching again I was struck by how much it seems like Bruce Willis is trying to look and act like Rourke did in the 80's. It wouldn't surprise me if Shane Black originally wanted Rourke for that role.

I understand your point about the genres being alike, and I agree with you to an extent, however I think in a graphic novel a pane can speak for itself and stand out, but I don't think this is possible in a film with a graphic novel style. For example, take North by Northwest, that movie was storyboarded and each frame was pretty enough to be an effective graphic novel, but the film itself was not like a graphic novel. Shots were more fluid than Sin City. In Sin City, I felt each shot was a different set-up for another storyboard. Maybe it's just me.

I'm also not a huge fan of overly violent movies, the violence got a little silly after a while.

The Bruce Willis / Mickey Rourke comparison is great for Last Boyscout. I never thought about it, but you nailed it.

[TheMojoPin]

I understand your point about the genres being alike, and I agree with you to an extent, however I think in a graphic novel a pane can speak for itself and stand out, but I don't think this is possible in a film with a graphic novel style. For example, take North by Northwest, that movie was storyboarded and each frame was pretty enough to be an effective graphic novel, but the film itself was not like a graphic novel. Shots were more fluid than Sin City. In Sin City, I felt each shot was a different set-up for another storyboard. Maybe it's just me.

SC is purposely heavily stylized, too. It doesn't really have a "comic book look" that can be applied to a lot of comic books. Ironically, it's based on a comic book which is explicitly based on the styles of classic noir films, so in aroundabout way it actually doesn't really take that much from comic books.

[foodcourtdruide]

SC is purposely heavily stylized, too. It doesn't really have a "comic book look" that can be applied to a lot of comic books. Ironically, it's based on a comic book which is explicitly based on the styles of classic noir films, so in aroundabout way it actually doesn't really take that much from comic books.

I felt like the flow of the film was designed so each shot ultimately cumulated in a graphic novel looking pane. It just kinda took me out of the film a few times.

[Reephdweller]

I finally got around to seeing The Wrestler. I loved it, it could be because I'm a huge Mickey Rourke fan but I thought he was terrific. Marissa Tomei is great, and fucking hot as hell in this movie. It was a good story, well put together and really captured someone in his position in life and his career perfectly.

[pennington]

I'm bumping this thread because this is one of those films I had no desire to see. I just saw it and it's very good. Rourke is excellent in it, he deserves all the rave reviews he got.

If anybody hasn't seen it yet, it's worth the time.

[PapaBear]

I've been thinking of watching it again lately. It was very good. Out of curiosity, why did you not want to see it?

[pennington]

Out of curiosity, why did you not want to see it?

Good question. I guess I thought it was going to be another depressing movie about a desperate person. But it was so well done, and acted, that I watched it straight through (which I don't often do with DVDs).

[KnoxHarrington]

Good question. I guess I thought it was going to be another depressing movie about a desperate person. But it was so well done, and acted, that I watched it straight through (which I don't often do with DVDs).

Yeah, it's dark, and doesn't flinch from showing the mess Randy's life is, but I wouldn't really call it depressing at all.

I was concerned because it is Aronofsky, and since he spent the last hour or so of Requiem for a Dream seeming to think "So what can I do to make these characters' lives even shittier?", he'd layer on the misery, but he really didn't.