Use The Leg!!

The original plan had been to go see a couple of movies yesterday, but I ended up staying at home putting together my 6th bookcase and sorting through my titles to see what was going to stay and what was going to be donated.

I did, however, get to see The Wrestler. I've always been a fan of Darren Aronofsky's movies (even The Fountain which seems to have been one of those love it/hate it movies). One of his strong suits is showing us characters that are fractured rather than bad. Case in point, Randy "The Ram," the wrestler played by Mickey Rourke.

I have to give a lot of credit to Rourke. Much of the acting in the film is subtle...a look, a wry grin, a slouch of the shoulders. Randy is not a bad person by any stretch; he just doesn't make the best decisions and he has plenty of bad luck outside the ring.

Rourke appears to do most, if not all, of his own stunts. The bouts in the ring are that much better for his effort. You get right in there with the sweat and the grime and the pain. I also came away with a strange appreciation for the 80's style shown in the film. They flat out show you everything is planned out, but that doesn't mean there isn't tons of athleticism involved. One of my favorite bits is crammed into a really gory fight. Randy and his opponent are outside the ring and he has plopped a trash can on top of the guy. Someone hands him a chair to hit the opponent with, but before he can do so, an audience member in a wheelchair offers up his prosthetic leg. The crowd starts to chant "USE THE LEG" over and over. So Randy does. HA!

The catalyst for Randy's story involves the heart attack he has after one bout. The desire to re-examine his life isn't done like a big lightning bolt moment. Instead, it is does almost with a sense of dread and fear. Really beautiful actually. I won't go into much more in case you want to check out the movie. I'll just say I was impressed with the movie, with Rourke's performance and with the ending. I know Marisa Tomei was nominated for her role, and while she is perfectly fine, it is not quite what I expect in a Supporting Actress part. Hopefully it has nothing to do with her going topless.

Speaking of Oscars, I rented Tropic Thunder since Robert Downey, Jr. is up for his role. I think it was supposed to be a funny movie. Not so much for me. I was fully prepared to enjoy it. The teaser trailers at the beginning were great. I almost fell off the couch when the one for "Satan's Alley" popped up with Robert and Tobey Maguire. Perfect! Great, I thought, this is going to be funny. Nope. Sorta dull. Wasn't that impressed by the Cruise cameo. I did like the actor playing Kevin (Knocked Up right?) and I laughed at the "Lance" bit at the end. Otherwise, eh.

I had more to chat about, but this is already pretty long. I will however give a shout out to something my friend Paul is involved in. Check out www.futureperfectradio.com. I'm listening to it right now and I think it is going to give my Q radio station a run for its money. As a bonus, I get to hear Paul's voice very once in awhile say "Future Perfect Radio."