Aronofsky’s gone back to his roots in a way with this film, though I don’t mean in terms of the jagged, jarring edits of his first two films or even the beautiful cinematography and art direction of The Fountain. What I mean is that he’s gone back to the simple, dealing with a very low budget tale of a simple man.

The Wrestler is a heartbreaking tale of Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a professional wrestler who’s about 20 years past his heyday. The film largely centers in on the various relationships that The Ram has: his wrestling buddies, both young and old, who respect the hell out of him; the kids that live in the same trailer park as him who play video games with him and whom he pretends to wrestle with; the stripper Cassidy, the closest thing he’s got to a friend; his estranged daughter Stephanie; and his boss at the local grocery store. There’s a major plot point that has somehow stayed unheard of that happens near the beginning of the film that really puts a twist on what happens to The Ram, something that at first seems cliché, but which pays off, big time.

Mickey Rourke plays the part of The Ram just as good as you’ve been hearing: he plays the part with such normalcy, such pathos, such gritty melancholy that it’s no wonder that the story of The Ram so parallels the trials of his own life.  The supporting cast does a wonderful job as well, Marisa Tomei standing out in the daring role of the stripper Cassidy.

Aronofsky put together a fantastic movie, full of great, intimate moments that resonate powerfully on a very personal and emotional level. While not for everyone, it is a fantastic character study and explores a world that has been completely ignored in terms of literary or significant stories. Aronofsky and his writer, Robert Siegel, found a wonderful story in Randy “The Ram” Robinson, and it shows. One of the most powerful and moving films that I’ve ever encountered.

See it!

Who would like this movie: Fans of wrestling, I would imagine, would love this film. But also anyone who’s got a heart, I have to say. Those interested in the story of the washed up, common man with no flourishes, no clever little quirks, and almost nothing to live for.

Who wouldn’t like this movie: Fans of nonviolence. Impatient filmgoers.

• Info: IMDB
• Watch: Youtube Trailer
• Tickets: Fandango

What looked like a promising horror flick by Batman Begins‘ screenwriter quickly turned into a piece of sh-crap.

I was pretty excited about The Unborn.  Generally I don’t get my hopes up for these sorts of movies, but this one just happened to be directed by David S. Goyer, credited with the screenplay for Batman Begins and the story for The Dark Knight, two of my favorites, not to mention it had one of the best actors alive in it, Gary Oldman (second billed, I should add).  Besides that, the trailer was pretty intriguing: lots of creepy moments and very scary and unique creatures.

Well, the problem is, the movie was bad.  Plain and simple.

Unfortunately, it was most often just a vehicle for extremely cheap, not to mention predictable, jump-out-and-scare-you moments with very little substance.  The story often contradicted itself and several of the main characters just conveniently disappeared–and I don’t mean they literally disappeared, I mean they just suddenly weren’t in the film for no apparent reason other than to make it seem that the main character was alone.  That includes Gary Oldman, who, although second billed, was scarcely in the film for more than 10 minutes.

The Unborn just really hit all the tropes of the typical rip-off of Japanese horror films while simultaneously hitting all the tropes of the typical slasher/teen horror movie.  That includes the needless and yet constantly recurring pseudo-nudity as seen in the poster above.

Not to mention that this is the kind of movie that attracts really obnoxious people to the theater who will scream and talk through the whole thing…

Conclusion:

Not worth it. Just a bad experience all around.  Sorry Goyer, maybe next time.

For fans of: Mindless horror.  Crappy plots.  Genuinely creepy creatures that only show up once.  Panty-clad teen girls.

Not for fans of: Good horror.  A pleasant movie-going experience.  People who value their money!

• Info: IMDB
• Watch: Youtube Trailer
• Tickets: Fandango

View The Unborn’s IMDB page