Rourke Shines as "The Wrestler"

The Wrestler is the sad, uninspiring tale of a professional wrestling superstar from the 80s who can't seem to escape the headlock the industry has placed on him.

At one point, Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by Mickey Rourke) was ontop of the world as heavyweight champion. He lived the high life often sacrificing his personal life and health to entertain enormous crowds packed into America's largest arenas. 20 years later, he's washed up.

Robinson's no longer in "the big show." Instead, he's performing in armories and rec centers on the weekends for a measly payout. During the week, he works at a grocery store to make ends meet.

The movie follows "The Ram" Robinson as he searches for his real self, Robin Ramzinski, following a heart attack. He enlists the help of a good-hearted stripper (played by Marrisa Tomei) and his estranged daughter. Can "The Ram" shed his charismatic in-ring persona and live a normal life? or will he always be "The Ram"?...even when everyone else in his life wants Robin.

Rourke does an amazing job. Unquestionably, it's an oscar-worthy performance. I can't say the same for Tomei. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and I'm not really sure why. She's far from memorable.

I'm not sure that I'd recommend the film to someone who isn't at least familiar with professional wrestling. Like many sports-theme movies, it's not really about a sport. But, it certainly helps to understand it.

Sadly, this tale could be about many once-superstars who once headline pay-per-views and now simply hope to land a spot in the next independent show coming through Abilene...for a $50 paycheck. Though it's not based on a true story, it easily could be one. For anyone who's followed professional wrestling, they'll understand the true tragedy of this film.

It's the story of so many promising people who've gone before their time. It's the story of people who confused fans for family...and ended up all alone. 3 of 5 stars

Bride Wars & More

Bride Wars was terrible!

I know, I'm late on this one. I recently went to see the movie with my Monster-In-Law, Marian (who lets me call her that because she is so cool). It dragged and dragged and dragged. I've never been an Anne Hathaway fan, but I do like Kate Hudson. They just weren't believable as friends and there was too much horseplay and not enough plot. I didn't laugh out loud very much and I was relieved when it was over... and not just because I had to pee.


Here are some DVDs I recently watched:

27 Dresses - B
This actually had a lot more plot than I expected and the characters were really well thought-out. My husband even ejoyed this one! And by "enjoyed" I mean didn't leave the room.

Rescue Dawn - D
Awful, awful, awful. For some reason I thought I was going to watch a Saving Private Ryan-type film, but it was more like a Disney movie. It was so cheesy and so bad. It's the story of a Navy man who goes to Vietnam, gets kidnapped, and tries to escape the crude prison. I hate that it was based on a true story, because the real people involved are probably super disappointed.

Night at the Museum - A-
Again, super late on this one, but I'd always wanted to see it, and when I saw a preview for the sequel, I figured it was about time! Ben Stiller did a great job and I LOVED that Dick Van Dyke was a villain. I also loved watching him dance during the closing credits. I was a little annoyed during the movie because I thought there would be NO way that the ending would make sense, but it did. Can't wait to see the next one!

Netflix, Please!

I haven't been to the movie theater in about a month, but I did recently subscribe to Netflix, so why not review some oldies but goodies!

No Country For Old Men: B-
This movie was incredibly violent. I should have known that going into it, but I wasn't ready for how truly evil it was. Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones all delivered stellar performances, though. Brolin plays a man who stumbles upon $2 million from a drug deal gone wrong. Bardem tries to hunt him down and retreive the cash. Jones is the sheriff trying to make sense of it all. I love to look for symbolism and meaning in these types of movies, but aside from the obvious "hunter and prey" theme I didn't get a lot out of it.

Cloverfield: D
Boo. I didn't even finish it. Sorry if that makes my review invalid. Apparently it's about Godzilla. Whatever.

The Kite Runner: C
I rented this because I recently listened to the audio of Khaled Hosseini's book on a road trip. The book was a great mix of light-hearted fun and distrubing drama. Unfortunately, the move wasn't able to capture the story as beautifully as I'd expected. It's about an Afghan man who immigrates to the US as a way to escape political unrest, as well as a dark secret from his childhood. He's then called back to the country to face both tragedies head-on. I don't recommend the movie for those who haven't read the book.

Run, Fatboy Run: B-
It's the story of a man who left his pregnant girlfriend at the altar and has no way of showing her he's changed other than promising to run a marathon. Catch? He hasn't really changed. While this movie did make me laugh, it was very predictable and felt long.

Michael Clayton: B+
This is one of those movies you'll want to go back and watch a second time in order to follow along better. George Clooney plays a lawyer trying to get his friend, a fellow lawyer, out of a huge mess that's set to cost a company millions of dollars. Warning: it's rated R for some pretty graphic language, including sexual language. Which is strange, because the story line isn't sexual at all.

Get Smart: B+
This movie made me want to go back and watch the television series again. I haven't seen it since I was a kid and don't remember a lot about it. I've spoken to people who loved the original Maxwell Smart and they thought the movie was great. It also has a lot of hidden nods to the series. Steve Carrell's rendition was great. It's amazing to me that he can nail both Don Adams and Paul Lynde's famous Uncle Arthur on Bewitched!

How about you? Stayed home for any good flicks lately?

Slumdog Millionaire: A Must-See!

I am so glad this movie came to Abilene. I don't know much about the history of how this movie garnered international attention, but God bless Fox Searchlight for putting it in widespread release! I wouldn't be surprised at all if it won the Oscar for Best Picture. The movie is actually nominated for 10 Academy Awards.

Here's a quick plot summary. A young man, a "slumdog," winds up on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and answers his way to a level no one has ever reached. Because of his poverty status and complete lack of education, he's arrested under suspicion of cheating. But Jamal Malik proves that life's lessons are the greatest of all and that everything is possible when fate is on your side.

The story was at the same time hard to watch and hard to look away from. It delves into the level of poverty that makes us Americans squirm. Jamal was happier living in a landfill than I ever remember being at that age. The movie highlights the best and the worst of human character and shows just how far you can go in life when you choose justice over revenge.

The colors, music, editing, and especially the story line were totally over the top, but the story still felt very real. I'm guessing that's true Bollywood fashion, even though I've never really seen a Bollywood movie.

While I would love to recommend this movie to everyone, it is rated "R" for violence, adult themes and children in peril. I definitely didn't leave feeling as if I had watched a rated "R" movie, though.

And the Nominees Are...

The nominations are in for the 81st Annual Academy Awards!

"The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" leads the way with 13 nominations, including Best Picture.

Hugh Jackman will host the Academy Awards presentation on February 22nd. ABC will televise the awards live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Here is a complete list of nominees for the 81st Annual Academy Awards:
BEST PICTURE:
The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey, Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

BEST DIRECTOR:
David Fincher - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard - Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant - Milk
Stephen Daldry - The Reader
Danny Boyle - Slumdog Millionaire

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
The Baader Meinhof Complex - Germany
The Class - France
Departures - Japan
Revanche - Austria
Waltz with Bashir - Israel

MUSIC (SCORE)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

MUSIC (SONG)
Down to Earth -- WALL-E
Jai Ho -- Slumdog Millionaire
O Saya -- Slumdog Millionaire

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Bolt
Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
Frozen River
Happy-Go-Lucky
In Bruges
Milk
WALL-E

ART DIRECTION
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Duchess
Revolutionary Road

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

COSTUME DESIGN
Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
Milk
Revolutionary Road

MAKEUP
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Encounters at the End of the World
The Garden
Man on Wire
Trouble the Water

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
La Maison en Petits Cubes
Lavatory - Lovestory
Oktapodi
Presto
This Way Up

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Auf der Strecke (On the Line)
Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy
The Pig
Spielzeugland (Toyland)

FILM EDITING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

SOUND EDITING
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

SOUND MIXING
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E
Wanted

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Rourke, Winslet, Slumdog Shine at Globes

Slumdog Millionaire, Kate Winslet, John Adams, and 30 Rock walked away as the big winners of the night. However, the biggest winner had to be an actor who just two years ago could land a job.

Tonight, we witnessed the resurrection of Mickey Rourke’s career. He won Best Actor in a drama for his role in The Wrestler. The crowd roared as an emotional Rourke walked onto the stage an accepted the award. He thanked just about everyone…including his dogs past and present.

Slumdog Millionaire won for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score. The film, shot and set in India, follows a young man from the slums of Mumbai who appears on a game show and exceeds people's expectations, raising the suspicions of the game show host and law enforcement.

Kate Winslet did what few – if anyone – have done in the past. Winslet won awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. She seemed overcome with emotion following both victories. Winslet happened to thank her makeup and hair team before thanking her husband or longtime friend Leonardo DiCaprio.

30 Rock and John Adams nearly swept all the awards for TV shows. 30 Rock won for Best Comedy, Best Actor and Best Actress. Tracy Morgan may have made the funniest speech of the night giving “shout outs” to just about everyone and anyone you could imagine. Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney each took home awards for their performances in John Adams. Adams was a miniseries produced by Tom Hanks.

No surprise, Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for playing the joker in Dark Knight. It was nice to see Tom Cruise lead the standing ovation for Ledger. Whether you think Ledger deserved it or not, it definitely a stirring moment. Director Christopher Nolan accepted the award for Ledger.

What could be the most talked about incident of the night: Rene Zellweger’s see-through dress. This picture doesn’t quite do it justice. You could pretty much see it all. After cameras took a wider shot, they went back in closely to my surprise. Was I the only person who saw this?

Thanks to everyone who participated in tonight’s live blog on bigcountryhomepage.com. It was our first try at it. By the end of the night, we had nearly 50 comments from readers. I hope you had a good time. If you didn’t get to check it out, I’m sure we’ll do it again soon.

Eastwood Tops Box Office

Movie goers flocked to see the Clint Eastwood drama "Gran Torino" this weekend, giving the 78-year-old actor and director his biggest opening weekend ever. The movie brought in $29 million dollars to take the top spot at the box office according to Warner Brothers Pictures. The best weekend previously for Eastwood was 2000's "Space Cowboys," which earned $18 million in its first few days. It was the first weekend "Gran Torino" was in wide release, as it had been shown in fewer than 100 theatres in the previous month.

It was followed by the debut of the comedy "Bride Wars" starring Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson with $21.5 million and the supernatural thriller "The Unborn" ar $21.1 million.

In fourth was the movie which spent the past two weeks atop the charts, "Marley & Me," at $11.4 million. It was followed by "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" with $9.5 million dollars in receipts.