Advertisement
Hamburger
Gothamist Gothamist
    Donate
    Search
    Close Search
    Arts & Entertainment

    Weekend Movie Forecast: The Wrestler, Seven Pounds, Yes Man

    by John Del Signore
    Published December 19, 2008
    Modified December 19, 2008
    Gallery
    9 Photos
    Mickey Rourke makes his big comeback this weekend in The Wrestler. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream), the movie stars Rourke as Randy Robinson, a ruined pro wrestler hobbling through the miserable end of his "career." Anthony Lane at the New Yorker admits that "for some years, Mickey Rourke was just about my favorite movie star. This was not an easy stance to take." But now, Lane says, he's back in a big way: "What Rourke offers us, in short, is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man. Suddenly, there it is again—the charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of wrath, the teen-age smiles, and all the other virtues of a winner. No wonder people warmed to Randy Robinson twenty years ago. I felt the same about Mickey Rourke, and I still do."

    <p>Mickey Rourke makes his big comeback this weekend in<em> The Wrestler.</em> Directed by Darren Aronofsky (<em>Requiem for a Dream</em>), the movie stars Rourke as Randy Robinson, a ruined pro wrestler hobbling through the miserable end of his "career." <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/12/15/081215crci_cinema_lane">Anthony Lane at the New Yorker</a> admits that "for some years, Mickey Rourke was just about my favorite movie star. This was not an easy stance to take." But now, Lane says, he's back in a big way: <strong>"What Rourke offers us, in short, is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man. </strong>Suddenly, there it is again—the charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of wrath, the teen-age smiles, and all the other virtues of a winner. No wonder people warmed to Randy Robinson twenty years ago. I felt the same about Mickey Rourke, and I still do."</p>

    arrow
    <p>Mickey Rourke makes his big comeback this weekend in<em> The Wrestler.</em> Directed by Darren Aronofsky (<em>Requiem for a Dream</em>), the movie stars Rourke as Randy Robinson, a ruined pro wrestler hobbling through the miserable end of his "career." <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/12/15/081215crci_cinema_lane">Anthony Lane at the New Yorker</a> admits that "for some years, Mickey Rourke was just about my favorite movie star. This was not an easy stance to take." But now, Lane says, he's back in a big way: <strong>"What Rourke offers us, in short, is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man. </strong>Suddenly, there it is again—the charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of wrath, the teen-age smiles, and all the other virtues of a winner. No wonder people warmed to Randy Robinson twenty years ago. I felt the same about Mickey Rourke, and I still do."</p>
    Gothamist
    Mickey Rourke makes his big comeback this weekend in The Wrestler. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream), the movie stars Rourke as Randy Robinson, a ruined pro wrestler hobbling through the miserable end of his "career." Anthony Lane at the New Yorker admits that "for some years, Mickey Rourke was just about my favorite movie star. This was not an easy stance to take." But now, Lane says, he's back in a big way: "What Rourke offers us, in short, is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled portrait of a good man. Suddenly, there it is again—the charm, the anxious modesty, the never-distant hint of wrath, the teen-age smiles, and all the other virtues of a winner. No wonder people warmed to Randy Robinson twenty years ago. I felt the same about Mickey Rourke, and I still do."
    If you’re looking for a mindless movie to enjoy this weekend, Seven Pounds isn’t it. From the director of The Pursuit of Happyness and starring the same leading man, Seven Pounds opens today with a compelling story about Ben Thomas, (Will Smith) an IRS agent who drastically changes the lives of seven strangers after his own life has suddenly been turned upside down.That said, it becomes the viewer’s job to figure out what the hell is really going on. The story begins with Ben in inexplicable turmoil, struggling to dial 911 to report his own suicide – which makes very little sense for the next hour, considering that he then goes around playing Jesus, selecting seven people in whose lives he intends to play the hero. An early scene with supporting actor Woody Harrelson, who flawlessly plays a blind concert pianist, turns out to be one of the more gripping scenes of the film, forcing you to wonder which side of good vs. evil Ben is actually on.From there, you slowly begin to sympathize with Ben as flashbacks and the ever-informative newspaper clippings begin to spell it all out for you. About halfway in, all that was mysterious becomes quite obvious and anyone in the theater would be hard-pressed not to write the ending for themselves. Still, with all the twists and turns and a great cast, particularly the always alluring Rosario Dawson, it nevertheless manages to be a film worth seeing.But consider yourself warned. Seven Pounds has received some poor reviews, with The Times' A.O. Scott writing that it “may be among the most transcendently, eye-poppingly, call-your-friend-ranting-in-the-middle-of-the-night-just-to-go-over-it-one-more-time crazily awful motion pictures ever made” and Scott Foundas of the Village Voice saying that “Ben Thomas suffers all right, but the audience suffers more.” – Amanda Spurlock
    Yes Man stars Jim Carrey as a sad-sack low-level banker who turns his life around after a New Age motivational speaker (played deliciously by an over-the-top Terence Stamp) persuades him to say "Yes!" to literally every opportunity. Hi-jinks, and a love affair with the lovely Zooey Deschanel, ensue. It would all be breezy and harmless enough – it's not an insulting movie – but Christ, where the hell did Jim Carrey go? Had he summoned half the normal, human tenderness he discovered in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, the thing would at least be worth renting. But there's something disturbing, impersonal and alien about Carrey's performance here, as if he doesn't even know how to pretend to have actual feelings anymore. He's just a vanilla hole sucking all the air out of the movie, and not even Deschanel can escape the vacuum. Carrey's recent appearance on Larry King has at least one blogger wondering if Scientology is to blame, which would explain a lot. Xenu simply won't rest until all our actors are glazed over shells packed with sci-fi dogma where their feelings should be, or so it is written. For a second opinion, Joe Morgenstern at The Wall Street Journal says it's "enjoyable enough for what it is, a clever idea developed by fits and starts. And once the premise is established -- rather laboriously -- it works up a head of steam that could pass, albeit briefly, for inspiration."
    Who's up for another movie with animated mice? If you've got kids, you don't much say in the matter, do you! You're seeing The Tale of Despereaux, about a brave little mouse cast out by the other mice for "not following the rules that society expects of a mouse." If that sounds familiar, that's because it is! But at least Matthew Broderick's in it? Also too, it's "one of the most beautifully drawn animated films I've seen, rendered in enchanting detail and painterly colors," according to Roger Ebert. The bad news: "I am not quite so thrilled by the story."
    View All 9

    NYC news never sleeps. Get the Gothamist Daily newsletter and don't miss a moment.

    Terms
    #movie
    #new
    #review
    #seven pounds
    #the wrestler
    #yes man
    Do you know the scoop? Comment below or Send us a Tip
    NNYC Love
    Close

    We rely on your support to make local news available to all.

    Donate Now

    Recent in Arts & Entertainment

    The hip hop musical 'Little Syria' tells a mostly forgotten NYC story
    The hip hop musical 'Little Syria' tells a mostly forgotten NYC story
    John Schaefer
    The MTA is going B.I.G. with limited edition Biggie MetroCards in Brooklyn
    The MTA is going B.I.G. with limited edition Biggie MetroCards in Brooklyn
    Ben Yakas
    The NYPL’s temporary Grand Central branch won over the community. Now it might close
    The NYPL’s temporary Grand Central branch won over the community. Now it might close
    Ben Yakas

    Featured in Arts & Entertainment

    The Greene Space Presents: Eunbi Kim in Residence: It Feels Like
    The Greene Space Presents: Eunbi Kim in Residence: It Feels Like
    The first 50 Gothamist readers get FREE tickets with code GOTHAMIST.
    Gothamist Sponsor
    Read More In:
    • News
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Food
    arrow Back To Top
    gothamist
      Party Confetti
      arrow Sign up for our newsletter! Share your email address to get our top stories each day.
      Terms
      NYPR
      Follow Us
      Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube

      © 2022 New York Public Radio. All rights reserved.