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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Movie Trailers / CL-TV Originals The Wrestler: Rourke as lord of the ring
Posted By Rhiannon Fionn-Bowman on Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 5:39 PM
By Matt Brunson
There are some movie debuts that stay with you permanently. Barry Levinson's 1982 Diner actually marked Mickey Rourke's fifth screen appearance -- amidst throwaway bits, he had previously been memorable in a small role in 1981's Body Heat -- but I will never forget the flush of excitement I felt as this intriguing new presence sauntered onto the screen. Speaking in raspy whispers, squinting with eyes that never seemed to miss anything going on, Rourke proved to be an instantly captivating presence, and Brando comparisons honestly didn't seem out of line. But after a brief reign of glory in the early to mid-1980s, Rourke's career went up in flames, thanks to personal problems as well as a tendency to pick dreadful material (Wild Orchid, Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, etc.). A comeback via 2005's Sin City failed to take root, but no matter: Rourke now has the role of a lifetime -- and the critical acclaim to support it -- in Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, a tremendous character study from the director of The Fountain and Requiem for a Dream (which topped my 10 Best list for 2000). Read the rest of this review here.
Watch the trailer here:
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