Item 1: Got a chance to see The Wrestler Sunday night. Brian (the Official NFL-Watching Partner of The Jim) called Mickey Rourke’s Randy the Ram “one of my favorite movie characters.” I thought that was a brilliant insight. The movie isn’t really plot driven – it’s a character study. The genius, though, is how complete that character is. After watching that movie, you feel like you truly know every nuance of that character. You know what makes him tick, his flaws, his back story, but it's not like they spell everything out for you. Truly impressive!The violence in the film had me occasionally unsettled – probably because it was so realistic. (Rumor is a lot of the cuts and injuries ... especially on Rourke ... were, in fact, real. Yet another reason dude needs an Oscar.) And just a little tid-bit for the fellas (and non-traditional ladies) … Marisa Tomei plays a stripper in her 40’s, and she is smokin’ hot! Anyway, take my advice and check it out.
Item 2: Brian happens to work for a firm that gets free tickets to sporting events and concerts. This Friday, he managed to snag 2 tickets to AC/DC, and I got to tag along. Now, I’m not a giant AC/DC fan. In fact, the whole arena rock milieu isn’t really my thing … I think I got tired of that before I hit high school. That being said – they KICKED ASS!! I don’t know if it’s in my Top 5 concerts, but it certainly is in contention.
I was struck by three things. First of all, a great, professional band that works hard at putting on a good show can always blow you away ... even if you're somewhat ambivalent towards their music. Secondly, I would have to guess that the average age for that show was mid-30s, and there were plenty of fans who were 50+. It's funny to think that there will come a day when music by Nirvana, Wu Tang Clan, or Red Hot Chili Peppers will be considered "oldies" or "classic," but it'll eventually happen. I'm going to enjoy being a 70-year-old blaring "Straight Outta Compton" from my Towncar. Hopefully, I'll still find the irony of the situation amusing by then.
It also occurred to me that Angus Young is my father's age (Angus turns 54 in a couple of months). This guy ... in fact, ALL those guys ... have a non-stop motor. I can't imagine having that much energy now, much less when I'm in my mid-50's. Angus was in constant motion - and I'm sure those guys aren't exactly health nuts, either. That part just blew me away.
Item 3: I finally got around to watching Wild at Heart, and I can't say I was overly impressed. Now don't get me wrong ... I'm usually a big David Lynch fan. I like his weird stuff (Blue Velvet & Dune), his REALLY weird stuff (Mulholland Drive & Twin Peaks), and even his normal stuff (The Straight Story and The Elephant Man). I also like Nicholas Cage, for some unknown reason. He's ridiculous, insane, and overacts every given moment, but somehow he seems to make films better.(As an aside, Mrs. The Jim once had a run-in with him at Mardi Gras, where she kept asking "Nicky Coppola" to hang out with her. True, it's not as cool as living next to the Junkyard Dog, but it's still a pretty nice brush with celebrity.)
Anyway, my point is that there's no reason this film shouldn't have worked, but it didn't really do anything for me. It felt like Lynch used bad overacting and odd dialogue in place of his typical obscure, surreal logic. Cage took his Elvis obsession to insane heights, and it gets really distracting. Throw in some Wizard of Oz references, and I guess you're supposed to have a movie. I wouldn't say that it was horrible, but it's definitely my least favorite Lynch film to date.
Until next time,
The Jim
3 comments:
Do you think Will and I would like The Wrestler?
Absolutely! The Mrs. had high praise for it as well. It's really strong.
Mickey Rourke was a sexy beast in 9 and 1/2 weeks! I learned all about the birds and the bees from him! As far as Wild At Heart, it is one of my all-time favorite movies...I even have it on VHS somewhere around here.
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