The Wrestler

Big Magilla
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Post by Big Magilla »

Penelope wrote:Was the song really that great? It sounds like every other Springsteen song he's written for the last 20 years.
If was the consensus of the music branch then fine, but only three out of 49 were worthy of a nomination, and two of them were from the same film? What is the message they are trying to convey?
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Post by flipp525 »

I thought the musical genius moment of the film was the use of Guns N' Roses' "Sweet Child o' Mine" (sort of like "Don't Stop Believin'" in Monster).



Edited By flipp525 on 1233069822
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Post by Penelope »

Was the song really that great? It sounds like every other Springsteen song he's written for the last 20 years.
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Post by Big Magilla »

The new music branch rules are worse than the old ones.

Under current rules, there have to be at least 25 songs eligible to warrant five nominations. There were 49, almost double the minimum requirement.

Branch members are shown screen clips of all the eligible entries and then score them on a sliding scale from 6 to 10 with half point increments in between. If a member has a song in contention, they are ineligible to vote. Only those songs that score an average of at least 8.25 out of 10 among the participating music branch members are eligible to be nominated.

Since there were only three nominees this year, we can conclude that only three songs were rated 8.2 or higher. Are these people tone deaf or did they deliberately snub Springsteen by low-balling the vote for his song?
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Post by FilmFan720 »

I caught up with this over the weekend. Pretty much everything to say about the film has already been said...the script is the weak link, but Aronofsky (who I have never been a big fan of) really carries the film to a deeper level that I think it deserves to mine. Rourke is incredible, and I think he should get more credit than just mining his own problems. While the character does eerily reflect his own life, he also comes out with an individual, three-dimensional character of his own. Tomei is just as wonderful, giving one of the most authentic and heart-felt performances of the year. I love that she got an Oscar nod for this, not only because she is one of the most deserving nominees but because she never has an "Oscar scene."

In all, though, except for Springsteen's snub (what a great use of that wonderful song), the Academy got this right. The film is Tomei and Rourke, and they carry what could be a forgettable film into a wonderful character study.
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Post by dylanfan23 »

I finally just saw this film. First of all i didn't read many reviews of the film and had no idea it took place in new jersey. My father worked as a nurse for over 25 years in the hospital rourke walks out of after his heart attack. That was a nice surprise seeing that entrance. And i grew up around around elizabeth and was familiar with a lot. Had no idea going in so that was nice.

On to the film. This film was extremely well done. I loved requiem for a dream very much and didn't like the fountain very much. So i was hoping for the best and he delivered. His direction added so much to the charm of this film. Now with that being said, this isn't ground we haven't seen before. And this is a man thats very hard to like, and i really wanted to like the guy. Rourke did a great job finding this characters every emotion that i couldn't get him out of my head. What makes this film better than just a solid film is all the little things, the directors attention to detail, rourke's amazing performane and the interesting "fight" scenes that helped make us understand this world.

As for awards, i agree with rourke's nomination, i can't say he's better than the nominated penn or the not nominated dicaprio, but he took this character and did some amazing things with it. Tomai was wonderful as she always seems to be if i think about it, i'm not sure i would have given her a nomination but i won't argue with it. Other than that, i'm ok with everything else missing out except for the boss's wonderful song that was a perfect ending to this film. Its a real shame it wasn't nominated, they should still nominate five and have given the boss and clint nominations for two nice film endings.
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Post by criddic3 »

I just saw this today, on a double-bill with Frost/Nixon. The performances are as good as everyone has been saying, but I will agree that the violent fight scenes almost make you want to turn away. Rourke absolutely deserves a nomination, and I think Tomei has some wonderful scenes. Some people are talking about a surprise Best Picture nomination, but I don't see that happening.
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Post by rolotomasi99 »

flipp525 wrote:
rolotomasi99 wrote:i seriously wonder how many academy voters are going to be able to even watch the movie. i can easily see them turning off their screeners half-way through because of the wrestling scenes.

I doubt it. Requiem for a Dream was way more graphic and featured much more disturbing imagery (who can forget Leto's needle in the arm shot?), yet it didn't prevent Ellen Burstyn from being nominated.
yeah, i was referring to him winning. i am not saying this will absolutely keep rourke from getting the oscar, but i can imagine some folks not being able to get past the first big fight (you know, the one where we see the staples going in and coming out of rourke's body).

performances from other brutal movies have won recently (THERE WILL BE BLOOD, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND), but those films kept most of their bloodiest sequences until the end.

unlike critics, who have to watch a movie as part of their job, academy voters are allowed to vote in most categories whether they saw all the nominated films or not. between the violence in THE WRESTLER and the gay kissing in MILK, maybe frank langella will be able to still win best actor after all.
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Post by Sabin »

no, the parts i had to look away from were the fight scenes.

This is what I'm talking about. Had no trouble watching Tomei.
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Post by Franz Ferdinand »

I just saw "Requiem" last night and I was floored. I could definitely connect the graphic wrestling scenes to Aronofsky's previous movies, especially to the no-holds-barred "Requiem".
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Post by OscarGuy »

And she so deserved that nomination. It's a performance that still haunts me to this day.
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Post by flipp525 »

rolotomasi99 wrote:i seriously wonder how many academy voters are going to be able to even watch the movie. i can easily see them turning off their screeners half-way through because of the wrestling scenes.
I doubt it. Requiem for a Dream was way more graphic and featured much more disturbing imagery (who can forget Leto's needle in the arm shot?), yet it didn't prevent Ellen Burstyn from being nominated.
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Post by rolotomasi99 »

Sabin wrote:There are moments when I have to look away to keep from witnessing his pain especially in scenes between him and Marisa Tomei when you can feel him encroaching upon her personal space.
i had to look away from the movie during certain parts as well, but they were not the scenes involving tomei (though i get what you are saying sabin).

no, the parts i had to look away from were the fight scenes. aronofsky clearly went with a realistic depiction of the underground wrestling circuit rather than the stylised fighting like we see in RAGING BULL (which i expected from the man who directed REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and THE FOUNTAIN).

i seriously wonder how many academy voters are going to be able to even watch the movie. i can easily see them turning off their screeners half-way through because of the wrestling scenes.
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Post by Eric »

I suppose there are some out there that think this affects Rourke's Oscar chances.

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Post by Sabin »

I'm a guy. I can't help myself. This movie's pretty awesome.

Darren Aronofsky directs Robert Siegel's screenplay in an admirably earthbound fashion with long takes always following behind Rourke. I don't want to further overboard the adjectives headed upon the actor. He's just perfect. How could he not be? It's as simple as that. You feel his pain and his joy. He's incredibly funny, likable, and weak at the same time. There are moments when I have to look away to keep from witnessing his pain especially in scenes between him and Marisa Tomei when you can feel him encroaching upon her personal space. They have a lovely rapport together, both wearing faces and names not their own, alternating in when they've had enough. That's life. That's love. It never times out.

I love the suburban sprawled locales, and how every extra in the movie feels like a real person, the wrestlers interacting like real wrestlers. The film is at its strongest when it just breathes and follows Randy as he lives his life. The screenplay is smart in what information it withholds so that when certain tidbits come out they are given the patience they deserve. Only when Randy reunites with his lesbian daughter (which is woefully underdeveloped) and when the movie winds towards convention at the end does it feel annoyingly conventional. Yet in the last shot, Aronofsky proves himself an incredibly shrewd director. I knew what it would be and I was right and it's perfect.
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