My pick this year for the annual xmas movie was "The Wrestler" by Darren Aronofsky ("π," "Requiem for a Dream," etc.). I really enjoyed... and it even seemed almost impossibly darker - in a far more realistic way - than "Requiem." Mickey Rourke is absolutely bizarre to watch on the screen, and as far as I am concerned, he should get the Oscar that people are talking about. Marisa Tomei plays a stripper and she continues to go down the even more "revealing" path seen last year in "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" Her character is an interesting analog to Rourke's down-and-out pro wrestler. Not exactly a feel-good holiday film, but it is a heavy-duty, emotional, and bloody story. A good comeback for Aronofsky, too. I am nervously curious to see what he does with "Robocop"...
