The Wrestler or The Life Of Mickey Rourke

Darren Aronofsky's latest film, The Wrestler, is simply one of the best movie I have seen in 2008, and it wasn't a surprise when I found out that it won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
The first thing I liked about The Wrestler was the fact that it was sincere and simple and none the less extremly touching. I must say that I am not the movie crying kind of guy but I have to confess that this sad story squeezed a tear or two out of me. Another strongly positive fact is the casting of Mickey Rourke in the role of Randy "The Ram" Robinson. This was a great move coming from the casting director as Rourke is doing his greatest acting performance ever. And surely this is to be due, beside his talent as an actor, to the fact that Randy's sad destiny is in many aspects similar to his. One could say that Rourke is playing himself. And he is doing this in a noble and dignified manner. And I must also mention, on the same level, the presence of the ever charming Marisa Tomei, who plays the streapper Cassidy, the only friend the former wrestler has. The Wrestler depicts a sad and cruel world, but at the same time 100 % real. It is not a movie of elaborate and complex dialogues, but its simpleness has a striking effect on the spectator, like a hammer's smack.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

What can one say first about The curious case of Benjamin Button? That it is a story about a man who is born old and dies young? Much too frivolous for this epic achievement. Should we describe it as a love story? I think more appropriate it would be to call it the story of love. For me this movie is another example that all the great things in art, as in life too, are simple. Yes, simpleness is in my opinion the main feature of this film. Despite its duration, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button is easy to follow and understand and it speaks to every spectator, regardless the level of education.
Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett make an outstanding acting duo and I can say that, on general level, the performance is great from each actor. This movie is filmed in a classic manner and I can say that the images are great and they give the impression of everlastingness and elegance.
Once every a few years we have been accustomed to Hollywood producing a film that instantly walks into history, as a cinematographycal landmark. And this is also the case of dear old Mr. Button. It will be for sure a film that you will want to see again and again, like listening to a piece of Rahmaninov or drinking a glass of an old exquisite Bordeaux vine.

The Fountain, a True Anatomy of Love

The Fountain, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is more than a movie; it is a delicate masterpiece, a charming metaphor of love as the driving force of every living thing and at the same time the only remedy us mortals have to rise above our ephemeral condition.
The Fountain is basically the love story between the two main human archetypes: the Western man (impersonated by Hugh Jackman), furious and daring, persistently trying to overcome nature and his Eastern counterpart( the charming Rachel Weisz), more profound and spiritual, perceiving death and love as two sides of the same tide of life.
This Aronofsky's masterpiece is all about poetry, love and humanity. And these ineffable feelings are brought to the on-looker by using some of the most subtle special effects I ever seen. A must see for every romantic soul, a fairytale full of wisdom and sensibility. For those who are restless and fearfull The Fountain is the perfect panacea.