What a Rourke-us!

If you’re looking for creepy coincidences look no further then my review on The Wrestler posted yesterday where I said Mickey Rourke was as suited for the role of Ram as Robert Downey Jr was for the role of Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Turns out casting directors made a more significant link to Rourke and Iron Man with Variety reporting he has been cast as a villain in Iron Man 2. According to the rag he will play a heavily tattooed bruiser (no surprises there) who is basically a Russian version of Tony Stark complete with his own arms business. Oh, and he’ll battle Iron Man in his own nuclear powered armored suit. The Hollywood Reporter have gone on to suggest the character, who is at the moment unnamed, will be either The Crimson Dynamo or Whiplash as featured in the comic series. Naturally Robert Downey Jr is returning as Tony Stark, Don Cheadle is replacing Terrence Howard as James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes, Gwyenth Paltrow is back as Pepper Potts and Samuel L Jackson is playing Nick Fury the super-spy (pictured below). Jackson played Fury in the original Iron Man movie (2008) in a post-credits scene at Tony Stark’s home where he tries to recruit Iron Man to join the Avengers. The casting news that has really got my juices going is Movie Mazzupial favourite Sam Rockwell in the role of Justin Hammer, head of Hammer Industries comic books’ and another of Stark’s main adversaries in Iron Man 2. Seriously, Rourke and Rockwell as foes? Could this movie sound more awesome? Besides The Dark Knight I doubt there has been a cast this diverse and talented for a comic-book adapted movie. The first Iron Man was witty, fun and action packed but not in a hollow Spider-Man kind of way. It was one of my favourite films of `08 and I questioned how they would be able to make a sequel better than the first. Now with the original crew and cast back on board plus the added talents of Rourke, Jackson, Cheadle and Rockwell “wow” pretty much sums up my general response. And who better than Rourke to play a villain? We all know Rockwell is great as a conniving evil-doer (see Charlie’s Angles for further proof) but Rourke has rarely been given the opportunity to play a truly bad dude. Yes, he’s played many a lovable bad guy but I want to see him pure evil darn it! Everyone knows Rourke eats puppies for breakfast with a side of baby seal salad but I can’t wait to see what he can do on screen in this part. With a swashbuckling cast, an awesome predecessor and a 2010 release date, Iron Man 2 is shaping up to be a major blockbuster with meat.

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Wrestle this

There are few films I have been more anxious to see in recent months than The Wrestler. I have heard great things from pretty much every critical corner and Mickey Rourke is being touted as a major Oscar contender for this role. Director Darren Aronofsky is getting all sorts of praise which is looking good for boosting the buzz around The Fighter starring Mark Wahlberg and Brad Pitt which he is also directing. But this film is all about Mickey, Mickey, Mickey. Rourke plays Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson who, after being forced to retire from the minor wrestling league due to a heart condition, finds himself sad and alone. Rourke plays a role that is as suited to him as Tony Stark aka Ironman was for Robert Downey Jr. Described as a washed up piece of meat trying to find his way back to human, the character of Ram is executed to perfection by Rourke in a standout performance. Credit also needs to be given to the two fine supporting actors Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood who this film would be nothing without. The Wrestler isn’t shot in some avant-garde fashion like recent critical smash Hunger (blah), instead Aronofsky uses a hand held camera for majority of movie. He makes you feel like you’re part of Ram’s life, following him through his highs and lows. To combat this simpler style of camera work Aronofsky also uses several other beautiful techniques which truly cement his position as a skilled director. Personally I found the wrestling scenes difficult to watch but undoubtedly they’re choreographed very well and executed to perfection by Rourke and the many other wrestlers starring in the film.
My consensus? I loved it. I especially loved how Aronofsky didn’t overdo anything and instead let the story and superb performances take the audience on a sad, touching and truly magnificent journey. Every glowing review this movie has had, it deserves. Like the title character, The Wrestler is raw and confronting but if you can get yourself along to see this you won’t regret it. The Wrestler opens this Thursday, January 15 at most main stream and art house cinemas so be sure to get in early.

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Avenge is sweet

After the astounding success of Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk (the first two films from newly created Marvel Studios) it’s no wonder there are already two more films in production for the Iron Man franchise. Robert Downey Jnr has signed on for three more films as billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man and Terrence Howard’s character of Colonel James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes is now being played by the talented Don Cheadle for the next three films. But wait, “three films?” I hear you say. Yes, that’s right THREE FILMS. Two more in the Iron Man franchise then Downey Jnr and Cheadle will reprise their roles in (drum roll please)
THE AVENGERS MOVIE!!!
There have been rumours circulating since Marvel created their own studio to independently produce their creations and those rumours appeared to have some substance when Downey Jnr had a cameo in The Incredible Hulk. Marvel Studios today confirmed The Avengers movie is in pre-production and Jon Favreau is on board to direct. Favreau did a stellar job of directing the first Iron Man film and is also set to direct the rest of the franchise. Sounds like a hefty work load for the writer/director/actor but he’ll be backed up by an awesome support team in the form of Louis D'Esposito, Stan Lee, David Maisel and Denis Stewart. Phew. Admittedly I’m getting really sick of comic book to film adaptations and it seriously feels like every second movie was originally a comic or graphic novel. Be original folks and create some new shit! But (and there is a but) I’m looking forward to The Avengers mainly because it’s a classic and one of the most recognised comics of all time. Those of you unfamiliar with The Avengers, here’s a quick run down. First created in 1963 by the legendary Stan Lee, The Avengers features some of Marvels key characters who unite to create a unique crime fighting unit. Originally founded and majorly funded by Tony Stark other characters in the unit include The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, The Black Widow, Spider Man, The Fanatstic Four and more. Whether some of these characters will appear in the film adaption is yet to be known but other team members in The Avengers have included Wolverine, Storm, Daredevil, Electra, The Punisher and tonnes of other lesser known characters. Only Edward Norton’s version of the Hulk, Captain America and Thor have been confirmed to be in the film version which is scheduled for release on July 15, 2011. The Iron Man sequel will be in theatres on May 7, 2010. Both will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.
On a related topic, I’m extremely pleased at the produce coming out of Marvel Studios and am glad they were able to make enough money off the rights to the characters they sold (i.e. Spiderman, The Punisher, Daredevil, X-Men) to start their own studio. After all, who can handle the Marvel subject material better than the people who created it? No one, that’s who. And with the animators, writers and creators at the forefront of the company (i.e Stan Lee, Don heck) it truly sounds like they have the characters best interests at heart when creating the films. Unfortunately Marvel Studios don’t have anything new coming out in 2009 as the highly anticipated X-Men Origins: Wolverine is from 20th Century Fox as they own the rights to the X-Men franchise. Hugh Jackman will be back to reprise his role as Wolverine and
Liev Schreiber (aka Naomi Watts’ hubby) will play the famous Sabertooth, the `always hot right now’ Ryan Reynolds will play Deadpool, former hobbit Dominic Monaghan as Beak and up and comer Lynn Collins will play Silver Fox, Wolve’s old flame. X-Men Origins: Wolverine was shot entirely in Sydney and will be released in Oz on April 30, 2009.

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