The Wrestler

Randy 'The Ram' Robinson is a wrestler who in the 80s was at the height of fame with bouts in Madison Square Gardens. Now times are a little harder and he is doing small bouts in small halls in small town America. Living in a trailer park his closet friend outside the ring seems to be a local stripper.

The bouts he's now in are far from glamorous and involve items such as barb wire, ladders and staplers. They are taking their physical toil and after one bout he has a heart attack - but he has also been offered one final large pay day with a 80s style match against 'The Ayatollah'. Can he rebuild his life outside the ring, or risk his health with one final fight?

Wonderfully shot this movie really captures the atmosphere of a ageing athlete now down on their luck. It highlights the camaraderie backstage in the world of small town wrestling, and the brutality that can occur in the ring. Ultimately it is about someone looking at their own mortality and wondering 'is that it?'

Mickey Rourke is simply excellent as The Ram - vulnerable yet reluctant to give up the only life he knows. Marisa Tomei is warm and thoughtful in a 'tart with a heart' style role as the ageing stripper who is also having to accept that ageing is impacting her 'career' - it's a role that should have been bigger, but Tomei does well with the limited screen time she's given.

Personally I felt disappointed with the ending, which felt like a cop out. However, this is Rourke's movie and, unlike The Reader, you care about his character and what happens to him - he should be a certainty for the Oscar in the best he's been in his entire career.

The Reader

Set in post war Germany The Reader is a film about Hanna Schmitz, a woman who seems to have no friends and possesses a secret, and Michael Berg, a young man/boy with whom she has an affair. The story follows their lives from the post war years through to the 60s and up to the 90s.

Directed by Stephen Daldry (probably most famous for Billy Elliot) with a screenplay by David Hare and starring Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, this is the first of the 'big Oscar hopeful' movies to hit the UK in 2009. It has already been nominated for 4 Golden Globe awards.

It's pity that it is such a dull film. Coming in at just over 2 hours it does little to holder the viewer for huge chunks of it, and seems to contain at least 2 false endings if not more. The main problem is that neither of the lead characters is remotely sympathetic and you, or at least I, didn't really care what happened to them. Hanna has a secret, well two actually, and she keeps one of them even as the first, her war past, means that she is sent to prison for longer than her war crimes should dictate. If you've read the book, or even the review in the Independent which contained this plot 'twist', then you know what the 'other secret' is. Ask yourself this question - if you were in her position wouldn't you just have admitted your 'shame' rather than face a lengthy jail sentence? Would you rather be known as x than as a 'Nazi whore'? Unfortunately it's on the acceptance of her rather ludicrous decision that the whole film falls apart.

There are some good parts to the film. Kate Winslet is excellent, especially later in the film as her character ages, and the section set in the 60s around the war trials contained some thought provoking and interesting moments. But unfortunately these do not make up for a dull plot with leads you just don't care about - indeed sometimes they seem to vie for who is the most unpleasant. Ralph Fiennes reprises his 'cold and emotionally distant' acting that was last seen in The Duchess.

It's disappointing and I left the cinema wondering why this was made as pretty much a 'British' film when, having seen what German cinema has done with their history in Downfall and The Lives of Others, left in local hands it could have been so much more.

Hello to 2009

So how was your Christmas and New Year? How was 2008? Looking forward to 2009? How many more pointless questions will he ask?

The image is from one of the Christmas cards I sent to some friends - slightly tongue in cheek to build up my grumpy old man persona. The ironic thing was that the 'Bah Humbug' card was actually the most expensive type I sent!

I hope that Christmas and New Year was good for you - a time of joy, peace and celebration. How will 2009 pan out?

For me 2008 was a peculiar year. Many good things and one-off highlights that I doubt I'll repeat - trips to Buckingham Palace, 11 Downing Street and the British Grand Prix - and others I hope to repeat, though perhaps not soon - trip to the US and seeing the NFL game at Wembley. I felt happy and settled living in the part of London I do, and can happily see me staying here for some time - the first time I've felt that since moving to London in 1996. The career continued to flourish with a new role. So overall, a good year?

Well... I don't know. It must be because it had so many highlights, and yet... I end the year feeling somewhat restless. I can't pinpoint exactly what or why I feel this, I just do. It's nothing 'major' - there is no crisis, no really deep worries, no life changing thoughts. I'm not about to have a midlife crisis, buy a convertible and starting dating a "model/actress/whatever" - although that does sound fun! There is just a sort of restless unease sitting there - nothing more, nothing less.

I'm looking forward to 2009, and I hope you are too. May it be a year of what we'd like it to be - it's a new year, let's all grasp it.