Critics are calling Mickey Rourke‘s titular performance in The Wrestler an Oscar front-runner—and easily his best in over twenty years. What this really means is that it’s been that long since the sleazy loudmouth made a movie that film critics could even blink at. In the gallery, we recommend ten films of wildly varying quality that will help the curious understand how a new Marlon Brando quickly became the (very) poor man’s Bruce Willis—and why everyone’s excited for his comeback.
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Diner (1982): Following a small but powerful performance in Body Heat, Mickey Rourke's charismatic swagger stuck out in this Barry Levinson ensemble comedy, winning him Best Supporting Actor awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society Of Film Critics.
