The Way, Way Back (2013)

I got into “The Way, Way Back” fast. The title refers to those nerdy 1980s station wagons with the reverse seat in the far back that faced traffic, exile from all family interaction as you wondered if the truck in “front” of you crashed into the rear, would you survive? Not likely. Yes, I have mental issues. So does Duncan (Liam James), a 14-year-old stuck on a beach trip with his mother (Toni Collette) and her boyfriend (Steve Carell, against type and damn good), who riddles the boy with abuse. “You’re a three,” this dick chides the boy. Seat position is Duncan’s least worry. Seeking escape from boredom and his mother’s daftness, Duncan peddles a girl’s bike (too easy a joke) around the lazy town and finds himself at a cheapo water park run by a beach bum (Sam Rockwell, air quoting Bill Murray) who reaches out with friendship and a job. Duncan gets to drive. Directors/writers Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (“Descendants”) have crafted a great -– if overly familiar -- film about a kid who wants nothing more than to jump out that back window and run. I was him long ago. A-

The Wrestler (2008)

"The Wrestler" is another gem from director Darren Aronofsky ("Requiem for a Dream"). Mickey Rourke, long absent from any decent film, plays Randy "The Ram" Robinson -- not his real name -- an ex-professional wrestler whose life stopped in 1990. He lives in a crap trailer that's as beat-up and meshed together as his own body, and he owns nothing made past the Reagan era. But he's not dead. Yet. This film nails lower class life in central New Jersey, the loneliness of boardwalks, and the life of middle-aged wrestlers living in Zombieland. (I once wrote a story on similar wrestlers. Writer Robert Siegel nails every reeking sweat-flop detail. It's like a documentary of that one weird night.) This is deep, poetic film about a simple man who can take the horrific physical violence of the ring, but not the emotional punches of life. One of 2008's Top 5. Rourke is amazing. A