Tag Archives: Gary Oldman
Really Good, but Overrated
Recently the film Righteous Kill was released in theaters. Now let me start by saying that I’ve not yet seen it, I’m planning on it, but not yet. It stars two actors you may have heard of; Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. These two are widely acknowledged as two of the “greatest” actors of our time. Since this movie was announced I though, “Yeah they’re good, but are they really the greatest?” I’d have to say no.
As I write this I have IMDB open in another window and am looking at their filmographies. While both have some truly brilliant films in their repertoire; Raging Bull, Serpico, Godfathers 1-3 (yes I count 3 as brilliant), Awakenings, and Scent of a Woman etc etc. I probably didn’t list some that you may enjoy, but between the two they’ve acted in round about 100 movies. However while they have many great films, there are lots of bad movies among the list where they both seem to only be playing themselves, or some variation on themselves. I realize that many actors, in fact many of my favorite actors regularly play the same character over and over again. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but if we are going to call someone “Greatest” then they should really earn the title.
Now if I’m going to say they are not, as any strongly opinionated geek should I’m going to give you my pick for “Greatest” His name is Gary Oldman. Now stop and think about this for a second…….. Have you thought? Good. He has himself been in, according to IMDB, 59 films. These cover a wide range, and in each he plays a totally different character. Off the top of my head I don’t think I’ve ever seen and interview with him, and thanks to his wide range of work I have no idea who he actually is. Think about these films; Harry Potter, Batman Begins, The Professional, The Fifth Element, Immortal Beloved, Romeo is Bleeding, True Romance, Dracula, J.F.K., and Sid and Nancy. Some you may have seen, and some not. But think about the films that I’ve listed and for one try to think about who he played in each film, then compare them and see how many similarities there are. You won’t find many.
Here is his IMDB page for reference. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000198/
If variety is the spice of life, then it should also be a good measuring stick for greatness.
The Dark Knight Reviewed
Ever since I saw the ending of Batman Begins where we are shown a playing card with a joker on it, I have been highly anticipating this sequel in the Batman franchise. I am a huge fan of the Batman comics and have always thought that the Joker was one of the best villains. Now we have a movie that pits the madness of the Joker against the madness of the Batman. What’s not to get excited about? (Yes, I know that Tim Burton did the Batman vs. Joker thing back in 1989. I was excited for it back then too.)
The Dark Knight is probably the best movie based on a comic book that I have ever seen. There was so much that was good about it that what was bad is inconsequential. Here are a few of my thoughts on the movie. Warning! Minor spoilers ahead!
- The thing that I love about Batman is that he’s just a regular guy. He doesn’t have any super powers; just a bunch of money and an affinity for technology. Plus, he’s an extremely adept detective. He’s not indestructible or infallible. He can be broken just like the next guy. He’s good at avoiding such occurrences though. I like that. He’s also got to have some serious mental illnesses to do what he does. That adds to his mystique in my mind. He’s not perfect, he’s just trying to do a job.
- I’m not a Heath Ledger fan. I have to say though that he did an amazing job as the Joker. When I first saw him in an early trailer, his performance scared the crap out of me. It’s mentioned in the movie that some people just want to see the world burn. Ledger’s Joker was one of those people. He was extremely disturbing yet very fascinating at the same time. This is how I want my Joker in the comics. This Joker made the Joker from The Killing Joke look like an pansy. I loved it!
- Aaron Eckhardt was amazing as Harvey Dent. I’m not familiar with any of his previous roles but he sure nailed this one. I thought that he was great as the crusading DA trying to clean up Gotham. I also thought it was completely tragic how the most evil man in Gotham turned one of the best men in Gotham into the evil Two-Face.
- Speaking of Two-Face, he looked awesome; just exactly as I would expect him to look if I met him on the street. He looked much more realistic than Tommy Lee Jones did in Batman Forever. This is the best Two-Face to ever be captured on film.
- I love Christian Bale as Batman. He is actually one of the few men to wear the suit that can fill it out. He is also a convincing Bruce Wayne. In past Batman movies, I have either liked the lead actor as one character or the other but never as both. Bale does a great job as both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
- Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon was brilliant casting in Batman Begins and it was brilliant casting in The Dark Knight. He is good in every role I’ve ever seen him in. I can’t wait to see how they treat his character in the inevitable third installment.
- What’s with casting Maggie Gyllenhaal as Rachel Dawes? Is it just me or does she look like Droopy? I guess she’s better than stroke victim lookalike Katie Holmes from Batman Begins but I would have cast a different actress. However, I was pleased to see what they did with the character.
Well, there are a few of my thoughts. My wife, didn’t like it as much as I did because it was a very dark, very disturbing movie. I felt that it was a great portrayal of Gotham’s denizens and would like to see the comics follow this direction for a few years. In fact, I have no doubt that they will.
This is an all-around great movie that you should go see. Even if you don’t like “comic book movies” you should go see this. Well, what are you doing? Go see it!
