I’ve never been a big fan of the Academy Awards. I don’t really hold film critics in high regard either. It seems like movies that critics hate, I love and movies that critics love, I hate. I think one of the big moments was the film Armageddon, which was trashed by critics yet made the most money during the year of its release. As I rarely pay attention to all of Hollywood’s ballyhoo, I don’t know what constitutes an Oscar-worthy performance.
Jack Nicholson is a multiple Academy Award winner. Yet I feel that his best role was that of Nathan R. Jessup in A Few Good Men. No mention of Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Sam Elliott’s performance in We Were Soldiers certainly seemed worth of a supporting award. No mention. Samuel L. Jackson’s performance in Pulp Fiction got him a nomination (well deserved). And Kevin Spacey’s performance in The Usual Suspects also was well worthy—still the best ending in film ever….
I don’t understand when movies like Chicago get awards for make up but then Star Trek movies are not nominated. How hard is it to make Catherine Zeta-Jones beautiful?
And then you have a performance from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (stay with me) in Gridiron Gang where he plays an ex-football player. Hmmm. Not a big stretch. He put out a great performance but it wasn’t a huge leap for him as a movie star.
To me, a great performance is when the person that you are watching disappears and completely becomes the character. I love DeNiro and Pacino but they often seem like DeNiro and Pacino playing a role rather than being the character that they are on screen. (Scent of a Woman is a big exception.)
I’m a big George Clooney fan but it always seems like he is cool guy George playing a role… until I saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? In that movie, Clooney was clearly Ulysses Everette McGill.
Another prime example is watching outtakes from My Name is Earl and seeing Jason Lee come out of the “Earl” character.
To me, that constitutes a great performance. And working with those criteria, then there is one performance above all this year. I have witnessed one of the greatest performances on film where the actor disappeared and completely became the character. And I will even go on record as to say that Hannibal Lector has been eclipsed as the best psychopath to ever grace the silver screen.
Jack Nicholson is a multiple Academy Award winner. Yet I feel that his best role was that of Nathan R. Jessup in A Few Good Men. No mention of Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Sam Elliott’s performance in We Were Soldiers certainly seemed worth of a supporting award. No mention. Samuel L. Jackson’s performance in Pulp Fiction got him a nomination (well deserved). And Kevin Spacey’s performance in The Usual Suspects also was well worthy—still the best ending in film ever….
I don’t understand when movies like Chicago get awards for make up but then Star Trek movies are not nominated. How hard is it to make Catherine Zeta-Jones beautiful?
And then you have a performance from Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (stay with me) in Gridiron Gang where he plays an ex-football player. Hmmm. Not a big stretch. He put out a great performance but it wasn’t a huge leap for him as a movie star.
To me, a great performance is when the person that you are watching disappears and completely becomes the character. I love DeNiro and Pacino but they often seem like DeNiro and Pacino playing a role rather than being the character that they are on screen. (Scent of a Woman is a big exception.)
I’m a big George Clooney fan but it always seems like he is cool guy George playing a role… until I saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? In that movie, Clooney was clearly Ulysses Everette McGill.
Another prime example is watching outtakes from My Name is Earl and seeing Jason Lee come out of the “Earl” character.
To me, that constitutes a great performance. And working with those criteria, then there is one performance above all this year. I have witnessed one of the greatest performances on film where the actor disappeared and completely became the character. And I will even go on record as to say that Hannibal Lector has been eclipsed as the best psychopath to ever grace the silver screen.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight.
Ledger’s performance is one for the ages. The Joker is far more terrifying and sadistic than ever before in this most recent Batman film. He is an agent of anarchy and chaos. Ledger’s performance was, quite frankly, unbelievable and is worth repeated viewings. He is a very cerebral villain and is head and shoulders above what one would consider when you think of a villain in a “super hero” movie.
Of course, Ledger’s performance is probably enhanced—just a little bit—by Heath Ledger’s untimely death that was in a single word, sad.
While I know that the Joker has been portrayed by several actors over the years and the mantle will be taken up again, for this particular franchise with Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, I hope that they will move on to other villains and not revisit the Joker, just to give Ledger all the honor that he deserves. Ledger took a classic villain that had been around for decades but clearly made it his own.
For the first time in a Batman movie, I was more impressed with the villain than with the hero. And given how much of a Batman fan I am, that’s saying something. In the movie, The Joker asked, “Why so serious?” But I can tell you that Ledger’s portrayal was incredibly serious. It was Oscar serious.
Of course, Ledger’s performance is probably enhanced—just a little bit—by Heath Ledger’s untimely death that was in a single word, sad.
While I know that the Joker has been portrayed by several actors over the years and the mantle will be taken up again, for this particular franchise with Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale, I hope that they will move on to other villains and not revisit the Joker, just to give Ledger all the honor that he deserves. Ledger took a classic villain that had been around for decades but clearly made it his own.
For the first time in a Batman movie, I was more impressed with the villain than with the hero. And given how much of a Batman fan I am, that’s saying something. In the movie, The Joker asked, “Why so serious?” But I can tell you that Ledger’s portrayal was incredibly serious. It was Oscar serious.
Long live the Clown Prince of Crime.
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