"The true strength of the final complete performance of Ledger's life lies in his much longer monologues. You see, you may think he's playing The Joker, but he's actually playing the Devil. He weaves truth and lies; every scheme is designed to wreak havoc on multiple layers, including ones that aren't always evident at first; he can also make you feel downright sorry for the guy as he weaves one of many autobiographies spins during the course of the film. He's a master manipulator, and wherever he is, he's the smartest guy in the room. Yes, he's insane, but he's going to let you think he's think that crazy equals reckless and unintelligent. He is neither.
Of course, a lot of what I've just discussed is as much a testament to the writers of The Dark Knight as Ledger. What Ledger adds to the mix is something he's clearly picked up from this version of The Joker. Just as Batman's archenemy has no moral code or fiber, Ledger has completely ripped to shreds everything he and we have come to accept and settle for when it comes to a portrait of evil. He has dismantled the status quo of how bad guys have been played in the past, and delivered a big whopping "Fuck You" to every overacting, mustache-twirling ham who thinks that simply slicking back your hair and wearing dark clothes is the way villainy should be played in film. Watching Ledger move like a rabid animal or subtly flick his tongue like an angry serpent is to behold something you have never seen on screen before and probably will not again in your lifetime. Joker saga is more than just the greatest superhero movie ever made (and that it certainly is), but it's the year's finest crime drama, greatest character study, and greatest acting performance.
Not to oversell Ledger's work (too late!), but seeing his version of The Joker actually made me mad at Jack Nicholson for not taking it far enough. Nicholson made a career out of being edgy and no-holds barred, but he and Tim Burton decided to make The Joker a clown instead of a true maniac. I'm sure it was not Nolan's intention, but his film made me dislike a film I once enjoyed because I now see that Nicholson's Joker is a pussy. I still think Michael Keaton was a decent Batman, but Christian Bale has such great pent-up (and sometimes not so pent-up) rage in him this time that no one can hold a candle to the dimensions he's adding to either side of his identity. Bruce Wayne gets as much time on screen as his costumed alter ego (maybe even more).Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into Katie Holmes' role from the first film as Rachel Dawes, Wayne's childhood sweetheart and one of the few civilians who knows about his secret life. I guess I understand why the Batman films need a strong female presence, but the truth is, I've never liked any of the women in any of the Batman movies. Gyllenhaal's Rachel comes the closest to having a purpose other than slinking things up a bit and providing evidence that our hero is more than a shallow playboy (that said, Dark Knight's running joke about Bruce hooking up with the Russian Ballet is priceless). Rachel is torn between her true love and her new love, the "White Knight" district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart, in easily the finest performance he has ever given). The film's recurring theme of man's duality obviously comes to a head when Dent's face is severely burned thanks to a booby trap set by The Joker, but it's also driven home with The Joker himself, who makes the interesting observation that he and Batman are just different kinds of crazy. And Batman doesn't argue".
"Everyone loved Ellen Page’s performance in last year’s movie sleeper, Juno. But Michael Cera was equally impressive, in my opinion, as the down to Earth would be boyfriend. There’s no funnier young actor in Hollywood than Cera and it looks like he is going to continue his rise to stardom in the highly buzzed Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Here’s a look at the film’s first poster. Very Juno-esque. Props to MTV Movies Blog for the image.
Nick And Norah’s Infinite Playlist, based on the best-selling novel, centers around Nick O’leary (Cera), group member of the Jerk Offs, and his chance encounter with Norah Silverber (Kat Dennings), who he asks to be his 5 minute girlfriend so that he can avoid his ex.Cera is money in everything he does. He doesn’t mug for the camera in his dramatic roles and might be the best thing to happen to romantic comedies since John Cusack. (Think Say Anything and High Fidelity.) Everyone with a pulse has seen him in Superbad. But if you haven’t seen him on Arrested “Development”, “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job”, or his own hysterical web series “Clark and Michael” then you owe it to yourself to check it out". -by Adam Sweeney Source: www.filmschoolrejects.com "He made his feature film debut at 17, acting alongside Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy in the romantic comedy Class (1983). His next role, as a member of Anthony Michael Hall's geek brigade in Sixteen Candles (1984), put him on track to becoming a teen-flick fixture. Cusack remained on the periphery of the Brat Pack, sidestepping the meteoric rise and fall of most of his contemporaries, but he stayed busy with leads in films like The Sure Thing (1985) and Better Off Dead... (1985). Young Cusack is probably best remembered for what could be considered his last adolescent role: the stereo-blaring romantic Lloyd Dobler in Say Anything... (1989). In 2006 when Total Film magazine asked him for a "Top 5" list of his movies, he answered with The Grifters (1990), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), The Thin Red Line (1998), High Fidelity (2000) and Max (2002/I). Source: www.imdb.com Artist on Artist: John Cusack and Diablo Cody
"Since taking on the mantle of Bruce Wayne and Batman for the 2005 summer blockbuster Batman Begins, Christian Bale has become one of the more respected actors to take on the role, but before starting work on its sequel, The Dark Knight, Bale went to work with German filmmaker Werner Herzog on his latest dramatic film Rescue Dawn. Bale took a break from shooting The Dark Knight to talk to press about the Herzog film, but he took some time to answer a few questions from ComingSoon.net/Superhero Hype! about the sequel-in-progress.
Superhero Hype!: You seem like an actor who is always looking to do something new, so how hard is it for you to go back and play Batman, a character you've already done? Is there something new you feel you can bring to him? Christian Bale: You got to see with the other versions, it didn't really keep it going, but Chris Nolan who I'm working with for the third time now, he ain't going to be making a movie if he's not going to be doin' something very different with it which he's achieved in spades. I'm actually liking very much the idea, because I haven't reprised a role before, so I know it already and obviously there'll be progress. We've got a great cast as well. Chris and me work very well together, so I know we'll be fighting an awful lot to add to it. The last thing it is is treading water. Now the people support us completely too so we have all that extra support behind us, to just kind of let rip.SHH!: As an actor, how important is it to have a franchise character that you can go back to which allows you to do things like this movie? Bale: Well, I've been doing things like this movie anyway. It's not like if I didn't have the franchise, I'd say, "No I can't make 'Rescue Dawn.'" What it does allow though is that something like "Rescue Dawn" you know Werner and me have been talking about making it for two and a half years, but I doubt it's a huge coincidence that we got the finance pretty quick after I'd been in Batman. So it does mean that I can do these things in a much easier fashion verses a number of years back where like "American Psycho 2," it took two years, just because they didn't want me. Certainly it helps with that, but in and of itself, I really like what Chris has done and working with him on Batman. I tell you, it's the only time in my life that I've been actually planning the future, because usually you know what you're doing for the next two months if you're lucky. After that, you have no idea. I've gone times when I've really needed to work, and there was no work coming in for me. I didn't work for a year and a half or something. I guess having a franchise is the only time you can actually kind of sit back and go, "It's alright. It's going to be okay." Even if nothing else happens, I know that that's going to come along at some point. You don't even know that actually because they could dump me in a second. But, it's a good bit.SHH!: How about working with Heath as The Joker? Bale: Absolutely. He's a great choice for it. I like him personally, but he's got a real craving for playing that role. I think he's going to do something really very different. We worked together briefly in the Todd Haynes movie. Source: www.superherohype.com "The moral dilemma of how far do you push the line when dealing with crime and corruption figures heavily in The Dark Knight story. "It's the circumstances," offered Bale on Batman's thought process. "As we see in The Dark Knight, if there's the possibility of having the system work and of having somebody like Harvey Dent be an elected official who can actually solve the problems that Batman's trying to do himself, then obviously Batman is obsolete at that point. So he believes in the system. It's just that the system in Gotham is broken."
Does Bale live within the system? "Everyone would want to live in a system that works but when it doesn't, I think everyone would like to think that they were able to affect some kind of a change themselves, and answer problems for themselves instead of being completely useless," answered Bale. "Whether that's the correct thing to do in the long term or not, I'm not sure. But certainly when it comes to protecting things that you love, then it's black and white. You don't really care too much about the long term consequences. You're going to do what is right for the people around you in that instant which is, of course, always the conflict between what is right for the individual and is that right for society in general. It's what's so great about being human. We're not ants. We do have individual streaks and we will do what is right for ourselves and not just toe the line." Source: movies.about.com Christian Bale and his daughter Emmeline.Maggie Gyllenhaal, Peter Sarsgaard and their daughter Ramona.
"The true strength of the final complete performance of Ledger's life lies in his much longer monologues. You see, you may think he's playing The Joker, but he's actually playing the Devil. He weaves truth and lies; every scheme is designed to wreak havoc on multiple layers, including ones that aren't always evident at first; he can also make you feel downright sorry for the guy as he weaves one of many autobiographies spins during the course of the film. He's a master manipulator, and wherever he is, he's the smartest guy in the room. Yes, he's insane, but he's going to let you think he's think that crazy equals reckless and unintelligent. He is neither.
Joker saga is more than just the greatest superhero movie ever made (and that it certainly is), but it's the year's finest crime drama, greatest character study, and greatest acting performance.
I still think Michael Keaton was a decent Batman, but Christian Bale has such great pent-up (and sometimes not so pent-up) rage in him this time that no one can hold a candle to the dimensions he's adding to either side of his identity. Bruce Wayne gets as much time on screen as his costumed alter ego (maybe even more).
Maggie Gyllenhaal steps into Katie Holmes' role from the first film as Rachel Dawes, Wayne's childhood sweetheart and one of the few civilians who knows about his secret life. I guess I understand why the Batman films need a strong female presence, but the truth is, I've never liked any of the women in any of the Batman movies. Gyllenhaal's Rachel comes the closest to having a purpose other than slinking things up a bit and providing evidence that our hero is more than a shallow playboy (that said, Dark Knight's running joke about Bruce hooking up with the Russian Ballet is priceless). Rachel is torn between her true love and her new love, the "White Knight" district attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart, in easily the finest performance he has ever given). The film's recurring theme of man's duality obviously comes to a head when Dent's face is severely burned thanks to a booby trap set by The Joker, but it's also driven home with The Joker himself, who makes the interesting observation that he and Batman are just different kinds of crazy. And Batman doesn't argue".
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