Although comic book movies are not so hip at the yearly Annual Academy Awards, there were a few nominations and a couple of winners this year. The Dark Knight was nominated for eight awards (Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Makeup, Best Achievement in Sound, Best Achievement in Visual Effects) and won two, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role : Heath Ledger and Best Achievement in Sound Editing : Richard King. Iron Man was nominated for two awards (Best Achievement in Sound Editing and Best Achievement in Visual Effects). Hellboy II: The Golden Army was nominated for one award (Best Achievement in Makeup). Wanted was nominated for one award (Best Achievement in Sound).
Heath Ledger truly deserved the award for the superb portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight, and it was received by his father, step mother and sister but the beneficiary of the Oscar will be his daughter, Matilda, who is only three years old and will not receive it until she is an adult at the age of eighteen.
To add to this, this year's Academy Awards, they were hosted by Hugh Jackman, X-Men's Wolverine who gave the May X-Men Origins movie a plug in a musical tribute to the nominated candidate movies and was quite outstanding and fresh as the host having the show being made much faster and more intimate than previous boring award shows.
2 comments:
Completely agree about Heath Ledger - shame people might remember The Dark Knight as 'his tragic last movie' rather than the truly excellent performance it was
Now, I'm gonna be controversial here, but I did not think it was deserved.
Before I come across as some Ledger-basher, please consider the following:
- I thought Batman Begins was tremendous. Besides Blade 2, I personally think it was the best comic-book-movie in a very long time. So Dark Knight had a lot to live up to.
- I grew up with Jack Nicholson's version etched into my brain. Heath had a lot to live up to.
Now, I was waiting a LONG time for Dark Knight. I prayed that it would be Paul Bettany to take the role - and naturally I was disappoiinted when Ledger was chosen, though I'm to understand that Nolan was a fan of Ledger for some time and that's why he wanted to work with him. Nolan is an excellent director, and even "The Prestige" appeased me during the wait. So I went into The Dark Knight with little prejudice.
The bank robbery and the pencil scenes are electric, but after that I found his performance strictly average. It seems to be a bane on Australian actors' existence that, when attempting an American accent, everyone comes off sounding like Fred Flinstone. (Again, sorry if this sounds like a Ledger bash-fest!)
The other problem I had was the lip-licking. Although a quirk that many people shined to and say enhanced the menace of the performance, I did not buy it at all. Yes, it looked like an Iguana tasting the air. Yes, I appreciate the insinuation that he was replicating a "cold blooded creature". No, iguanas are not that frightening.
Finally, why the Oscar and Bafta recognition for a performance that, in truth, was good, but not -that- good; certainly equal to that of Bale's or even Eckhart's transformation into two-face...?
The whole thing to me reeks of death-occultism. The same way people started percieving Brandon Lee to be more than what his performances were worth. Yes, I liked The Crow. Yes, I liked the Dark Knight (though I didn't love it on a Batman Begins level). But I do, truthfully, wonder whether he'd even have got a sniff at awards recognition were he still alive.
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