Sunday, January 28, 2018

Best of Villains



Ranking The 10 Best Villains In 

Superhero Movies


 The success of super hero movies must be attributed to the contribution of the intelligent and cuming  villains. Here are the most popular villains:

 10. Cillian Murphy as The Scarecrow in “Batman Begins” (2005)

 One of the most terrifying villains in the Batman’s rogues gallery, the Scarecrow (  (aka twisted psychologist Jonathan Crane, who uses a gas to inspire fear-  induced hallucinations in his foes) had never been portrayed in live-action form  before 2005’s “Batman Begins,” though he’d been pegged as the bad guy in a  proposed third Joel Schumacher picture in the late 1990s, “Batman  Triumphant.” One can only imagine how that one would have turned out, but in  the hands of Christopher Nolan, and actor Cillian Murphy (who got the gig as a  consolation prize after testing for, and missing out on, Batman), he was a cooly  unsettling foe for the Dark Knight. Murphy’s piercing eyes and quiet demeanor  makes it clear that something’s wrong with Crane as soon as you meet him, and  as he show his true colors by gassing Tom Wilkinson’s mob boss, it becomes c  clear exactly how unhinged he is. He’s not much of a physical threat against “The  Bat” (a term he coins), but levels the playing field with his fear toxin, and the i  imagery Nolan conjures up is legitimately unnerving. Villains weren’t the strong  point of “Batman Begins” (we always found Liam Neeson’s Ra’s Al Ghul rather  hammy and cliched), but it’s a testament to Murphy’s performance that he’s the  only bad guy to appear in every film in Nolan’s trilogy.



 9. Jason Lee as Syndrome in “The Incredibles” (2004)

 Though it’s not based on a pre-existing comic-book like almost every character  here, we’d argue that Brad Bird and Pixar’s animated wonder “The Incredibles”  is by some distance the best superhero movie ever made, and fortunately, it has  a dastardly villain to match, one well-motivated and well-drawn enough to put  most superhero antagonists to shame. We first meet Buddy Pine as a child and  superfan of Mr. Incredible, who attempts to be his Robin-style sidekick, but is  rejected by his idol. Years later, Buddy’s now an enormously wealthy inventor  with a volcano lair and countless gadgets that have made him a foe to be  reckoned with. Bitter and twisted from his rejection, he’s been killing off heroes in  an attempt to eventually take their place, and turn himself into the savior of the  city. The politics of Bird’s film have been commented on fairly comprehensively in  the decade since its release, and to some, Syndrome’s a representation of an  almost Ayn Rand-ian point of view, afraid of exceptionalism, and portrayed as a  would-be egalitarian, trying to level the playing field (“If everyone’s super, then no  one is”). Whether or not these are Bird’s politics, (and Buddy’s a little more  complex than that), it doesn’t change that Syndrome is a genuinely psychotic  villain for a Disney film, a true sociopath who doesn’t blink at shooting down a  plane full of children or kidnapping a baby, ultimately undone mainly by his own  hubris. Brought to life by an excellent against-type turn by Kevin  Smithfavorite Jason Lee, he’s funny, menacing and compelling, and a fitting foe  for The Incredibles.



 8. Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah Price in “Unbreakable” (2001)

 M. Night Shyamalan’s difficult second film after the worldwide smash of “The  Sixth Sense,” “Unbreakable” has, even as its director has gone increasingly off  the boil, grown in stature, and now increasingly looks like the his finest  achievement. Bringing a sober art house sincerity and plausibility to the  superhero mythos four years before Christopher Nolan pulled the same trick  with Batman, it grounds the idea of comic book heroes in the real world, and  unlike most of these films, doesn’t appear to really have a villain as such — the  closest thing that Bruce Willis’ invincible Average Joe David Dunn seems to  have to as a nemesis is the murderous janitor he battles in the third act. Except,  as with his breakthrough feature, Shyamalan has a twist up his sleeve: a final  handshake reveals that Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price (nicknamed Mr.  Glass), the brittle-boned comic-store owner who’s served as David’s mentor,  engineered the train crash through which he discovered his abilities, along with  various other atrocities, with the intention of drawing out someone with  superpowers. Dismissed by some at the time as an attempt to replicate the jaw-  dropper of a reveal at the end of “The Sixth Sense,” it plays better on subsequent  viewings, perhaps stretching plausibility to some degree, but making perfect  sense on a character level, and without much in the way of cheating. And  Jackson’s performance, one of his finest, does what all the finest villains do, and  makes you understand why he’s done what he did, while still making you hate  him for his actions. It’s the rare reveal of villainy that actually makes you wish that  the touted sequel had actually come to pass.



 7. Tom Hardy as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises” (2013)

 The third and final installment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy faced a  difficult challenge — closing off the story without the presence of Heath Ledger‘s  iconic Joker. We wouldn’t say that Nolan and co. managed to match Ledger’s  genius, but Bane, the principal villain in “The Dark Knight Rises,” was still a  hugely compelling and terrifying creation, brought to life with an inspired turn  by Tom Hardy. Bane had cropped up as a lumpen henchman in “Batman &  Robin,” but here he’s, initially at first, the mastermind, as brilliant as he is brawny,  and Hardy’s performance makes him genuinely other — that unidentifiable  accent, equal parts Vincent Price and Columbian dictator, the flashes of wit, the  ability to create a character without the use of most of his face. For really the first  time, you fear for Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne as he goes up against  someone, and you soon see why, as Bane simply takes him apart, brutally  breaking his back. The character is, admittedly, undermined by the conclusion, as  he’s revealed to be a pawn of Marion Cotillard’s Talia Al Ghul and dispatched  simply with a rocket to the chest, but even then, Hardy brings unexpected pathos  as Talia bids him farewell, underlining that Bane has more in common  with James Whale’s take on Frankenstein’s monster than the majority of  supervillains.



 6. Tom Hiddleston as Loki in “Thor” (2011), “The Avengers” (2012) and  “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)

 It’s probably fair to say that, for all their strengths, Marvel Studios’ movies from  “Iron Man” onwards have not featured villains as their strong points. From Jeff  Bridges’ rather anonymous businessman in “Iron Man” to the incredibly boring  Malekith in “Thor: The Dark World” and the underwritten Bucky in “Captain  America: The Winter Soldier,” the heroes have faced off against some rather  forgettable baddies even in their better movies. But there’s one exception to that,  and fortunately it’s been in the shape of the Marvel movie universe’s most  frequent antagonist, Norse trickster god Loki, as played by Tom Hiddleston.  We’d argue that we perhaps still haven’t seen his definitive appearance so far —  he’s a touch ill-defined in the first “Thor,” mostly extraneous, though welcome, in  the second, and his shift to genocidal megalomania in “The Avengers” is a little  clumsy — but the character’s generally been drawn with a welcome complexity,  the misunderstood black sheep who just wants to be loved. And we perhaps take  for granted what a find Hiddleston was in the part — physically threatening  enough to face off against his mountain-sized co-star Chris Hemsworth, blessed  with a light comic touch, but able to pull off the pathos without it slipping into  melodrama. The coda for ‘The Dark World’ suggests that a third film would see  one last battle between Thor and Loki, and despite him appearing in three  movies in three years, we’d still be happy to see more of Hiddleston.


 5. Alfred Molina as Dr. Otto Octavius in “Spider-Man 2” (2004)

 Spider-Man has one of the most colorful and iconic rogues’ galleries in comic  books, so it’s rather disappointing how badly they’ve been brought to screen on  the whole, as this week’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” continues to  demonstrate. Arch-nemesis the Green Goblin has been botched not just once,  but three times, while Venom, Sandman and The Lizard were all mostly or wholly  botched. But one of Spidey’s most famous bad guys was pulled off with aplomb,  in Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2,” easily the best of the five-strong franchise to  date. The film does use the same mentor-turned-adversary structure of the first  film, but in a much more refined way, with Alfred Molina’s Otto Octavius causing  a terrible accident through hubris, robbing him of his wife and melding him to his  metallic tentacles. The script makes the smart decision to make Octavius have a  kind of multiple personality disorder through his new metallic friends, which  keeps the good-hearted man at the film’s center even as his actions become  ever more dastardly. Molina, so often underrated as an actor, gets one of his best  big-screen showcases here: he can go broad enough to chew scenery in Raimi’s  big, bold comic book vision of the universe, but lends real pathos and warmth to  his relationship with Peter Parker. Plus he looks great in the costume, which not  everyone would.




  4. Ian McKellen as Magneto in the ‘X-Men’ films (2000), (2003), (2006),  (2014)

 Perhaps the recipient of the most compelling back story of anyone on this list,  Magneto is fascinating partly because he is easily read through another lens as a  hero striving to avert a mutant genocide, having already lost his family to The  Holocaust. This richness of history, and the complex, political nature of much of  Magneto’s motivation, requires an actor of considerable depth to convey, and  luckily, Bryan Singer netted never-less-than-brilliant Shakespearean actor Ian  McKellen for the role. Opposite Patrick Stewart’s Dr. X (and seriously, is there  anything more adorable than the real-life romance between these two guys?) the  pair take the intellectual arguments and thorny confrontations that by rights  should be the bits of the film where the teenaged audience is all, like, “ugh, two  old guys talking,” and makes them among the most gripping sequences,  especially for fans of subtext and those of us who dig an intelligent effort to knit a  fictional universe into our own real one. McKellen’s Magneto can be cunning and  ruthless, but he is, paradoxically for a mutant, one of the most human of villains,  the most sympathetic and comprehensible, and the one who most clearly  demonstrates that the path to hell can truly be paved with the best of intentions.  It’s a coup for the reboot franchise to have got an actor as good as Michael  Fassbender for the role this time around, but we have to say that the fact that  we’ll see McKellen’s defining version of his character passing the baton is one of  the things that most has us looking forward to ‘Days of Future Past.
  


  3. Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor in “Superman” (1978) and “Superman II”     (1980) (not “Superman IV”)

 How much we truly admire Hackman’s portrayal of Superman’s self-dubbed  nemesis, and how much we love it out of sheer nostalgia for our our younger  selves for whom “Superman” films were without qualification the Greatest Films  Ever Made, proved too difficult a question to parse, so we stopped trying.  Hackman is a scenery-chewing, comically exasperated, why-I-oughtta type of  villain, but in the bright, bold world of Superman, with its clear virtues and  ludicrous plots for World Domination (or simply continental — one of our favorite  moments in ‘II’ is when Zod asks Luthor what he wants in return for delivering  Superman, and Luthor replies “Australia”) that makes him the perfect Lex. Even  to the children watching, there’s an ambivalence to Hackman’s portrayal (that we  never really got with Kevin Spacey’s more sinister, Machievellian riff) because  half the time, while we know he’s the bad guy, and is Doing Bad Stuff, he seems  to be having way more fun (balloon escape!) than any of the good guys. Props of  course have to go to his retinue of Ned Beatty as Otis (“Mr Luthor! Mr Luthor!”)  and Valerie Perrine as Miss Tessmacher, who up the comedy quotient even  further, but the tone of these first two films, loopy but with real stakes, is arguably  best embodied by Luthor, the result of taking an actor as usually restrained and  controlled as Gene Hackman, and letting him off the leash.



  2. Terence Stamp as General Zod in “Superman II” (1980)

 There’s a bit in “Superman II” where Terence Stamp, in his immortal role as  arch-villain General Zod, shoots lasers from his eyes. This special effect, aside  from probably blowing our unformed minds when we first watched it, is almost  entirely superfluous, because Stamp’s eyes do the job their own. Without a doubt  the smoothest, most implacable, and best-looking villain on this list, there’s an  icy, alien, reptilian ruthlessness that Stamp brings to Zod that makes his  incarnation, despite the cronkiness of the special effects and the famously mish-  mash nature of the Donner/Lester film, a completely defining villain for the Man  of Steel. Matching him power for power and not suffering from the debilitating  disease of “caring about people” Zod is Supes’ equal, and so for once the stakes  are high, because you know this is the one guy that Superman can’t, if push  came to shove, shove harder. But it’s the solemn, chilling glee with which Zod  scorches his path to ultimate power that makes Stamp’s version indispensable.  Where Michael Shannon played Zod as a brawny, raging, bellowing thug, Stamp  is so much more chilling by being almost effete — lithe, sardonic but so in control  he makes Superman seem gauche. Frankly, if you gotta kneel before someone,  you could do worse than Terence Stamp in black PVC.


 1. Heath Ledger as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” (2008)

 Eternally proving that premature fanboy outrage over casting can  always, always be disregarded, the announcement that Australian actor Heath  Ledger would play Batman’s most famous foe, The Joker (previously brought to  life by as legendary a figure as Jack Nicholson) inspired uproar from certain  segments of the fan community. “Probably the worst casting of all time,” wrote  comments sections. “I am not seeing this movie if he is in it,” they continued. “I  won’t be able to watch it. I’ll keep expecting him to have sex with Batman,” added  one particularly enlightened fellow. Well, the comments boards, as usual, were  wrong: Ledger was a phenomenal choice, reinventing the character just as  thoroughly as Nolan had brought new life to Batman in the previous film. Never  playing to the crowd like Nicholson had, Ledger makes the fantastic choice to  make the Joker funny, but only to himself, and it’s an immediately unnerving,  twitchy turn in which almost every choice the actor makes goes against the grain  in constantly surprising and satisfying ways; it’ll likely forever change the way the  character is thought of. The performance was hugely acclaimed — indeed, it’s  likely to be the only acting turn in a superhero movie ever to win an Oscar — and  should have turned Ledger into the megastar he deserved to be. Sadly, he  passed away of an accidental overdose six months before the film’s release, so  the performance stands only as a reminder of his enormous promise.















Monday, January 8, 2018

TOP DISCOVERY

Top 10 Most Successful Actors at the Box Office

   A good movie will transport you into a separate time or era with an intriguing story,  everlasting characters, and imaginative plot development. It could have a happy, sad,  romantic, or action packed theme. As a whole, the world population adores the character  actors who star in these stories. People can personally relate to certain movie characters  and individual actors. In the history of cinema, billions of dollars has been grossed in movie  theatres and rental stores worldwide. Certain actors have made their mark on the industry  becoming the most successful at the box office. I have compiled a list of the most  successful actors in world history, according to money made on films they have starred in.

 1. Samuel L Jackson




    Samuel L Jackson is the world’s highest grossing actor and his movies have made over  $8.5 billion dollars worldwide. Samuel is different from many actors on this list and has  played smaller character roles in many blockbuster films. You may argue that he doesn’t  deserve the top spot over leading actors who have appeared in fewer films. Although,  Samuel L Jackson has been the busiest man in Hollywood for the last twenty years and  should be commemorated for appearing in so many famous motion pictures, over 70  productions in all. Movies that he has appeared in have an average gross of $57,166,459  million dollars. As you would expect, Samuel L Jackson will be appearing in some  upcoming features, including Iron Man 2, Quantum Quest: Cassini Space Odyssey, and  Blown. He is well aware of his sales record and is continuously trying to land roles in the  year’s biggest blockbuster hits.

 Most Successful Films:
  1. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 
  2. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith 
  3. The Incredibles 
  4. Iron Man 

 2. Tom Hanks


    Tom Hanks is the most successful lead actor in cinema history with his films grossing  over $8 billion dollars worldwide. He is averaging a gross of $94,885,394 million dollars per  film. Tom Hanks has starred in over 50 movies and 19 of them made over $100 million  dollars at the worldwide box office. Although, he does have the animated features Cars and  The Simpson Movie on his resume, which he only had minor voice roles in. In 2010, Hanks  will be starring in Disney’s A Christmas Carol and Toy Story 3.


 Most Successful Films:
  1. The Da Vinci Code 
  2. Forrest Gump 
  3. Saving Private Ryan 
  4. Cast Away 

 3. Harrison Ford

   
      In the past, Harrison Ford was highest grossing actor in the world, but has recently  fallen to number three. You have to keep in mind that Ford was popular during the 1970’s  and 80’s when box-office sales were not as extravagant. This article does not measure  inflation scales. A high majority of the most financially successful films in history have  come in the last twenty years. At one point in history, each of the top five box office hits of  all time included one of Harrison Ford’s roles. His films have an average gross of  $98,120,262 million dollars. Ford will be starring in the film Crowley, which will be out at the  end of the year.

 Most Successful Films:
  1. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope 
  2. Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 
  3. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back 
  4. The Fugitive 

 4. Orlando Bloom


    Orlando Bloom is an English actor and the youngest member of this prestigious group  of men. He landed main roles in two of the biggest trilogies of all time, playing Legolas in  The Lord of the Rings and Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean. Orlando Bloom has an  amazing average film gross of $183,869,895 million dollars per movie. Bloom’s first main  title role was in the 2005 release Kingdom of Heaven, which was a profitable hit making  $211,398,413 million dollars worldwide. Orlando Bloom is extremely popular in various  areas of Europe and England. He has an international draw that is matched by very few.  Some of his upcoming roles include appearances in the movies Sympathy for Delicious and  Main Street.

 Most Successful Films:
  1. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King 
  2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest 
  3. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 
  4. Troy 

 5. Tom Cruise


    Tom Cruise is a true international celebrity.  He is cherished in Japan, Europe, and  other areas of the world much more then many actors on the list. This is because he often  travels and visits many different countries. Cruise is widely considered one of the most  powerful celebrities in the world. His films have an average gross of $96,302,791 million  dollars. He will be starring in the blockbuster Motorcade in 2010.


 Most Successful Films:
  1. War of the Worlds
  2. Mission Impossible 2
  3. The Last Samurai
  4. Rain Man

 6. Bruce Willis


      Bruce Willis is a true action hero. He has appeared in over sixty films and usually plays  the title role in his movies. Bruce Willis was born in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany and his  father was an American soldier. He moved to Penns Grove, New Jersey when he was two  years old, after his father was discharged from the military. To date, his films have an  average gross of $51,615,555 million dollars per movie. He truly has a unique acting style  and makes intense, edge of your seat, entertaining cinema. Watch out for his role  alongside Tracy Morgan in Kevin Smith’s newest comedy A Couple of Dicks, which will be  out in January of 2010.


 Most Successful Films:
  1. The Sixth Sense
  2. Armageddon
  3. Live Free or Die Hard
  4. Over the Hedge
 7. Eddie Murphy


    Eddie Murphy is undoubtedly the most successful comedic actor of all time. His films  have an average gross of $99,165,711 million dollars. Eddie Murphy began his career as  an edgy comedian and performance actor. Lately, he has turned to children’s films and  continues to entertain billions of people worldwide. Murphy has three films set to be r  released in the last half of 2009. They are Beverly Hills Cop IV, The Incredible Shrinking  Man, and A Thousand Words. Shrek Forever After will be out in the middle of 2010.

  
 Most Successful Films:
  1. Shrek 2
  2. Shrek the Third
  3. Beverly Hills Cop
  4. Coming to America 

8. Morgan Freeman


    Morgan Freeman is one of the greatest character actors of all time. He is rarely the  leading man in films, but his role always stands out and is vital to the movies success. He  has one of the most dominant and recognizable voices in Hollywood. He has starred in  around sixty productions, which have an average gross of $64,046,971 million dollars. Freeman has many upcoming films he is contributing to, including Invictus, The Last Full  Measure, and The Maiden Heist.
  
  
  Most Successful Films:
  1. The Dark Knight
  2. War of the Worlds (Narrator)
  3. Bruce Almighty
  4. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

  9. Will Smith


    Will Smith is widely regarded as the most successful actor making films today. His  movies have an amazing average gross of $127,145,449 million dollars, which is the  highest among lead actors. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films  gross over $100 million in domestic box office sales. Will Smith has also had eight  consecutive films open at the #1 spot. Unlike some individuals on this list, Smith has not  earned movie credit for small roles or voice work. In the future, he will be starring in the  blockbuster Time Share and will also be making a prequel to I Am Legend.


 Most Successful Films:

  1. Independence Day
  2. Hancock
  3. Men in Black
  4. I Am Legend

10. Robin Williams


    Robin Williams is a storied comedic actor who rose to fame with his role as the alien Mork in  the TV series Mork and Mindy. He quickly became an international celebrity and movie star  in the 1980’s. Williams is a bit of a goofy character, but is a great actor and can also tackle  dramatic roles. He has won six Golden Globes and three Grammy Awards in his career.  Robin William’s average film gross is $59,956,136 million dollars per movie. Be sure to look  out for his 2010 release Old Dogs. In March of 2009 Williams had successful heart surgery  to replace his aortic valve. He has a tour planned and still travels the world performing his  stand up comedy act.


Best of Villains

Ranking The 10 Best Villains In  Superhero Movies  The success of super hero movies must be attributed to the contribution of the...