Friday Top Five: Superhero Movies

Subtitled: I Love Batman!

So I have decided to start a series called Friday Top Five, which is pretty self explanatory. (Nearly) Every Friday, I will present my definitive top five list about whatever topic I want. This week, in honor of Man of Steel, I will count down my Top Five Superhero Movies. So, without further ado:

5. Sky High (Mike Mitchell, 2005)
I know, I know. Sky High is a movie I accidentally saw in theaters and genuinely loved. Sure, it's a Disney movie. But it's also really good, has a great story, a lot of heart, and cameos from the likes of Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter. The movie follows Micheal Angarano as Will Stronghold, the son of superheroes Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston. The problem? He doesn't have any powers. So, he struggles to fit in when he starts superhero high school (as if high school isn't hard enough!). However, he does form a bond with a few other misfits (Danielle Panabaker as the girl who can control plant life??) and eventually these misfits have to fight it out with the villains in the epic showdown. Sky High is definitely everything you want in a superhero movie and then some. In fact, just writing about it makes me want to go watch it again!

4. Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan, 2005)
It seems 2005 was quite a year for superheroes. The same year Sky High was released, Nolan re-introduced the world to Bruce Wayne. Before 2005's comeback, Batman had sort of become a joke thanks to that awful Batman and Robin movie. But Nolan brought us back to the beginning and he made Gotham and Bruce Wayne more dangerous and darker. We found out that Bruce (Christian Bale) learned everything he knew from a mysterious figure named Ducard (Liam Neeson) and after disappearing from Gotham for years, he returned to kick ass and take names. Those getting their asses kicked included Cillian Murphey's Scarecrow and, of course, Neeson. Throw in Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Michael Caine as Alfred and Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, and you've got the beginning of a very special trilogy.

3. Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
When talking about sequels, there is one of two ways it can go: 1. It can suck and be awful and be bogged down by way too much - too many villains, too many sidekicks, etc. 2. Or it can rise above the original because you, the story teller, are no longer bogged down with origin stories and introductions. Spider-Man 2 falls into the latter category. The first Spider-Man was great fun, and featured that awesome kiss, but Spider-Man 2 is Raimi's crowning achievement. It features Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) ready to give it all up. He devoted his life to fighting crime and, instead, he's painted as a villain, the girl he loves (Kirsten Dunst) is engaged to someone else and he's just fed up. But then Alfred Molina shows up as a crazy scientist, and when an experiment goes wrong, as experiments often do, he is transformed into an angry villain named Doc Ock. Peter Parker may be the most sympathetic superhero. We all relate to him because before he got bit by a spider (!!), he was a regular dude, just like us.

2. Batman (Tim Burton, 1989)
One of my very first memories is going to see the original Batman in movie theaters. I will not say how old I was, but I remember going to see it with my older brother and his friend. I remember being completely enthralled by what was before me and that was probably the beginning of my life long love affair with movies, and also with Batman. To this day, I still think Michael Keaton is the best overall Bruce Wayne / Batman. George Clooney was good as Wayne and Kilmer was good as Batman. Bale is up there, but his Batman voice is still sort of infuriating. But it's Keaton who does both charming womanizer Wayne and heroic Batman so, so well. This was also my introduction to Jack Nicholson as Joker. He quickly became one of my favorite actors and his Joker is still such a vibrant part of my memory.

1. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
Speaking of Joker... What Nicholson did in the 80s is a completely different animal than what Heath Ledger did with the same character in this film. Ledger was a feral animal, terrifying and unhinged. He was out of control, anarchy in human form, but still somehow likable. I always like to say that every superhero movie is only as good as its villain and that's perhaps why The Dark Knight is the best of the best. This is Nolan's crowning achievment as a film maker and I doubt he will ever surpass it. The Dark Knight is damn near perfect, pushing its hero to the brink, devastating him with a second act murder that we all felt at our core. Joker is a villain like we had never before seen. And guess what? If it wasn't for Heath Ledger and how amazing he was in this role, we would all talk a lot more about Aaron Eckhart's perfect portrayal of Harvey Dent and his descent from role model politician to angry, rageful Two Face. This movie genuinely has it all - great acting, quoteable lines, unforgettable imagery (just try to get that vision of Joker in the nurse's outfit, or sticking his head out the window like a dog), great action sequences and a perfect ending. I will truly be shocked if we get a better superhero movie in my lifetime.

How will Man of Steel rate? Check back Monday and find out!

Top Ten Best Supporting Actors of the Decade

10. Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds (2009) - The most exciting supporting actor turn of the year comes from Waltz as a member of the Nazi party who is as charming as he is evil. His turn manages to be funny and terrifying all at once. There's a particular scene between him and Melanie Laurent which is the epitome of intense. She knows what he is capable of yet plays along with nicities and the audience waits for him to turn on her. Brilliant portrayal.

09. Mark Wahlberg in The Departed (2006) - Not only does Wahlberg get to deilver all the best lines, he somehow manages to steal every scene he's in, whether its with DiCaprio, Damon, Baldwin or Martin Sheen. His portrait of a by the books Boston cop leaves the audience anticipating his every scene.

08. Paul Newman in Road to Perdition (2002) - Playing an old Irish mob boss, Newman gives one of his best character performances in decades. He was well into his 70s when he made this film and still managed to show up young guns like Jude Law and Tom Hanks. He gives the most subtle, moving performance in the film. He really was a master.

07. William Hurt in A History of Violence (2005) - He's on screen for all of 15 minutes. Maybe less. But his performance is completely effective and powerful. He shows up near the end and manages to make a good film even stronger with his unexpected and pivotal performance which shows what a powerhouse actor he truly is.

06. Jack Nicholson in The Departed (2006) - Maybe I'm just biased because of my love for Jack. Or maybe it's just because Jack can do this kind of bad boy bad ass role in his sleep but Nicholson shines when working with Scorsese. Playing a Boston mafia kingpin, he's clearly reveling in every single, nearly over the top moment of every scene of which he is a part.

05. Clive Owen in Closer (2004) - As Larry, the hotheaded doctor in love with Julia Roberts' Anna, Owen gives her best performance to date. His character is completely and 100% unlikeable, a sleazy, too-clever, manipulater, yet Owen manages to make him almost charming. He's brash and disagreeable, dangerous and alluring. It's impossible not to take your eyes off him.

04. Jackie Earle Haley in Little Children (2006) - Talk about a comeback! Haley made a name for himself as a child actor in Bad News Bears. Then he all but disappeared only to return again in Little Children playing the worst kind of monster of all - a child molester (and who says he isn't the perfect casting choice for Freddy in the Nightmare on Elm Street remake). His performance is unflinching, unforgiving and just plain brutal.

03. Benicio Del Toro in Traffic (2000) - In a ridiculously amazing cast, it seems hard to think that one little known Latino actor could stand out but Benicio Del Toro managed to shine above big name cast mates like Michael Douglas, Don Cheadle and Catherine Zeta Jones. It's no accident that the movie begins and ends with shots of him. He plays a Mexican cop caught in the middle of a corrupt sysetm and his character is subtle and endlessly compelling.

02. Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men (2007) - A few years ago, Bardem was winning every award in existence for his portrayal of a silent and very deadly hit man (with a very bad haircut) in No Country for Old Men. And he deserved every single one of those awards plus, probably, more. His Anton Chigurh is absolutely ruthless. He is enigmatic and menacing and becomes this frightening portrait of evil down to his very bones. A brilliant and chilling performance.

01. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight (2008) - Every great hero needs an equally great villain. In the original Batman films, there were a few good villains, a few decent villains and quite a few terrible ones. The one thing Batman Begins lacked was a really, really good villain. Well, thanks to Heath Ledger's punk rock, anarchist, no-holds-barred performance as The Joker, The Dark Knight had a GREAT villain. Perhaps the greatest villain in the franchise history. He took the Joker well past the silly, funny Joker Nicholson played and went to a much, much darker place. A place so dark, I don't know how the film got away with a PG-13 rating. Ledger may have left us too soon but his performances, this one especially, will live on forever.