Best Riddler

The Riddler is my favorite Batman villain. Always has been. So today we'll look at who portrayed him the best...

2) Jim Carrey



Carrey did a wonderful job in Batman Forever. In fact, he and Val Kilmore are the only reasons why anyone should watch the film! It's funny when you look at his performance, because it closely mimics the master of the role...

1) Frank Gorshin



When I think of the Riddler, this is who I see. Gorshin was brilliant in his role. Which actually helped catapult the Riddler's character as being one of Batman's biggest nemesis. Before the TV show he was one of Batman's small time villains in the comics. Frank also invented the Riddler's infamous "Question Mark Suit" look, because he didn't want to be running around in the tights the whole time.

Amazing.

Best Joker

Continuing our look at best actors and actresses to portray characters from Batman, let's look at some of the villains this week. We'll start with the most popular villain of them all... the Joker.

4) Cesar Romero



It's sad that I have to rank Cesar last. He really did a good job. And was in his 40's I believe when he played the Joker on the TV series. Adam West consistently praises his performance as the Joker and I have to agree, his energy is there. But sadly he pales in comparison to the next 3 I'm about to talk about.

3) Heath Ledger



I'm going to hear it about this. But trust me, this is where Heath belongs in the ranking. Did he do a good job in the Dark Knight? No. He did a fantastic job! The reason he's #3 is because he didn't play the Joker's character, he made one up on his own. The Dark Knight's Joker was more grim than how he's usually portrayed in... well in like every other thing out there! I thought Heath did a wonderful job and I'm not discrediting him, his portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime was unique and I'll give him credit for that.

2) Jack Nicholson



BARELY squeaking out a win over Heath Ledger is ole Jack. He played Joker in just the right way, with a sense of humor with a scary and demented underside. I watched these movies again last year and I almost would say this was one of Nicholson's BEST performances. (and he's had a lot!) But it wasn't enough to claim the #1 spot.

1) Mark Hamill



I didn't want to put voice actors in this category. But after many discussions with a friend of mine I've had to concede the point that Mark Hamill IS the Joker. Think about it folks, when you hear the Joker who's voice pops in your head? Yep, me too. Mark Hamill will always be known for 2 things, being Luke Skywalker and the Joker.

Don't think I'm biased because of his connection to Star Wars. I actually had to be convinced for several hours before realizing my buddy was right. Mark Hamill did the best Joker. (although I still lean back on Nicholson taking the title)

Ok folks, that's all for today. More tomorrow!

Best Commissioner Gordon

The Commish has always been a mainstay character to the Batman series. The comic books write his character best. But over the years the actor's who've portrayed him have been able to add their spin on what Gordon's character is like. Let's rank'em!

#3 Pat Hingle


Let's face it, Tim Burton got it wrong with how he put Gordon into the script. It reminded me of the Mario Brothers movie and how we all sat went "WHO are these people and WHERE are the real Mario Brothers?"

Gordon didn't look or seem like anything other than a warm body who wandered onto the set right before they started shooting. Terrible performance.

#2 Neil Hamilton



According to Adam West he was terrible to work with. But we're not going by popularity on the set, so he gets into our list at #2 easily. Overall Hamilton's "over the top" acting is to be expected in his performance of Commissioner Gordon on the TV show, but what you can't miss is his particular portrayal of Gordon which didn't make him look like a complete idiot at times. (Note I said complete)

#1 Gary Oldman

Holy Crow. Whenever I see Oldman as Gordon I think "Wow, it couldn't have been anyone else." One thing the newer movies have done well is using Gordon as a intricate part of the story. Oldman's portrayal is spot on and doesn't require any further tweaking. He's got it. That's what Gordon should be like. No question.

So there you have it. Next week we'll take a look at some of Batman's villains. Stay tuned and have a great weekend!

Best Alfred

You can't have a Batman movie without a good Alfred. That said, there were 3 people to play the faithful butler of Wayne Manor. But what does it take to be a good Alfred. Devotion. Devotion not only to Master Wayne but the duel life Alfred must live as well. Being a regular butler and taking care of Bruce Wayne and his secrets is no easy matter.

Let's see who portrayed this the best:

#3 Michael Cain



I love Michael Cain, but he goes underused in Nolon's movies. There's really nothing special about him unlike the other 2 candidates on the list. This isn't Cain's problem it's the story line that doesn't deal as well with the "modern day" Batman motif.

#2 Alan Napier



He lived up to 90 something before he died but he was never known for anything other than the lovable butler that brought the Alfred character back to life in the comic books. No seriously, Alfred was dead in the comic book when this TV show came out. It was the show that brought Wayne's butler back into the spot light and it's Nappier's clever portrayal that did it. This fact alone gives him a rightful place at #2.

Amazing job.

#1 Michael Gough



I bet if I didn't have a picture here but if I only had this picture and no title about what I was talking about, you'd say "Hey, what's with the picture of Alfred on his post?"

Making his way thru all 4 Batman films in the 90's Micheal Gough set the bar on how Alfred should be. I don't think we'll ever since such a marvelous performance from another actor ever again. I want to see someone argue this one on me. You can't deny that when you think of Alfred Gough's face is what pops up first!

One more left for tomorrow...

Best Batgirl

Once again there's only 2 choices to go by so once again I'll make this quick.

Alicia Silverstone (Bad)



What's there to say about her? She was totally forced into the script and gave no weight to the overall story line she was in. So did a terrible job but I think all the direction she ever got was that of a dogs. "Stay Alicia, stay. Good Alicia. Now bark!"

It's said no one gave any more thought to it than that.

Yvonne Craig (Good)



Unlike her counterpart, Yvonne played the role of Barbara Gordon excellently. Being a librarian established her character as being knowledgeable on many subjects and made her character seem more realistic in the overall stories.

As with Ward I'd concede someone could still do better but as of yet no one's even gotten close, which leaves Ms Craig as the reigning champion of the role.

More tomorrow!

Best Robin

Whoa boy is this going to be short. There's only 2 boy wonders to speak about. I don't even think it's necessary to rank them so here goes:

Chris O'Donnell (Bad)



This wasn't Robin. This was some rebellious punk who didn't think much of Batman (at first) and wasn't really that smart to begin with. Everything Robin is, Joe Shumaucher took away and instead left of with some generic kid of the 90's who didn't "go by the rules" or care what other people thought. Pathetic portrayal.

Burt Ward (Good)



Like it or not the creator's of the show really took a lot of time and thought into what the boy wonder should be about. He was smart enough to figure things out without Batman's help at times and was devoutly faithful to the Bat without question.

Now can someone do a better job than Ward? Sure. I just haven't seen one do it yet.

Batgirl tomorrow.

Best Batman

A few months ago I read an article on who the best actor to portray Batman was. They made the obvious choice of Christian Bale since he's the most recent one. But as I look at it, I'm not sure I agreed, which led me to making these next few series of post who I think did the best job portraying different super hero characters.

I start with Batman because he's my favorite super hero. My reasoning in ranking the actors was clear. It's not how you portray Batman, but rather how you personify his alter ego Bruce Wayne that defines whether you have the character down or not.

Think about it, Batman is a person with... no emotion right? So anyone can play him when it comes to putting on a cape, but what about Bruce? The "fake" disguise Batman pretends to be? Let's look at that, then the total package.

#5 George Clooney



The first person to play Bruce Wayne as a complete jackass. Seriously, this is the guy who comes to your party and everyone rolls their eyes at him and goes "Ah man, not THIS guy again!"

Clooney has been badgered constantly over how he played Batman but his performance as Bruce Wayne was just as awful.

#4 Christian Bale



Love him as Batman as much as you want but when it comes to playing Wayne, he's terrible. Honestly his Bruce Wayne is the closest resemblance to Batman and any movie. Grimm and moody with a "Don't mess with me" attitude. Bruce Wayne is supposed to be a playboy millionaire, not a guy that would scare half the people fighting in a UFC ring. I love Bale, but his Bruce Wayne just stinks.

#3 Michael Keaton



It's rough rating Keaton this far down, I did a lot of thinking on this but ultimately decided this is where he should be. Keaton played a quirky, socially detached Wayne and it came across marvelously in the films. He had a slight edge of intelligence which let you know he wasn't incompetent. I think Keaton's portrayal of Bruce Wayne is what made the movies so good to begin with.

#2 Val Kilmore



If I had not watched Batman Forever again last year I probably would've had Val behind Keaton, but seeing this film again really opened my eyes to how perfectly balanced Kilmore played Wayne. Playboy millionaire and businessman all rolled into one. Val had complete understanding of what Wayne should be like and executed the performance perfectly.

#1 Adam West



I'm going to hang for this one I just know it. But sorry folks, Adam West did the best!

Sure he's "Bright Knight" Batman closely resembled his Bruce Wayne but we're looking at just Bruce here remember? And by that analysis West pulled it off gloriously! In every episode of the old show what was Bruce Wayne up to? Attending social functions, charity organizations, going bird watching, star gazing, or fishing on his yacht. So uncharacteristic of who Batman is.

I love how West really got into the swing of Bruce and played him as a respectable yet fun loving guy. 2 thumbs up!

Ok, that's all for today. Tomorrow we'll talk about the boy wonder.

Return to the Lone Star State

So for the past few weeks I've been traveling out to Dallas again to train new employees for JP Morgan Chase.

It's been a busy couple of weeks but it's finally coming to a close over here and I can finally return to Monroe!

Work's been so busy for me I can't believe we're almost done with this month already! Is it going fast or is it just me?

Other than work, things are going great. I'm looking forward to my Mets packing their bags for a season long stay in the basement of the NL East, I don't care or know who's still in the NFL playoffs and even the upcoming lure of March Madness means nothing to me.

This is the dead time for sports for me. Sure I cheer for my Red Wings, but since they hardly come on TV there's not much else to do but check the scoreboards every night.

Ok folks, lot's of fun coming up these next few weeks on the blog. We'll be doing a few reviews that should be sure top entertain.

Until then, hope everyone has a great weekend!

No cell phones, please (9)

No cell phones, please (8)

No cell phones, please (7)

I don't get it

I don't understand what the fascination is with Apple products. Megan doesn't care for her iPhone hardly at all and my iPad 2 is 50% useless.

The "almighty" iPad doesn't navigate well on Google+ or Blogger (too of the biggest sites I visit) I virtually have to do everything now thru our Accer netbook (which embarrassingly gets HOURS more use than the iPad)

iPad is only good for checking email and browsing select sites. I have to say select because is doesn't carry "flash" so because of that most sites I visit have to be from the netbook.

My assumption is that Apple products must be the "it" factor right now and that's why everyone wants it.

Oh well, it's Monday. Had to get my grip session on to start the week!

Have a good one folks!

Legend Alone - Mashup trailer

No cell phones, please (6)

No cell phones, please (5)

No cell phones, please (4)

Congratulations Bama

As an Auburn fan it's hard to admit this, but Bama is indeed the BEST team in the SEC this year. They deserve to be #1.

I think this also showed how Saban beat himself in the last game against LSU by making bonehead calls.

But LSU is good. They deserve #2 (won't get it) but next year I see them holding the SEC coaches trophy high.

Good game. Good year.

Next time. War Eagle.

BCS... I mean, SEC Championship time!

So here we go. Once again the SEC takes it's rightful place on the BCS Stage and this time we can't lose.

LSU vs Bama will be the best game of the year. It was good the first time around and it'll be good the 2nd time as well.

So who's going to win? WHO CARES?! I'm just happy it's another SEC championship year. Now all I have to figure out is who's going next year from the SEC?

Enjoy the game everybody!

Pixar's Up Trailer Recut (Gran Torino)

No cell phones, please (3)

No cell phones, please (2)

No cell phones, please (1)

Football notes

The Good



Auburn played like I've never seen them before. Not BAD. Moseley cried his way out of the game after his second spine-less possession of the ball giving Trotter the chance to.... wait for it... be a quarterback!?! I was as shocked as the ESPN commentators were. (they just hid it better)

It made me feel like we actually have a chance next season.... we'll see. But with Dyer on the outs with Auburn I'm not really sure what to expect for 2012.

THE BAD



OK State played PATHETIC tonight. They should have lost the game but got lucky when "Super Doofus" Williamson missed a kick that any other kicker could have hit BACKWARDS! But I can't complain too much, thanks to the Cowboys win I killed it in points tonight on ESPN's pick-em's.

THE UGLY



Oregon's "costumes" they brought to the bowl game. Seriously, these guys are the Barbie dolls of college football. They spend more time on looking pretty for a game instead of playing it. Sure they won, but the also got on Joan Rivers "What are they Wearing?" list as well.

New Year's Resolutions

Well folks, now that 2012 is finally upon us I think it's time to count off my resolutions for the year!

1) I will throw one thing a way each day of the year.

That's right! I've discovered this past year that I have accumulated a lot of junk! And so every day I'm going to throw one item away. I already threw away a few things last year but starting yesterday I'm going to start keeping track of it and making my house less junky!

2) Make more YouTube videos.

There's been s surge in subscriptions to my videos and I really don't post that much. (most things I just keep internally posted on the blog) But for all those subscribers I vow to get better at making more videos for them to enjoy.

3) Not hold out hope for the Mets.

Besides last year I think I stated at the beginning of Spring Training that the Mets were going to the World Series. Even last year when I conceded they'd only be shooting for 3rd place my heart still believed them to be a quality team when they had that great start to the season. (which unfortunenantly ended up in disaster) This year I'll just be begging them not to finish last in their division.

4) Write more.

I enjoyed writing that Star Wars fan fiction last year and would really like to try it again some time. I have another story in mind but that might take a while. I also have an idea for a Dinner Theatre I could write instead but I'd really need to flesh it out before I started on it. Either way, I want to do more.

Ok. So there's just a few resolutions I came up with. What's yours?

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Glitterfy.com - New Year Glitter Graphics

Welcome to 2012 folks!

Ready? Set? Let's do this!!