An Ode to Gary Oldman

I know that it seems in poor taste that I praise someone else so soon after my diatribe against Nicolas Cage, but I have good reason... okay, maybe not good, but I have reason. See, soon after my Nic Cage post was, well, posted on Facebook one of my friends reminded me of a conversation we'd had in a particularly uneventful class one day. She had come to the rescue while I continued to bash Nic Cage (imagine that) but one thing we agreed on was Gary Oldman.

It seems an odd segue and I'm not even sure how we got to there, but hey, it still holds true. This was made even more perfect by my perusal of the IMDb Hit List where one of the links was listed as "The Seven Strangest Faces of Gary Oldman". After looking it over, I realized that Oldman has been a lot of different people over the time. I know that can be said for most actors, but none are quite so transformed. I mean, like I said earlier, while some people may have have loved Nicole Kidman in The Hours, all I say was Nicole Kidman in an ugly fake nose. She was still so noticeably her. Gary Oldman is more like the Gene Parmesan (Arrested Development anyone?) of movies. If I've heard that Gary Oldman is in the movie, I can't help but spend most of the movie trying to figure out who he is. He's always playing some different, be it disfigured or merely small in stature. I know it sounds dumb, but let's be real, that's just about the only was to watch the movie Hannibal.

Besides making movies bearable with his sheer awesomeness, Gary Oldman is the unsung hero of Nolan's Batman franchise. The man doesn't get near enough credit for the stuff he does for Batman. I mean, you think Batman could do it all on his own with his money and playboy status? Think again. Dude has to have an inside man. That's Gary Oldman/Commissioner Gordon for you. Always coming through when you're in a jam. So let's forget the times he's played a bloodsucker or a little person (not even Gary Oldman can save Tiptoes) because Gary would want it that way. Instead, let's remember the times he's kicked ass and taken names. This one's for you Gary.