Oscar Knight

We have been invited to an Oscar party this year, by a nice couple who possibly don't realize how little we care about the Oscars. Possibly they don't care whether we care. Any excuse for a party, you know. And this year, we've actually seen a few of the movies in contention: In fact, we just saw two movies featuring Best Supporting Actor nominees

Tropic Thunder is a Ben Stiller war movie parody. Stiller is a washed-up action star whose attempt to go serious as the mentally challenged Simple Jack has driven him back to the action format. The comeback attempt is Tropic Thunder, a Vietnam war movie. He is accompanied by Jack Black, playing a drug-loving fart joke comic (inspired by Chris Farley), Brandon Jackson as rapper Alpa Chino, Jay Baruchel as an unknown rookie actor in the "Brooklyn" role and Robert Downey Jr., who gets the nomination.

He plays an Australian actor who gets into his parts so deeply that he has a surgical procedure to make him African American. That's right, Downey plays the part in blackface, with an accent based on Bill Cosby's. The funny thing is, the movie took more flack for the discussion of Stiller's "retard" role.

This is an interesting movie, with some layers - the movie within the movie, the references to other movies like Apocalypse Now, the actor's identity issues. There are some improvised scenes (I'd guess), but it's mostly tight. And funny.

Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight has long been a favorite for an Academy Award. His death before the film's release was grist for the gossip mill, but I don't think this will be a sympathy vote. The role is a tour de force - a study in madness. He plays the character in full makeup, sloppy, runny makeup covering the scars that make him grin. His tongue flicks at his lips like a serpent's, or someone whose medications are giving him cottonmouth. His voice work is unique, but includes a touch of Nicholson, a little Popeye, and is totally Joker.

Christian Bales' handles the Batman role well - maybe the best Batman yet (Adam west excepted, as always). The political themes of DK are interesting - can vigilantism be acceptable - but they don't get in the way of the action much.

I don't think we've seen anything else that's nominated, except Hellboy II for makeup. And I think either Downey or Ledger's makeup beats Perlman's.