DAILY DIRT: Ledger was no joke when it came to villains of the 2000s

October 16, 2024 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

The late Heath Ledger won a Best Supporting Actor for his role as Batman's arch-nemesis, Joker, in "The Dark Knight" (2009). WB/DC

Daily Dirt for Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024

As I was writing this, it occurred to me that some day we might need to examine the villains of James Bond in greater depth … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,088 of The Daily Dirt

1. We’re back today with Round 2 of the most entertaining movie villains from the 1990s through the 2010s, a 30-year period that out some of film’s most famous bad guys.

Today’s villains all fall under the “disturbed” heading.

The 2000s wound up being much stronger in this area than I originally anticipated. The real “sleeper” for many today may be Tobin Bell as John Kramer in the “Saw” movies, which understandably are not for everyone. There were eight films in the principal franchise, released from 2004 through 2017. Let’s juts say none were designed for family viewing, unless your last name is Eighinger. My daughter, Kaysi, and I saw ’em all together — and then talked about and dissected them for days and weeks afterward.

So, here we go … the 2000s.

Gold medal

Heath Ledger as The Joker in “The Dark Knight” (2009): Ledger brought a unique feeling of chaos — and even fear — to this iconic role, so much so he reportedly scared co-star Michael Caine in the early days of filming. Both due to Ledger’s skills as a performer and his subsequent death, this character has rightly earned a spot among the greatest on-screen villains of all time — and unquestionably the best of his decade.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: Being a bit of a Batman aficionado (Steve’s disdain for Michael Keaton in the role is completely off-base), I would like to say that while Ledger’s amazing performance of The Joker goes a long way toward making “The Dark Knight” the greatest comic book-based movie of all-time (zero room for debate here), Jack Nicholson’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime is probably the truest interpretation of the classic villain. Both are excellent in their own right, but Ledger won the Oscar. -JRG

Silver medal

Christopher Waltz as Hans Landa in “Inglorious Basterds” (2009):Landa was cruel, diabolically cruel. Landa, a Nazi, might very well be famed director Quentin Tarentino’s all-time best character, not to mention as what one movie critic termed “an icon of badassery” when it came to villains of the 2000s. Fittingly, Waltz earned an Oscar for his performance.

Bronze medal

John Kramer as Tobin Bell in “Saw” (2004): The hugely successful “Saw” franchise saw Kramer (“Jigsaw”) become one of the most popular villains over the 30-year period we are dissecting in this three-part series. Kramer’s character carefully planned and orchestrated brutal physiological torture. The mind games that Kramer forces his prisoners to participate in are some of the cruelest and almost unwatchable acts of terror ever captured on film.

Honorable mention

Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre in “Casino Royale” (2006): One of the longstanding James Bond series’ premier villains, La Chiffre possesses an incredibly creepy demeanor and weeps blood. Yes, he literally weeps blood.

2. Did you know (Part 153)

That the best sign spotted at the Ohio State-at-Oregon college football game last Saturday was: “Jeffrey Dahmer was a Buckeye”.
That in 2022, the New Zealand government proposed a “fart tax” on livestock emissions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The proposal was later reversed because the term “fart tax” was misleading because most methane produced by ruminants comes from burping, not flatulence. Well, holy crap …
That snakes do not have eyelids. Thus, there is never a snake blinking its eyes.
That America is one of the very few countries (and possibly the only one) that offers free soda refills in restaurants. Outside the U.S. borders, if you’re drinking it, you’re most likely paying for it.
That the most common tattoos in the U.S. are: 1. Butterfly, 2. Rose, 3. Dragon, 4. Flower, 5. Snake.

3. The next big thing in eateries might just be Doritos-inspired restaurants. The first has opened in Los Angeles, and among its features are every single dish being Doritos-infused, which means, among other items:

Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Chicken Bites.
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho Veggie Dumplings.
Doritos Nacho Cheese Messy Toqutos.
Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Ramen-rite.
Doritos Nacho Cheese Texas Loaded Nachos.
Doritos Cool Rancho Gyro with a ranch yogurt sauce.
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Cool Ranch California Sushi Roll.
Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Veggie Roll (more sushi)
Doritos Nacho Cheese Crunchtastic Vanilla Ice Cream Cone. (It’s dipped in milk chocolate and rolled in Doritos.)
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon Churros.
Doritos Nacho Cheese-infused Michelada.
Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limon Late Night Margarita.
Doritos Hot Limon Mango Chamoyada.

Steve Thought of the Day — Was there a better MLB nickname to emerge this season than “Big Christmas,” which is what outfielder Jhonkensy Noel is referred to as in Cleveland.