TOP 5 TUESDAY: BATMAN.

Here we are, another week, and another Top 5 Tuesday. Continuing on Sara's theme last week, I'm doing the TOP 5 BATMAN MOVIES.

For those of you that don't know me, I love Batman. In my opinion he's the best superhero ever created. He's not unkillable like Superman, nor does he have overly cheap powers. The dude is just crafty. He knows how to use weapons, and is stealthy, as well as intimidating. He's the only superhero I could actually believe to be real.

In the many Batman films out there, he's been portrayed many different ways, some better than others. For my Top 5, I have to say with great glee that George Clooney will be nowhere close to making it on this list.

Anyways, on to the list.

#5. Batman Forever

I know this isn't a good movie. Val Kilmer is his usual stiff-as-a-board self, and Robin still sucks. The movie reeks 90's, and while that CAN be a good thing in some places, it's not a good thing here. It may just be me, but I hate Tim Burton's style (note: I know that Schumacher directed this one. Burton still produced, so shut up.) Gotham doesn't need to be this stylized.

However, I think that like the 60s series, this is good camp fun. Jim Carrey was nearly perfectly cast as the over the top Edward Nigma / Riddler, and for how it was written, Tommy Lee Jones did great as Two-Face.

I grew up with this one, so I can't knock it too much. Go back and watch it. It's not great, but it's better than Batman on Ice.

#4. Batman - Mask of the Phantasm

The left field choice. The definitive animated Batman film. The 90's series is gorgeous in how it was drawn, and it was actually a cartoon that had incredible writing on it too. Characters were fleshed out, things took time to grow, a backstory was present, it was amazing.

They didn't really skimp on the violence either. I rewatched this again last year, and I'm still baffled at how violent this was for what was supposed to be a children's cartoon. Something like this couldn't be made today for network television.

Anyways. This is dark, violent, well-written, and honestly, well acted. C'mon, it has Luke F'ing Skywalker as the Joker. Even though I love Heath Ledger's Joker, when I imagine the Joker laughing, I still think of Mark Hamill.

#3. Batman Begins

I saw Sara's post last week where she talked about her great dislike of Batman Begins, and because of this, I get to say something I've wanted to say for a while in the actual context where it makes sense:

"Sara, you ignorant slut."

Batman Begins was a kick in the pants to my childhood conception of what Batman was. I grew up with Burton's Batman. While it could be dark (see: Returns), it also always had that subtle wink and nod saying "this is still camp".

Batman Begins however, was dark, moody, and had character development for Christ's sake. We still know that Bruce's parents are dead, but we also get to see why he's this incredibly violent force. We get to see that he's a real person, he gets injured, he sucks at his job, but he still has a buttload of money to back him up on being Batman.

The voice is hilarious at points, I'm not going to deny that, but it makes sense. It feels real. Dude's gotta hide his voice. It's not a magical world where Clark Kent can look EXACTLY like Superman (exception of the glasses), and talk the same way and have no one notice. Batman has a cover. It's more realistic.

#2. Batman

Michael Keaton was great as Batman. Not the best Bruce Wayne, but a hell of a Batman. I grew up on this movie. Heck, I think we wore out our original VHS copy, but I'm pretty sure we dubbed a new copy on to a blank VHS we had laying around. I really do hate Tim Burton, but for some reason this movie really works for me. The characters pop out like they're from the comic books, the colors are all there, the story is there, and while it's dark, it's never really brooding.

Jack Nicholson was perfectly cast as the Joker here. He's over the top, funny, and sadistic. The only scene where it's a bit over the top is the art gallery scene, but then again, the strong majority of movies have their faults, and this one is fairly minor. (I'm trying to ignore the Batdance as much as possible…)

#1. The Dark Knight

Might be one of the few perfect movies in my opinion. Certainly the best Comic Book film ever made. Note that I said "Film" rather than "Movie". There is a difference. This can sit up there with the Godfather.It's beautifully shot, it's intelligent, and it doesn't pander to the audience.

I've probably seen this about 30 times now, and it has yet to get old. I saw it on midnight the night it came out, and throughout the entire film I had the largest shit-eating grin on my face. For the first time in my life, I actually yelled in a theater. (Gordon getting killed! C'mon! You had me going, Nolan!)

The only mark against The Dark Knight is the terrible CGI for Two-Face. It just looks cheesy. Aaron Eckhardt did AMAZING as Dent/Two-Face, but that CG…blegh.

There's not much more I can say about it. I'm not even going to write about Heath Ledger's Joker, because it's not worth it. Everything that could have been said about that amazing performance has been said better elsewhere.

I'd be lying if I said I weren't counting down to the next Batman movie. I'm really curious to see where Nolan goes next...