Answering the question of who is the more evil, sadistic and sinister villain between Raoul Silva and Anton Chigurh... Why? - Because I can. I can't do this however without saying that I'm a big fan of this man, to the left, who has rightfully been described as one of the best actors of his generation, and weighing up pretty well against those in the 'best actors of all time' phantom category. The Best or scariest villainous characters are made even scarier when you toss them into the hands of a sublime actor (take a look at Hannibal, The Joker, Christopher Walken, hehe). To Javier Bardem then, and his two most infamous characters in English cinema. The Contenders: Anton Chigurh - A trained coldblooded Assassin who also happens to be a psychopath (he has tendencies akin to a sociopath, but I'd see him more as a slightly controlled Psycho, but I digress, he fudges the line... click here to compare the two types) Raoul Silva - aka Thiago Rodriguez, former top spy for MI6, now a vengeful sociopath. What they have in common (apart from Bardem):
What's different:
The answer: Creepy, evil, sadistic or just plain nightmare inducing; if you lucked out and somehow crossed paths with someone of either persuasion, then pray you rather meet Anton Chigurh... Why? - Because he's more likely to kill you quickly, via bullet to to the head, or chest. Raoul Silva then is the worse of the two, simply because he's more likely to toy with you and make you feel some of his pain - which is considerable. He's also likely to kill your spirit before he takes your life, slowly... It's a rather interesting dynamic, I thought so anyway. Chigurh has something of a skewed philosophy on life; that he is simply a tool - holding himself to the idea that he is somehow set apart from the rest of humanity, and that good or bad, your fate has already been decided. If he moves in a certain direction, he's likely to kill most he encounters, with an exception every now and then - to be decided by chance, in the form of a coin toss. Cormac McCarthy wrote the character to represent how nonsensical violence is - Chigurh then, is the personification of violence. Silva has no such philosophy - it's kind of like when a human killing machine has been broken on the inside, and somehow restarted with a reset guidance system, targeting its 'creator', with a will to break her ("M") in a similar way. If there is one thing he abides by though, however shrouded in his demented ways it may be, it is in the principal of 'survival of the fittest' - physical wreck's they may be, but he and James Bond are the last two, and hence strongest, rats remaining... (queue chewing sounds) Javier Bardem quotes On his work: Your work cannot come from your vanity…it’s more about, how do I help this story by portraying the character as it needs to be, on every level, for this story to be told?…As actors we have the room to express as many sides of our nature as we are able or willing to show. There is no danger in that…you can get lost, of course. You have to know how to come back. The difference between a person with mental problems and an artist is that only the second one has a two-way ticket. On Anton Chigurh's hairdo: From the haircut and all that? It’s funny, because I saw that photo and I didn’t pay attention to the haircut because it was more of the way he was dressed as well as anything, but I guess they [Coen Brothers] pay attention to the haircut. So, I went to the trailer and they cut it and I saw it and I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ But that helped a lot actually, because in a way he gave this reality to the character this dimension of being very methodical. Everything is in place. It’s kind of mathematical. Like perfectly structured which is the way I thought the character should be. Perfectly clean. I thought this could help, but not for my private life though. On Raoul Silva, and being cast and working on Skyfall: [I had to] put the person [watching] in an uncomfortable situation, where even James Bond could not resist. Watching the trailer for No Country for Old Men just remind me of how brilliant this film is - and why I own the DVD...
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Everyday seeds of espionage, or just self defense. by Steven Benjamin Think of this as a loose, tenuous, bare skeletal blueprint of the skills needed to be a spy. Needless to say extra âsignsâ are always welcome, like an undying penchant for extreme sports like skydiving and bungee jumping, as well as the ability to undertake great physical challenges which test your mental toughness⦠Oh, and maybe the natural gift of knowing how to dress well, wear a tailored suit, or in the case of a femme fatale, control a room with an elegantly subtle evening number. 1. Do you have an eye for detail? 2. Are you something of a loner? 3. Are you a good poker player? 4. Are you physically fit without advertising the fact? 5. * Do you happen to know the 5 strongest or best natural tools (read weapons) your body possess (even without martial arts training⦠and by association, are you then aware of the main weaknesses of the human body?) * 6. When entering a room, do you first suss out the exit points? 7. How good is your general knowledge and memory, and are you capable when it comes to applied knowledge and resourcefulness? 8. Are you good with your hands, beyond simply decent hand-eye coordination? 9. Do you like adventure and traveling long distances? 10. Are you a good driver? If you're interested in the know how of the Spy world then visit these handy sites for tips on how to be a spy and how to spot one. > Spot a spy > Be a spy [ * Our bodies 5 best weapons (handy for self defense)
Top 5 weaknesses (easier to spot)
Depending on where you are, Skyfall is either out or still coming (very soon), either way I hope it does the job of in some way rectifying the sad year weâve had in terms of film releases. Aside from a couple of big budget superhero sequels there hasnât been much to be excited about â and Iâm on the side of those who was disappointed by The Dark Knight Rises (it says something that The Avengers had better box office earnings than TDKR)⦠so sad, lets end the year on a high. << Coming soon! In the coming weeks I will be featuring the talents of some of my artistic friends, focusing on poetry, art, photography and film-making. Stay tuned! >> |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
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