Link here. From Entertainment Weekly. Seeing as I tend to be more opinionated on actresses in their 20s and teens than actors in their 20s and teens (it's probably some psychological thing as I am 20sish myself), I figured I'd talk about the girls first. The guys are...whenever I get to it.
Scarlett Johansson - I know I'm the only one left on Earth (besides those attracted to women) that still loves her. But dammit, I do. Some actresses that are undoubtedly better overall have given great great performances (think Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr., one of very few performances from this millennium that are better than Scarlett's in Lost in Translation), but I don't feel any sort of personal connection to them. I don't feel the need to defend them when they get insulted. To Scarlett, I just...do. I don't know why. Maybe it's because I love Lost in Translation so very much that I just can't help loving its stars too. She's undoubtedly made some bad career choices (The Island - oh, Scarlett, what were you thinking?), and she's often miscast (she's better in quieter roles, which is why she's so good as Charlotte, Griet, and Mary Boleyn. Her voice is obviously fantastic, but it can often sound like she's terribly bored, which is why she isn't as great in "talky" roles... I liked her in Scoop, but I can see why one couldn't...), but I'm not even going to backhandedly compliment her and say "I see a lot of potential." Lately, I despair for the way she's got caught in the hype machine, but when you're not even 20 and you give the performance you gave in Lost in Translation, you're it.
Natalie Portman - I find her unbelievably endearing, and she's so stunningly gorgeous. I just wish she were more consistent. She has both really crazy over-vocal fanboys and really crazy over-vocal detractors, and I can see where they both came from. For an example, take her Oscar nomination for Closer. She gives shattering, brilliant work in some scenes - the strip club, at Anna's art show - and she's completely lost in others - both break-up scenes with Dan were pretty terrible. She was so fantastic when she was younger in both Leon and Beautiful Girls, but those led to... the Star Wars movies. Yiiiikes. And then, just when we'd all probably given up on her in 2003 came Cold Mountain, for which she just...breaks your heart into a million pieces, absolutely. She's probably in the film for not even 10 minutes, but she's the best performance in it (and I actually liked Jude Law and Renee Zellweger, so suck it!). I really liked her in Garden State, too; she was kind of the only good thing about that ridiculously-in-love-with-itself movie. As The Other Boleyn Girl came out a few weeks ago, I gotta say she's terrible in it. She tries to be sexy and sly and manipulative but she doesn't play it well at all. I don't know why, because the scenes where she is sexy and sly in Closer are probably, overall, her best. She's definitely given some really great performances and she's incredibly likeable, but I'm not signing up for her club of fanboys yet. On the other hand, I'm not signing up for her haters either...
Anne Hathaway - Yeah...no. I think she's an awful actress. She just tries so damn hard all the time and it shows, but she still never gives a notable performance. Her screen presence is really boring. Her best performance is absolutely The friggin' Princess Diaries because she slooows down, she breathes, and she feels sort of real. Saying someone feels "sort of real..." is not usually a compliment, but yeah, it's Anne Hathaway. I just think it's really telling that the cast of Brokeback Mountain was showered with awards...with nothing for Anne. Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt got awards notice for The Devil Wears Prada... nothing for Anne. Becoming Jane basically existed to get her an Oscar nomination... nothing for Anne. Some people are like "she doesn't upstage her co-stars! She's great!" Okay, that excuse works for...one movie. But every movie she's ever been in? I just think she's a bad actress, quite frankly. Like, take that phone call scene in Brokeback Mountain. I know some agree with me, and some others raved her in that scene, but I thought she was especially badbadbad there. She just looked like "oh God I don't know what I'm doing so I'm just going to deliver it as flat as possible and people are just gonna think I'm brilliant because of the movie I happen to be in!!!" And as far as the "but she's hot!" excuse that works for some others, I don't see that at all. I think she's freaky-looking. Bah. Go away, Anne. Take your overwillingness to show your boobs and your giant mouth and freakish eyes with you.
Emily Blunt - Oh, I've been over this a gagillion times. She's not without talent. But her talent is being freakishly overexaggerated (she hasn't come close to deserving a nomination) because she delivered some lines well in a pretty funny movie, which is nothing hundreds of less-appreciated actors and actresses haven't done. Plus, it's like I was saying a few weeks ago - it's those dead eyes. They just creep me out. And maybe it's because I associate her with The Devil Wears Prada, but I just find her incredibly abrasive.
Keira Knightley - I'm still weirded out by my sudden lack of dislike for her. But, like I was saying in that post, she still isn't a good actress. She gives Razzie-worthy performances in Pirates of the Caribbean, and like I keep saying: she's only been good three times (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, Bend It Like Beckham). She is marvelous in Pride and Prejudice and I applaud her nomination, especially considering the sad sad bunch that were the other nominees (except Reese). She's good in Atonement, but is nowhere near worthy of a nomination (she's my #23 of the year and all of the following were better than her: Adams, Wei, Linney x2, Miller x2, Kidman, Marinca, Blanchett [for I'm Not There], Page, Foster, Rueda, Judd, Watts, Richards [the girl in The Golden Compass], Heigl, Ricci, McGowan, Shannon, Russell, and Blonsky. Whew. I just wanted to drive the point home.). And she's good in Bend It Like Beckham, but not worthy of even consideration for a nomination. So. She's basically only ever anywhere approaching great with one director, so I kind of write those performances off as a fluke for better or worse. I want to see her in The Edge of Love and The Duchess. I'm definitely open to liking her now, but she's extremely far away from being any sort of great actress. Oh, and Entertainment Weekly? "Nobody rocks a corset like she does"? Not to be indelicate here, but try someone with boobs.
Jessica Biel - The Illusionist aside, she's not a very good actress. Her movies tend to be badbadbaddd though, so I'd like to see what she can do in an actually good movie. She was really good in The Illusionist...
Evan Rachel Wood - I really liked her in thirteen, but she's done nothing since besides that awful Beatles movie (yes, I know its name is Across the Universe, but I'm demeaning it. Can one demean a movie...?) and become Marilyn Manson's girlfriend. GET CRACKING, EVAN RACHEL.
Ellen Page - I really didn't like her in Hard Candy, but I liked her so much in Juno it actually made me forget about that. Part of that, I'm sure, is the fact that we all discovered she's actually adorable and charming in real life, but I do think she's really talented. To have such a great grip on such a ... well, weird character like Juno makes me think the best is yet to come for her. She's really awesome; best of luck, Ellen, for sure.
America Ferrera - I don't watch Ugly Betty all that often, but America is indeed very good on it. Her role could easily get annoying, but she's just so natural and real. You just want to hug her all the time. I've only caught bits and pieces of Real Women Have Curves (all of which she was very good in as well), so I can't talk about that. Unfortunately, I have also never seen the masterwork of commentary on the female soul, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. So...I've got a lot of blanks in my America filmography. But from what I've seen, she is talented indeed.
Jessica Alba - Oh, no. Just no.
Kristen Bell - Never got caught up in the Veronica Mars hype. I like that she's teeny and blonde (I think I had a post about that a while back) and that's about it.
Jennifer Hudson - A great actress? I don't know... I really liked her in Dreamgirls and I totally defend her Oscar, but she hasn't done anything since. And she looks kinda bad in the Sex and the City trailer and I don't know why she's in it anyway. I still like her, but she has wayyyy more to prove before she is considered a great actress.
Evangeline Lilly - I've never watched Lost (well, that's a lie. I watched an episode in the middle of the, like, second season, and I was just so lost and I had no desire to devote my life to figuring out a TV show - at least there are no great mysteries on The Office or Sex and the City, so I can agonize about the relationships on those TV shows instead ;) ), so I couldn't say.
Rosario Dawson - Totally awesome and underrated. She's rocked since Kids, and in truly awful movies she's never given a truly awful performance. Recently, she's been nomination-worthy in Rent and rocked in Death Proof. I adore her.
Abbie Cornish - She was really shockingly good in Somersault and I loved her in Candy, but she was really bad in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. She's definitely willing to take risks, which is always something I admire. I just hope she's good in both indie stuff and more mainstream stuff; the best are those that can balance.
Zoe Saldana - The only things I've seen her in are Center Stage, Crossroads (quiet, you), and The Terminal. I don't remember her in any of those.
Kristen Stewart - She was born in 1990? Damn, I thought she was like five years older than I am. I liked her in Into the Wild, but she wasn't GREAT great and I don't remember her in Panic Room which I guess means she wasn't particularly good. Still, she's 17? I totally thought she was like, 25. Seriously. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
Abigail Breslin - I just love her in Little Miss Sunshine. I think she's adorable and charming and she's got a really great career ahead of her. I'm very happy she took over for Dakota Fanning in My Sister's Keeper. I just hope she doesn't get overused in crap and become one of those "LOL, I can't believe she got nominated!" performances.
Dakota and Elle Fanning - Okay, my hate for Dakota Fanning was completely ridiculous, but that doesn't mean she's given any good performances. Neither has Elle. And they both still creep me out.
Katee Sackhoff - WHO? Oh, Battlestar Galactica. Everyone I know seems totally obsessed with that show, but I don't watch it. Maybe I should. Hmm. (I love how these blurbs on the actresses started out long and got really really short. I GOT TIRED, OKAY??!?!!)
Ginnifer Goodwin - I don't watch Big Love, but I've heard she's very good in it. Obscenely annoying in Walk the Line. "Still had us rooting for her"? I was like, "JUNE, PLEASE STEAL THAT MAN." And no, I don't usually condone adultery...
Miley Cyrus - As an actress? What the hell.
Saoirse Ronan - Well, at least she's better than Miley. She's cute, and I liked her in Atonement, but she didn't capture my heart like Abigail Breslin did (though I do think Ronan's is the better performance and...I dunno...I confuse myself. To be fair to Ronan, her character wasn't a billionth as endearing). She undoubtedly comes across as a very wise old soul, as Entertainment Weekly points out. I think that definitely works for her, seeing as Dakota Fanning definitely outlived her "old soul" captivity on the world.
Kirsten Dunst - Why the hell is she so low? Yes, she's had some total clunkers (ouch, Elizabethtown). Yes, her best work is not in the Spider-Man series. Yes, she has a snaggletooth. But she's undoubtedly the best of these actresses since Johansson. I mean, I give her four nominations. That's... like, not normal, right? I'm supposed to hate her, right? Oh, whatever. I just think she's spectacular. I loved her in Interview with the Vampire, Dick, Drop Dead Gorgeous, The Virgin Suicides, crazy/beautiful, Marie-Antoinette, and she's incredible in Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind. Yes, she can be very bad too, but her good work is just so damn good. I am not ashamed to say it: I love Kirsten Dunst. I think she is very talented. Surely someone has to feel the same way... anyone...?
Hayden Panettiere - I think she's adorable, but I don't watch Heroes so I don't really have an opinion. Though I do think she's charming. And I think she was included with that "teeny blonde thing" post along with Kristen Bell (I think. I think. I think. I'M TIRED. I SHOULD GO TO SLEEP PROBABLY.).
Ziyi Zhang - I'd write a whole long thing about her, but like I just said, I'm tired. So: remarkable in some things, crap in others. Makes awful awful mainstream decisions and then is really bad in those movies (Crouching Tiger aside). She really is so pretty, though. I mean, what the hell is this? She still looks gorgeous.
Amanda Bynes - Wow, she is a bad actress. Annoying in Hairspray and made She's the Man worse.
Emma Watson - Yeah, she really is terrible in Harry Potter. And...do people really think she's hot? Is it just that creepy forbidden fruit thing? Because she's not ugly, but she's pretty plain.
Blake Lively - Don't watch Gossip Girl, haven't seen Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Summer Glau - Never watched Firefly or any of the other TV shows she was on, don't remember her from Serenity.
Aaaand we're done. Aaaand holy God, I am off to sleep. Hopefully I can attack the guys' list soon. Because I know I'm gonna forget before I post it: John Krasinski should totally be on it. I mean, Zac Efron? Come on.
ETA, now that I have slept: Where's Christina Ricci? Katherine Heigl? Michelle Williams? Claire Danes? Rose Bryne? SARAH POLLEY??? They're way more talented than, like, Emma Watson or Miley Cyrus (yes I know I just gave Claire Danes a 3/10 on that big list thing I did, but that stands for her work overall. She was outstanding in Shopgirl and that alone should put her over many of these). Or friggin' Jessica Alba/Biel. And not for anything, but Mean Girls alone puts Lindsay Lohan ahead of those four. Sienna Miller deserves to be here for Interview alone, but add Factory Girl to that and she was robbed (even if, yes, she sucks otherwise; oh, come on, Emma Watson sucks all the time). Tang Wei deserves to be here for Lust, Caution alone (I know a bazillion people have said it before me: DAMN, THAT'S A DEBUT PERFORMANCE?!?!). Romola Garai was the superior Briony when compared to her co-star. At least they didn't put Thora Birch on the list! And did you know Rachel McAdams is over 30?! I was like "wow, she got snubbed considering how much people are in friggin' love with her." But no! She is actually 31!
