since this is (supposedly) a movie blog

Not that Moviefone is great, but here's an interesting list.

TOP TEN SUPPORTING ACTOR PERFORMANCES
10. Robert Downey Jr., Tropic Thunder
I thought he was hilarious. He didn't deserve the Oscar exactly, but he was basically the only reason to watch that movie after the first hour or so.
9. John Travolta, Hairspray
GOD NO. He was really awful. And terrifying.
8. Rip Torn, Dodgeball
Heh, I love this movie, and he's hilarious, but there are a number of other, better choices for this spot.
7. Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby
I'm not so sure I would put him this high but sure. He was terrific.
6. Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
There was something about this performance I wasn't crazy about, if I'm remembering correctly. But again, it's not a bad choice.
5. Javier Bardem, No Country for Old Men
Hell yes. This movie is what, two years old?, and this performance already became iconic.
4. Ben Kingsley, Sexy Beast
Again, hell yes. I'm glad people are acknowledging this performance, as it's absolutely terrific but in a small movie that not many people saw from the beginning of the decade.
3. Thomas Haden Church, Sideways
Yup. The acting was really superlative in this movie.
2. Tom Wilkinson, Michael Clayton
I'm not sure I'd put him this high, but he was great. Again, another movie with really awesome acting.
1. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Yup yup yup. Even if not for his tragic death, this would still be one of the best performances ever, really. He was so damn good.

TOP TEN SUPPORTING ACTRESS PERFORMANCES
10. Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Oh hey I thought everyone hated this performance now? I loved it. That girl can act with her voice like no other. Does that make sense? Eh.
9. Amy Ryan, Gone Baby Gone
I'm not sure I'd put her so high, but I really liked her. It's also funny to see her on The Office after this.
8. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chicago
YES. I LOVE HER HERE. She'd probably be in my top five supporting actress performances this decade. It was just a balls-out performance. Uh, figuratively speaking, of course.
7. Leslie Mann, Knocked Up
I've come full circle on this movie because now, I totally love it, and I love her in it. There's one line that she delivers that is PRICELESS but I can't think of it now. Grrrr.
6. Mo'Nique, Precious
Haven't seen it.
5. Cate Blanchett, I'm Not There
Y'all know I think she's crazy overrated but I liked her a lot in this movie.
4. Sophie Okenedo, Hotel Rwanda
I liked her a lot in this movie, but she's way too high here. She wasn't that great, though she was very good.
3. Adriana Barraza, Babel
Yay. She was terrific and Rinko Kikuchi sucked. Hey, remember when Babel was gonna make these two BREAKOUT STARS? And then they were never heard from again? Awesome
2. Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
???? She should not be this high. She was good and all, but I don't even remember her in it.
1. Catherine O'Hara, For Your Consideration
??!?!?!?!? Yeah, she was hilarious, but this is a no for #1. And GOD this movie was so, so bad. Christopher Guest, I am severely disappointed.

TOP TEN LEAD ACTRESS PERFORMANCES
10. Imelda Staunton, Vera Drake
She was insanely good in this, yup.
9. Ellen Page, Juno
I'm not sure if she'd be in my top ten, but she really was awesome. I don't think this was an easy role to pull off without coming off as ridiculous, but she did it. She was the heart and soul of this movie and the main reason why it ultimately succeeded.
8. Sienna Miller, Interview
Oh God I love you for including her here. SO GREAT and nobody saw it.
7. Nicole Kidman, Dogville
Ditto.
6. Penelope Cruz, Volver
This performance is really overrated. Good, not great.
5. Charlize Theron, Monster
I'm not sure I would have her SO high on this list, but she was excellent.
4. Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Abso-friggin'-lutely.
3. Samantha Morton, Minority Report
I love this guy for including Samantha Morton in anything, but this was a supporting role. And she was even better in Morvern Callar the same year as this movie.
2. Julie Christie, Away from Her
I'm not sure she should be this high but at least it's not Marion Cotillard.
1. Diane Lane, Unfaithful
She's way too high, but this performance was just awesome.

TOP TEN LEAD ACTOR PERFORMANCES
10. Denzel Washington, Training Day
He was so awesome in this, and totally against character. He's really the only reason to watch this movie.
9. Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
I wouldn't put him this high but I fully approve any support of ESotSM, woot.
8. Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
I don't even remember if I saw Gran Torino or not. It didn't look very good. And heh, if I did see it, I obviously don't remember it.
7. Sean Penn, Mystic River
He was awesome, but he was in no way better than Bill Murray that year. Who does not appear on this list. Boooooo
6. Benicio del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire
Didn't see it, but I appreciate that whoever did this list is going for some more obscure performances that were really good (Miller, Kidman).
5. Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Yes. So so so good.
4. Johnny Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean
Sigh. No.
3. Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
Remember that naked wrestling scene? That was awesome. So was he (though I liked him better in A History of Violence).
2. Forest Whitaker, Last King of Scotland
He was awesome here. #2 of the decade, I dunno, but he was just so great.
1. George Clooney, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
#1? Uhhh that'd be a no. But I love the Cloons.

I may do my own list of these, keeping in mind that I feel like I haven't seen bupkiss from the past two years.

Entertainment Weekly's 50 Actors We'd Watch in Anything.

^ That lovely lady is named first for a reason. Part one, part two. And, of course, my thoughts.

Kate Winslet: Absolutely. She's not always in the greatest movies ever, but she's almost always absolutely amazing. Mediocre movies are made far better by her divine presence.
Alec Baldwin: Yeah, I will definitely watch him in anything too. Glengarry Glen Ross, The Departed, and 30 Rock are way more than enough to forever cement my love for him.
Jude Law: I'd stare at him in anything...does that count? Nah, there was 2004 when he was in like 5 movies, none of which were any better than a B-grade, but he was wonderful in most of them, Closer aside. He's given great performances in very uneven movies.
Philip Seymour Hoffman: He often plays ugly characters - physically and emotionally - so I'm not really running out to see his films. But, yes, extremely talented and I always catch up with his films.
Edie Falco: Yes. Never less than extremely good. Even in Freedomland!
Morgan Freeman: Probably the definition of an actor worth watching in anything. Simply marvelous, he brings gravitas and class to any production just by being in it.
Meryl Streep: Her too. Obviously we know she's a Great Actress, but now we know she knows how to bring the funny and creative. Yes, I will say it - she has yet to give a bad performance (Oscar-nominated that didn't deserve it, sure. But not bad. But I should note that I have yet to see Rendition and Lions for Lambs.).
Johnny Depp: No. I'd prefer to not watch him in anything, thanks.
Daniel Day-Lewis: Absolutely. His movie choices aren't always A+ but he's normally A+ in them. Now, if only there friggin' were more movies he was in...
Simon Pegg: Shrug. He's lovable...
Ryan Gosling: Probably not. He's amaaaaazing in Half Nelson, and I can't stress how good he was enough, but he's not good enough in anything else for me to say "Ryan Gosling? I'd see him in anything!" I should say I haven't seen The Believer or The United States of Leland, I guess.
Rosario Dawson: YES. I LOVE YOU, Entertainment Weekly. Probably one of the most underrated actresses in the business. Even when the movie's shit, she's usually great.
Don Cheadle: Yes. Never less than very solid, and he's got a great screen presence.
Kristin Bell: I still have never watched Veronica Mars. So I guess I can't talk.
Tony Leung: He's often good, even great, but I'm not going to run out and see anything because he's in it.
Nathan Fillon: Absolutely. Talented, likable, and charming. Can't say I've been watching Desperate Housewives because of him (I've stayed the heck away from that show for a while), though.
Emma Thompson: Again, absolutely. Even in crap she's wonderful, and has a great presence.
Denzel Washington: Often, his movies are so bad that I don't want to see them. But, as I think I've said before, he is a human charisma machine and I adore him. I think he's one of the most talented actors alive.
Cherry Jones: She's awesome, but she hasn't had a great role in the movies yet. And I certainly wouldn't run out to see a movie because she's in it.
Brendan Gleeson: Definition of a fantastic character actor.
Will Ferrell: Yeah, I probably would watch him in anything, and I gotta applaud EW for risking the "EWWWW WILL FERRELL!!!!! WORST ACTOR EVERRRRRR!!!!!!!" comments they'll probably get.
Catherine Keener: She's one of those character actresses that I think is terrifically boring a lot of the time. She gets roles with character but often makes them seem pretty generic.
Tom Selleck: Can't say I know much about his acting, but it's an inspired choice.
Patricia Clarkson: No. She's the boring, less talented Laura Linney. Her only great performances are High Art and The Station Agent, and though she deserved noms for both, she wasn't SPECTACULAR. I'm shocked at how overpraised she is in Far from Heaven, Pieces of April, and Dogville.
Paul Rudd: I'll see anything he's in just cuz he's so hot, quite frankly.
Amy Adams: Since Enchanted, YOU BET YOUR ASS. She brings effortless charm to everything.
George Clooney: Yesyesyes. EW's writeup of him is fucking brilliant.
Tommy Lee Jones: I never really appreciated him until 2007 with that double punch of Elah and No Country, but I kind of love him for it. Ugh, he was so amazing in those two movies...
Mos Def: Incredibly underrated actor. I wouldn't say I'd go see him in anything, but he's great.
Helen Mirren: I'd go see anything she's in just because she's made of awesome. I love that broad.
Sarah Polley: Her acting can be either excellent or horrendously dull, and her movie choices either amazing or awful, but she's certainly one to watch. I will worship her turn in The Sweet Hereafter forever.
Bill Nighy: He's the only bright spot of the entire Pirates series besides the techs. That's gotta count for something.
Christian Bale: I'd go see him in anything just to, you know, see him in anything. It helps that he's really talented too.
Joan Cusack: uhhh, not really.
Alan Rickman: YES. Even in crap, he's amazing and a great presence. LOVE HIM.
Javier Bardem: Probably. I definitely have to check out more of his earlier work...
Allison Janney: I didn't really like her all that much on The West Wing (lunacy?), but she's so cuddly and lovable in Juno...
Viggo Mortensen: Again, another one I'd go see just to see him, if you know what I mean.
Andre Braugher: Ya'll know I know every celebrity but... who??!??!?!
Regina King: She's fine, I guess. I don't get why her performance in Ray is so praised.
Steve Carell: FUCK YES. He can elevate even the worst crap (cough cough, 40-Year-Old Virgin, cough, though I can't say I've seen Evan Almighty), and he can bring the great to an even more amazing level (do I have to say it at this point?). He's one of the best comedic actors we've had, ever.
Paul Giamatti: Eh. He's not always great. He's so good in Sideways, though, that I'm forever on his side.
Mary Louise Parker: She's pretty overrated by her insane fans, of which there are a lot, but I absolutely adore her and think her whole stoned-seeming nature is totally charming. And yeah, she's really fantastic on Weeds, and obviously in Angels in America.
Clive Owen: Oh, Clive. You know I love you, but...no. Yes, he was amaaaaazing in Closer and he's often really good, but he's also often really bad (Derailed?!?!?!?!). His movie choices aren't always great. Though, I kind of like seeing movies to again, see him, you know?
Jeffrey Wright: FUCK YES. One of the greatest actors alive, maybe even of all time. And yes, I'm willing to say that on the strength of his performances in Basquiat and Angels in America alone. The latter is, if we're counting it, easily the second-best male performance of the 2000s...
Julianne Moore: No, absolutely not. Yes, she can be divine. But she can also suck hard. And lately, her work's been so bad, and the likes of Safe and Far from Heaven seem sooooo far away. Though, yeah, Blindness looks like a return to form.
Neil Patrick Harris: YES. He's an absolutely incredible character actor. Trying to decide an Emmy Supporting Actor in a Comedy winner must be a nightmare between him, Jeremy Piven in Entourage, Rainn Wilson, and John Krasinski (c'mon Emmy Academy. You're gonna nominate JKras one of these days right? RIGHT???!?!!??!?!).
Colin Firth: Yup, absolutely. He owns the "charming Brit" role, even more than Hugh Grant.
Laura Linney: FUCKING DUH.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: Not so much. I really liked him in Mysterious Skin, but...

And that's that.

Pulpy Nominations for the acting Oscar winners of the 2000s.

JAVIER BARDEM
Best Actor 1998 - Live Flesh
Best Supporting Actor 2007 - No Country for Old Men

RUSSELL CROWE
Best Actor 1997 - L.A. Confidential
Best Actor 1999 - The Insider
Best Actor 2000 - Gladiator
Best Actor 2001 - A Beautiful Mind

SEAN PENN
Best Supporting Actor 1982 - Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Best Supporting Actor 1993 - Carlito's Way
Best Actor 1995 - Dead Man Walking
Best Actor 2003 - Mystic River

DENZEL WASHINGTON
Best Supporting Actor 1987 - Cry Freedom
Best Supporting Actor 1989 - Glory
Best Actor 1992 - Malcolm X *
Best Actor 2001 - Training Day

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
Best Supporting Actor 1985 - My Beautiful Laundrette *
Best Actor 1989 - My Left Foot *
Best Actor 1993 - In the Name of the Father
Best Actor 2002 - Gangs of New York
Best Actor 2007 - There Will Be Blood *

JAMIE FOXX
None, but I adore him in Ray.

PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
Best Supporting Actor 1999 - Magnolia
Best Supporting Actor 2000 - Almost Famous
Best Supporting Actor 2002 - Punch-Drunk Love
Best Supporting Actor 2007 - Charlie Wilson's War

FOREST WHITAKER
Best Actor 1988 - Bird (probably. 1988 is just maybe the best year for lead male acting ever. Insanely great quality and insanely great quantity combine to make AWESOME.)
Best Actor 2006 - Last King of Scotland

GEORGE CLOONEY
Best Actor 1988 - Out of Sight
Best First Film 2002 - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Best Original Screenplay 2005 - Good Night, and Good Luck. *

BENICIO DEL TORO
Best Supporting Actor 2000 - Traffic *

JIM BROADBENT
Best Supporting Actor 2001 - Moulin Rouge!

CHRIS COOPER
Best Supporting Actor 2002 - Adaptation.

TIM ROBBINS
Best Actor 1990 - Jacob's Ladder
Best Actor 1992 - The Player
Best Actor 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption
Best Adapted Screenplay 1995 - Dead Man Walking
Best Supporting Actor 2003 - Mystic River *

MORGAN FREEMAN
Best Supporting Actor 1987 - Street Smart *
Best Supporting Actor 1992 - Unforgiven (if one counts the Glengarry boys as a unit)
Best Actor 1994 - The Shawshank Redemption
Best Supporting Actor 2003 - Bruce Almighty (I'm cheeky)
Best Supporting Actor 2004 - Million Dollar Baby

ALAN ARKIN
None. But I haven't seen a lot of his early stuff.

JULIA ROBERTS
None.

HALLE BERRY
None.

NICOLE KIDMAN
Best Actress 1995 - To Die For
Best Supporting Actress 1999 - Eyes Wide Shut *
Best Actress 2001 - Moulin Rouge! and The Others
Best Actress 2004 - Dogville and Birth
Best Actress 2007 - Margot at the Wedding

RENEE ZELLWEGER
Best Actress 2000 - Nurse Betty
Best Actress 2001 - Bridget Jones' Diary
Best Supporting Actress 2003 - Cold Mountain

CHARLIZE THERON
Best Actress 2003 - Monster

HILARY SWANK
Best Actress 1999 - Boys Don't Cry *

REESE WITHERSPOON
Best Actress 1991 - Man in the Moon
Best Actress 1996 - Freeway
Best Actress 1999 - Election

HELEN MIRREN
Best Actress 1990 - The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover *
Best Supporting Actress 1994 - The Madness of King George
Best Supporting Actress 2001 - Gosford Park
I need to rewatch The Mosquito Coast and I need to see White Nights.

MARION COTILLARD
You're very funny.

CATE BLANCHETT
Best Actress 1998 - Elizabeth
Best Actress 2000 - The Gift

MARCIA GAY HARDEN
None.

JENNIFER CONNELLY
Best Supporting Actress 2000 - Requiem for a Dream *
Worst Supporting Actress 2001 - A Beautiful Mind *

CATHERINE ZETA-JONES
Best Supporting Actress 2002 - Chicago *

RACHEL WEISZ
Best Actress 2005 - The Constant Gardener *

JENNIFER HUDSON
None. I am a supporter of her Oscar-winning performance, however. I mean, Rinko or Cate could have won, and that would have been really horrendous.

TILDA SWINTON
Best Supporting Actress 2007 - Michael Clayton

SO BORED.

10 Under 30.

Because 30 WAS really hard. My own personal lists. And yes, I know I said some of these (especially the guys) were overrated, but damn, are there any good male actors under 30? I miss you Heath :( He'd probably be #2. Click the names to celebrate the pretty.

Guys
1. Jake Gyllenhaal
2. John Krasinski
3. James McAvoy
4. Topher Grace (it's too bad he sucked as Venom and that's what he'll probably be remembered for.)
5. Haley Joel Osment (not as of late, but damn, The Sixth Sense and A.I.)
6. Ryan Gosling
7. Seth Rogen
8. Michael Cera
9. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
10. Ben Foster

Girls
1. Scarlett Johansson
2. Kirsten Dunst
3. Christina Ricci
4. America Ferrera
5. Sarah Polley
6. Rosario Dawson
7. Katherine Heigl
8. Michelle Williams
9. Zooey Deschanel
10. Bryce Dallas Howard (actually remarkably talented, and not getting by on just connections. Too bad she's in such awful movies...)

30 Under 30: The Women.

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!

I do love popping in to IMDb sometimes...

...not to post, just to see what people are going on about. And I found this thread that asked me to rate contemporary actresses. So, I did, and I threw in quite a few originals of my own. Of course, this is how I feel right now...

Nicole Kidman - 9/10
Keira Knightley - 3/10
Audrey Tautou - 6/10
Anne Hathaway - 1.5/10
Rachel McAdams - 6/10
Kate Winslet - 15/10 *
Cate Blanchett - 7/10
Emily Blunt - 3/10
Ellen Page - 6/10
Angelina Jolie - 6.5/10
Laura Linney - 60/10 **
Renee Zellweger - 7/10
Ziyi Zhang - 5/10
Kirsten Dunst - 7.5/10
Jennifer Connelly - 6.5/10
Samantha Morton - 10/10
Meryl Streep - 10/10
Parker Posey - 3/10
Frances McDormand - 8/10
Catherine Zeta-Jones - 4/10
Naomi Watts - 7/10
Reese Witherspoon - 8/10
Tilda Swinton - 6/10
Gwyneth Paltrow - 8/10
Scarlett Johansson - 7/10
Uma Thurman - 6/10 (lately. Please, Uma, do another Kill Bill........)
Cameron Diaz - 7/10
Maggie Gyllenhaal - 8/10
Jodie Foster - 10/10
Julianne Moore - 8/10
Emily Watson - 8.5/10
Toni Collette - 8.5/10
Amy Adams - 7.5/10 (haven't seen Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, and I kind of expect this to go up to an 8 afterward.)
Patricia Clarkson - 7/10
Marcia Gay Harden - 7/10
Jennifer Garner - 7/10
Hilary Swank - 4/10
Natalie Portman - 5/10
Claire Danes - 3/10
Christina Ricci - 5/10

* that's not supposed to be a 1.5
** that's not supposed to be a 6

I'm inspired by IMDb polls.

^ Because she is awesome, and her dress in this picture is totally awesome

So a few days ago, the poll was actresses without Oscar noms. Today, the poll is actors without Oscar noms. So, I was inspired: the Pulpy nominations of both the ladies and the gentlemen without Oscar nominations.

Scarlett Johansson
Best Supporting Actress 1998 - The Horse Whisperer
Best Actress 2003 - Lost in Translation *
A finalist for Ghost World, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Match Point; semi-finalist for A Love Song for Bobby Long and Scoop; honorable mention for The Prestige (in which I liked her, so suck it)

Maggie Gyllenhaal
Best Actress 2002 - Secretary
A finalist for Happy Endings, Sherrybaby, and Stranger than Fiction; an honorable mention for World Trade Center and Trust the Man

Christina Ricci
Best Supporting Actress 1993 - Addams Family Values
Best Supporting Actress 1997 - The Ice Storm
Best Actress 1998 - Buffalo '66
A finalist for The Opposite of Sex (though she got a nom for Buffalo '66 the same year) and, currently, Black Snake Moan

Jennifer Jason Leigh
Best Actress 1989 - Last Exit to Brooklyn *
Best Actress 1994 - Ms. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Best Supporting Actress 1994 - The Hudsucker Proxy
Best Supporting Actress 1995 - Dolores Claiborne
A finalist for Single White Female

Tilda Swinton
none, a semi-finalist for The Deep End

Maria Bello
Best Supporting Actress 2005 - A History of Violence
A semi-finalist for The Cooler and an honorary mention for World Trade Center

Parker Posey
none; finalist for Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman

Rachel McAdams
none; finalist for Mean Girls and a semi-finalist for Red Eye

Claire Danes
none; finalist for Shopgirl and currently a semi-finalist for Stardust

Kirsten Dunst
Best Supporting Actress 1994 - Interview with the Vampire
Best Supporting Actress 2000 - The Virgin Suicides
Best Supporting Actress 2004 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Best Actress 2006 - Marie-Antoinette (likely, but I've change my Actress 2006 lineup a million times.)
A semi-finalist for Drop Dead Gorgeous, crazy/beautiful, and Dick

Ziyi Zhang
Best Actress 2000 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Best Supporting Actress 2005 - 2046

Sarah Polley
Best Supporting Actress 1997 - The Sweet Hereafter *
A finalist for My Life without Me and (currently) for directing Away from Her

Thandie Newton
none

Emily Mortimer
none, a finalist for Lovely and Amazing and a semi-finalist for Match Point

Emily Blunt
needless to say, none...an honorable mention for The Devil Wears Prada

Gary Oldman
Best Actor 1986 - Sid and Nancy
Best Supporting Actor 1991 - JFK
Currently a semi-finalist for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Christian Bale
Best Actor 1987 - Empire of the Sun
Best Actor 2000 - American Psycho *
Best Actor 2007 - Rescue Dawn * (currently)
Finalist for The Machinist and an honorable mention for Batman Begins and The Prestige

Alan Rickman
Best Supporting Actor 1988 - Die Hard *
Best Actor 1991 - Truly Madly Deeply
Best Actor 1996 - Rasputin (if you count TV movies)
Best Actor 2004 - Something the Lord Made (if you count TV movies)
An honorable mention for Love Actually and, of course, as Snape.

Steve Buscemi
Best Supporting Actor 1996 - Fargo
Best Supporting Actor 2001 - Ghost World
Best Actor 2007 - Interview (currently)
A finalist for Reservoir Dogs

Ewan McGregor
Best Actor 2001 - Moulin Rouge!
A finalist for Transpotting and a semi-finalist for Down with Love

Alfred Molina
none, a semi-finalist for Boogie Nights and Spider-Man 2

Bill Nighy
Best Supporting Actor 2003 - Love Actually
A semi-finalist for Still Crazy

Cillian Murphy
none, a semi-finalist for Breakfast on Pluto and an honorable mention for 28 Days Later...

Paul Bettany
none, a finalist for Dogville and a semi-finalist for Master and Commander

Chiwetel Ejiofor
none, a finalist for Dirty Pretty Things

Daniel Craig
none, a finalist for Casino Royale

Andy Serkis
none, a finalist for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Joseph Fiennes
none

Stellan Skarsgard
none

Peter Stormare
none

Robert Carlyle
none, a semi-finalist for Trainspotting

because random rankings are fun...

in blog/board world... I tried to be as objective as possible, which means you'll see actors and actresses I really like in the Overrated section and such... and note these are blogs/boards, not the Academy, in which case some of these would shift around a lot

Overrated
Johnny Depp
Cate Blanchett
Parker Posey
Emily Blunt
Anne Hathaway
Annette Bening
Gael Garcia Bernal
Keira Knightley
James McAvoy
Anthony Hopkins
Ben Kingsley
Marlon Brando
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jake Gyllenhaal
James Dean
Ryan Gosling
Heath Ledger (pre-BBM. Yeah, he was great, but dammit, you're a Pro-keback. Stop pretending you gave him the Oscar for Monster's Ball back in 2001.)
Ewan McGregor
River Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix
Jim Carrey
Gary Oldman
Sean Penn
Audrey Hepburn (I LOVE her. but GREAT actress? no.)
Vivien Leigh
Julianne Moore
Uma Thurman
Diane Keaton
Rachel McAdams
Helena Bonham Carter
Eva Green
Susan Sarandon
Naomi Watts
Ziyi Zhang
Tilda Swinton
Thora Birch
Winona Ryder
Michelle Pfeiffer
Toni Collette (though I adore her to all hell)
Patricia Clarkson

Underrated
Kevin Bacon
Alec Baldwin
Richard Burton
Steve Buscemi
Steve Carell
Michael Caine
Russell Crowe
Tom Cruise (okay, he's BATSHIT CRAZY. But when he wants to be, he's a really terrific actor, and everyone forgot that)
Colin Firth
Topher Grace
Alec Guinness
Tom Hanks (nobody likes him just cuz he won two Oscars)
Ed Harris
Dustin Hoffman (everyone's like BLAH BLAH BLAH NICHOLSON or BLAH BLAH BLAH PACINO or BLAH BLAH BLAH DE NIRO and poor Dustin gets ignored)
William Holden
Jack Lemmon
Steve Martin
Robert Mitchum
Sidney Poitier
Alan Rickman
Tim Robbins
Rod Steiger
Bruce Willis
Jeffrey Wright, love of my life
Ben Affleck (you know what? HE CAN ACT. HE REALLY CAN.)
Ian Holm
Anthony LaPaglia
Zero Mostel
Bill Nighy
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Hilary Swank
Rosario Dawson
Jennifer Garner
LAURA LINNEY
Samantha Morton
Gwyneth Paltrow
Thelma Ritter
Elisabeth Shue
Judy Davis
Kirsten Dunst
Anna Faris
Mia Farrow
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Diane Lane
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Christina Ricci
Eva Marie Sant
Lily Tomlin
Dianne Wiest
Charlize Theron

Weirdly Both Underrated and Overrated
Al Pacino
Jack Nicholson
Robert De Niro
Nicole Kidman
Scarlett Johansson
Natalie Portman
Kathy Bates
Imelda Staunton
Frances McDormand
Catherine O'Hara
Judi Dench
Maggie Smith
Laura Dern
Katharine Hepburn
Gong Li

Worthy of the Worship
Liv Ullmann
Bette Davis
Kate Winslet
Ralph Fiennes
Daniel Day-Lewis
Helen Mirren
Meryl Streep
Edward Norton
Bruce Campbell
Robert Downey Jr.
Bill Murray
Liam Neeson
Paul Newman
Denzel Washington
Gregory Peck
Peter O'Toole
Jodie Foster
Glenn Close
Holly Hunter
Elizabeth Taylor
Reese Witherspoon

someone please explain this thing's appeal

Yes, that's a purposefully bad picture. You're not gonna find ALL THAT MUCH better if you look online, though.

Keira Knightley. I don't think she's particularly pretty, though she can be if she really really tries. She's certainly not sexy. And here's the important thing, people: she has one really good performance. She was awesome in Pride and Prejudice, but in everything else she's been nothing better than serviceable (Bend it Like Beckham) to terrible (pretty much everything else). Look, I hope she's great in Atonement. I want someone, anyone, to kick the Blanchett's ass this year. But this chick's got massive hype and unlike the Blanchett, she hasn't done very much to deserve it (I don't wanna hear "Pirates makes a gazillion dollars blah blah blah." You know they could cast ANY actor/actress as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann and nobody would care).

Not enough love for these guys.

^ the lovely and talented Ms. Collette is pretty much the definition of underappreciated (by the Academy, not by bloggers and the like), no? (Though I'm pretty sure none of her performances appear anywhere in this entry. WHOOOOPS) So being a dork of all types, I have nominees in all acting categories for every year beyond the top 5. Because I'm oh so very cool, I have decided to list my "not enough love" nominees. No, these people weren't as good as the people I nominated (that's why I nominated them... but yeah, some of my nominees for various years are here as well), but these represent good performances that I feel were ignored by both Academy-types and online-types. Please note, I needed 5, so sometimes I just went with the 5 least noticed performances, even if one or two of them may have indeed garnered widespread acclaim and nominations.

1995
Best Actor - Robert De Niro, Heat; Ethan Hawke, Before Sunrise; Al Pacino, Heat; Linus Roache, Priest; Bruce Willis, 12 Monkeys
Best Actress - Victoria Abril, French Twist; Toni Collette, Muriel's Wedding; Julie Delpy, Before Sunrise; Gong Li, Shanghai Triad; Alicia Silverstone, Clueless
Best Supporting Actor - Don Cheadle, Devil in a Blue Dress; Robert Downey Jr., Home for the Holidays; Val Kilmer, Heat; John Leguizamo, To Wong Foo...; Tim Roth, Rob Roy
Best Supporting Actress - Ileana Douglas, To Die For; Anjelica Houston, The Crossing Guard; Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dolores Claiborne; Ashley Judd, Smoke; Mia Kirshner, Exotica

1996
Best Actor - Philip Baker Hall, Hard Eight; Chris Cooper, Lone Star; Liam Neeson, Michael Collins; Stanley Tucci, Big Night; James Woods, Killer: A Journal of Murder
Best Actress - Laura Dern, Citizen Ruth; Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma; Lily Taylor, I Shot Andy Warhol; Reese Witherspoon, Freeway; Robin Wright Penn, Moll Flanders
Best Supporting Actor - Derek Jacobi, Hamlet; Kevin Spacey, A Time to Kill; Noah Taylor, Shine; Vince Vaughn, Swingers; James Woods, Ghosts of Mississippi
Best Supporting Actress - Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets and Lies (Oscar nominee, I know...); Rose McGowan, Scream; Gwyneth Paltrow, Hard Eight; Natalie Portman, Beautiful Girls; Kate Winslet, Hamlet

1997
Best Actor - Aaron Eckhart, In the Company of Men; Kevin Kline, The Ice Storm; Clive Owen, Bent; Al Pacino, Donnie Brasco; Mark Wahlberg, Boogie Nights
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett, Oscar and Lucinda; Pam Grier, Jackie Brown; Jennifer Lopez, Selena; Julia Roberts, My Best Friend's Wedding; Victoire Thivsol, Ponette
Best Supporting Actor - Rupert Everett, My Best Friend's Wedding; Samuel L. Jackson, Eve's Bayou; Jude Law, Gattaca; Alfred Molina, Boogie Nights; Philip Seymour Hoffman, Boogie Nights
Best Supporting Actress - Stacy Edwards, In the Company of Men; Linda Fiorentino, Men in Black; Bridget Fonda, Jackie Brown; Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter; Parker Posey, Waiting for Guffman

1998
Best Actor - Javier Bardem, Live Flesh; George Clooney, Out of Sight; Robert Downey Jr., Two Girls and a Guy; Jason Schwartzman, Rushmore; Ray Winstone, Nil by Mouth
Best Actress - Jane Adams, Happiness; Samantha Morton, Under the Skin; Gwyneth Paltrow, Sliding Doors; Christina Ricci, Buffalo '66; Chloe Sevigny, The Last Days of Disco
Best Supporting Actor - Dylan Baker, Happiness; Matt Dillon, There's Something About Mary; Brendan Frasier, Gods and Monsters; Steve Martin, The Spanish Prisoner; Bill Nighy, Still Crazy
Best Supporting Actress - Patricia Clarkson, High Art; Kimberly Elise, Beloved; Scarlett Johansson, The Horse Whisperer; Meryl Streep, Dancing at Lughnasa; Olivia Williams, Rushmore

1999
Best Actor - Brad Pitt, Fight Club; Terrence Stamp, The Limey; and everyone else on my list is either an Oscar nominee or very widely acclaimed
Best Actress - Elodie Bouchez, The Dreamlife of Angels; Elaine Cassidy, Felicia's Journey; Heather Donahue, The Blair Witch Project; Sigourney Weaver, A Map of the World; Kate Winslet, Holy Smoke!
Best Supporting Actor - Rhys Ifans, Notting Hill; Spike Jonze, Three Kings; Bill Murray, Cradle Will Rock; Alan Rickman, Dogma; Peter Sarsgaard, Boys Don't Cry
Best Supporting Actress - Lara Belmont, The War Zone; Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut (nobody talks about this performance for her. Weird); Gwyneth Paltrow, The Talented Mr. Ripley (of course, Blandshit gets all the attention for a 2-minute, nothing part); Sarah Polley, Go; Mena Suvari, American Beauty (way better than Birch)

2000
Best Actor - Billy Crudup, Jesus' Son; John Cusack, High Fidelity; Dan Futterman, Urbania; Jared Leto, Requiem for a Dream; Forest Whitaker, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Best Actress - Gillian Anderson, The House of Mirth; Cate Blanchett, The Gift; Michelle Pfeiffer, What Lies Beneath; Michelle Rodriguez, Girlfight; Michelle Yeoh, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (yay for...Michelles)
Best Supporting Actor - Jack Black, High Fidelity; Rory Culkin, You Can Count on Me; Bill Murray, Hamlet; Brad Pitt, Snatch.; Jeffrey Wright, Shaft
Best Supporting Actress - Catherine Deneuve, Dancer in the Dark; Laura Linney, The House of Mirth; Lupe Ontiveros, Chuck and Buck; Rebecca Pidgeon, State and Main; Parker Posey, Best in Show

2001
Best Actor - Eric Bana, Chopper; Anthony LaPaglia, Lantana; William H. Macy, Panic; Ben Stiller, Zoolander; Ray Winstone, Sexy Beast
Best Actress - Kirsten Dunst, crazy/beautiful; Lena Endre, Faithless; Piper Perabo, Lost and Delirious; Franka Potente, The Princess and the Warrior; Brooke Smith, Series 7: The Contenders
Best Supporting Actor - Brian Cox, L.I.E.; Will Ferrell, Zoolander; Colin Firth, Bridget Jones' Diary; Justin Theroux, Mulholland Dr.; Luke Wilson, The Royal Tenenbaums
Best Supporting Actress - Kerry Armstrong, Lantana; Rachael Blake, Lantana; Frances O'Connor, AI: Artificial Intelligence; Miriam Shor, Hedwig and the Angry Inch; Uma Thurman, Tape

2002
Best Actor - Javier Camara, Talk to Her; Greg Kinnear, Auto Focus; James Nesbitt, Bloody Sunday; Campbell Scott, Roger Dodger; Nasseeruddin Shah, Monsoon Wedding
Best Actress - except Samantha Morton Morvern Callar, who was easily the best of the year (owns both Nicole and Julianne's behinds) there is nobody without very wide acclaim and awards support.
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin, Thirteen Conversations...; Ray Liotta, Narc; Benoit Magimel, The Piano Teacher; Barry Pepper, 25th Hour; Philip Seymour Hoffman, 25th Hour
Best Supporting Actress - Amy Adams, Catch Me If You Can; Rosario Dawson, 25th Hour; Kathleen McDermott, Morvern Callar; Emily Mortimer, Lovely and Amazing; Miranda Richardson, Spider

2003
Best Actor - Jack Black, School of Rock; Patty Considine, In America; Robert Downey Jr., The Singing Detective; Chiwetel Ejiofor, Dirty Pretty Things; Kevin Spacey, The Life of David Gale
Best Actress - Cate Blanchett, Veronica Guerin; Zooey Deschanel, All the Real Girls; Gwyneth Paltrow, Sylvia; Meg Ryan, In the Cut; Renee Zellweger, Down with Love
Best Supporting Actor - Bobby Cannavale, The Station Agent; Colin Firth, Love Actually; Hugh Grant, Love Actually; Bill Nighy, Love Actually; Geoffrey Rush, Pirates of the Carribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Best Supporting Actress - Laura Linney, The Life of David Gale; Laura Linney, Love Actually; Lucy Liu, Kill Bill, Vol. 1; Frances McDormand, Laurel Canyon; Natalie Portman, Cold Mountain

2004
Best Actor - Christian Bale, The Machinist; Billy Crudup, Stage Beauty; Jude Law, Alfie; Tobey Maguire, Spider-Man 2; Sean Penn, The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Best Actress - Laura Dern, We Don't Live Here Any More; Jennifer Garner, 13 Going on 30; Scarlett Johansson, A Love Song for Bobby Long; Julia Roberts, Closer; Reese Witherspoon, Vanity Fair
Best Supporting Actor - Antonio Banderas, Shrek 2; Steve Carell, Anchorman; Ben Gazzarra, Dogville; Topher Grace, In Good Company; Jude Law, I Heart Huckabees
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett, Coffee and Cigarettes (worlds better than in The Aviator); Kirsten Dunst, Eternal Sunshine...; Sandra Oh, Sideways; Kyra Sedgwick, The Woodsman; Lily Tomlin, I Heart Huckabees

2005
Best Actor - Christian Bale, Batman Begins; Steve Carell, The 40-Year-Old Virgin; Jake Gyllenhaal, Jarhead (though it seems kinda odd to be calling Jake underrated. Oh well. At least 2 Cate Blanchett performances got mentioned, so yeah.); Jonathan Rhys-Myers, Match Point; Vince Vaughn, Wedding Crashers
Best Actress - Claire Danes, Shopgirl; Embeth Davidtz, Junebug; Q'Orianka Kilcher, The New World; Rachel McAdams, Red Eye; Nathalie Press, My Summer of Love
Best Supporting Actor - George Clooney, Good Night, and Good Luck. (much better than in Syriana); Liam Neeson, Breakfast on Pluto; Edward Norton, Kingdom of Heaven; Michael Pena, Crash; Peter Sarsgaard, Jarhead
Best Supporting Actress - Rosario Dawson, Rent; Isla Fisher, Wedding Crashers; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Happy Endings; Gong Li, Memoirs of a Geisha; Emily Mortimer, Match Point

2006
Best Actor - Christian Bale, The Prestige; Joshua Jackson, Aurora Borealis; Heath Ledger, Candy; William H. Macy, Edmond; Edward Norton, Down in the Valley
Best Actress - Scarlett Johansson, Scoop; Nicole Kidman, Fur; Beyonce Knowles, Dreamgirls (seriously NOT THAT BAD); Melinda Page Hamilton, Sleeping Dogs Lie (I'm not sure this is so much underrated as just .04 people saw it, and well, it was never gonna get a wide distribution now was it); Rachel Weisz, The Fountain
Best Supporting Actor - Woody Allen, Scoop; David Bowie, The Prestige; Doug Jones, Pan's Labyrinth; Ian McKellen, The Da Vinci Code; Kevin Spacey, Superman Returns
Best Supporting Actress - Jessica Biel, The Illusionist; Jill Clayburgh, Running with Scissors; Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stranger than Fiction; Frances McDormand, Friends with Money; Kate Winslet, Romance and Cigarettes

Yeah, some of my choices might look wonky to you (Woody Allen in Scoop comes to mind). But, give these performances some love! Or at least check 'em out.

sigh, boredom.

here's a random picture of Edward Norton, because he's cute, and this entry is a lot of text, and he's on here. Somewhere.

So I went back to the Screen Directory and found their lists of both classic and contemporary actors and actresses. And then, I listed both their best performances and best movies (that they appeared in at all - even as cameos or really minor parts before they were known). Really exciting, I know. And I copied and pasted this, so it's not capitalized or anything.

actors - classic.

cary grant
p: north by northwest
m: bringing up baby

marlon brando
p: last tango in paris
m: the godfather

james stewart
p: mr. smith goes to washington
m: vertigo

laurence olivier
p: hamlet
m: marathon man?

alec guinness
p: bridge on the river kwai
m: great expectations

robert de niro
p: raging bull
m: raging bull

jack nicholson
p: one flew over the cuckoo's nest
m: one flew over the cuckoo's nest

al pacino
p: the godfather, part 2
m: angels in america

peter sellers
p: dr. strangelove, or...
m: lolita

clint eastwood
p: unforgiven
m: unforgiven (or mystic river, if we can count directing only)

harrison ford
p: witness
m: raiders of the lost ark

jack lemmon
p: glengarry glen ross
m: some like it hot

clark gable
p: gone with the wind (he is better than leigh)
m: it happened one night

kirk douglas (holy shit, i looked him up on imdb and he is old)
p: to be honest, i have no idea. i really haven't seen much of his early work in a while. paths of glory?
m: see above.

henry fonda
p: 12 angry men
m: 12 angry men


actresses - classic.

katharine hepburn
p: the lion in winter
m: also probably the lion in winter. but there's a lot to choose from.

bette davis
p: all about eve
m: all about eve

ingrid bergman
p: autumn sonata
m: casablanca

greta garbo
p: honestly, i haven't watched ANYTHING she's in, except grand hotel which was terrible.
m: see above

elizabeth taylor
p: who's afraid of virginia woolf?
m: who's afraid of virginia woolf?

judi dench
p: notes on a scandal
m: shakespeare in love

lauren bacall
p: to have and have not
m: dogville. AND I'M NOT KIDDING!

audrey hepburn
p: breakfast at tiffany's
m: roman holiday

vivien leigh
p: a streetcar named desire
m: a streetcar named desire

deborah kerr
p: black narcissus
m: from here to eternity

vanessa redgrave
p: blow-up
m: evening. j/k, blow-up.

meryl streep
p: sophie's choice
m: angels in america (or manhattan. please help me make a decision.)

susan hayward
p: i want to live!
m: i want to live! (please note: i've only seen that and i'll cry tomorrow as far as movies she's in.)

shirley maclaine
p: irma la douce
m: the apartment

norma shearer
huh? who are you? (yes, i know who she is. i've just never seen any of her movies, except the women and romeo and juliet, and i haven't seen that last one in a while, and i didn't really find her terribly good in the women.


actors - contemporary.

philip seymour hoffman
p: magnolia
m: magnolia

edward norton
p: american history x
m: 25th hour

sean penn
p: dead man walking
m: mystic river

christian bale
p: american psycho
m: newsies (shh)

leonardo dicaprio
p: the departed
m: the departed

johnny depp
p: ed wood
m: ed wood

russell crowe
p: the insider
m: l.a. confidential

denzel washington
p: malcolm x
m: inside man

jack nicholson
p: one flew over the cuckoo's nest (90s and on only: about schmidt)
m: one flew over the cuckoo's nest (90s and on only: the departed)

joaquin phoenix
p: walk the line
m: gladiator

kevin spacey
p: american beauty
m: american beauty

ralph fiennes
p: schindler's list
m: schindler's list

tom hanks
p: forrest gump
m: toy story

geoffrey rush
p: the life and death of peter sellers
m: shakespeare in love

paul giamatti
p: sideways
m: the truman show


actresses - contemporary.

cate blanchett
p: elizabeth
m: the talented mr. ripley

nicole kidman
p: dogville
m: moulin rouge!

kate winslet
p: eternal sunshine...
m: eternal sunshine...

hilary swank
p: boys don't cry
m: million dollar baby

reese witherspoon
p: election
m: election

renee zellweger
p: bridget jones' diary
m: chicago

juliette binoche
p: three colors blue
m: three colors blue

jennifer connelly
p: requiem for a dream
m: requiem for a dream

rachel weisz
p: the constant gardener
m: the fountain

maggie gyllenhaal
p: secretary
m: adaptation.

charlize theron
p: monster
m: that thing you do! (okay you know what. i really like that movie. probably just because the song IS AWESOME.)

rachel mcadams
p: mean girls
m: mean girls

julianne moore
p: safe
m: magnolia

toni collette
p: muriel's wedding
m: muriel's wedding

naomi watts
p: mulholland dr.
m: the painted veil

Returning to The Screen Directory...

Remember this? So, I was really bored and I decided to list my nominations for their top 15 actors and actresses. Here goes! For every actor/actress, I have only included their 1990s and 2000s work (sorry Jack.).


the gentlemen

philip seymour hoffman
1999 - best supporting actor, magnolia (loses to tom cruise magnolia)
2000 - best supporting actor, almost famous (loses to mark ruffalo you can count on me)
top 10s for capote (2005), top 15s for the talented mr. ripley (1999), 25th hour (2002), and owning mahoney (2003)

edward norton
1996 - best supporting actor, primal fear *
1996 - best supporting actor, the people vs. larry flynt (loses to...himself)
1998 - best actor, american history x (loses to ian mckellen gods and monsters)
2002 - best actor, 25th hour (loses to jack nicholson about schmidt)
top 10s for fight club (1999), top 20s for the painted veil (2006)

sean penn
1993 - best supporting actor, carlito's way (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list)
1995 - best actor, dead man walking (loses to nicolas cage leaving las vegas)
2003 - best actor, mystic river (loses to bill murray lost in translation)
top 10s for sweet and lowdown (1999) and 21 grams (2003), top 15s for the assassination of richard nixon (2004). and i still haven't seen much of his 80s stuff.

christian bale
2000 - best actor, american psycho *
top 10s for the machinist (2004), top 20s for batman begins (2005), top 30s for the prestige (2006) (last year was really strong for actors, he was quite good)

leonardo dicaprio
1993 - best supporting actor, what's eating gilbert grape? (loses to ralph fiennes schindler's list) 2006 - best actor, the departed (loses to ryan gosling half nelson)
top 10s for catch me if you can (2002), top 15s for the aviator (2004)

johnny depp
none. top 10s for ed wood (1994) - he's great, but i can't imagine taking anyone out of my top 6 (he's #7)

russell crowe
1997 - best actor, l.a. confidential (loses to ian holm the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actor, the insider (loses to kevin spacey american beauty)
2000 - best actor, gladiator (loses to christian bale american psycho)
2001 - best actor, a beautiful mind *
top 10s for master and commander (2003), top 15s for cinderella man (2005), top 25s for a good year (seriously) (2006)

denzel washington
1992 - best actor, malcolm x *
2001 - best actor, training day (loses to russell crowe a beautiful mind)
top 25s for inside man (2006)

jack nicholson (remember, 1990s and after only)
2002 - best actor, about schmidt *
top 10s for as good as it gets (1997) and the pledge (2001), top 15s for the departed (2006)

joaquin phoenix
none. top 10 for quills (2000) and top 15 for walk the line (2005)

kevin spacey
1995 - best supporting actor, the usual suspects *
1997 - best supporting actor, l.a. confidential *
1999 - best actor, american beauty *
top 10s for henry & june (1990), the ref (1994), a time to kill (1996), hurlyburly (1998), and the life of david gale (2003), top 20s for superman returns (2006)

ralph fiennes
1993 - best supporting actor, schindler's list *
1996 - best actor, the english patient (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
2005 - best actor, the constant gardener (loses to heath ledger brokeback mountain)
top 15s for spider (2002) and he's also really good in red dragon, believe it or not...i need to put him in my lineup somewhere

tom hanks
1994 - best actor, forrest gump (loses to paul newman nobody's fool)
2000 - best actor, cast away (loses to christian bale american psycho)
top 10s for philadelphia (1993)

geoffrey rush
1996 - best actor, shine (loses to jeffrey wright basquiat)
top 15s for shakespeare in love and elizabeth (1998), quills (2000), and pirates of the carribbean: the curse of the black pearl (2003)

paul giamatti
2004 - best actor, sideways (loses to clive owen closer)
top 15s for the illusionist (2006), cinderella man (2005), and american splendor (2003)


the ladies

cate blanchett
1998 - best actress, elizabeth (loses to samantha morton under the skin)
2000 - best actress, the gift (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
top 10s for oscar and lucinda (1997), heaven (2002), veronica guerin (2003), coffee and cigarettes (2004), and the good german (2006)

nicole kidman
1995 - best actress, to die for (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, eyes wide shut *
2001 - best actress, moulin rouge! (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2001 - best actress, the others (yes, nominated twice)
2004 - best actress, dogville (loses to kate winslet eternal sunshine...)
2004 - best actress, birth (yes, nominated twice...again)
top 15 for fur (2006)

kate winslet (and the fangirlyness starts!!!)
1994 - best actress, heavenly creatures (loses to linda fiorentino the last seduction)
1995 - best supporting actress, sense and sensibility *
1996 - best supporting actress, hamlet (loses to frances mcdormand fargo)
1999 - best actress, holy smoke! (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2000 - best supporting actress, quills (loses to jennifer connelly requiem for a dream)
2001 - best supporting actress, iris *
2004 - best actress, eternal sunshine of the spotless mind *
2006 - best actress, little children (loses to meryl streep the devil wears prada)
top 10s for jude (1996) and hideous kinky (1998)

hilary swank
1999 - best actress, boys don't cry *
top 15s for million dollar baby (2004)

reese witherspoon
1996 - best actress, freeway (loses to emily watson breaking the waves)
1999 - best actress, election (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2005 - best actress, walk the line (loses to rachel weisz the constant gardener)
top 10 for man on the moon (1991) and legally blonde (2001), top 15 for vanity fair (2004)

renee zellweger
2000 - best actress, nurse betty (loses to ellen burstyn requiem for a dream)
2001 - best actress, bridget jones' diary (loses to naomi watts mulholland dr.)
2003 - best supporting actress, cold mountain (loses to holly hunter thirteen)
top 10s for jerry maguire (1996) and chicago (2002), top 15s for down with love (2003)

juliette binoche
1991 - best actress, lovers on the bridge (loses to jodie foster silence of the lambs)
1994 - best actress, three colors: blue (loses to holly hunter the piano)
top 10s for the english patient (1996)

jennifer connelly
2000 - best supporting actress, requiem for a dream *
top 10s for house of sand and fog (2003)

rachel weisz
2005 - best actress, the constant gardener *
top 15s for the fountain (2006) (can't decide if she's supporting or leading. currently i have her as lead...in supporting, i would nominate her.)

maggie gyllenhaal
2002 - best actress, secretary (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for sherrybaby (2006) and happy endings (2005), top 20s for stranger than fiction (2006), top 30s for world trade center (2006)

charlize theron
2003 - best actress, monster (loses to uma thurman kill bill and scarjo lost in translation)

rachel mcadams
none. top 10s for mean girls (2004) and red eye (2005)

julianne moore
1993 - best supporting actress, short cuts (loses to gong li farewell, my concubine)
1994 - best supporting actress, vanya on 42nd street (loses to uma thurman pulp fiction)
1995 - best actress, safe (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1997 - best supporting actress, boogie nights (loses to sarah polley the sweet hereafter)
1999 - best actress, the end of the affair (loses to hilary swank boys don't cry)
2002 - best actress, far from heaven (loses to samantha morton morvern callar)
top 10s for the big lebowski (1998), the hours (2002), and children of men (2006)

toni collette
1995 - best actress, muriel's wedding (loses to elisabeth shue leaving las vegas)
1999 - best supporting actress, the sixth sense (loses to nicole kidman eyes wide shut)
2002 - best supporting actress, the hours (maybe, as it's a borderline cameo) (loses to catherine zeta-jones, chicago)
top 10s for about a boy (2002) and little miss sunshine (2006), top 15s for japanese story (2004) and in her shoes (2005)

naomi watts
2001 - best actress, mulholland dr. *
top 10 for the painted veil (2006), top 15 for i heart huckabees (2004)

an actress you might be surprised i like

Rosario Dawson rocks.

Actors and Actresses I Don't Care For.

...and why. Because what's better than bitching?

Warren Beatty - Comes across as incredibly arrogant on screen, even in his good performances. Plus, his wife. Ew.
Gael Garcia Bernal - Incredibly overrated, both in terms of looks and talent. I'm sick of people calling him The Next Big Thing or The Best Actor of the New Millennium or whatever.
Orlando Bloom - Sure, he's good-looking. Tons of actors are. Most actors, however, can, you know, act. Orlando Bloom, for the most part, can't. I hate the cry of the fans: "he's been given bad roles!!!" Plenty ofactors, in history, have been given bad or poorly-written roles and they've managed to still be awesome. It's not likely that Orlando ever will be.
Adrien Brody - Pretty much sucks in everything that's not The Pianist, and even in that he was the least of the nominees.
Jim Carrey - His brand of manic comedy just really gets on my nerves. Even in his very good stuff, like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, he turns me off.
Johnny Depp - I just talked about this. He has talent, but he hasn't used it since a brief role in Before Night Falls and before that, the last time was 1995 (Dead Man). I cannot stand Pirates (or his performance in those movies), I cannot stand his outfits at award shows (yeah, we get that you're oh so much better than all of us. Now put on a normal suit like everyone else there.), and I REALLY CANNOT STAND the fact that he's playing Sweeney Todd.
Vincent Gallo - He's just a repulsive human being. No, I've never met him, but he made a film that basically consisted of him being adored and fellated by women. He auctioned off his sperm on E-Bay along with some pretty repulsive remarks on who could buy it. I think I can assume that he's disgusting.
Richard Gere - Creepy, and not very talented.
Mel Gibson - He never was a very talented actor (and I really don't like the movies he directed), but now, let's face it, the whole Jew thing really isn't helping at all.
Anthony Hopkins - Sometimes utterly fantastic (uh...Silence of the Lambs much?!?!?). Most of the time, especially lately, utterly crap.
Buster Keaton - Meh. Silent comedy does nothing for me.
Harvey Keitel - You creep me out. And I need to stop seeing your penis. It's weird.
Ben Kingsley - Great in most things, but he really isn't challenging himself too terribly much lately (Bloodrayne??!!??!!). And, I despise his big Oscar-winning film, Gandhi, and think he's overrated in it (though indeed good).
Kevin Kline - Actually, I have no idea why I don't like him. I'm really into theater, but...I don't know. He just rubs me the wrong way.
Jared Leto - Usually a bad actor, and he comes off as creepy and greasy.
Cillian Murphy - Creepy, and he's never really been great in anything I've seen him in.
Gary Oldman - Creepy. His choice of characters often does not help this.
Sean Penn - Good actor, but an obnoxious blowhard. And I think comparing him to Brando is ridiculous.
Keanu Reeves - Yeah, pretty much what everyone else says. He just isn't a very good actor. I mean, when you watch him on screen, he shows that he's trying really, really hard. It just doesn't work.
Jason Schwartzman - He was great in Rushmore. But beyond that, I really need proof that he can actually act and isn't getting by because he's...you know...a Coppola. He was absolutely terrible in Marie-Antoinette, I Heart Huckabees, and Shopgirl.
Peter Sellers - A fantastic actor. He just makes me go eh?
Christian Slater - He is the definition of creepy. Heathers proved this fact.
David Spade - Hate his voice and smugness (you've got nothing to be smug about, you're talentless) and "acting."
James Spader - So creepy, and not that great an actor.
Donald Sutherland - He is a really really great actor. But...have you ever looked at pictures of him? I THINK HE'S GOING TO EAT MY SOUL. I'M REALLY SERIOUS.
Quentin Tarantino - He is a great director, but he is a horrible actor. He's the only thing I even come close to disliking in the divine Pulp Fiction.
Luke Wilson - Blandy McBlandster.
Owen Wilson - Pretty talentless, but notably better than his brother.

Joan Allen - She scares me a little. I think she's a good actress, but very overrated. Oh, and she was totally Razzie-worthy in The Upside of Anger.
Patricia Arquette - I don't know, she just seems very bland. I know she was going to take over Uma's role in Kill Bill when Uma became pregnant, but thank God that didn't happen.
Annette Bening - I just can't stand her acting. Yeah, I liked her in American Beauty but she REALLY HAS been doing that performance her entire life. And it's not like godly Kate Winslet, who plays many variations on the same character (bohemian free spirit) in many different ways. Every performance of hers is like, basically the same - and unbearable. Cannot stand The Bening.
Thora Birch - For God's sake, play a character that smiles every now and then! She's bearable in supporting roles (like American Beauty, but even then the praise for her work is odd to me), but when she had to carry the movie in Ghost World...no.
Cate Blanchett - Meh. She is a great actress, even though I think most of her Oscar nominations come from her lesser performances (Elizabeth aside). But...she's just...so cold. So studied. She needs to stop being in every movie. She was great in Babel (I know people were saying otherwise, but I thought she was indeed actually very good), but come on. Many actresses would have loved to have that role. For Cate it was probably just like, "whatever. Something else to do." And yes, I know, Meryl Streep could be accused of the same thing. It's just their...presence or something. Don't you want to hang out with Meryl? You would never want to hang out with Cate.
Emily Blunt - What are you, new? I recently went to her message board on IMDb - no, I wasn't going to bash her, I have better things to do with my time. But I found something incredibly horrifying. There was some topic discussing peoples' favorite actresses. And almost everyone had Emily as their #1, above, like, Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet and Glenn Close. Someone had Julianne Moore as their #1 (Emily was #2, of course) and actually apologized for it. More than that, someone bashed that person for it. Okay, it's an Emily Blunt board. I get that people are going to be fans. But...she's been in like 2 movies! How does that in any way, shape, or form make her more talented than Meryl, Kate, Julianne, Glenn... I can't stand her stupid smug face any more.
Helena Bonham-Carter - I usually don't find her impressive, and add to that the fact that she's married/engaged to/dating (for years and years and years) Tim Burton...
Laura Dern - She creeps me out. A lot.
Sally Field - Abrasive, but I loooove her in Norma Rae.
Eva Green - I think she's scary-looking, but guys find her attractive. Fine. Naked does not equal good actress (PS - She's said she's never getting naked again guys, so haha. Good luck pretending she's a good actress now). her performance in The Dreamers was heralded as the "best ever!!!" or "best of the new millennium!!!" by many people on various forums. To say the least, it isn't. Plus, bitch doesn't know how to dress herself.
Anne Hathaway - She seems very sweet, and she always looks very put-together. I don't dislike her as much as I used to. But, she's talentless. She usually isn't given very much to go with, I'll give her that. Even when she's given great parts, though, she's terrible. It brought me giggles of delight when the ensembles of The Devil Wears Prada and Brokeback Mountain all got lauded and awarded...EXCEPT FOR ANNE. It was kind of amazing.
Kate Hudson - I'm not the biggest fan of her Almost Famous work, but I'm not going to pretend she was bad in it. She just wasn't great. However, since then, she's been trying to prove, really hard, that even one good performance was a fluke.
Angelina Jolie - She's really bland now, and she's never been a particularly good actress (she was very, very, very obvious in Girl, Interrupted). That said, she is absolutely astounding in Gia.
Keira Knightley - She was just great in Pride and Prejudice but, Bend it Like Beckham and Love Actually aside (and the latter might just be an extension of my loo-hooove for the film), she's never even been good. It's kind of insulting that she has an Oscar nomination and Scarlett Johansson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst, and other young actresses who are far far far more talented don't. Plus, anyone that thinks she's hot frightens me.
Jessica Lange - Blonde. Boring.
Juliette Lewis - She just rubs me the wrong way. Meh.
Madonna - We've all stopped pretending Madonna can act now, right?
Anna Paquin - She was indeed great in the performance that got her the Oscar...when she was what, 11, 12? She hasn't been great in anything since then. I'm really hoping Margaret is good and she doesn't kill it.
Meg Ryan - She used to be great, and wonderful to watch. However, she just stopped trying.
Winona Ryder - Boring, and rarely ever good. And just to reiterate: holy sweet Jesus I hate Heathers.
Susan Sarandon - She's a good actress, but she has yet to blow me away in any role like I probably should be by someone considered one of the greatest actresses ever. She isn't worthy of the legendary status she enjoys.
Chloe Sevigny - She's been really good, in Boys Don't Cry and The Last Days of Disco. But she can be really terrible too, and I can't stand the smug attitude and sense of superiority she seems to have. And not for anything, but I can't believe she'd do that on screen.
Jessica Simpson - Does she even count? I read it somewhere else (I think Go Fug Yourself) that in The Dukes of Hazzard (which I saw...sadly enough...), she had the worst Southern accent the person watching it had ever heard; said viewer then pointed out that Jessica was from the South and just needed to talk. I am 100% in accordance with whoever this person is. Plus, let's face it: her being all over the news was annoying. To be fair, though, she seems to be at least trying to stay out of the tabloids now, so I'm not as annoyed by her as I used to be.
Barbara Streisand - Oh please. Like her ego doesn't come through in every performance she's ever given.
Tilda Swinton - Cold, cold, cold, and needs to be in non-horrible movies. Plus, did you ever read her "The State of Cinema" address or whatever it was? Holy shit. Get over yourself!
Audrey Tautou - Ooh, she's got giant eyes. That doesn't mean she's a good actress.
Naomi Watts - She's incredibly overrated. She's only ever been good four times: Mulholland Dr. (I'll admit it, though: easily one of the best performances ever), The Ring (and even then, it was more just-above-serviceable), I Heart Huckabees, and The Painted Veil. The rest of the time, she tends to veer toward the terrible. Her performance in 21 Grams is bleeeghhhh. Possibly one of, if not the, worst female Oscar nominees of the 2000s. I worry about her health though.
Ziyi Zhang - Ziyi gets great, great work. But the quality of her work in her films varies greatly. Great: Crouching Tiger and 2046. Meh: Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Ewwww: Memoirs of a Geisha.


Oh my God, that was so... negative. I really need to go hug a kitten or something.

The Screen Directory...

...it's a website with random top 10s/100s/15s. Here is their list of the top 15 contemporary actors and actresses, with what they chose as their best performance (for some reason, they only included the best performances for the top 10):

Actors
1. Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote)
2. Edward Norton (Fight Club)
3. Sean Penn (The Falcon and the Snowman)
4. Christian Bale (The Machinist)
5. Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond)
6. Johnny Depp (Donnie Brasco)
7. Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind)
8. Denzel Washington (Training Day)
9. Jack Nicholson (The Shining)
10. Joaquin Phoenix (Walk the Line)
11. Kevin Spacey
12. Ralph Fiennes
13. Tom Hanks
14. Geoffrey Rush
15. Paul Giamatti

Actresses
1. Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth)
2. Nicole Kidman (The Hours)
3. Kate Winslet (Jude)
4. Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby)
5. Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line)
6. Renee Zellweger (Cold Mountain)
7. Juliette Binoche (Three Colors: Blue)
8. Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream)
9. Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener)
10. Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary)
11. Charlize Theron
12. Rachel McAdams
13. Julianne Moore
14. Toni Collette
15. Naomi Watts

I'm not sure if Philip Seymour Hoffman is the #1 contemporary actor, but I can't deny that he has a great body of work and I like him a great deal. I just rewatched Boogie Nights and damned if he doesn't break my heart into a gajillion pieces in that film. Edward Norton has been amazing since his debut (Death to Smoochy and such excepted); my only problem with his placement on this list is the fact that they say Fight Club is his best performance. He's great and I nominate him for 1999, but it's like, his fifth or sixth best.

I've never really gotten Sean Penn, though I won't deny he's a really good actor. I think it's ridiculous that people say he "overacted" in Mystic River. It's been set up that he's a pretty volatile man, and he JUST LOST HIS DAUGHTER. How would you react? I've never heard of The Falcon and the Snowman, though. Maybe I should check it out. I would like to add, though, that he was awful in I Am Sam and his Oscar nomination was embarassing. Christian Bale is so fantastic and I'm still amused and delighted by the fact that he was in Newsies, but his best performance isn't The Machinist, it's obviously American Psycho.

Leonardo DiCaprio can be very hit or miss. As he gets older, though, he's definitely tipping more toward "hit." And holy shit, he hot. It's really easy to root for him, because he seems incredibly intelligent and, especially as of late, classy. His best performance is definitely The Departed, though. Johnny Depp. ALL SHOULD KNOW OF MY HATRED FOR JOHNNY DEPP. I hate his wackiness, I hate the fact that he works with Tim Burton all the freaking time (I love Ed Wood and Corpse Bride though. I can admit it), I hate the fact that people think he's the most gorgeous man to ever walk the earth, I hate the fact that he seems to never think any award shows are worth changing out of flannel for, and I HATE ("the fact" should be here somewhere...) CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW AND THE ENTIRE PIRATES FRANCHISE (perhaps I shouldn't judge...I still haven't seen the third one...but I doubt it is SO GOOD that it will erase the horrible-ness of the other two). He has talent, but the last time he used it was 2000 in his great cameo in Before Night Falls; said talent is certainly not present in Pirates. So, I clearly don't like his inclusion on this list. His best performance (and best movie by a mile) is Ed Wood.

It's not popular to, but I adore both Denzel and Russell. Yay American Gangster! They are both totally brilliant at the best of times, which is often. Denzel slums in crap too much and Russell is obnoxious, but I think they're both great. The performances chosen for them are only their second-best, however: Denzel's best is Malcolm X and Russell's, The Insider. All four performances, however, are amazing.

It's really unfair for Jack to be competing with these young upstarts (hee, I used a funny word) when he was already a legend by the beginning of the '90s. Still, at least he's trying in movies, which is more than can really be said for DeNiro or Pacino. I like him a lot in The Shining, but his best performance is eeeeasily One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, no contest. Much like Sean Penn, I can recognize Joaquin's talent (though I don't think he has as much talent as Sean...), but he doesn't really do it for me... I also wasn't very fond of him in Gladiator, unlike, uh, the rest of the world. He was much better in Quills that same year. He was also great in Walk the Line but Reese Witherspoon was better. YOU HEARD ME BITCHES.

Kevin Spacey deserves a spot in the pantheon for his '90s run. Henry & June, The Ref, Swimming with Sharks, The Usual Suspects, L.A. Confidential, Hurlyburly, American Beauty, and I'm assuming Se7en but I've never seen it. Unfortunately, since 1999 his resume has looked like: crap, crap, crap, self-indulgent crap, crap, crap he directed, crap, crap. That said, it might not be as crappy as I once thought: I enjoyed him in Superman Returns and thought he was actually great in The Life of David Gale, though that movie was a disaster. Ralph Fiennes is godly. If he doesn't win an Oscar someday, there's no justice at all anywhere.

I still love Tom Hanks, fuck all the haters. He's very guilty of coasting on his charisma and reputation at times, but I still think he's great, and it's always a treat when he's in films. He's just very easy to watch and connect to (though he did suck in The Da Vinci Code, I'm not denying it). Geoffrey Rush is another one that does nothing for me. Paul Giamatti needs to clean himself up, fer chrissakes, but he's a really good actor. He's totally amazing in Sideways.

As for the women: Cate, you make me go "meh." Yes, you are a really good actress. But, you need to stop being in every movie, and you need to start engaging me emotionally at some point. She got bashed for her appearance in Babel, but I actually thought she was great. I don't know if it was her role, but I actually felt for her. Also, people need to stop cumming all over her in The Aviator, she was only okay at best. I'd comment that she always plays (incredibly various) variations on "strong, smart woman," but then I'd remember that I'm obsessed with Kate Winslet, who always plays (incredibly various) variations on "bohemian free spirit." I wouldn't put Cate atop this list, but I can't deny that she belongs there, and Elizabeth is indeed her best work. Nicole, on the other hand, is fantastic. Oh, she has burned me so many times, but I keep coming back. Why? Because I have To Die For, Eyes Wide Shut, Moulin Rouge!, The Others, The Hours, Dogville, Birth, and many others. She is fantastic in The Hours (the performance isn't really worthy of the OMG BEST EVER hosannahs it gets or the ridiculous backlash that almost all Oscar winners get), but her best performance is definitely in Dogville.

As I mentioned before, I am obsessed with Kate Winslet. She's both technically proficient and totally obviously in love with her craft. While she is fantastic in Jude, it is nowhere near her best work. That is clearly Eternal Sunshine. Hilary Swank is unfairly bashed (OMG! an actress that doesn't fit our standards of beauty. LET'S BASH HER), but she doesn't belong at #4. She's much better in Boys Don't Cry than Million Dollar Baby, though. I adore Reese Witherspoon, and I think people who say she can't act haven't seen any of her movies. At all. The Man in the Moon, Freeway, Pleasantville, Election (!!!), Legally Blonde, Vanity Fair, Walk the Line. I think Election's her best work, but she is fantastic in Walk the Line too. And yeah...you bet your ass she deserved that Oscar over Charlize and Felicity's ACTING!!! and Judi Dench's sleepwalking (Keira Knightley was good, but not as good). You go, girl.

I'm so glad some people still like Renee Zellweger. It's like, once she won her Oscar, people forgot everything that came before it (I really liked her in Cold Mountain but that's besides the point...). Dude, Bridget Jones' Diary! I don't even care that it would have been the PERFECT role for Kate Winslet, because Renee was absolutely fantastic. Nurse Betty! Down with Love! Jerry Maguire! Chicago! One True Thing! Even Cold Mountain itself! Yay Renee! I'm also glad to see some love for the extremely underrated Juliette Binoche on this list. She's fantastic.

Jennifer Connelly can be awesome, and she can be horrible (see: her Oscar-winning performance). I'm incredibly glad they chose Requiem for a Dream as her best work; as I've mentioned before, I think it's the best performance of the new millennium. It's stunning, heart-SHATTERING work. But, besides that and House of Sand and Fog, she makes me shrug. Rachel Weisz gave one of the best performances I've ever seen (for serious!) in The Constant Gardener, but I'm not sure just that and The Fountain, plus a whole hell-load of CRAP, mean she should be on the list over several other options. I heart Maggie, maybe for this picture (how drunk is Kate? So drunk) alone. Seriously, though: she gives off this weird vibe but it really works for her. She is like Zooey Deschanel, though with a better body of work (nothing she's done is as singularly good as Zooey's performance in All the Real Girls, though, but Maggie's worth is almost always really good) and she's easier to like.

I'm lazy and it's late so I'm going to run through the rest. Charlize was amazing in Monster, but other than that, she doesn't really deserve to be on the list. I like Rachel McAdams and all, but she annoys me. Rachel! EVERYONE likes you. You're really talented. You could be a total star (a star like, a Reese or maybe even a Cate, not a Lindsay for godssake's), but you only deign to star in like one movie a year. And it's usually not a very good movie. AT LEAST SCARLETT JOHANSSON IS TRYING!!! From like 94-02, Julianne Moore is uhhhmazing; after that, save for Children of Men, she's terrible. I hope she reverses that with her 2007 movies very much. Though, like Kevin Spacey, she deserves a place on the list for her '90s (and early '00s) choices. Toni Collette is amazing and could only be more amazing by being in every movie ever made and thus increasing their fantastic-ness. Naomi Watts is unbelievable in Mulholland Dr., quite great in The Painted Veil, deliciously amusing in I Heart Huckabees, and then really meh beyond that. Don't even get me started on her performance in 21 Grams.

So, there you have it. What have I gotten from this list? I like some, I don't like some, LAURA LINNEY IS UNDERRATED BY EVERYONE. Thank you, and good night. Despite what the timestamp here says, it is 2:41 AM and I require sleep.