Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) First and foremost I'll say this. This is my opinion and my opinion only. These performances are from films I have seen, so I will not be considering films I have not seen. Thus, please do not say "Oh, so and so from film X was better" because I may have not seen that film and thus will not be judging it. This list is merely opinion and I wish to share my opinion with all of you. Obviously this list may contain spoilers. Be warned. Edited February 6, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 (edited) Honorable Mentions That Deserved A Bit Of A Write Up: The Badass Bitches of Mean Girls: Rachel MacAdams, Lacey Chambert, Amanda Seyfreid, Lizzy Caplan, and Tina Fey Mean Girls (2004) lollindsay Let's face it. Without these five lovely ladies, no one would be quoting Mean Girls, with the exception of the occasional line from Damian. But he's not a girl. Kind of. So he's not included on this list. But as for the other five, they are what made the movie what it was. Besides providing us with some of the best quotes in movie history, these ladies had comedy up the wazoo. They made the others (especially Ms. Lohan) look, well, plastic. Fergie as Saraghina Nine (2009) When you're the only non-Oscarbait actor in a movie directed by the guy who did Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha, you know you have a lot of shoes to fill. Well, Fergie was in that situation for Nine. Not only did her character only appear in one scene, she was competing for attention with five actresses who had won Oscars previously: Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, and Sophia Loren; as well as an Oscar nominated actress whose mother was an Oscar winner, Kate Hudson. Throw two-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis and one of the most talented directors (Rob Marshall) in the mix, and you have the ultimate movie. Well, not really. But despite Nine's less-than-stellar reviews, it had a few trump cards. The most important of which is the actress I'd mentioned above. No, not any of the ones Oscar gets a boner for. The one who wasn't even really an actress. That's right, Fergie. As the prostitute Saraghina, Fergie stole the show with her number "Be Italian". She proved she was a singing, dancing machine, and an unstoppable force as a performer. Now, if only she can ditch the Peas and do real music. Women Driven By Revenge: Uma Thurman as The Bride/Beatrix Kiddo and Marion Cotillard as Mal Cobb kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004) Inception (2010) "Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned" I think that quote enough defines these next two women. It was hard to separate them, and by putting them together I can include more performances on the list. And, honestly, it's tough to rank one above the other because of how different their performances are. Uma Thurman, as Kill Bill's katana-wielding protagonist, delivers an action-packed yet heartbreaking performance of a woman betrayed by her lover. She then sets on a two-movie rampage of death and destruction simply to find him and kill him. Besides being arguably the most badass female action hero ever (sit down, Lucy Lawless, Lynda Carter, and Sigourney Weaver), Uma Thurman delivers something to the table that you wouldn't expect in an action movie (unless, of course, you work for Tarantino): emotion. That's right, folks. Beatrix Kiddo actually has feelings. While she doesn't display them all the time, they exist. Specifically near the end of the second film, when she realizes her daughter is alive. Her entire mission has changed from "kill everything in my path because my kid's dead" to "my daughter is alive, what has my mission been" in one moment, in which two beautiful words are uttered: "Hi, mommy". Let's face it. That moment is heartbreaking. The other great emotional moment is when she completes her mission, after delivering the fatal blow to Bill. The moment after she completes the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, her face shifts from one of victory to one of agony. Despite all that Bill had done to her, he was still her lover, and her pain at realizing she had just killed him was brilliantly done. As for Marion Cotillard, she performed the opposite role, as Inception's main antagonist. However, she was also similar to Thurman in the sense that she was driven by revenge. Not only was she massively driven by revenge, but she also had one of the best scenes in the movie: her suicide. Not only did she go off the deep end (literally), she also had a long and elaborate monologue of how she'd covered her tracks. She was one scary bitch. Edited February 25, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) 10. The Many Crazy Roles of Helena Bonham Carter Hamlet (1990) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) Sweeney Todd (2008) Alice in Wonderland (2010) Helena Bonham Carter. Three words that can make me orgasm on command. Helena Bonham Carter, in my opinion, is one of the greatest character actresses of our time. She follows in the footsteps of some of the late greats like Vivien Leigh and Bette Davis, able to portray various women expertly. Not only has Helena played strong female characters, she's also played some of film's greatest psychopaths. Like the four I've listed up here. First, Hamlet. My second favorite Shakespearean play. Carter plays Ophelia, shocker. Ophelia, the tragic lover of Hamlet. Ophelia, who goes insane after Hamlet fucks with her and kills her father. Out of all of the film adaptations of Hamlet, Carter was my favorite Ophelia. She was also the craziest, in mind, for the reason that she wasn't over-the-top like Kate Winslet. She played the creepy crazy and played it well. Next, to one of the scariest villains in history. If AFI redid their list of the greatest heroes and villains, Bellatrix Lestrange would need to be on the list. Bellatrix is sadistic, insane, and simply amazing. She makes the movies more interesting by far, and you know you wanted to chant along with her when she screamed "I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK" over and over again. (Also, fun note from my roommate: If Gary Oldman wins the Oscar this year, Helena Bonham Carter should run onstage, decapitate him, and then run around the Kodak Theatre screaming "I KILLED SIRIUS BLACK"--and then maybe steal his Oscar because she deserves one by now) Did you know that Helena Bonham Carter isn't a bad singer? I didn't. Until I watched Sweeney Todd, that is. Sure, part of the reason she may have gotten the role is because she's been sleeping with Tim Burton for ages now, but it doesn't matter. She still was amazing. She was everything Mrs. Lovett is supposed to be. Deranged, obsessive, and devious, with a dash of motherly instinct thrown in. Sure, she's no Angela Lansbury or Patti LuPone, but goddamn it, she was awesome. Lastly, we have one of her more recent roles, the Red Queen. This role didn't impress me as much as the other three, but it still deserves mention on this list. Helena Bonham Carter is still one of the greatest when it comes to the psychopathic leading lady. Edited February 6, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) 9. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer as Aibileen Clark and Minny Jackson The Help (2011) These two fabulous ladies received Oscar nominations for their work in this film, and both have a strong shot at winning for the Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards, respectively. As two of the film's protagonists, Davis and Spencer gave us a wonderfully heartbreaking look into 1960's Jackson. They drove the film's plot and drove my interest in the movie. It's a wonderful film with an extremely strong cast, but Davis and Spencer spearheaded that cast with incredible skill and talent. There's really not too much to say on this particular entry, except that these two are truly formidable in their work, and together they are a team that cannot be beaten. Edited February 25, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Redone list coming soon~ Edited February 6, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 3, 2012 Author Share Posted January 3, 2012 (edited) Redone list coming soon~ Edited February 6, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikethfc Posted January 4, 2012 Share Posted January 4, 2012 As soon as I saw the topic title I thought Beatrix Kiddo would be in it somewhere, as for the others I've never seen Memoirs of a Geisha so I can't really comment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caliban of Sycorax Posted January 8, 2012 Author Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) Redone list coming soon~ Edited February 6, 2012 by Octavian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.