Top Ten List - Best Supporting Actress

10. Evan Rachel Wood in The Wrestler - She has just three keys scenes but Wood milks it for all it's worth. Cheers for going toe to toe with the great Mickey Rourke and holding her own.

09. Alison Pill in Milk - Maybe it's just my undying devotion and love for this movie, but I'd give the whole damn cast an award. Pill is barely in it, but she's still a little spitfire, whipping the men of the movie into shape and helping Harvey Milk make history.

08. Catherine Keener in Hamlet 2 - I just keep picturing her drinking that huge drink at the Mexican restaurant / bar. Keener could probably read the phone book and I would think she was worthy of high praise.

07. Viola Davis in Doubt - She's on screen for about twelve minutes but she takes full advantage of those twleve minutes to give a powerhouse performance. Her thought process is devastating in its assuredness.

06. Debra Winger in Rachel Getting Married - In a year of comebacks, Winger's is very welcome. She's been absent for way too long. She doesn't have a lot to do in Rachel Getting Married but there's that one big scene with Anne Hathaway that is shocking and riveting at the same time.

05. Amy Adams in Doubt - Viola Davis may be getting all the attention but I prefer Adams' more subtle and nuanced performance. In a movie filled with people who are stubborn and shady, Adams is the innocent and pure Sister James. Also, she's probably the key to figuring out the key mystery in the film.

04. Taraji P. Henson in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Sweet and tough, Henson is finally breaking through to the fore front. She should have been nominated for Hustle and Flow and this year she continues her streak of good natured supporting characters. She elevates every scene in which she is a part.

03. Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler - Looking sexier than ever, Tomei plays a single mom stripper who is, like Rourke's title character, struggling with losing her youth and looks. Unlike Rourke's character, she is capable of finally growing up. Her final scene is heartbreaking.

02. RoseMarie Dewitt in Rachel Getting Married - Anne Hathaway may be getting all the attention for her intense performance (and she does deserve it) but I actually prefer Dewitt's more subtle performance. She plays the "perfect" sister but she never becomes a cliche. She never tries to hide Rachel's flaws. And because of that she plays this role flawlessly.

01. Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Volatile. Vivacious. Lunatic. Neurotic. Enigmatic. Sexy. Agitated spitfire. Just a few words to describe Cruz's brilliant take on the slightly crazy ex-wife of Javier Bardem's character. She has so many great scenes. Why she wins my award as the Best Supporting Actress of 2008? A specific scene when she is just released from a hospital for trying to kill herself. Bardem takes her home to meet his new American tourist girlfriend played by Scarlett Johansson. Scarlett asks her if she wants anything to which Cruz so perfectly and so simply replies, "Vodka." Great line reading. Great performance.

Tomorrow - Best Supporting Actor