Best Actress of the Decade Tournament

Top 8

Helen Mirren vs. Meryl Streep
Quantity: Mirren's 17 films just beats out Streep's 16. Round - Mirren.
Quality: Mirren was fantastic in The Queen. But Streep is amazing in everything incuding Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada, Doubt and A Prarie Home Companion. Round - Streep.
Oscar Nominations: Streep may have three nods (Adaptation, The Devil Wears Prada and Doubt) vs. Mirren's two (Gosford Park, The Queen), but Mirren won for The Queen. Round - Mirren.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Streep was amazing in Angels in America. Round - Streep.
Tie Breaker: Helen Mirren is amazing but Meryl Streep is probably the great living actress. Round - Streep.
Winner = Streep.

Hilary Swank vs. Renee Zellweger
Quantity: Both ladies have done 14 films. Round - TIE.
Quality: Swank was great in Million Dollar Baby which apparently has gotten her pretty damn far (too far) in this competition. However, Zellweger used to be (and I stress used to be) awesome as evidenced in Bridget Jones' Diary, Chicago, Cold Mountain. Round - Zellweger.
Oscar Nominations: Swank won for Million Dollar Baby. Zellweger won for Cold Mountain and also received nominations for Bridget Jones and Chicago. Round - Zellweger.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: I'm annoyed by Zellweger less? Round - Zellweger.
Winner = Zellweger.

Cate Blanchett vs. Marcia Gay Harden
Quantity: Blanchett's 24 films just barely beats out Harden's 22. Round - Blanchett.
Quality: In December, I'm going to do top 10 lists of the decades best films and performances. For the last few weeks, I've been working on the lists. The most difficult decision has been in the Best Supporting Actress category where it's come down to my love Marcia in Mystic River vs. Cate the Great in I'm Not There. Round - Blanchett.
Oscar Nominations: Harden won for Pollack and was nominated again for Mystic River. Blanchett won for The Aviator and was nominated again for Notes on a Scandal, I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Round - Blanchett.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen and my brain would probably explode from too much awesomeness if they did.
Extra Curriculars: Marcia is my very, very, very, very favorite actress!! Round - Harden.
Winner = Blanchett.

Natalie Portman vs. Kate Winslet
Quantity: Portman's 19 films easily beats out Winslet's 13. Round - Portman.
Quality: Portman was great in Closer but even her very best work pales in comparison to Winslet in Eternal Sunshine, Little Children, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, etc. Round - Winslet.
Oscar Nominations: Portman was nominated once for Closer. Winslet was nominated for Iris, Eternal Sunshine, and Little Children before winning for The Reader. Round - Winslet.
Shared Screen: They have not shared the screen.
Extra Curriculars: Portman's SNL Gangster Rap is enough to push this into tie breaker mode... Round - Portman.
Tie Breaker: ...but not nearly enough to convince me she's a better actress than Winslet. Round - Winslet.
Winner = Winslet.

On Wednesday, the top 4. In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out how the hell Renee Zellweger made it to the final four with Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet...