Top Ten List: Best Supporting Actress of the Decade

Disclaimer: I've agonized for weeks about these lists. I know I forgot an actor or a movie. But I'm done thinking about it so that's that.

Best Supporting Actress of the Decade

10. Holly Hunter in Thirteen (2003) - Hunter is always superb but she's never been better than the caring mother of a wild teenager in Thirteen. She loves her daugther but doesn't recognize she's spiraling out of control. Her performance is sweet and tender but also painful to watch. It's a powerhouse performance which easily shows up an impressive turn by Evan Rachel Wood as said daughter.

09. Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain (2005) - Williams was the one ray of hope on Dawson's Creek. You always just knew she didn't really belong on such a cheesy (at least in its later years) show. She was always destined for greatness and her performance in Brokeback Mountain proves it. Maybe it was her electrifying chemistry with then boyfriend Heath Ledger. Maybe it was just the perfect role for her. But her performance as Alma, the long suffering, vulnerable housewife who discovers something she can't quite understand.

08. Natalie Portman in Closer (2004) - Portman plays the paradoxes of Alice so easily. Alice appears to be wide eyed and innocent... but she is a stripper. Alice is seemingly the most emotionally honest character in the film... yet she turns out to be the biggest liar of all. She's never been better and her best scenes are those where she goes head to head with Clive Owen. The one scene that always sticks out is that brilliantly directed and acted scene at the strip club where Portman and Owen are just the essence of acting perfection.

07. Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) - Prior to this film, I wasn't such a big fan of Cruz's. Her acting always lacked a lot for me. I had heard she was a much better actress in her native tongue though I never liked her enough to even seek out a Spanish film of hers. Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona changed all that. Cruz is a firecracker, exploding on to the screen and taking no prisoners. She has steamy chemistry with Javier Bardem (...and Scarlett Johansson). She's sassy and spunky and hilarious and terrifying and just riveting to watch.

06. Amy Adams in Junebug (2005) - When you think "Amy Adams," you think adorable. And that's because she is - especially in Junebug - but she's so much more than that as well. Her performance as Ashley is so layered and textured. She's charming and witty, heartwarming and optimistic. Best of all, she's sincere and you can feel her honesty in every scene. It's why her performance isn't so much a scene-stealer as a scene-enhancer. She just makes this movie so much better than it would have been without her.

05. Mo' Nique in Precious (2009) - I am all about Mo' Nique this year. The comedian has been written off as not being able to act. Well, guess what? She can and she's a powerhouse. As the cruel, emotionally and physically abusing mother of an overweight illiterate teen, she owns this movie. Even without that final scene - where she breaks down in a social worker's office - her performance was amazing enough. But add that one scene where you actually begin to understand this monster and you've got a performance more than worthy of praise for years to come.

04. Frances McDormand in Almost Famous (2000) - As an over-protective and borderline over-bearing mother, McDormand brings laughs... and a whole lotta heart to her role in Cameron Crowe's rock star film. She means well and only wants to protect her shy and awkward son William as he embarks as a journalist on tour with a band. Her scenes where she connects with the bands lead guitarist are some of her best. As is her line reading of, "Rock stars have kidnapped my son!"

03. Kate Hudson in Almost Famous (2000) - Almost Famous is the single reason I haven't given up on Hudson yet. She's been biding her time with romantic comedies but I know she's got it in her to deliver at least one more knockout performance like she did in Almost Famous. As the perennial groupie Penny Lane, Hudson is the essence of free spirited sweetness. She's got tension filled chemistry with Billy Crudup and a sweet sort of childlike chemistry with Patrick Fugit. When she finally overdoses at the end, it's almost a pleasure to watch the way she crumbles and falls apart. And kudos for that "What kind of beer?" line reading. Beauty and optimism through tears. Hudson has never been - maybe will never be - better.

02. Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River (2003) - When you're in a movie with a ton of big name actors and on particular guy (Sean Penn) who is giving the performance of his career (up until that point, anyway), it's kind of hard to get noticed. Not if you're my dear, sweet, amazing Marcia. In the film she plays the wife of Tim Robbins character. She's sweet-natured and trusting. She's simply outstanding as the loving wife who has to struggle with the biggest moral dilemma faced by any of the characters. She's brilliant and amazing and that's just one of the reasons why she's my very favorite actress ever! (FYI - Her performance in The Dead Girl just missed out on the top ten list!).

01. Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There (2007) - The short version: She plays Bob Dylan!!! The long version: Not many female actresses would have the balls to play Bob Dylan. Not many could pull it off. Okay, I can't think of anyone else who could have pulled it off. Only Blanchett in all of her nose-twitching, eye-rubbing brilliance. She's subdued and mellow but quick to lash out with sharp wit. Her section of the bizarre but wonderful film is the most straight forward and so she has to be the most like the actual Bob Dylan. She doesn't just mimic him, she becomes him (and looks shockingly like him) in a strange way that's so effective since the character is being played by a woman. Blanchett is simply amazing as she continues to build a resume of quirky, powerhouse performances that not many other actresses could even come close to.