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.

The Informant!, Pandorum, Whip It, Zombieland

The Informant - The problem with The Informant is NOT Matt Damon's stellar performance. In fact, it just may be the best performance of his career (or second to his subtlety in The Departed). Damon manages to portray the self-obsessed Whitacre with the right amounts of "Hey, I'm a jackass" and "I'm a martyr doing the right thing." No, the problem with The Informant is mostly it's glacial pace. The story is interesting, sure (a man makes $300,000 a year at a company but turns informant instead), and it's true. Still, it takes about 3/4 of the movie until the pace starts to pick up to an enjoyable level. Steven Soderbergh does a great job and The Informant sure is interesting if it's not successful and I'm not sure it is. Also, it's trying to do too many things at once. Is it a wacky, zany comedy? Well, it's not funny enough. Is it a corporate thriller about embezzlement? Well, it's not nearly exciting enough. Damon's performance is enough for me to recommend the film but I wouldn't say it's necessarily good, just average.
Grade: C

Pandorum - Let's get this out of the way - Ben Foster is incredible. Dennis Quaid is incredible. The twist at the end is pretty damn great (you can predict it, but it's still done well enough that I didn't even care). The critics bashed it. Sci-fi fans are heralding it as the best sci-fi movie in a long time. I fall somewhere in the middle. It's an exciting film and it's a little horrifying. Foster and Quaid wake up on a ship that seems abandoned. They are locked in a room on a space ship and they've been in hyper sleep way longer than they should. Foster tries to escape the room through the ventillation system while Quaid guides him. Foster finds help... and some major problems while Quaid meets another young member of the crew who is going off the deep end (played by Twilight hottie Cam Gigandet). My major problem with the film is the crappy camera work. I know it's supposed to be exciting but there's a fine line between hand held exciting camera work and not having any idea what the hell is happening to your characters. Also, at times, it's just a little gross for gross' sake. Being disgusting doesn't further the film in any way. Also, it seems a little convenient that a side effect of hyper sleep is temporary memory loss. However, Foster and Quaid's characters remember just enough when they need to. And while their characters are in different parts of the ship for most of the movie, it allows the screenwriter to fill a ridiculous amount of time with the two trying to contact each other via radio. Basically, the film has its problems but it's also good enough to merit a recommendation. Again, not good, merely average.
Grade: C

Whip It - Whip It is cute. Sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes, well, not so much. Drew Barrymore makes her directorial debut and any shortcomings this movie has aren't necessarily her fault. She does a pretty good job at directing. Sometimes, it's very basic. Nothing she's doing is groundbreaking. But there are some pretty great scenes, very well directed (especially the pool scene near the end... just beautiful). Whip It follows a reluctant beauty queen named Bliss (Ellen Page) who is basically only doing beauty pageants to appease her mom (the amazing / wonderful / fantastic / goddesss of the world Marcia Gay Harden). On a shopping trip to Austin, Bliss discovers a flyer for roller derby. She and best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat a.k.a. Maeby Funke from the greatest show ever to be on TV Arrested Development) go to the derby exhibition game and Bliss is impressed. Soon, she is lying about her age and trying out for the Hurl Scouts team. She changes her name to Babe Ruthless and joins the team alongside Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) and Smashely Simpson (Barrymore). There are a few things that endear this movie to me. 1. Har Mar Superstar has a little cameo. 2. Tilly and the Wall is on the soundtrack. 3. I was at some of the places they filmed in Austin. Then, of course, there is the predictibility. This script is paint-by-numbers, cliched and totally predictable. That makes parts of it boring. Then there is the cuteness factor. Some of the cute stuff is just that - cute. Some of it (like a showdown with rival Iron Maven (Juliette Lewis) that turns into a silly food fight) is just dumb. Also, Jimmy Fallon just needs to stop acting. He needs to stick to late night and he's not even good at that (just not as bad as acting). All in all, Whip It is a little too cutesy at times although Barrymore does a fine job presenting a kick ass girl power story. See it for the great cast and the cool soundtrack, just don't expect too much.
Grade: C+ (B- on a good day... if I'm feeling nice... which I'm not today).

Zombieland - Zombieland is excatly what it needed to be. I was expecting a ridiculous, off beat, fun horror flick and that's exactly what it is. There is no subtle build up to Zombieland. You are dropped right in (it's complete with flashy, great opening credits). First, you meet Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg who is like Michael Cera although maybe funnier?), a college kid who has a lot of ticks and fears and a lot of rules for surviving Zombieland. Always shoot the zombie twice to make sure it's dead, Beware of bathrooms, Always wear your seatbelt, etc. He is one of five (ha!) surviving humans in Zombieland. Along the way he meets Tallahassee, a totally bad ass Woody Harrelson who just seems to have been born for this role. He's hilarious and bad ass and just all kinds of perfect for this role. All he really wants to do is find a Twinkie and kick zombie ass. They team up and eventually meet Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), a sister con-artist duo who dupe our heroes before eventually teaming up with them. Their plan is the head west to Pacific Playland, an amusement park outside of Los Angeles which they believe is zombie free. Along the way, they make a pit stop at a Beverly Hills home where there is the most perfect cameo in cameo history. I won't ruin it (although I'm sure you can find out) but it's pretty freaking great. Anyway, of course, they eventually get to their destination and guess what? There are TONS of zombies including a really freaky clown zombie. Overall, Zombieland is a whole lot of fun and that's all I really wanted out of it.
Grade: B

The Mist, La Vie En Rose

The Mist - Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Before I review this film, allow me to ramble a little bit about my love-hate relationship with Miss Marcia Gay Harden. It started as a pure love thing: The Daytrippers, The Spitfire Grill, Meet Joe Black. Then the 2001 Oscars came around. At that time I was a little bit obsessed with a movie called Almost Famous (guess what? I still am). Anyway, Miss Marcia was nominated for Best Supporting Actress against TWO Almost Famous ladies: Kate Hudson (playing one of my very favorite film characters of all time) and Frances McDormand. Well, Miss Marcia won and I was furious! (In my defense, I still have not seen Pollack). I held it against her... very much. Thus began the hate portion of our relationship. Then came a little movie called Mystic River and I began to forgive Marcia just a little bit. Then Kate Hudson stopped making movies like 200 Cigarettes and Desert Blue and instead started making movies like Raising Helen and Le Divorce. I really began to forgive Marcia. Especially once she gave the most spectacular performance in the movie The Dead Girl. But then. Oh, but then. Just when I thought our hate relationship was behind us, she decided to make swill like The Invisible. Why Marcia would do such a thing is beyond me! Just a few months ago she was in Into the Wild. She didn't really have much to work with there so all I can say is that I was pleased she was in the movie. I guess that's a plus. But now. Oh, but now. I can gladly say the love relationship has never ever been stronger. In The Mist as religious zealot Mrs. Carmody, Marcia kicks ass, takes name and wipes the floor with these sissy boy actors. No one, oh, no one could do what Marcia does in this movie. She plays a one-note bible thumping caraicature so, so, so very right. I was excited every single time she was on screen. I can't really say that for the entire film though. I mean, I was pleasantly surprised, for sure. The movie was actually surprisingly solid. Mark it down as one of the very few Stephen King adaptations that I enjoyed (Carrie, The Shining). It's just, the whole supernatural thing never set very well with me. And it probably never will. I realized about halfway through that I really enjoy vampire / zombie movies and they are supernatural, right? But, I don't know, part of me is more willing to believe that vampires actually exist than, say, giant crazy bugs living in mysterious mist. The special effects were not particularly well done. The basic plot reminded me of a really bad movie I watched once on Sci-Fi Channel. It was about a military testing ground on high mountain that tested all these creatures and then, all of a sudden, the giant frozen spiders escaped and decided to attack a ski lodge. I mean, it's basically the same premise. When the creatures were attacking, I didn't especially like the movie. However, when it came to character development and interaction, I really enjoyed it. My Marcia, of course, steals the show, but there are a few solid actors in the film as well. Hottie McHottie Thomas Jane (he may have to join my movie star boyfriend list) is the artist turned relucatant hero of the townspeople after they are shut in the local grocery store. Andre Braugher is his rational lawyer neighbor. Toby Jones is solid as well. I can't say I loved the film entirely but I did find myself liking it more often than not. And, my lord, that ending. Even if you see it coming a mile away, it's still perfect and shocking and absolute Stephen King perfection. And Jane, whose acting I don't always love, really pulls it off. Overall, the movie is hit and miss although it hits more times than it misses. Marcia, my darling, our love affair is back and better than ever. Moral of the story: Don't take your kid to the grocery store.
Grade: B- (Marcia gets an A!)

La Vie en Rose - Maybe I suffer from not knowing much (or anything at all for that matter) about Edith Piaf. As far as I can tell, she led a pretty extraordinary life. I read up a bit about her online before I decided to write this review. Turns out she was a member of the French Resistance during WWII. She starred in a blockbuster play written by Jean Cocteau. She became such a hit in the United States that she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight times and played at Carnegie Hall twice. She pretty much singlehandedly saved the famous Paris Olympia concert hall from bankruptcy. La Vie en Rose mentions none of these things. Instead, her life is shown as a crazy melodrama. Call her the Courtney Love of 1930s France. I won't even go into the details of the film because, honestly, I don't know what is true and what isn't. In my opinion, it all just seems a bit too much. She spent her childhood in the circus. She was raised for a bit in a brothel. She was accused (but acquitted) of being an accessory to the murder of her mentor. She was a drunk and became addicted to various pain killers. The movie tends to paint the picture as a list of all the tragedy in her life. However, there is little mention of the monumental success it seems she achieved. All the tragedies are almost dulled by a lack of happy moments to contrast them with. Again, I didn't know much about Edith Piaf. I have heard that Marion Cotillard does a remarkable job portraying her. I have read people who say things like, "She better win the Oscar or else..." I'm not sure I can agree. I think she'll probably get nominated, sure. However, it seems like she plays a young Piaf as a goofy, over-the-top caricature of a person and plays the older Piaf as an almost senile, uncharismatic shell of a person. Again, I have absolutely no knowledge of how Piaf really was... so perhaps Cotillard IS doing a great job. The movie just didn't have enough substance to hold my attention. I don't know much about Piaf but I have a funny feeling that she deserves better than this.

Grade: D+

30 Days of Night, Into the Wild, Across the Universe

30 Days of Night - File this under - 'What took them so long to come up with this brilliant idea?' The setting is Barrow, Alaska - the northernmost town in the United States. It's isolated for miles and miles on all sides. It snows all the time. Once a year, the small town is plunged into darkness for an entire month. This year, a mysterious Stranger (the electrifying, as always, Ben Foster) has arrived. He's destroyed all their cell phones. He cut off all their power. He killed all the sled dogs. He's burned many of the cars. Those that chose to stay (the last airplane leaves at sundown and a plane won't be back until dawn) are effectively cut off from the outside world. Being plunged into darkness for a month sounds creepy enough but when you throw a gang of supernatural vampires into the mix it's downright scary. A small band of survivors unite to try to last through the darkness and make it to daylight. They are led by Sherriff Eben (Josh Hartnett) and his estranged wife Stella (Melissa George). When I told my mom this movie was a love story, I wasn't joking. It kind of is. Stella and Eben have a lot of issues and, really, when is it a better time to realize how much you love someone than when you are being stalked by bloodthirsty vampires? (See, there's something for everyone here). The movie is directed by David Slade who last directed the fantastic film Hard Candy and he does an equally impressive job here. There's a lot of quick cuts. There's a lot of fast action. And, there's a lot of blood! His overhead shots of vampires ransacking the small town are glorious. The movie isn't exactly scary but I've seen a million horror movies and so I'm a bit jaded by now. It actually plays a little more like a Western to me (maybe I like Westerns now?). It's definitely got the swagger and attitude down. The acting is solid but nothing spectacular (it is a horror movie, after all). Hartnett particularly impressed me because I'm so used to him feeling so rigid and stiff in his roles. He actually shows quite a bit of emotion here, especially in the last act of the movie. George is the weakest link here. At times, her performance is strong but there's something about her that just annoys me (Sorry but it's true). Of course, Ben Foster steals all the scenes he is in. This is pretty much the perfect role for him. He's a great character actor who seems to love characters who are a little bit strange, to say the least. Maybe his mantra is: 'The crazier the better.' And he's great at it. Here's hoping he keeps making movies like this and keeps playing such complicated, crazy, wonderful characters. The movie starts with a hectic, gritty intensity and it doesn't let up. The movie is definitely sinister, violent and unrelentingly violent. I'm over zombies, let's return to the vampire genre! And this is a great way to start that trend!
Grade: B

Into the Wild - There are movies that you instantly forget you ever saw. There are many of those. There are movies that are enjoyable or even thought-provoking that stick with you for a few days or a few weeks, sometimes months and years. There are many of those as well. Then, there is the rarest of films - the kind that burrows into your soul. The kind that you just know will live with you forever. The kind that is absolutely unforgetable. Into the Wild is the latter. Honestly, I'm not sure how to even review this movie. In a way, it's beyond words. There's too much beauty, too much tragedy, too much unexplainable perfect-ness to try to capture in a paragraph or two of clumsy words. But I'll try. Into the Wild follows recent college graduate Chris McCandless (Emile Hirsch in a performance so powerful and astonishing, it's really hard to see how he can't be Oscar nominated in January) who burns his social security card, cuts up his credit cards and gives away his life savings to Oxfam. He leaves behind his family (Dad William Hurt, Mom Marcia Gay Harden, sister Jena Malone), gets in his car and just hits the road. We follow him on a series of life changing / life altering experiences and adventures. He meets a lot of great characters played by a lot of great actors (Holy Kristen Stewart! I was right, I was right. She can act!). He takes the name Alexander Supertramp and sets off to see it all. He does rapids from the desert into Mexico (without the permit that would require him to wait 12 years!). He works in a wheat field with Vince Vaughn. He forms a kind of tramp family with the lovely Catherine Keener. He has a moment of true clarity with an apple. All of these adventures, with hippies and nude colonies, Reno and the dirty streets of Los Angeles, moutains and deserts and sweet young love left unconsummated, his true goal is to go North - to Alaska. When he gets there he lives in a Magic Bus for over three months. He hunts (killing a moose which he writes is the biggest tragedy of his life), he pretends he's a bus driver having conversations with his imaginary passengers, he reads, he just lives. And then, well, nature has its funny ways. It's, perhaps, the biggest tragedy of all that the earth that he so worshipped and adored ultimately destroys him. To look at Emile Hirsch in those final few scenes is utterly painful. He looks so pained, to gaunt (you know, the Academy loves when actors lose a lot of weight for roles!!!). The cinematography is stunning. Sean Penn's rebellious direction is superb. The acting is downright brilliant. Hirsch, like I said, deserves to be nominated for an Oscar. I've been a fan of his for years but this is the performance that will cross him over into the mainstream - if he wants to. He gives his all to this role and the result is beyond words. The supporting cast is great as well especially turns from Hal Holbrook, Catherine Keener and Kristen Stewart. The bottom line is that this movie is just plain amazing. As far as I'm concerned, it's the best movie of the year and I can't forsee anything beating it. I'm sure some people out there might find the main character to be a pompous, stubborn asshole, but I see him (as does Penn) as some sort of martyr. His story is inspirational. If I had the guts, I would love to do the same thing. Is there anything wrong with this movie? I could say I didn't love Jena Malone's wise-beyond-her-years narration but that would just be nitpicking. As far as I'm concerned, this movie is as close as you can get to perfect.
Grade: A+

Across the Universe - Sometimes being visually daring doesn't exactly pay off. Sure, this movie looks great. It's got style by the truckload but that doesn't help a boring cliche filled script and loads of mediocre performances. The movie, of course, is set to Beatles music. And the songs are mostly great. The actors are up to the challenge of singing them. But sometimes it's overload. I'm pretty sure the only reason the character of Prudence is even in the movie is so they have an excuse to sing 'Dear Prudence' at one point. She's absolutely the most unnecessary character in recent memory. A few other characters show up just so they can randomly sing songs as well. In a way, the movie is an acheivement in art, design, style and dance. However, it's still a movie and as a movie it suffers from not having a strong script. It suffers from using every 60s era cliche it can possibly find. It suffers from being a little too strange for it's own good. It suffers from being about 40 minutes too long. (It's called editing Julie Taymor, please embrace it next time). There's no character development. No character arcs. No lessons learned. Nothing. But let's ignore the fact that the characters never learn or develop and remain completely one-dimensional because the movie looks great! No, I'm not that easy and you shouldn't be satisfied that easily either. Maybe what irked me the most was that it didn't follow the one very simple rule of musicals. You can pretty much get away with murder in a musical as long as you follow this one simple rule: All songs must advance the plot. This movie fails miserably at that. Jim Sturgess does a fine job playing the main character Jude, a man who leaves Liverpool to find his father in America and instead finds and falls in love with Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Wood... annoys me sometimes. In some movies I love her and in some movies I don't. I loved her in Pretty Persuasion and Down in the Valley. I didn't like her here. Dana Fuchs pretty much steals the show as Sadie, a very Janis Joplin type singer. Her rendition of Helter Skelter is easily the best part of the film. The movie isn't so bad, however. There are some great scenes. I particularly loved the bowling alley scene, the 'Happiness is a Warm Gun' scene and the 'Let it Be' scene (eventhough, again, random characters who only serve a function to sing and then disappear). It's not the best movie of the year (nowhere near it) but its not the worst either. It's more or less a two hour long glorified music video.
Grade: C-