The 25 Best Performances of 2018 in Film

1.       Ethan Hawke, First Reformed-What’s most impressive is that there are no overtly dramatic shouting monologues when you feel the character really has something to say. You can feel him bottling it up inside. 

2.       Rachel Weisz, Disobedience-The performance is helped along by the absence of a score in some places. The soundscape (mirroring a horror film to some degree) matches the performance really well and there’s also the fact that Weisz has to play discomfort in the first half without revealing too much of a larger truth (her past attraction to McAdams’ character)

3.       Christian Bale, Vice-It boils down largely to “It’s Christian Bale, what do you expect?” There’s a lot of nuance in playing Bale

4.       Rachel Weisz, The Favourite-The stand-out in this film because she’s so devious and fun. If Emma Stone donned an accent, it might have been more of a contest

5.       Mahershala Ali, Green Book-I feel like accent-wise he Sidney Poitiered it up a wee bit too much and I could sense inconsistencies accent-wise, so deducting a little for that. Other than that, it’s a tour-de-force performance worthy of an Oscar. Obviously, it should be a lead but the marketing team at Universal was smart enough to place him in a weak field where there’d be no question he could win with all the fluctuations of a long season

6.       Kiki Layne, If Beale Street Could Talk-In particular, I remember the indelible montage of her working long days behind a retail counter while pregnant and then succumbing to labor

7.       Alessandro Nivola, Disobedience-“You are free!” So much subtlety in this performance and so many uncomfortable situations. “Disobedience” and “The Favourite” were easily the most challenging and successfully acted films of the year

8.       Rachel McAdams, Disobedience-McAdams’s Oscar nomination came from being elevated by the prestige of starring in sn eventual Best Picture winner in a week year. This is miles above that role. 

9.       Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody-I was originally happy to see him win an Oscar but upon rewatching this film a second time on an airplane, BORRRING. I believe I was so blind to its flaws on the first watch because I knew nothing about Queen and they are a really interesting story. Mercury was an ethnic and sexual outliar to his time while gaining exalted status as a rock God and he was also intellectually ahead of his time. If you already are aware of Queen the novelty wears off fast and that applies for the performance too. However, there is a certain multi-directional charisma Malek bought to the role that helped move it along. I was planning on ranking him higher but A) He didn’t sing and B) He has a certain naivette in the first half of the film that sort of leaves more questions than it answers.

10.   Ben Foster, Leave No Trace-Proud to brag here that I attended a screening with Foster appearing afterwards in Q &A. Since the days of “Big Trouble” and “X-Men: The Last Stand”, I’ve been a fan of this guy.  He generally has a look that gets him cast in baddies or rough-and-tumble guys.

11.   Viola Davis, Doubt-I’m not as much of a fan lately of Davis for reasons that have to do with her (publicly disowning “The Help)  and reasons absent (the attention she gets in comparison to costars), but It was a creative choice to grant her a BAFTA nomination. As the lead, she plays a key role in elevating a genre film to a work with the kind of socio-economic  that might get the Oscars talking.

12.   Cynthia Evro, Bad Times at El Royale-Aside from her wonderful singing voice, she brings the fear and tension and when she smashes that bottle over the dude’s  head (it would spoil it to identify the victim of her smash but I left a hint there), it’s a show-stopper of a scene. This film has a very strong ensemble

13.   Jon Hamm, Beirut-Squinting at intelligence reports, ruminating over high-pressure decisions, talking with the authority of a well-versed operative against various diplomats, this is the kind of stuff they gave Claire Danes Emmys for in “Homeland” and Hamm deserves at least a sliver of the same attention here for a fine performance in a film that opened at the wrong time of year. Like Viola Davis, the movie’s ability to transcend genre rests entirely on him.

14.   Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk-An excellent choice for Best Supporting Actress if they’re not going to go with Weisz. The scene where she pleads to the Puerto Rican for her son-in-law’s life is that showstopping moment an Oscar campaign needs for the highlight reel but she’s present in every scene.

15.   Emma Stone, The Favourite-This film is a collection of great scenes and she had a number of standout moments I can’t deny. If she put just a bit more work into an accent or just felt more of the period, I could have felt like she was carrying more of her weight.

16.   Olivia Coleman, The Favourite-It’s always nice to see the Oscar prognosticators be made fools of on Oscar night. After all, the spirit of the event is to be elated when a name is called on the big night and those prognosticators try to mathematically shortcut the process and suck the fun out of it. Besides, Olivia Coleman has been a vibrant up-and-comer who has enhanced everything she’s done and Glenn Close isn’t owed anything just because she’s been nominated before. However, the screen time was a bit short to get all worked up about.  

17.   Colin Farrell, Widows-I’m not one of those types who goes around saying “I’m gonna write a screenplay someday” but I occasionally have imaginary movie ideas I’m developing in my head and one of them is about an apathetic politician exactly like the kind Colin Farrell played in this film which is kind of creepy yet remarkable. One way to measure a good supporting performance is if you want to see a whole film developed about the side character and in this case, yes.

18.   Tim Blake Nelson, Ballad of Buster Scruggs-If this singing cowboy had the whole film to himself, I could say it having some kind of Jack-Sparrow-like potential in terms of making a dent in pop culture and getting action figures and the like.

19.   Thomasin McKenzie, Leave No Trace-I remember it being a great movie with a solid relationship in the center, but I don’t have that sensory memory so many months  later of what this performance felt like.

20.   Marina del Taverna, Roma-Is the “d” capitalized or lower-case. Discuss amongst yourselves (or look it up)

21.   Viggo Mortensen, Green Book-A bit stereotypically Italian but f the Green Book critics who are continuing to perpetuate the myth that the movie’s inaccurate. I’m assuming Mortensen did his homework

22.   Jeff Bridges, Bad Times at El Royale-After seeing Jeff Bridges in interviews, I have a sneaking suspicion that this seven-time Oscar nominee has just been playing variations of his stoned hippie self for a long time. I’ve seen four of his seven Oscar-nominated performances and have been unimpressed.

23.   Michael Palin, Death of Stalin-What a national treasure. His indecisive pickiness is a great contrast to this unique film

24.   Lakieth Stanfield, Sorry to Bother You-A terrible and obnoxious movie, but credit where credit is due.

25.   Sandra Bullock, Ocean’s 8-Yes, I think she’s more charming than the smug George Clooney here. This is a playfully fun part and she has a slyness I like

Others I was considering:
Nancy Garcia Garcia, Roma; Donald Glover, Solo; Steve Carell, Vice; Jeffrey Tambour, Death of Stalin; Rufus  Sewell, Death of Stalin, Lewis Pullman, Bad Times at El Royale; John  David Washington, BlacKkKlansman; Amanda Seyfried, First Reformed

2015: Year-End Top 30 Actress Power Ranking

This is my Power Rankings series where I rank actors and actresses on a mix of commercial and critical bankability. The measure is on the odds that casting this actress in your film will make it a critical or commercial success. It's based on December 31, 2015 as I originally wrote it then and haven't gotten around to posting it. Check out the last power rankings I did three years ago for reference.

Fair warning: A proper noun or two might be spelled wrong. 



The top four:

1. Charlize Theron
2. Cate Blanchett
3. Jennifer Lawrence
4. Kate Winslet

There were four clear contenders for the top spot. The two K/Cates (Blanchett and Kate Winslet) are the go-to actresses for auteurs and they have both displayed a seemingly endless range for Oscar-caliber acting in the last twenty years. Blanchett is penalized a little because she’s so chameleon-like  that she doesn’t have any star persona. Winslet is penalized a little because she wasn’t on any particular hot streak before Steve Jobs (which got her an Oscar nomination but it was a film which no one really saw) as evidenced by the disaster that was Jason Reitman’s Labor Day.

Lawrence is on fire (as Alicia Keys can attest) with two franchises she’s successfully helmed and more Oscar nominations than any 25-year-old really needs. However, she could be in danger of being ghettoized if she chooses to do all her non-tentpole films with David O Russell. For non-DOR fans, she is in danger of falling off their radar as the lack of success Joy had in finding an audience showed. There’s also some debate about whether she can master an older woman but that’s based on whether you think she pulled Joy (I'm in the camp that she did).

That leaves Charlize Theron who has been recognized as a high-caliber actress for a dozen years now, has the hardware to show for it, and has a certain edge to her screen persona that sells. By sheer talent and appeal, I am comfortable calling her the biggest star in moviedom today.

5.      Meryl Streep-Universally considered the best actress of her generation, Streep continues to take risks and interesting choices while also doing broad appeal films like Mamma Mia, Lemony Snicket, It’s Complicated, Prime, and some might say Ricki and the Flash (in theory, this film should have had broad appeal). She’s aging gracefully and is a threat to get an Oscar nomination pretty much every year.

 6.      Scarlett Johansson-Although she’s never been Oscar-nominated, she’s come close enough a few times that she’s considered high-caliber. She also has several Golden Globe and BAFTA nominees and has been an established actress for a dozen years. She’s a certifiable action star and has made boundary-pushing choices through films such as Lucy, Her or Don John’s Addiction. And yes, the plot of Lucy was pretty ridiculous, but it was an edgy choice on her part.

7.      Julianne Moore-She’s hot because she just won an Oscar, but even so, she consistently brings the goods. She’s been in romantic comedies, art house films, and adaptations BUT she goes down a couple pegs from Top 5 because her best performances are often for obscure films. She won an Oscar for Still Alice but did anyone see Still Alice? Free Held, Maps to the Stars and, in the past, The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio didn’t even get wide-scale distribution.

8.      Amy Adams-The female answer to Leonardo DiCaprio. She has the make and temperament of a character actress but she has shown the ability to hold her own as a lead (she out-acted Jennifer Lawrence  in American Hustle) and her filmography is so full of good films, she can rival John C Rilley or the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman as contemporaries.  Man of Steel brings tent pole credentials and so did Enchanted (although that was back in 2007). She also has done comedy like Talladega Nights or The Muppet Movie and was pretty game to get her hands dirty .

9.      Naomi Watts-How often she appears in film is relative but her talent alone groups her in the top tier. Like Nicole Kidman, she’s chameleon-like in accents and although this is three years ago, The Impossible was very DiCaprio-like in terms of the rigor of the shoot.

 10.  Rooney Mara-Although her filmography is relatively short (not as short as Hailee Steinfeld or Saiosre Ronan), she has made strong marks in everything she’s in. Even small supporting roles in Social Network or Her garnered attention. She has about a 50% chance of winning an Oscar for Carol but even if she doesn’t, she will likely be back.

11.  Keira Knightley-Authentic English actors and actresses always get a boost in bankability because so many period pieces (even things not explicitly set in England like Troy or Merchant of Venice) require an English thespian. On top of that, Knightley is hip and cool and has a modern sensibility. She could easily fit into a Diablo Cody or Noah Bombauch work (Begin Again or Seeking a Friend for the End of the World might not have been written explicitly by those two but they were in that mold). Plus, she can swashbuckle AND sing. 

12.  Anne Hathaway-An Oscar winner at the right age to play a wide range of parts, her public persona is a bit polarizing. She did action in Get Smart and sang in Les Miserables. Even though she’s been on SNL, her comic chops are not particularly strong in my opinion.

13.  Rachel McAdams-Introduced to Hollywood in a villainess role in Mean Girls, she’s tackled a wide range of parts working with Terrence Malick, Woody Allen, Thomas McCarthy and kicked ass in Sherlock Holmes and a Most Wanted Man. Turned a best supporting actress nomination in a competitive field this past year and is a very strong romantic lead.
  
14.  Sandra Bullock-The female counterpart to Matthew McConaughey in that she was seen mostly as a romcom type of actress with a bubbly personality but her 2009 Oscar gave her a makeover and the follow-up Oscar nod in Gravity gave her a lot more leverage in being taken seriously. 

15.  Emma Stone-This might just be me  but I have trouble not seeing her as a teeny-bopper sor tof star even though we’re apparently 5 years removed from her high school roles in Easy A and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. She’s had a respectable turn in the Help, starred in two of Woody Allen’s most invisible films and her big Oscar-nominated turn in Birdman (which I’m pretty sure would not have materialized if she wasn’t acting in the eventual BP winner) was still that of a teenager. I think it might still be a while until she’s taken seriously as an actress who can play 30+. 

16.  Judi Dench-If you need a senior citizen, she’ll work in nearly every film, but it's worth noting, she’s getting to the age where her acting days are limited due to failing eye sight.

17.  Jessica Chastain-Two Oscar noms in the past five years and a very close call last year for a nominaion as well. Not to mention she’s been in four Best Picture nominees-The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, Help, and Tree of Life- in that time period as well. She’s also won a Golden Globe and two NBR awards. With Interstellar, The Martian, Zero Dark Thirty, and a Most Violent Year, she has a very good track record of interesting film choices

18.  Helen Mirren-Very versatile actress who not as old as she looks (she’s 70), although she gets relegated to senior citizen parts (though she is considered a cougar of sorts). She still gets awards buzz here and there (Woman in Gold and Trumbo in this year alone). Also worth noting: Woman in Gold got $33 million domestically at the box office. Extremely impressive for a film no one’s ever heard of. 

19.  Alicia Vikander-It’s hard to properly rate someone who’s been in the public spotlight for exactly one year. Man from Uncle, Ex Machina, The Danish Girl ere all great performances and she could even win an Oscar and just won a SAG award, but it’s just one year. The longer you’re in the public eye the better chances you have of working up a fan base.

20.  Nicole Kidman-The first time I wrote a list like this in 2009, she was #1 and she’s still just as good but a lot of her films are not wide-release. Her best role in the last half-decade, Paperboy, was mostly enjoyed ironically by people. The Oscar campaign for that role was something along the lines of  “Let’s give an Oscar nom to someone in a bad movie for once!” 

21.  Saoirse Ronan-I tend to group her, Haile Steinfeld and Carey Mulligan together in the same boat. Women who got Oscar noms at young ages and subsequently got set up with expectations as the next big thing. Of the trio, Ronan has had the biggest cult. She carried Brooklyn to a Best Picture Nomination this past year.

22.  Kristen Wiig-Some might disagree but I would maintain she wasn’t as well-known on SNL as Maya Rudolph, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey. Those three were known as Hollywood royalty. Wiig had the most screentime of anyone on SNL in her later years, but there was a good chance if you didn’t watch SNL during those years, you wouldn’t have known she was on. Since leaving, she’s had a game-changing megahit in Bridesmaids, has taken value-added supporting roles in nearly every comedy to come out. She has also won critical acclaim in a wide variety of indie films.

23.  Emily Blunt-This is more wishful thinking because somehow I don’t think Blunt is quite A-list yet, but I see no reason why she shouldn’t. I don’t even understand why she wasn’t nominated for Sicario. She can play a brooding, introspective star, she can do dramedy (Sunshine Cleaning, Devil Wears Prada), she did period (Young Victoria), and she has edge. 

24.  Reese Witherspoon-Wild was one of the best performances of any actor last year IMO and she deserved an  Oscar, but she’s so ingrained as the ingénue that it’s sometimes hard to see her outside of that typecast. Even Walk the Line had her playing a version of that Southern Ingenue. It’s also been well over a decade since she became a tentpole star with Legally Blonde.

25.  Claire Danes-Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell, James Gandolfini and Kyle Chandler have enjoyed extremely successful movie careers since their star-making TV roles have ended. I predict when Homeland ends, Danes will be an A-lister in the movies.  As far as I can gather, she’s only been in one film in the 2010s (a Sundance entry) but that should change when Homeland ends. Anna Faris and Kerry Washington are two others I believe will explode in film when their TV shows end. 

26.  Carey Mulligan-Her casting in the Great Gatsby when it was hyped up in the pre-production phase says a lot about how prized she is among casting directors. She’s the right age to be cast in young women roles. Garnered some Oscar buzz this past year for Suffragette.

27.  Marion Cotillard-Being from England is a big plus. Being from nearly every other country is an impediment, but Cotillard has done extremely well for herself acting in such high profile films as Public Enemies, Midnight in Paris, and Inception and shone in MacBeth this year. 

28.  Kerry Washington-She had a long career as a character actress (Ray, Mr and Mrs Smith, Last King of Scotland) before being cast in a highly visible TV show which should give her a big boost when Scandal ends. She’s even done great work in the movies while on Scandal (Exhibit A: Django Unchained) 

29.  Rosario Dawson-Dawson amasses a lot of longevity points: She’s been in consistently good roles for the last 13 or 14 years throughout multiple genres. With a supporting role in Daredevil, she's dipped her toe into prestige TV, but she still has plenty of time on her schedule to be in the next big thing on screen.

30.  Ellen Page-Has a hip and cool edge (Whip It, Juno) but could use a better agent. Her latest film, Freeheld, did not get great distribution but she's visible enough that a comeback isn't out of the question.

Top 25 Actresses

The biggest selling blog piece I ever wrote was an article on the 25 biggest actresses in Hollywood written in early 2009/late 2008. Here's an update.
Also note I wrote this from a phone so likely a lot of spelling and grammatical errors:
1 Meryl Streep-Even though she's a generation above the type of woman that usually would merit the title preeminent actress of Hollywood, how can I possibly ignore Meryl Streep anymore? (I ranked her #3 in 2008) She hits a home run in everything she's in and shows no signs on letting up the Oscar haul.
2 Charlize Theron-Theron is supremely talented and is capable of giving an unquestionably breathtaking performance like the one that stole critical thunder from all the actresses critics were taking seriously in 2003 with Monster. In the nearly ten years since, she's shown Monster was no fluke with North Country and Young Adult and she's also shown she can do action, period pieces, and romance. 
3 Naomi Watts-A supremely talented actress may not win the Oscar with The Impossible but she's been a darkhorse for a long time now missing out on several nominations and the film seems to be carving out a larger piece of the public consciousness than Beasts of the Southern Wild or Amour. Watts has long been Hollywood's best keep secret in my opinion. She turns everything she's in to Gold. With her second Oscar nomination, she might no longer be under the radar.
4 Nicole Kidman-She gives out an Oscar calliber performance nearly every year. Is there a such thing as the offseason in movie acting, I haven't seen it from her in over ten years. Even performances from her that get zero Oscar buzz like The Interpreter in 2005 are brilliant.
5 *Anne Hathaway-Initially, I thought she was too feminine to fit a wide mold of parts but her playfulness with the action lead in Get Smart and her ugliness in the psychological head trip Rachel Getting Married changed my mind. If she wins an Oscar for Les Miserables, it will be well-deserved for a pretty impressive body of work to date.
6 *Jessica Chastain-From the prism of moviegoers like us, Jessica Chastain looks like a mad workahaulic on par with Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, or Michael Caine in the 80s (DoubleCheck). She had 6 movies out in 2011, four in 2012, and is slated for four next year. She's earned Oscar nods both years so far and if she wasn't nominated for "The Help" last year, she deserved to be nominated for "The List."
7 *Jennifer Lawrence-Who would've thought that the third lead from the highly forgettable Bill Evangl show would amount to be the proverbial homecoming queen of Hollywood?
8 Julianne Moore-The best actress of her generation to be without an Oscar, Moore is still hacking away and while she hasn't been as prolific in the last few years, she continues to hold a strong batting average in projects with Crazy Stupid Love, A Single Man, and HBO's Game Change for which she won an Emmy.
9 Kiera Knightley-Although she hasn't been nominated since 2005 for Oscar, she has found herself in the middle of Oscar speculation three times since: Anna Karennia, Atonement, A Dangerous Method. Add The Duchess to those four films and Knightly has cornered the market on period film leading ladies. Moreso, Knightly has been open to stretching herself with action ("Domino"), quirky indie film ("Seeking a Friend for the End of the World") and romcom ("Love Actually")
10 Helen Mirren-Only 67, Mirren can still play a wide array of parts and I don't see any signs that her newfound poularity for winning an Oscar in The Queen has waned at all.
11 Cate Blanchett-Cate Blanchett was #2 (behind Kidman) on my last list because at the time, she was cranking out two or three movies a year and none of them were dinky films everyone forgets about. Just to refresh your memory in the 3 years leading up to late 2008, she was in Notes on a Scandal, Good German, and Babel in 2006; a double nominee in 2007 with I'm Not There and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and then a year AFTER THAT, she was the villain in Indiana Jones AND the love interest in the Oscar-nominated Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Even if Indy 4 was disappointing, you have to admit its a big deal that she was the villain. And she might have been in more if I bothered to look it up. In contrast, I can't name a single film she's been in since 2009 from memory. Still, I'll bet she probably was in something recently AND that if she wants to, shell be in something soon enough and she'll kill it.
12 Judi Dench-Just look at the Oscar buzz surrounding Dench in 2012 to see how she can infuse thankless parts into performances that get noticed. Her role in Skyfall as M was one of the first instance of an actress in a Bond film (along with Bardem) getting enough critical acclaim to make a dent on the Awards circut. In Exotic Marigold, her storyline comptered with that of Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, and Tom Wilkinson, yet she somehow pulls it together enough to be considered a lead.
13 Amy Adams- Adams looks more like a character actress than a star and four supporting actress nominations proves that point but, then again, four supporting actress nominations in an eight-year span is quite a feat. She's also proven she can lead a film
with "Enchanted", "Sunshine Cleaning," and "Muppet Movie" and her range of films-from a tentpole like "Night at the Museum" to a Will Ferrell-John C. Rielly romp in "Talladega Nights" to a prestige pic like "Doubt"- is greater than any other actress on this list.
14 *Emma Stone-With her casting as the Garfield's love interest she is officially the Kirsten Dunst of the '90's.Among her filmography this decade are prestigious films that did a respectable job at drawing audiences such as The Help and Crazy Stupid Love. On the other end of the spectrum, her populist crowd pleasers- Easy A and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World- got good critical reviews and transcended the teen genre. The best of both worlds.
15 *Marion Cotillard-Cotillard was 100% a product of the French film industry and 0% embedded in Hollywood when she won the Oscar in 2008 for "La Vie en Rose." Since then, she's transitioned nicely as a viable leading lady in Hollywood with notable performances in Public Enemies, Inception, Dark Knight Rises, and an Oscar-worthy entry with Rust and Bone for which she was likely the unlucky 6th place finisher in Oscar voting.  
16 Cameron Diaz-For someone who was tagged early in her career as a sex symbol, Diaz has proven remarkably resillient with age as her charm, acting chops, and comedic instincts have become larger parts of her main appeal. She went full awards bait in the underrecognized My Sister's Keeper and shows her ease in comedic leading roles like Bad Teacher or Knight and Day (a time capsule of a movie taking us back to the day when Tom Cruise was a charming leading man).
17 Natalie Portman-Portman won the Oscar two years ago and I'm not writing her out of the top 15 because of that distance. If she won in 2011, I still would give her the same rank. While Portman's winning an Oscar wasn't as much of an outliar as Monique (he was essentially a comedian/sitcom personality) in relation to her body of work, I don't see much in Natalie Portman in terms of appeal or versatility outside of that one performance. In No Strings Attached, she was more awkward than dopelganger (who had Friends with Benefits out the same year) Cameron Diaz and has too grave a demeanor to fit in well in romantic comedies. She's also too mousy and feminine for action and she wouldn't be my first choice in her age group for a period piece.
18 *Rooney Mara-In her two introductions to mainstream audiences-Social Network and Girl with the Dragon Tatoo-she made an immediate impression and earned a surprise nomination in the latter.
19 *Carey Mulligan-A relatively young Best Actress nominee at the age of 24, Mulligan has been getting some of the most coveted roles in Hollywood since with Oliver Stone's sequel Wall Street 2, Great Gatsby, and Shame. She also wisely chose a winner by participating in Drive in 2011 as well.
20 *Rachel Weicz-The inconspicous actrss with a gap in her teeth and a wedding peak unleashed a playful and sexy side of her and won an Oscar for it in The Constant Gardener in 2005/2006. She continues to pop up with good performances significantly under the radar as in The Brothers Bloom (did you see her do all those tricks?) and Deep Blue Sea and she's got the hardware which gives casting directors an extra incentive to cast her.
21 Laura Linney-Hollywood's thinking woman has three Oscar nominations and can command lead parts well and an Emmy (John Adams). She brings thoughtful aura to her films.
22 Kate Winslet-Where has Kate been lately? Id put her on the list of people who could come back tomorrow and give the best performance of the year. Winslet was #4 on my last list
23 Reese Whitherspoon-Where has Reese been? She was my #6 in 2008
24 Maggie Smith-Smith got buzz for two performances this past year-Exotic Marigold and Quartet- but I think she looks just a little older than Dench and Mirren. Heck, she was relegated to the wise old woman role in Best Exotic Marigold among a group of retirees. I could look up their ages but that's not as relevant because I'm talking about perception. As is, she's supremely talented but I can't classify her as a hot commodity in Hollywood because I have little confidence that she'll see a starring role like Quartet again. Quartet was a very rare movie.
25 *Kristen Wiig- Wigg was a lightning rod of an SNL cast member during a six and a half year stint in which she inconspicuously rose from the shadows of the Fey-Rudolph-Poehler Era to become the show's premiere talent. Her detractors (quite vocal on the internet, they were) said she was hogging the spotlight and did too many recurring characters, but few of her haters doubted her talent. Her high stature in Hollywood at the moment is based on the success of Bridesmaids, but I rank her highly based on the way she's effortlessly fit into a large number of supporting roles (i.e. Ghost Town, Knocked Up, Walk Hard, Extract) and enhanced so many films.
People who were on my last list that no longer are:
Catherine Zeta-Jones, Kirsten Dunst, Jennifer Connelly, Julia Roberts, Joan Allen, Tilda Swinton, Rene Zellweger (who was all the way up at #5), Scarlett Johannsen (who was #8) , Penelope Cruz, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Halle Berry

A Top 25 Power List of Actors: 2012

1. Leo DiCaprio-Gets his choice of projects, astounds audiences, grows in every film. Even something like J. Edgar not being seen by audiences doesn't really tarnish his exemplary filmography.

2. Matt Damon-Being prolific helps. He's been with every director, starred with nearly everybody, continues to be bold, and still well-liked even in face of bombs.

3. Brad Pitt-Nearly got double-nominated last year. His name above the marquee can probably automatically get a film in the Oscar discussion at this point and that's not saying anything for his ability to increasingly turn in a great performance or his clout to get something greenlit.

4. Daniel Day-Lewis-Being less prolific makes him hard to gauge

5. Johnny Depp-Tourist was a bust but he can still be exciting and creative like no one else. Don't forgot the success of Rango if you're looking for recent hits.

6. Christian Bale-Acknowledged as supremely talented by many in the industry. Did right by Batman and Nolan, he has won an Oscar, and is capable of winning another without a doubt. Also, challenges himself outside of Nolan with collaborations with Terrence Malick and Warner Herzog and doing the Western 3:10 to Yuma.

7. Michael Fassbender-Of five films he made in 2011, three ("Shame", "Dangerous Method", "X-Men First Class") were big critical or commercial hits. He's like Jude Law in 2004 but nearly every film he made turned into gold one way or another. His Oscar snub was highly undeserved last year. In 2012, he had a solid supporting turn in Prometheus.

8. George Clooney-Going a little bit downhill but still viable as a leading man. By downhill, how many times can he reinvent the same variation of a pretty man who becomes disheveled. Some might be shocked I'm putting him this low, but I do think that in front of the camera, he's run out of his ways with his range to produce another Oscar-nominated performance. Behind the camera, that's another story and I think he could get nominated as a director. The truth is his box office receipts don't really keep up with how often he appears in People Magazine.

9. Ryan Gosling-Is in the conversation as the next Clooney and is often in Oscar contention every year.

10. Robert Downey Jr.-Being behind Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, two of the biggest franchises of the last few years and delivering such a strong take on Sherlock Homes that it's worthy of acting buzz  says a lot on its own. He often gets talked about as if he's a comeback when, in my opinion, he should simply get talked about as one of the most talented stars in Hollywood.

11. Hugh Jackman-Les Miserables puts him near the top now. It's a temporary ridge. I think he has to follow it with something great to stay at the top of the A-list. His likability as a person is enormous. He's been a little bigger in the world of theater than film.

12. Sean Penn-Won two Oscars in the last 10 years, so he's not someone to ever count out in an Oscar race. Does not have box office appeal but that's because he doesn't choose projects with box office potential.

13 (tie). Philip Seymour Hoffman-Once a character actor, now a capable lead. When you think about it, he was the main star of "Doubt", "Before the Devil Knows Youre Dead", "Synechdone, New York" and if I'm not mistaken "Pirate Radio." That's pretty unique because the roles he had for the first ten years weren't even supporting roles. In terms of amount of screentime among cast members, he likely ranked 7th for Scent of a Woman, 7th for Big Lebowski, 6th for Talented Mr. Ripley, and 8th for Almost Famous.
13. (tie) Joaquin Phoenix-I think his stunt circa 2009/2010 where he decided to be crazy in character has likely helped him be seen as a badass Daniel Day-Lewis type who can take method acting to new insane levels. In short, it's likely boosted his credibility.
15. Bradley Cooper-I can make his case in four words and a comma: Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook

16. Daniel Craig-The credibility of doing justice to the franchise of James Bond combined with the classic training and ability to knock out supporting parts out of the park ("Road to Perdition" "Infamous" "Munich). I can't see any course of action for Craig other than getting bigger and bigger every year.

17. Joseph Gordon Leavitt-Being in Christoper Nolan's last two hits certainly helped make his case as an A-lister and allowed him to give great performances, but his contributions to 500 Days of Summer and raising that movie to Best Picture Oscar contention helped a lot too. He's clearly artistic in his aims and earning credibility with his blockbusters. Looper got an AFI award for top ten films of the year.

18. Denzel Washington-Up for Oscar #6 and while he hasn't branched out as much as DiCaprio or Damon (he's done most of his work with Spike Lee and the late Tony Scott), he's a surprisingly durable brand. I was thinking he's a relic of the 90's, but double-checked and Unstoppable, Safe House, Inside Man, the Book of Eli and American Gangster were all successful either critically or commercially.

19. Andrew Garfield-I don't know if I like him personally and I don't know why they made a new Spiderman Movie five years after the last one ended, BUT if he is Spiderman, then he will be a big attraction for the next few years.

20. Jamie Foxx-He hasn't quit his string of good performances since Ray. In some cases, he was my favorite part of "The Soloist", "Jarhead" "Dreamgirls" "Horrible Bosses" and while those performances are underacknowledged, in my opinion, I think he easily has the potential to score another Oscar nod at will (kind of like how Will Smith only really tried acting twice and got nominated each time). Hopefully, Djanho Unchained will help rise him to the core

21. Jeremy Renner-He was in the Avengers, on Saturday Night Live, got two Oscar nods in quick succession and took over the Bourne role.

22. Liam Neeson-A talented actor who was cast in the lead in Battleship, The Grey and starred in Wrath of the Titans. While none of these movies had any cultural impact whatsoever and will likely be forgotten in a year's time, they show that Neeson is still being cast in lead roles. He hasn't been the lead of an Oscar-caliber film since Kinsey and it was really around Schindler's List when he was at the peak of his stardom, but one good franchise or one good Oscar winning film could land him back on top and I'm convinced that Hollywood is willing to cast him in it.

23. Tom Cruise-For better or worse, Tom Cruise has survived Oprahgate. He's no longer one of the top stars in the world but he's still being given enormous amounts of money ($75 million for a musical and $60 million for Jack Reacher, although Jack Reacher looks like it cost well over $100 million) to be making action movies and they're not being seen as frequently, but I think the fact that he's still able to do what he's always been doing merits a place on the top 25. I also think he's still showing the shrewdness in movie selection that he did before his fall from grace, especially with Tropic Thunder but I even see the small stuff like how "Knight and Day" does cast him in a slightly different light than his other films and was a good move for him in his career.

24. Ben Kingsley-I don't think this guy is in "old grandfather role" territory just yet and he did strike up a collaboration with Scorsese for his last two films. He's also damn talented as everyone knows, so I can see him being a pretty good asset to any movie, a viable Oscar contender given the right role, and a name on a marquee that could sell a film.

25. Ben Affleck-He likes directing more than acting but that doesn't mean he won't act, and he especially gives it his all when acting in his own projects. He demonstrates with Hollywoodland that he can act very well, so I see no reason why other directors wouldn't want to gobble him up like Kevin Costner and Mel Gibson did in the years after they won directing Oscars.

Are actors or actresses more crucial to best picture noms?

Right now, I'm just enjoying that a decade has concluded and it's sort of ripe for analysis. It's kind of like a statistician in a room full of data.
For instance, I had this theory as I was making a best actors list that they're much more important than best actresses because they fuel a best picture nomination much more often.

I took the top 15 actresses of the last decade according to my last list. These actresses are Kidman, Blanchett, Streep, Winslet, Zellweger, Whitherspoon, Dench, Scarlett Johannson, Julia Roberts, Juliane Moore, Naiomi Watts, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Connelly, Kiera Knightly, and Charlize Theron. I made that list objectively without

I am working on a list of top actors and I was planning on excluding Daniel Day-Lewis because he hasn't appeared in a minimum # of pictures for comparison, but nonetheless, I have something along the lines of DiCaprio, Crowe, Depp, Penn, Damon, Pitt, Clooney, Denzel, Cruise, Hanks, PS Hoffman, Jamie Foxx, Heath Ledger, Daniel Day-Lewis and Joaquin Pheonix.

Let's look at how each group of 15 actors has appeared in all 55 nominated films of the last decade:
Guys:
1. Chocolat-Depp, 2. Gladiator-Crowe/Pheonix 3. A Beautiful Mind-Crowe 4. Gangs of New York-DiCaprio/Day-Lewis 5. Mystic River-Penn 6. Master and Commander-Crowe 7. Ray-Foxx 8. Finding Neverland-Depp 9. Aviator-DiCaprio 10. Capote-Hoffman 11. Brokeback Mountain-Ledger 12. Good Night and Good Luck-Clooney 13. Babel-Pitt 14. Departed-Damon/DiCaprio 15. There Will be Blood-Day-Lewis 16. Michael Clayton-Clooney 17. Benjamin Buttons-Pitt 18. Milk-Penn 19. Inglorious Basterds-Pitt 20. Up in the Air-Clooney
Gals:
1. Erin Brockovitch-Roberts 2. Chocolat-Dench 3. Beautiful Mind-Connelly 4. Moulan Rouge-Kidman 5. Chicago-Zellweger 6. The Hours-Kidman/Moore/Streep 7. LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring-Blanchett 8. LOTR: Two Towers-Blanchett 9. LOTR: Return of the King-Blanchett 10. Lost in Translation-Johannsen 11. Aviator-Blanchett 12. Finding Neverland-Winslet 13. Babel-Blanchett 14. The Queen-Mirren 15. Atonement-Knightly 16. Reader-Winslet 17. Buttons-Blanchett


In the end, it's not that far of a difference.

Except if I were to only award a half a point for supporting performances that don't really lead the film: You have Blanchett in all 3 Lord of the Rings films, Blanchett in the Aviator, Blanchett in Benjamin Buttons, Winslet in Finding Neverland, Dench in Chocolat compared to Clooney for Good Night and Good Luck so that's something to consider. Even when someone like Brad Pitt in Inglorious Basterds is a supporting role, he's marketed heavily as the lead as we saw with the recent promotion for that film.