Favorite Actresses

When the Star Wars prequels were released, I was in junior high, and I remember having the most sincere crush on Padme. 'Black Swan' may have done that in, but Natalie Portman is still a fine actress.

In my opinion, no one else could have played Daenarys Targaryen.

She was quite good in 'Oblivion' and 'Quantum of Solace.'

Put simply, she is 'Wonder Woman' now.

Her playing Kate in LOST was enough, but Evangeline Lilly was great in Ant-Man too. I also really appreciate the public comments she made in support of the Canadian truckers' protest when making those comments put her career in great peril. That took real-life courage, and she will always have been right to back them in my mind.

She played Jane to perfection in 'Pride and Prejudice' in 2005.

Besides crushing on 'Padme' in Star Wars Episodes I-III, starting in junior high, I distinctly remember also falling for Arwen in 'The Lord of the Rings' in high school. She was also a fine Betty Ross in 'The Incredible Hulk,' opposite Edward Norton.

'Gone With the Wind' would not have been the same without her.

'The Mask of Zorro.' Need I say more?

She was great opposite Charlton Heston as Sephora in 'The Ten Commandments'

'Chuck' was a fun show, and she was instrumental in that being the case.

Though it wasn't one, to the extent ' The Matrix Reloaded' might be considered a decent follow-up to the first 'Matrix' film, the Merovingian and Bellucci as Persephone deserve a lot of credit for adding fresh sophistication and gravity that gave the audience more than just a stale remix of the first film.

'The Hunger Games' and 'X-Men: First Class' showcased an actress with a range that combined a clumsy, self-deprecating sense of humor with a capacity to be serious and focused as well. Jennifer Lawrence is beautiful, but also seems to be a real person in a fuller sense than is common. That is refreshing to see, and makes a film more enjoyable to watch for being present by her inclusion in it.

After starting off with so much promise, I don't at all like the direction 'Poldark' ultimately went; it would have been far better to present a vision of faithfulness in marriage. That said, there's no doubt that Eleanor Tomlinson played Demelza well, and was highly enjoyable to watch in that role. She also made 'Jack the Giant Slayer' a better film for being in it.

Typically, I don't care at all for the trend in recent decades to present leading female characters as ultra-competent, ultra-deadly warriors. However, 'Live, Die, Repeat' was great science fiction with a great concept and execution. Emily Blunt playing an even remotely believable female soldier in it the way that she did helped tremendously to that end.

Much of the success and enjoyability of 'Rogue One' - by far, the best Star Wars film to come out since the originals, and a fine movie in its own right, even if you're not a fan of the franchise - should be attributed to the beauty and talent of the actress who played 'Jyn Erso.'

'The Village' is one of my favorite films, and it would not at all have been the same with anyone but Bryce Dallas Howard playing in the lead role. Besides that, her episode of 'Black Mirror' taking a dystopic look at social credit scores is legendary.

In both 'Mission Impossible' and the latest 'Dune' films, she almost always looks like she's weighing and measuring the next move to make, and how best to make it. If she has another mode, it is looking determined to make the next move as well as it can be made.

She was Peggy Carter, and did a fine job playing a master thief in Mission Impossible. When she is on the screen, the expectation is that someone is about to be scolded, and rightly so.

"George Bailey, I'll love you 'til the day I die" and "This is what I wished for" pretty well sum up Donna Reed's performance in 'It's a Wonderful Life,' where she brought such a charming, gentle, sweet, feminine grace to the role of Mary.

For starters, she was George Bailey's mother in 'It's a Wonderful Life,' and Jeremiah's grandmother in 'So Dear to My Heart.' In both films, she could be the tenderest one moment and the sternest the next, alternating from one mode to the next with the utmost believability and grace.

I grew up watching 'The Sound of Music' and 'Mary Poppins,' and can't even count how many times I've seen those films; the voice, mannerisms, and charm of Julie Andrews made those films what they are.

'The Princess Bride' is one of the best films ever made, and I cannot imagine anyone but Robin Wright having played the lead role.

She was beautiful, pitiful, and terrifying on a deep, psychological level in 'Inception.'

She was 'Mean Girls.'

Her performance in 'The Northman' was visceral, primal, and unforgettable.

'Exodus' would not have been the same at all without her counter-balancing of Paul Newman in particular, to show the vulnerability and courage of women in such circumstances as the birth of the modern nation of Israel.

She was the personal embodiment of the film 'Lonesome Dove.'

Helen Mirren brings a straight-forward and direct elegance to every role I've seen her play. She is to the point, but as dignified as she is blunt.

She was quite good in 'Alice in Wonderland'!

In a word, 'Suckerpunch.'

She was good in 'Downton Abbey.'

'The Mummy' and 'Enemy At the Gates' would not have been the same movies at all without the particular vulnerability she brought to her roles in them.

'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' was enough, but she always brings a dignity, gravity, and regal quality to the roles she plays.

Charlize Theron is one of the few actresses today who is believable when she plays tough roles. That is, she actually comes across as intimidating and dangerous in a weighty, substantive, self-possessed way, rather than in a wild, insecure, unpredictable, or "me thinks the lady doth protest too much" sort of way.

Put simply, Judi Dench makes films more important when she is in them. Her dialogue adds credibility to the plot, and not just for what she says. How she says what she does, in measured tones, never in a hurry, always with dignity - she lends the same quality to whatever film she's in that David Attenborough brings to nature documentaries.

To me, she will always be Eliza Doolittle with Rex Harrison in 'My Fair Lady.'

Firefly and Serenity would not have been the same without her.

Memorable performances alongside Daniel Craig in James Bond, and opposite Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven, adding an air of mystery and bemusement, besides a feminine presence.

Back to the Future III is my favorite of the series, and would not have been the same without her.

Karate Kid and Back to the Future would not have been the same without her.

'Io' in 'Clash of the Titans,' and 'Tamina' in 'Prince of Persia.' Of course, there was that appearance in 'Quantum of Solace' as well, but we won't talk about that.