Tribute to the bad girls

Anna Paquin

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001593/

When Blade came out and proved that a superhero movie not named Batman or Superman could make money, it opened the floodgates of the movie industry to want to try to secure properties that they could adapt into money making films. One of the more interesting things that occurred out of this was that the studios have done a great job of getting real talent to fill the roles of the characters. Everyone has done a dream casting where you cast movie stars as your favorite characters but it never really seemed possible. Why would real actors do these fantasy films?

When you look at the casting of the X-Men, the big pickups are the acquisition of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan. They give the films a certain amount of gravitas by signing on. Perhaps though, a pickup that was deliberately down-played was Anna Paquin. She was an Oscar-winning actress for her role in “The Piano”. I always thought it was odd that the pre-marketing blitz didn’t play her up more but I think they were holding it back in order to hide how important she would be to the plot. (It also could be because pointing out acting talent necessarily doesn’t get people to go see action movies.) Unfortunately for her and Rogue, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine ended up being the huge thing coming out the movie and the next two films primarily focus on him to the detriment of everyone else in the film. And then X-Men 3 killed the franchise and Wolverine has gone off to star in his own films.

Anna has gone on to become a huge TV star though with the success of “True Blood” which is capitalizing on the current vampire craze. Although I don’t watch the show, it’s good to see her having success.

Movies I've watched her in: Fly Away Home; She's All That; X-Men 1-3; Joan of Arc; Trick 'r Treat

Saturday morning cartoons - Daphne Blake

If there is one consistent for the past 40 years, it’s that you can turn on TV and find a Scooby-Doo show somewhere. For a show that has the same plot episode after episode, it has a huge appeal and show-biz legs. As great as Scooby and Shaggy were, I always remember thinking that the show didn’t focus enough on Daphne. Scooby and Shaggy got into trouble, ate and ran away from monsters. Fred and Velma solved the case. Daphne was the fanservice character. She seemed like a girl who would have been a cheerleader in high school. She was dressed in purple and pink while Velma was dressed in an unattractive orange. And she taught us all how sexy nylons could be. I can’t really remember any other cartoon character who wore nylons other than her. (They probably were. I just don’t remember.)
Her portrayal wasn’t always the best though as she was constantly getting captured or falling into a trap. They even called her “Danger-Prone” Daphne on the show. Later on the one the shows, Fred and Velma left and Daphne solved the cases.

Christina Applegate

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000775/

One of the mainstays of the 90’s was “Married with Children”. It was a classic deconstruction of the TV of the 40’s and 50’s with its perfect families. The dysfunctional family provided for us the perfect representation of the ‘dumb blonde’ though. Kelly Bundy was ahead of her time for TV since today’s landscape is full of dumb attention-seeking characters but those are reality-TV stars just being themselves.
There is something of a tragedy with Christina Applegate in that she suffered from breast cancer and has had a double mastectomy. For a woman whose body was such a focus for so many years playing the ‘Ms. Fanservice’ character on “Married with Children”, it just seems like bitter irony.

Movies I've watched her in: Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead; Mars Attacks!; Married with Children; Hall Pass

Amy Adams

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0010736/

Amy Adams started slowly with guest-starring on several TV shows and doing bit parts in movies, usually as someone's younger lover. She did finally hit her stride though and take off on her own. She hit it big with Enchanted and then has continued to amaze audiences ever since. She held her own with Christian Bale and Mark Wahlberg in "The Fighter" and then moved over to showcasing her innocent side with the Muppets.

Movies I've watched her in: Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Cruel Intentions 2; Smallville; Serving Sara; The Office; Taladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby; The Fighter; The Muppets

Donna Reed

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001656/

I had to include her. She is the ultimate girl-next-door. She wins over Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life" despite his disinterest in her at the start and the competition of affection from the bad-girl blonde that had the eye of everyone else in town. Just like everyone wants to Jimmy Stewart, they want to marry someone as awesome as Donna Reed. She also stands behind him no matter what. She even gives up her honeymoon to use the money to save the Building and Loan when there is a run on it. Now that this movie is a Christmas classic, there are going to be a lot of people growing up admiring Donna Reed.

Movies I've watched her in: It's a Wonderful Life

Jodie Foster

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000149/

It's funny that I watched some movies from when Jodie Foster was a young gal and I don't think she was that attractive as a young girl. Boy has that changed as she's gotten older. Seeing her play the southern belle in Maverick is just amazing because she is just so funny and desirable in that film. She is among the elite in Hollywood having won 2 Oscars. She also tends to star in smart films with concepts that give the audience something worthwhile to think about.

Movies I've watched her in: Freaky Friday; Candleshoe; The Silence of the Lambs; Maverick; X-Files; Panic Room; Flightplan; Inside Man; The Brave One; The Beaver

Jenna Fischer

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0278979/

I've been in love with Jenna Fischer since Michael fake fired her in the first episode of "The Office". I instantly felt so bad for her that it took me a while to actually like Michael Sciott. Her relationship with Jim has always been my favorite part of the show. One interesting thing about the show is that they have underplayed Jenna's natural beauty to keep the show more true to life but having her look and dress more like real people than TV usually does. The romance between Pam and Jim didn't seem to run to long as some of these TV show romances do. They have been allowed to advance their relationship as they are now married with two kids. Most of the conflicts on the show allow them to team up as opposed to teaming them against each other. We'll see how long the show continues now that it's in its 8th season.

Movies I've watched her in: The Office; Slither; Hall Pass

Claudia Black

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0085227/

Not funny story. I very rarely get sick but one day I didn't feel well so I stayed home. The next day, I found out that Claudia Black had been at my work the day before since she was moving to Victoria for the filming of Stargate. I had just started watching Farscape and was only in Season 2 but I had missed an once-in-a-lifetime to meet her. I hope that she will one day come to comiccon so I can correct these egregious error.

Movies I've watched her in: Pitch Black; Farscape; Dragon Age: Origins

Saturday morning cartoons - Aerith Gainsborough

My first Final Fantasy game was Final Fantasy III (which is actually Final Fantasy VI) for the Super Nintendo. I loved the game immensely so I was excited when I finally got to play Final Fantasy VII. The first FF game for the Playstation, the graphics were leaps and bounds beyond what had been before. The battle scenes had a 3-D camera and the characters weren’t limited to little tiny sprites like the previous games.

Aerith Gainsborough first appears after Cloud, the protagonist of Final Fantasy VII, falls from a ledge after an explosion. He finds her in an abandoned church where there is a group of flowers that grows in the middle. They have a really sweet story that covers the first disk of the game and even leads up to an interesting love triangle between Cloud, Aerith and Tifa. But one of the most memorable things from Final Fantasy VII is that Aerith is killed at the end of the first disc. There’s no bringing her back and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Unlike other games where the deceased character vanishes away, Cloud has to lay Aerith to rest in a watery grave. It’s not uncommon to see posts online from people who cried when this happened. I personally finished Disc One and then didn’t start Disc Two until a while later. I loved the innocent, cherry flower girl and didn’t want the game to go on without her. She ends up still playing a huge role in the game as a motivation for the other characters and later helping Holy along when it’s cast to help heal the planet. Her and Final Fantasy VII’s popularity helped propel her into a cameo appearance in Final Fantasy Tactics where you buy a flower from her as part of the quest to acquire Cloud as a party member. She also guest-starred in the Kingdom Hearts and the Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy games where she helps the party. Her next huge role though is in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children which is the sequel to VII. She shows up as part of Cloud’s guilt and appears at the end to give him forgiveness allowing him to move on in his life. Part of what’s cool about that though is that they show her in the afterlife with Zach (another important Final Fantasy VII character whose story is really told in Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII). Even though they are dead, they are finally reunited. Square-Enix has hinted at a VII remake at some point if they can figure out how to quickly and inexpensively update the graphics to HD. Remaking the opening of VII with modern day graphics just wet everyone’s appetites. So Aerith may return one day anyway and looking good when she does.

From Final Fantasy VII; Crisis Core: Final Fantasy; Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children; Final Fantasy Tactics; Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy; Kingdom Hearts; Kingdom Hearts 2

Kate Beckinsale

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000295/

Recently there was talk about the idea that the only woman who can headline an action series is Angelina Jolie with Tomb Raider and Salt. One that I think was left out is the lovely Kate Beckinsale. She has been a vampire at war with the werewolves in “Underworld” and did help out Van Helsing in his movie. In fact it seems like recently she has done more action movies than dramas or comedies. Interesting for someone who started out in “Much Ado about Nothing” and “Emma”. When she started to get national attention after doing “Pearl Harbor”, I didn’t even realize that she was the same actress from “Emma”.

She has just come back to the Underworld franchise after sitting out the last one (which was a prequel anyway). You have to worry about the quality of the films that she’s doing and why she isn’t doing more films that would be taken seriously by the Academy to get more recognition for her talent more than her looks. Her last two roles have been more of just being the “wife” (Click and what I’ve read of Contraband).

Movies I've watched her in: Much Ado About Nothing; Emma; Underworld 1, 2&3; Van Helsing; Click; Whiteout

Jennifer Connelly

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000124/

One of the large creative forces in the 1980’s was the Jim Henson Company making a lot of interesting films to see what they could achieve in the world of puppetry. One of the films that they did was Labyrinth. Labyrinth introduced the world to a wonderful actress named Jennifer Connelly who has successfully survived the transition from child-actress to Oscar nominee. When I went off to college, one of my dormmates worked at Target and showed me the film “Career Opportunities” which was a dumb film but it did feature Jennifer Connelly riding on an electric horse ride which was still pretty awesome. Recently, she has come back to doing more sci-fi fare with “Hulk” and “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. It is weird though when you see her though and realize that she is missing one of her most recognizable features having had breast-reduction surgery (especially since actresses tend to go in the opposite direction in order to advance their careers).

My favorite look of hers though is the 1940’s gal from “The Rocketeer” and “Dark City”. She does just look like a 40’s lounge singer in those roles and the outfits compliment her looks and features very well.

Movies I've watched her in: Labyrinth; Career Opportunities; The Rocketeer; Dark City; Hulk; The Day the Earth Stood Still; Inkheart; 9

Alicia Silverstone

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000224/

Alicia Silverstone is another girl who is about my age. She hit her stride in the 90's with "Clueless" which was an Emma (a Jane Austin novel) remake. After that she was the "it" girl for a while which lead to her getting her own production company and being cast as Batgirl in "Batman and Robin". Unfortunately for her, her debut film for the company was a huge failure and she fought accusations of being overweight during the production of "Batman and Robin". Although her career only had a brief high point, she still is one of the most important 90's gals.

Movies I've watched her in: Clueless; True Crime; Batman & Robin; Blast from the Past

Jennifer Ehle

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000383/

One of the greatest females from English literature is Elizabeth Bennett in "Pride and Prejudice". Smart (yes, once again), witty and completely unwilling to sacrifice her principles despite her less than stellar position. Jennifer took on the role of Elizabeth in 1995 for the A&E 5 hour presentation of the classic. She brought a great presence to the role. There is a scene that I remember really well where Elizabeth is fighting with her mother over her rejection of a suitor. The mother goes to the father expecting him to force Elizabeth to marry the suitor. The father instead gives his support to Elizabeth causing the mother to fume. Jennifer just gives a look that speaks volumes towards communicating her superiority of position in that moment. The dialogue scenes that she shares with Colin Firth are a delight as they truly don't like each other so their conversation is a dance where both partners are trying to get the upper hand on the other.

Movies I've watched her in: Pride and Prejudice; The King's Speech; The Adjustment Bureau

Kristen Bell

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0068338/

In the post-Buffy landscape, there were a few shows that took on the challenge of having smart, sassy and funny women leads. One of those shows was "Veronica Mars" which starred the lovely Kristen Bell. Veronica was a modern day Sherlock Holmes mixed with Buffy but with a Lizabeth Salander-light backstory. When we first meet her, she is attempting to solve both the murder of her best friend but also her own rape. The show only lasted three years before getting cancelled and she has now moved onto film but not before guest-starring on Heroes. (Unfortunately, she lands on the show during the time when the writers were killing the show week after week so her character dies for no reason.) BTW, "Fanboys" is an OK movie but best thing about it is Kristen Bell wearing the Slave Leia outfit at the end.

Movies I've watched her in: Veronica Mars; Fanboys; Heroes

Famke Janssen

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000463/

Anyone with the name of Xenia Onatopp is sure to be remembered. But Famke Janssen is memorable to me for playing the role of Jean Grey in the X-Men movies. It's not been a bad gig for Famke playing a Bond girl and a X-Man. Unfortunately, the writing on X-Men 3 sorta killed all her character development of Jean from the first two films. (Not that she was given lot. The movie is very Wolverine-centric) Lately, she has played the wife of the main character like in Taken.

Movies I've watched her in: Goldeneye; House on Haunted Hill; X-Men 1, 2, 3; Don't Say a Word; I Spy; Taken

Saturday morning cartoons - Jean Grey

If Shadowcat is my girl-next-door, Jean Grey is my goddess. I've been a Jean Grey fan since 1991 with X-Factor Annual #6. I love the original 5 X-Men and Jean is a major reason why. The red hair, the voluptuous body, the fiery personality and some awesome powers. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1963, she is now more closely aligned with her story of power gone bad in the "Dark Phoenix" Saga from 1980 written by Chris Claremont and John Byrne. After her tragic death, she stayed dead until 1986 when she was brought back to star in X-Factor with other original X-Men. Killed again at the end of the Grant Morrison run, we once again wait for the return of our Phoenix. Phoenix is not one of the All-New, All-Different X-Men from 1975 but I think that she has still remained one of the most important X-Men. She was in the 1990s cartoon, X-Men Evolution and the movies. The movies even continued the Jean/Scott/Logan love-triangle from the comics.

Jewel Staite

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821612/

I admit it. I was late to the party. I didn't watch Firefly when it was on television originally. I didn't discover it until it was out on DVD. That worked well because I did get to see the episodes in order. I'm still mad that the show got cancelled. I'm not sure I've seen a show start as well out of the gate as this show did. All the characters were wonderful, deep and engaging. Jewel was excellent as the ship's mechanic. She was very shadowcat-esque with her unconventional beauty and intelligence. One of the interesting things about her was that Joss didn't want her to be rail-thin so he encouraged Jewel to eat and stay a healthy weight for the character. I had the pleasure of meeting Jewel at Emerald City Comiccon a few years ago where she also did a panel. I can't wait to watch Stargate Atlantis to see some more of her.

Movies I've watched her in: X-Files; Firefly; Serenity

Megan Fox

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1083271/

Megan Fox is an interesting case since she appeared in the trailer for Transformers. Red-blooded males everywhere took notice and the Transformers film made a lot of money. After two movies though, she was off the franchise. While I don't think she was ever considered irreplaceable, they replaced her with a Victoria Secret model. Even Megan's limited acting skills seemed amazing next to her replacement. Her films since Transformers haven't helped her that much though. They haven't been that successful and Jennifer's Body was a flop which was unfortunate considering it had Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried and was written by Diablo Cody who had heat from writing "Juno". She could really use some kind of a spark at this point. She still has her looks so I can't imagine that she will completely vanish from the public radar but she does seem to be slipping out.

Movies I've watched her in: Transformers; Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen; Jennifer's Body

Jennifer Love Hewitt

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001349/

I remember the two most popular girls in pop culture from 1997 was Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt. They were the first two internet searches that I did after I got the internet. She started out on "Party of Five" and then starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the first Last Summer film. Gellar and Hewitt made a nice blonde/brunette combination for the time. Scream and Last Summer seemed to revitalize the horror industry which had gotten stuck with a lot of terrible sequels but didn't have any new franchises that seemed to stick. It didn't last long though before even the new franchises wore out their welcome. She has moved on to star in "The Ghost Whisperer" and now "Hot in Cleveland" so she seems to have carved out a nice niche as a television star.

Movies I've watched her in: I Know What You Did Last Summer; I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; The Tuxedo

Karen Allen

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000261/

Back in the 80's when George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were taking the movie world by storm, they created an awesome female character by the name of Marion Ravenwood. Marion first appears drinking all the men of the town under the bar. Although she later ends up being a damsel in distress, she starts out as a pretty awesome lady. She also punches Indiana Jones and tells him off which sets up the fact that Indiana is an imperfect hero which suited him well. Although I liked Elsa in the third film, I always thought that Indiana should end up with Marion and was ecstatic to see them get married in the last film.

Movies I've seen her in: Raiders of the Last Ark; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Keira Knightley

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0461136/

Keira Knightley is an interesting one because she started out as the Natalie Portman decoy in the first Star Wars. She then got her own franchise with the Pirates movies. Until Natalie did "Black Swan", Keira was killing her with the seemingly better resume. "Atonement" won for best picture and "The Duchess" seems to be well-regarded also. Keira has played two characters that I enjoy who are both named Elizabeth. Elizabeth Swann from the Pirates series and Elizabeth Bennet from "Pride and Prejudice" are girls who are awesome in that they are smart and strong in times where girls were not allowed to rise to their potential. Jennifer Ehle will always be Elizabeth Bennet to me though although I did enjoy Keira's take on the character.

Movies I've watched her in: Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace; The Hole; Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3; Pride and Prejudice; Atonement; The Duchess

Rachel Nichols

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0629697/

The G. I. Joe film that came out in 2009 was the opportunity to have Scarlett brought to life in full color. She was played by Rachel Nichols. I first became aware of Rachel when she was starting to be pegged to take over on Alias for Jennifer Garner (although I never watched the show, I did know about it). P2 was an OK thriller about a girl who keeps kidnapped by a crazy parking lot attendant at Christmas time. I thought Rachel did a great job in the film in being a smart victim that stays sympathetic. She also played an Orion girl in Star Trek where she showed off a little of her comedy side. G. I. Joe and Conan both are action films where she plays the one major female heroine. I didn't like the Scarlett/Ripcord romance that much (I love the Scarlett/Snake-Eyes relationship from the comic) but I didn't feel the romance added anything to the movie at all.

Movies I've watched her in: P2; Star Trek; G. I. Joe: Rise of Cobra; Conan the Barbarian

Saturday morning cartoons - Scarlett

The 80's was a great time to be a kid. The regulations that prevented TV shows to be made based on toys had just been repealed and the toy manufacturers went to work creating a lot of simply written, crudely drawn TV shows designed to convince children that they needed to buy toys. Now I can't watch that stuff without being overwhelmed with just how bad it all was but back then I couldn't get enough and ate it all up. My favorite show back then was G. I. Joe. It was also the one toy line that my brother and I collected. My first figure was in 1985. My Uncle John bought me Barbecue and my brother received Snow Job. The one figure though that I wanted and never was able to get was Scarlett. The 1982 figures were off the shelf by 1985 and Hasbro didn't make another Scarlett until 1993. Scarlett was awesome in the cartoon though. (Note of disclosure: I didn't read the comic book series until much later in life.) Being the lone female and the love interest of Duke, Scarlett was very important to the series and its plots. She even temporary becomes leader in the second mini-series after Duke is captured and Flint disappears.

Alicia Witt

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001860/

I first saw Alicia Witt on the show Cybill where she played the younger daughter. She was a red-head which is always cool and seemed smart (she's a prodigy in real life). She's just a little older than me which was nice since she was probably the first celebrity I got into who was about my age.

Movies I've watched her in: Dune; Mr. Holland's Opus; Cybill; Urban Legend; The Sopranos; Vanilla Sky; Two Weeks Notice; 88 Minutes; Curse of the Ring

Ali Larter

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005123/

I first saw Ali Larter in House on Haunted Hill where she was absolutely stunning. Blondes aren't rare in Hollywood but she still stood out to me. Later I saw her infamous whipped cream scene in Varsity Blues. Talk about a show stopper. She is just awesome in that while she isn't a top of the line Hollywood talent, she does end up starring in movies that interest me. And of course, she starred in Heroes which was a great show for a while before hitting the skids. But she is who I think of when people say "Hollywood blondes" now.

Movies I've watched her in: Varsity Blues; House on Haunted Hill; Final Destination; Final Destination 2; Resident Evil: Extinction; Resident Evil: Afterlife; Heroes

Miranda Otto

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001584/

Another actress who stepped into a great situation was Miranda Otto who was given the job of playing Eowyn in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Eowyn is the shieldmaiden of Rohan who is told she can’t go to war with the men but then sneaks into the ranks anyway. She then gets her big scene in the third film when she stands up to the Witchking and kills him.

I thought Miranda did a good job in the role. The Witch-king fight was not quite as cool as it was in the book though but nothing quite matches up to the imagination. Since she left Lord of the Rings, she hasn’t done too many big roles. Her role in “War of the Worlds” is very small and she’s part of an ensemble cast in “Flight of the Phoenix” but at least she’s the boss in it.

Movies I've watched her in: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Lord of the Rings: Return of the King; Flight of the Phoenix; War of the Worlds

Mary Tyler Moore

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001546/

It is my mother's birthday so I let her choose someone for the blog. It happened that she picked someone that I would have put on the blog anyway so it all worked out. Mary Tyler Moore is the definition of a TV star. She was on two of the most successful TV shows ever. In one poll that I saw years ago, Dick Van Dyke and the Mary Tyler Moore show were #1 and #2 in best TV shows ever. There's a story that the network told the Dick Van Dyke show that they needed to stop showing Mary's backside when she was walking. They promptly changed nothing.

Movies I've watched her in: The Dick Van Dyke Show; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Mary Tyler Moore show;

Katharine Hepburn

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000031/

Katharine Hepburn is another classic film actress who starred in many of the great films from Hollywood in the last 100 years and with a lot of the great male actors of that time period. Her career goes in two stages though. After the first, she was considered box office poison and was only help from Howard Hughes that she was able to acquire the role of a lifetime which was in "The Philadelphia Story" where she shot back into the limelight. I watched the "Little Women" that she starred in and she is trying so hard in that movie that she's just over-acting. But compare that to her turn in "The African Queen" where her role is so understated where she is winning Humprey Bogart over to her side by simply, quietly and sweetly asking him questions. Simply another classy gal.

Movies I see her in: Little Women; Holiday; The Philadelphia Story; The African Queen; Guess Who's Coming To Dinner; Rooster Cogburn and the Lady;

Audrey Hepburn

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000030/

Audrey Hepburn was the class of the Hollywood. The daughter of a baroness, she epitomized everything you would want in the stereotype of the princess. The lady simply oozed class and charm. In "My Fair Lady", the transformation scene is awesome because she perfectly plays the part of someone that you would assume is royalty. Based on who she is early on in the film, it's a huge accomplishment. But for the lady herself, it would be the flower girl that would be the big change. She won an Oscar in her first film performance (Roman Holiday) and lost the Oscar for "My Fair Lady" to Julie Andrews who played the part of Eliza Doolittle on Broadway. Andrews was nominated for "Mary Poppins". Looking at Audrey's career, she starred in a lot of the biggest movies of the last 100 years and co-starred with the top stars (Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Rex Harrison, Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant).

Movies I see her in: Roman Holiday; Sabrina; Funny Face; Charade; My Fair Lady; How to Steal a Million

Saturday morning cartoons - Hermione Grainger

In 2001, I was introduced to a new world of magic and wizards through the film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”. I thought the film was good and it spawned a passing interest in the series. The second film came out and was a little better and by then the phenomenon was starting to catch up with me. There was a delay between the second and third films to give the actors a chance to breathe before restarting again. During this time, the fifth book came out to bookstores. The publicity was in full swing and with promise of a major death in the series; I really wanted to know what was going to happen. I didn’t want to be spoiled though through the internet or pop culture so I decided to read the book. I couldn’t start with book 5 though since I had gotten the sense that it was a series that built upon itself incredibly well so to get the full experience of reading one book, one did have to start at the beginning. So I bought the first four books in a box set and then the fifth one and dived in.

When I resurfaced, I was in awe of the story that J. K. Rowling was weaving and the world that she had populated. My favorite character though was Hermione Grainger. She was brave, loyal, smart, well-read, and awkward (especially early on) in her dealings with her peers. Harry Potter is the chosen one and Ron Weasley is from a long line of wizards. Hermione isn’t either one of those things. She is just the daughter of dentists who is given a talent for magic that she puts all of her focus into. When we meet her, she is actually better at magic than Ron even though he was born into it. She’s driven to be her best. It makes her a little annoying early on because she feels like she has to prove to everyone that is smart and that she does belong there. (She does stop doing it eventually.) But I liked that in her character; so many times the characters in fiction have destinies they are born to or some other advantage. Hermione is just someone who is the best in her class at magic because she studies and works her butt off to get it right.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

So far, we have had 4 women from movies and two from books that were turned into movies. This one though is the first from television. No list of my favorite entertainment would be complete without the inclusion of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The brainchild of Joss Whedon, Buffy went from really bad movie to great TV show. Sarah did a great job of balancing the comedy, drama and action from the series. Buffy and Sarah have influenced a lot of what’s come after them as far as strong female characters and weird dialogue patterns. I started watching Buffy when it was doing reruns between season 4 and 5. To watch the first four seasons, I had to buy really bad recorded copies off the internet from other fans until the DVD's finally came out. I'm a bit shocked that she hasn't had a more successful post-Buffy career but she'll always represent the best in TV to me.


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001264/

Things I’ve watched her in: Buffy the Vampire Slayer; I Know What You Did Last Summer; Cruel Intentions; Angel; The Grudge; Happily N’Ever After; Southland Tales

Something a bit different - Untouchable Face

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipUdoUcNmKI

Not a girl this time, a song that I love because it just feels like it was written by someone who has been there instead of something cooked up and then drained of life by a music company. (Warning: offensive language is used in the song)

Anna Popplewell

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0691600/

I think that every Christian child grows up with the required reading being the Bible and the Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was made into a major motion picture in 2005. I remember watching the BBC version that had been done back in the 80’s that mixed live action and animation. It was spectacular though to see the book made into a film for the big screen.

Anna Popplwell is the third in a row of young girls on this blog that took on major film roles that were destined to get a lot of attention. She is the second in a row who played a character that was based on a literary character. But Hermione was a new character so the film was in the same generation as those who read it. Susan was created in 1950 by C. S. Lewis and the Narnia series has thrilled a few generations of fans. I thought Anna did a good job breathing life into Susan since Lewis left a lot of room for imagination in the details of the characters. Although I like the first film better, I think you see a real improvement in her acting for the second film. I really like the scene where Peter and Caspian have just failed when tested by the idea of bring back the White Witch in order to help defeat their enemies that seem poised to overpower them until Edmond steps up and takes their choice away. The level of disappointment in her eyes and face is a living, breathing thing and she communicates it so effectively. (BTW, although it was never there in the book, the star-crossed lover thing she has going on with Prince Caspian was cute.) I also think they cameoed her into the third film extremely well and she looked stunning.

One last thing is from the ‘She’s one of us’ file which is that apparently Anna is a member of the Anglican church in England which considering the Christian leanings of Narnia’s author just seems fitting.

Emma Watson

Like Natalie Portman, this actress walked into the role of a lifetime for a huge movie franchise playing a smart, brave female character. She came into it younger though and with less experience. Where Natalie was about 16 when she played Queen Amidala, Emma Watson took on the role of Hermione at the age of 11. She literally grew up in the role and in the spotlight. But with all the pressures put on her and the other cast masts, they all seem to have turned out OK. I thought she was a little cutie in the first Harry Potter film but how good she was going to be in the role was still to be really determined. Two things I think improved by opinion of her. One is that she got older and better (also the Harry Potter films gained a new director who breathed a little more life into the movies) and two is that I read the books that were available at that time. (Years 1-5). I became a huge fan of Hermione as a character and appreciated the way that Emma brought her to the screen. I can’t really think of any scene from the book that was translated to the screen where I thought that she didn’t generate the same kind of emotions that those scenes brought on in the book. Especially in Book 6 where she is dealing with Ron’s dalliance with another young lady, and then in Book 7 where she to protect her parents from retribution brought on by her actions in fighting Lord Voldemort and does so by casting a spell to make them forget who they are and that they have a daughter.

Again to go with the Natalie comparison, Emma has now gone off to college and away from the movie cameras where she may stay. With her education, she now has choices in her life as to where she wants to be and I wish her best of luck with that.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0914612/

Movies I've Seen Her in: Harry Potter 1-8; Ballet Shoes

Natalie Portman

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000204/

In the year 1999, we were introduced to “The Phantom Menace” and, Queen Amidala. Much like her cinematic daughter, she was beautiful, smart and powerful. Just being in Star Wars makes you a cultural icon almost immediately. Unfortunately, there was good things along with bad things. The three Star Wars films were of course a huge hit and increased her fame and marketability. Unfortunately, the films were not really as good as the previous trilogy and Natalie suffered from a particularly bad love story and a third film that gives her almost nothing to do but weep while her husband goes to the dark side.

She did star in “V for Vendetta” but it took me a few years to actually go see it due to being influenced by Alan Moore’s frustration with what they did to his story. But I did go see “Thor” when it came out. I was amazed that she agreed to do Thor since it was a comic book movie and one would assume that since she had just hit the top of her game with “Black Swan” and won an Oscar than the next step isn’t a fun popcorn film. (One also would have thought that “Your Highness” and “No Strings Attached” wouldn’t have been on her agenda either but there you go. )
She has been a favorite of mine for a long time. She is a brainy beauty (who I would love to have seen play Shadowcat. She's perfect including being Jewish) with actual talent and a bright future if she doesn't quit to focus on more intellectual pursuits.

Movies I’ve watched her in: Leon: The Professional; Mars Attacks!; Star Wars 1-3; Anywhere but Here; V for Vendetta; Black Swan; Your Highness; Thor

Elisabeth Shue

Day 3 features the second girl that I remember having a crush on in the 1980’s. It seemed like she was the designated girlfriend of that time period for the “loser who does something awesome” films. In talking to others about this idea, I was thinking about the fact that when I initially watched TV or movies, I was very focused on the characters and didn’t really think about the actress playing the part. I thought characters were attractive but didn’t really think about the person behind the part. Elisabeth Shue, by virtue of being in three different films that I liked, made me appreciate and recognize the “girls behind the mask” for the first time.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000223/

Movies I’ve seen with her in them: The Karate Kid, Adventures in Babysitting, Back to the Future Pt. 2 & 3, The Saint, Hollow Man

Carrie Fisher

I haven’t met that many people who haven’t watched Star Wars. It’s so ingrained into our national consciousness that one can’t possibly have a list of celebrities without including her. Princess Leia is iconic with her kick-butt attitude and the cinnamon bun hairstyle from the first film. (Not to mention the “Prisoner of Jabba” look that she ends up with in the third film.) Princess Leia was the action girl of that time period and a definitive member of the power trio from the films who never stops being cool. She even flummoxes Han Solo who is pretty cool and suave otherwise.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000402/

Movies I’ve seen with her in them: Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Man with One Red Shoe, Austin Powers, Smallville, Fanboys, Sorority Row

Saturday morning cartoons - Shadowcat

This was a great idea by my friend Chris about how to put together my list of awesome females with my love for fictional characters. I also have to give him credit for the name of the listing. Any list has to start with Shadowcat, otherwise known as Kitty Pryde. This is the cover that I remember from my early comic buying habits that featured Kitty. Having since then gone back and read Chris Claremont's run on Uncanny X-Men, I have to say that Kitty is my favorite Marvel character. She was smart, knew computers, wore glasses and felt overshadowed by the other members of her group. One of my favorite speeches in comics is New Mutants #45 where she is giving a eulogy for a student who had committed suicide due to his feelings of alienation at being a mutant. Unlike most other members of the comic female population, Kitty doesn't have exaggerated attributes (i.e. humongous boobs) looking more girl-next-door than goddess.

Heather Graham

I wanted the first week of this to be some landmark girls. These are girls who I think of fondly for one reason or the other. Heather Graham is the first for "License to Drive". License to Drive is not a landmark film for me but she is.

When I think back to my childhood, I don't really remember my childhood celebrity crushes. I very rarely went to the movies and we spent a large period of time where we didn’t get any channel that wasn’t Channel 9. So while I watched a few shows and saw some movies, there really haven’t been that many girls who stood out in my mind.

“Mercedes” stood out though. The exotic name of her character plus the unbelievable good looks of Heather Graham never really left my memory. In fact, when I got the internet hooked up in my house in 1997, she was one for the first girls that I looked up just to see what her real name was. I had forgotten it after all those years and only remembered the character’s name. Heather Graham had just become famous for "Boogie Nights" and "Scream 2" so she was coming back into the headlines just as I was rediscovering her. It was a perfect symmetry.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001287/

Movies I’ve seen with her in them: License to Drive, Diggstown, Lost in Space, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, From Hell, The Hangover

I actually was given a whole brand new idea for this website. I was talking to a friend of mine about the idea that some actors mean more to me because they have contributed to my life by performing in some role that meant a lot to me. Usually by being in a film or TV series that I have a large amount of love for (Also possible it was based off a book that I loved). I was thinking about that and I thought that I should do a year's long blog of actresses who mean something to me in some way. I have made lists before so I know there is over 366 actresses that I can come up. I'll try to avoid anything that is as common as "She's hot" or anything like that. So here we go.