Top 10 LEAD ACTRESSES of 2013

 

10. Brie Larson as Grace - Short Term 12

She's proven to be a versatile actress with the variety of roles she took last year. Truth be told, she's no different from Jennifer Lawrence in terms of acting. Both have the youthfulness factor to portray a young lady while both can also portray mature roles. The latter is just more popular. Her versatility as an actress is shown in her performance as Grace in Short Term 12, a young brave lady who showed both maturity and youthfulness, vulnerability and braveness. For some reason, she also reminds me of Evan Rachel Wood but I hope she becomes more successful.

9. Greta Gerwig as Frances - Frances Ha

 It's hard not to associate Greta Gerwig with Frances Ha that it makes it harder for me not to refer her as Frances. That is how she greatly embodied an original character, a character from her vision as one of the writers of the film. She just became Frances. But she deserves to be recognized with her real name because she's a gem that needs more spotlight. Frances Ha is what it is because of Greta Gerwig's antics. She singlehandedly carried the film with her endearing self and she magically made a black and white picture become colorful. Thank you Greta, Frances Ha is unforgettable.

 8. Julie Delpy as Celine - Before Midnight

She's charming as ever in Before Midnight but the darkness, or should I say the reality of the film showed other layers of Julie Delpy's talent. The usual youthful bloom on her face has been washed out by her age but it helped in conveying Celine's message across. We are used to seeing Delpy's smile and lightness in the Before series but in Midnight, she shifted to a more sophisticated persona while still displaying her charm. Anyway, ignore all of these. Just watch the film and let her breasts do the talking.

7. Paulina Garcia as Gloria - Gloria

Wow, I've never seen a performance as brave as Paulina Garcia's in Gloria. Well, 2013 has a lot of 'brave' performances but Paulina Garcia stands out because well, Gloria really pushed her to be one. She's my senior version of Adèle Exarchopoulos basically because of the massive amount of nudity that they went through. LOL. But seriously, the nudity that Garcia endured in Gloria just showed how committed she was in her character especially considering that she doesn't have that fresh body anymore (but still slamming for her age, I guess :/). Aside from that, the character study of a middle-aged woman pushed her boundaries as an actress and probably as a person. With her age, she showed a lot of energy and passion and they're all perfect to portray a character facing a midlife crisis like Gloria.

6. Meryl Streep as Violet Weston - August: Osage County

I'm pretty sure that even if I included her in this ranking that I'm still underrating her. The fact that she is consistently giving us pure brilliant performances tend us to underrate her a bit because she can easily be number one in any year. I'm guilty of that. If Meryl Streep didn't have her precursors of great acting for let's say, 10 years or even 5, her performance as the pill popping filthy mouthed matriarch Violet Weston would win Best Actress awards. But unfortunately, she's been in the spotlight for the past many years that she's being taken for granted. Let's just leave it at that. Bottom line is, she's amazing and is the greatest actress of our generation.

5. Sandra Bullock as Ryan Stone - Gravity

Wooff Wooff Awooooo and floating tears, this scene is not even the reason why I think she's one of the best actresses last year even if it's the baitiest. But the fact that she's almost 50 and she threw herself in the outer space rotating nonstop is unbelievable. And then she had to work with harnesses, zero gravity sets, that's impressive as fuck and plain badass. Let's face it, Sandra would easily win this year's Best Actress race if she didn't win for her much inferior The Blindside performance. Ryan Stone could have been a great addition to badass lead characters like Clarice Starling. But like what I wrote about Meryl, past wins, losses and credentials matter in giving actors their rightful appreciation.

4. Gaby Hoffmann as Crystal Fairy - Crystal Fairy

I've read a lot of comments about the current look of Gaby and they're almost all negative. That she didn't grow up as pretty as she was when she was young. But hey, she's making the most of her look by accepting roles that fit it -- Caroline in Girls and Crystal Fairy in Crystal Fairy. I have a soft spot for her in Crystal Fairy because I love quirky characters in films, books, TV and even in real life. Crystal Fairy is probably the weirdest of them all and Gaby Hoffmann made it sure that her weirdness will make people either uncomfortable or entertained. She definitely made me feel both of those. But it didn't stop with that, because Crystal Fairy has a lot of secrets behind her bushy hairs and Gaby channeled her poignance and it makes for a great impact after all her silly shenanigans. Her Crystal Fairy will be forever cherished.

3. Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers - Saving Mr. Banks

One day I'll make a Most Robbed rankings and Emma Thompson will surely be in that list. It's almost a crime that she was snubbed. I understand the Gerwig, Delpy and Larson shuns, and even Adèle because they didn't fare that well anyway in other award giving bodies but Emma Thompson has been in the running ever since the beginning of the awards season so her missing the main event was truly a bummer. This is her comeback in the game after so many years of being MIA and they missed the opportunity to bring her back in the mix. I say it's their loss. Emma Thompson's P.L. Travers is without a doubt one of the best performances of 2013 films. And people can say that she tackled it in a very cartoonish way but for me, it's just right with the theme of Saving Mr. Banks. Plus, she did it consistently throughout the film and that's commendable. Anyway, what's done is done but I'm kind of skeptical that she'll have a hard time finding another perfect role for her in the future. Oh well, maybe she'd do better in Screenplay. :)

2. Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle - Blue is the Warmest Color

Brave, natural, distinct, iconic, committed. That's basically Adèle in Blue is the Warmest Color. It's the bravest of all the brave performances of 2013. Sex, homosexuality, adolescence and life crisis, these are difficult components to portray accurately in a film but she owned all of these with such authenticity that for me, it's already beyond acting. Everything that she did in the film is just mind blowingly real.

1. Cate Blanchett as Jasmine - Blue Jasmine

Even I find it boring that all my favorite performances from the 4 acting categories are almost locks at this point (Lupita is still debatable) but it is what it is. When I watched Blue Jasmine, Cate Blanchett entertained me greatly. Thanks to Woody Allen's screenplay of course but Blanchett made Allen's character for her even better. The character suits her so well. Physically, Blanchett has the glamour of Jasmine. And in terms of personality, Jasmine is a woman of extreme delicacy. Therefore, Blanchett won't be able to do her usual outrageous and exaggerated acting. The result is just the right amount of Blanchett goodness and it makes for an outstanding performance. Jasmine has polarizing characteristics and Cate Blanchett took advantage of that. I seriously think that the whole premise of Blue Jasmine would work as a TV series and Cate Blanchett will be a household name for it. Blanchett has been amazing this whole awards season and now that it's about to end, I can't wait to see her walk on the Oscars stage finally accepting her Best Actress trophy. I hope she acknowledges her loss to Gwyneth Paltrow because I'm pretty sure her impending win for Blue Jasmine is much sweeter with her current age and stature in her career.

Other Rankings:

Top 5 Original Scores of 2013

Top 10 Cinematography of 2013

Top 5 Original & Adapted Screenplays of 2013 

Top 10 Supporting Actors of 2013 

Top 10 Supporting Actress of 2013

Top 10 Lead Actors of 2013 

MOVIE WRITEUPS: Enough Said, Blue Jasmine and Short Term 12

Enough Said

Director: Nicole Holofcener
With: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, James Gandolfini, Toni Collette, Catherine Keener, Ben Falcone, Tony Huss, Anjelah Johnson, Michaela Watkins, Eve Hewson

I don't watch a lot of TV shows so I didn't have much knowledge about James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus before Enough Said existed. I know! Shame on me. I only learned about James Gandolfini after he passed away despite watching films with him as part of the cast. I didn't know his name then. I didn't even know that he's popular. Yikes! As for Julia, I've only watched a few clips of her in Lisa Kudrow's Web Therapy, some Youtube clips of Veep and Seinfeld. I also know Julia as the comedy actress who beat Lisa Kudrow's performance in The Comeback back in 2006. I'm a huge Lisa Kudrow fan so my Julia Louis-Dreyfus awakening isn't that good. But I completely forgot about all of these when I watched Enough Said. Main reason is they proved to be good actors. And the film, while just above average, was also very fun too.

From the get go, Julia Louis-Dreyfus made me chuckle with her subtle yet hilarious facial expressions while she massages her clients.  She made a good first impression. Plus points that she's a masseuse in this film. :3 Same with James Gandolfini. I don't know much about his personality or the way he acts. Never saw an episode of The Sopranos, but from what I saw in Enough Said, he acts naturally. He's got the mix of machismo and tenderness in him. Nicole Holofcener's direction and screenplay clearly helped my opinion of them.

Enough Said is a light and simple film that stimulates both our emotions and thinking about love, life, friends and family. It grasps your attention even when there's nothing outrageous going on in the film. Witty conversations and interesting plot drives the film successfully and entertainingly, for that matter. Emphasis on witty because I can watch James and Julia flirt and converse with each other for an hour for the sake of hearing everything that comes out of their mouths. The script is THAT good. Their humorous and natural performances just served as bonus.

Enough Said is nothing short of fun romantic comedy and even bittersweet drama. However, it's also not outstanding compared to other films in the same genre. I might forget about it a few months or years later.

Blue Jasmine

Director: Woody Allen
With: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Sarsgaard, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay

All the awards to Cate Blanchett! I am rarely in-sync with the award giving bodies' 'bests', but I'm with them thinking that Cate Blanchett is the 'best actress' of 2013. I've always kind of liked her but that doesn't mean that I always find her performances awesome. She's known to be OTT in portraying her characters that sometimes her performance is verging on SNL style of impersonation. Just watch her version of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator. :)) But here in Blue Jasmine, she's got the rhythym and restraint. I have to give Woody Allen credit for calling her to play the role of Jasmine/Jeanette because aside from the fantastic performance, her appearance suits her character really well - glamorous and sophisticated. But she's not the only perfect cast in it. I thought Sally Hawkins and her gang in the film were also perfect. Their appearance, as trashy as they looked, perfectly captured the opposite worlds of Jasmine and her sister Ginger that Woody Allen was trying to convey.

Blue Jasmine is considered a drama but it's actually a very fun and hilarious to be labeled as one. The character Jasmine reminds me of another character Valerie Cherish wherein both are suffering in their current lifestyles because they're used to their old comfortable lives - Jeanette being rich and Valerie being famous. And while the latter is ironically successful in getting back her fame, Jasmine struggles in finding a new way/person to help her climb back up the ladder of high class society. This causes her to have nervous breakdowns, HILARIOUS nervous breakdowns. She's one of those characters where people would probably be annoyed to deal with in real life, but she's undeniably entertaining if you're just going to follow and watch her journey as a viewer.

Woody Allen continues to write entertaining films and creating characters that will grip you from start to finish. I've always enjoyed the ironies, satires, conflicts and chaos in his works and Blue Jasmine is not devoid of them. In fact, they're everywhere in it. Sort of reminds me of 90's comedies. Blue Jasmine may not be my favorite Woody Allen film, Matchpoint has that honor :3, but it's up there as one of the most entertaining.

Short Term 12

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
With: Brie Larson, John Gallagher, Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Keith Stanfield,

Have you ever met someone who has an almost identical experience as you? And by experience, I mean dark experiences and past. If yes, did you share it with him/her despite not wanting to retell those bad stuff? Most of us probably have those experiences but it's really good when you know someone who shares the same experience as you. That person makes you feel that you're not alone. But at the same time, it may be dangerous because that person will also remind you of things you want to bury in the past. Well, this writeup is starting to become really personal and cheesy but they're all kind of related to Short Term 12. It's a heartwarming film that leads to dark places but finds its way back to the right direction.

Short Term 12 is about dark secrets and dark past as the title itself is the name of a home for teenagers who suffer from these stuff and need guidance. It's a small film that deserves more recognition. Clever screenplay including great children stories and badass original song, creditable performances and themes that would touch your hearts. I keep on mentioning dark stuff but in the end, it's actually a feel great film with nice lessons to tell.

Brie Larson as one of the young supervisors of 'Short Term 12' gave a brave performance, one that would make you admire her character and despite the braveness, she also showed a lot of depth and susceptibility. She also proved her versatility as an actress by showing the mature and independent side of the character. Something that's very different from her roles in The Spectacular Now and Don Jon. Even her fellow young supervisors are inspiring especially on how they treat the at-risk teenagers. They make the difficult and fragile job rather fun and rewarding.

If only Short Term 12 had more back up support by its producers, it would probably be big come awards season. But even I, who consider this a REALLY good film find a hard time integrating this to last year's glut of outstanding movies.