Brackets, Brackets, Brackets

Well after only one day my NCAA bracket is completely ruined (and prominently featured on ESPNRadio.com), so I figured that I'd post another bracket to take my mind off of it. As I mentioned a few weeks back brackets of all kinds, shapes, and sizes are out there now that March Madness is upon us. One bracket that I was particularly intrigued by was Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive bracket. Their criteria is very simple. Who is sexier? Obviously this is very subjective, but I figured that I'd give it a shot. The four regions that they chose to organize the top 64 women were Fashion (i.e. models), Music & Sports (musicians, athletes, and sideline reporters), Movies (movie actresses), and Television (television actresses). Before we get to the brackets I have a few complaints.

1.) Where is Marisa Miller? I have little doubt that if she was involved she would have won my tournament.

2.) Where is Scarlett Johansson? Jessica Biel?

3.) Why is Gwyneth Paltrow included twice? Once in Music & Sports and once in Movies.

4.) Who thought it would be funny to include a male (Russell Brand) as a 16 seed?

Some of the seeding is all out of whack too, but I just dealt with what they gave me.

Here are the brackets.

Fashion

(1) Brooklyn Decker
(16) Kate Middleton

(8) Bar Rafaeli
(9) Ana Beatriz Barros

(5) Candice Swanepoel
(12) Gisele Bundchen

(4)Irina Shayk
(13) Kate Upton

(6) Izabel Goulart
(11) Jessica White

(3) Selita Banks
(14) Amber Rose

(7) Adriana Lima
(10) Daisy Lowe

(2) Miranda Kerr
(15) Joan Smalls


Music & Sports

(1) Katy Perry
(16) Elin Nordegren

(8) Maria Sharapova
(9) Caroline Wozniacki

(5) Taylor Swift
(12) Cheryl Cole

(4) Erin Andrews
(13) Jenn Brown

(6) Stacy Kiebler
(11) Arianny Celeste

(3) Beyonce
(14 Gwyneth Paltrow

(7) Nicki Minaj
(10) Ines Sainz

(2) Rihanna
(15) Gretchen Bleiler


Movies

(1) Mila Kunis
(16) Russell Brand

(8) Jessica Alba
(9) Kristen Bell

(5) Natalie Portman
(12) Jennifer Lawrence

(4) Ashley Greene
(13) Zoe Saldana

(6) Gwyneth Paltrow
(11) Anne Hathaway

(3) Penelope Cruz
(14) Amanda Seyfried

(7) Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
(10) Megan Fox

(2) Olivia Wilde
(15) Amber Heard


Television

(1) Sofia Vergara
(16) Hoda & Kathie Lee

(8) Those girls on Glee
(9) Grace Park

(5) Jennifer Lopez
(12) Sarah Shahi

(4) January Jones
(13) Jessica Pare

(6) Emmy Rossum
(11) Kendra Wilkinson

(3) Christina Hendricks
(14) Lana from Archer

(7) Padma Lakshmi
(10) Katrina Bowden

(2) Kim Kardashian
(15) Bristol Palin


Alright now it's time for my picks.

Fashion (top left)

First Round

(1) Brooklyn Decker over (16) Kate Middleton- Middleton is a babe and she’s going to be the Queen, which is sexy in its own right, but it’s hard to argue with this.

(8) Bar Rafaeli over 9) Ana Beatriz Barros- Worst seeding ever?

(12) Gisele Bundchen over (5) Candice Swanepoel- Actually this might be worse.

(4)Irina Shayk over (13) Kate Upton- A tough first round matchup between the 2011 Sports Illustrated Cover Girl and the potential breakout star from the 2011 Swimsuit Issue, but I gotta go chalk.

(6) Izabel Goulart over (11) Jessica White (not white)- I didn’t know who either was before I put this together, but Goulart is an absolute smokeshow and Jessica White gives credence to one of my long standing theories. People with the last name White are usually black and people with the last name Black are usually white.

(3) Selita Ebanks over (14) Amber Rose (Kanye’s ex girlfriend with the shaved head)- Two good looking black girls and I have to go with the one with hair.

(7) Adriana Lima over (10) Daisy Lowe- Lima used to date Derek Jeter and is now married to former NBA player Marko Jaric.

(2) Miranda Kerr over (15) Joan Smalls- Miranda Kerr is apparently one of the hot names in fashion because her name sounds vaguely familiar to me. Oh, and she’s hot.



Second Round

(8) Bar Rafaeli over (1) Brooklyn Decker- My cousin who will not be named is a big seller on Brooklyn Decker. Mainly for this picture. I’m not, but I’m a big buyer on Bar Rafaeli. If she’s good enough for Leonardo DiCaprio she’s good enough for me.

(4) Irina Shayk over (12) Gisele Bundchen- 1.) Fuck Tom Brady. And 2.) I saw Shayk on Letterman and not only was she absurdly hot she was also pretty funny.

(6) Izabel Goulart over (3) Selita Banks- She’s Brazilian, but could easily pass for an American. I dig that about her.

(7) Adriana Lima over (2) Miranda Kerr- Kerr is sexy, but I just don’t think she’s on Lima’s level just yet.



Regional Semi-Finals

(4) Irina Shayk over (8) Bar Rafaeli- As much as I love Leo, Shayk dates superstar soccer player Christiano Ronaldo, who’s arguably the most wanted man in the world.

(6) Izabel Goulart over (7) Adriana Lima- She’s one of Conan’s favorite guests and she’s also appeared on both Two And A Half Men and Entourage.

Regional Finals

(6) Izabel Goulart over (4) Irina Shayk- She has the sexiest eyes in the field…and I’m an eyes guy. Oh and Shayk doesn’t shave her legs.


Music & Sports (bottom right)

First Round

(1) Katy Perry over (16) Elin Nordegren- I don’t think Katy Perry is worthy of a #1 seed, but she’s sexier than Tiger’s ex-wife, who we haven’t seen for over a year.

(9) Caroline Wozniacki over (8) Maria Sharapova- One of my favorite first round matchups. I’ll take Wozniacki because she’s the better tennis player, she’s not taller than me (Sharapova is 6’2), and she’s not married to Sasha Vujacic.

(12) Cheryl Cole over (5) Taylor Swift- Taylor is unquestionably more talented and becoming sexier by the day (seemingly out of nowhere), but Cheryl Cole is hot.



(4) Erin Andrews over(13) Jenn Brown- You don’t even know hard this one is for me. Ask anyone that I work with and they’ll tell you that Jenn Brown is my girl, but she just can’t hang with EA.

(6) Stacy Kiebler over (11) Arianny Celeste- Kiebler has legs for days and WWE experience. Better luck next year Arianny.

(3) Beyonce over (14) Gwyneth Paltrow- This is the biggest rout in the entire tournament.

(7) Nicki Minaj over (10) Ines Sainz- Sainz wore a wedding dress to media day at the Superbowl and asked Tom Brady to marry and also complained that the Jets objectified her in the locker room. Bottom line- She’s annoying. Nicki Minaj, on the other hand, is hot and you get the sense that she doesn’t even care.

(2) Rihanna over (15) Gretchen Bleiler- Rihanna’s performance at the NBA All-Star game this year speaks for itself.

Second Round

(1) Katy Perry over (9) Caroline Wozniacki- Wozniacki is more pretty and innocent than sexy. Katy Perry has fireworks coming out of her breasts.

(4) Erin Andrews over (12) Cheryl Cole- Peephole video, anyone?

(3) Beyonce over (6) Stacy Kiebler- Beyonce is so out of control sexy that she made this Vizio commercial hot .



(2) Rihanna over (7) Nicki Minaj- Believe it or not I actually had this debate with 3-4 friends one day in January. The vote was pretty split, but I went with Rihanna.

Regional Semi-Finals

(4) Erin Andrews over (1) Katy Perry- Katy Perry tries to hard to be sexy. EA is sexy just by being herself. The whole working in sports thing helps her out quite a bit.

(3) Beyonce over (2) Rihanna- Speaking of sexy commercials. This one was banned in England.



Regional Finals

(3) Beyonce over Erin Andrews- What’s weird about Beyonce is that it’s almost like she’s getting hotter by the day. For example, I think her career low in sexiness was when she was in Austin Powers: Goldmember. Now she just exudes sex wherever she goes. Ever since the peephole thing and dating her Dancing With The Stars partner Erin Andrews has sort of had to scale it back a bit to maintain what’s left of her wholesome image.


Movies (Top Right)

First Round

(1) Mila Kunis over (16) Russell Brand- Did anyone laugh when they saw that Russell Brand made the tournament? Me either.

(9) Kristen Bell over (8) Jessica Alba- Jessica Alba probably would have won this tournament if it was held back in 2003, but she’s a mother now and she just looks more mature and reserved. I also want to give Kristen Bell some love for her role on one of the funniest and least known shows on TV Party Down, which is on Starz.

(12) Jennifer Lawrence over (5) Natalie Portman- Unfortunate timing for Portman. If this tournament was held 5 months ago I think she would have won. Now though, I just can’t find it within me to send a pregnant woman into the second round.

(13) Zoe Saldana over (4) Ashley Greene- Ashley Greene is very pretty, but Zoe Saldana made a big, blue avatar sexy.

(11) Anne Hathaway over (6) Gwyneth Paltrow- I still haven’t seen Love and Other Drugs, but apparently Anne Hathaway is naked for essentially the entire movie. I also don’t find Gwyneth Paltrow sexy in any way.

(3) Penelope Cruz over (14) Amanda Seyfried- Amanda Seyfried is a whacko with bug eyes and Penelope Cruz is a spicy latina.

(10) Megan Fox over (7) Rosie Huntington-Whiteley- You don’t know who Rosie Huntington-Whitely is? Yeah, I didn’t either. Apparently Esquire was getting cute because she’s taking over Megan Fox’s role in the Transformers saga.

(2) Olivia Wilde over (15) Amber Heard- Olivia Wilde is all the buzz right now, but I honestly couldn’t tell you where she’s from or what she’s on. All I know is that after looking through her pictures she’s one of a very small group of women that can pull of any color hair and still be absolutely gorgeous.

Second Round

(1) Mila Kunis over (9) Kristen Bell- She was by far the sexier of the two in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

(12) Jennifer Lawrence over (13) Zoe Saldana- Umm did you see her at the Oscars?



(3)Penelope Cruz over (11) Anne Hathaway- She had a mental breakdown a few years back which just tells you that she’s absolutely wild in bed.

(10) Megan Fox over (2) Olivia Wilde- As overrated as she’s probably become, she’s still really hot.



Regional Semi-Finals

(1) Mila Kunis over (12) Jennifer Lawrence- She finally broke up with Macaulay Culkin which was the only thing holding her back.

(3) Penelope Cruz over (10) Megan Fox- Just look how great Penelope Cruz looked roughly one month after giving birth.



Regional Finals

(1) Mila Kunis over (3) Penelope Cruz- There’s just a mystique around Mila right now that’s hard to describe. Her sex scene with Natalie Portman in Black Swan certainly helps her case as well.


Television (Bottom Right)

(1) Sofia Vergara over (16) Hoda & Kathie Lee- Should I know who Hoda is?

(8) Those girls on Glee over (9) Grace Park- The girls from Glee are really hot. This team can do some serious damage.

(12) Sarah Shahi over (5) Jennifer Lopez- It’s not 1999 anymore J Lo.

(4) January Jones over (13) Jessica Pare- Betty Draper you little minx, you.

(6) Emmy Rossum over (11) Kendra Wilkinson- If you don’t watch the show Shameless on Showtime you are borderline missing out. Emmy Rossum wears zero makeup and is unbelievably attractive.

(14) Lana from Archer over (3) Christina Hendricks- Christina Hendricks has nice curves. I wont dispute that. She is, however, vastly overrated. She’s pale and deceptively old (turns 36 in May). Lana from Archer is actually the very good looking black girl who used to host Talk Soup on E!. Her real name is Aisha Tyler.



(7) Padma Lakshmi over (10) Katrina Bowden- Padmi is a bona fide sex symbol. I’ve never heard of this Katrina Bowden chick.

(2) Kim Kardashian over (15) Bristol Palin- Seriously?

Second Round

(8) Those girls on Glee over (1) Sofia Vergara- Don’t get me wrong I love Gloria on Modern Family, but the quantity of high quality hot chicks on Glee is tough for one woman to compete with.





(4) January Jones over (12) Sarah Shahi- She’s the best part of the month.



(6) Emmy Rossum over (14) Lana from Archer- Did I mention that she gets naked on Shameless roughly every other episode?

(7) Padma Lakshmi over (2) Kim Kardashian- Classy versus trashy.

Regional Semi-finals

(8) Those girls from Glee over (4) January Jones- January Jones is almost hot enough to take down 4 hot girls, but I can’t stand her character on Mad Men.

(7) Padma Lakshmi over (6) Emmy Rossum- Padma was rocking a bikini on last night’s episode of Top Chef and she looked unreal.

Regional Finals

(7) Padma Lakshmi over (8) Those girls from Glee- She might be the sexiest 40 year old on the planet.


Final Four

(6) Izabel Goulart over (3) Beyonce- Probably the top 2, but I’ll take the former Victoria’s Secret Angel who's also 3 years younger.



(7) Padma Lakshmi over (1) Mila Kunis- Not only is she a former model, but she’s also an amazing cook.

Finals
(6) Izabel Goulart over (7) Padma Lakshmi- I admittedly hardly knew who she was until a few minutes ago, but to me she’s the sexiest woman of them all.

Oscars 2011

The year in film will be celebrated this Sunday night as the 83^rd annual Academy Awards will be held in Los Angeles. That means that I'm running out of time for my annual Oscars preview/prediction post. For those keeping track at home (me) I am 10 for 11 in my Oscar predictions. Last year all the buzz was centered around the James Cameron(Avatar)/Kathyrn Bigelow(The Hurt Locker) competition for Best Picture and Best Director. Bigelow, Cameron's 3rd wife, bested her former beau in both categories and became the first woman ever to win Best Director. This year there is no self made rivalry, but the Best Picture race is seemingly again down to two. This year's frontrunners are both based on true events. The leader in the clubhouse seems to be The King's Speech which tells the tale of King George VI overcoming his stammer thanks to his unlicensed speech therapist. The film took home top honors at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in late January. The likeliest film to unseat The King's Speech for Best Picture is The Social Network which (loosely) recounts the origination of the social networking behemoth Facebook. Word on the street is that there will be a much younger feel to the awards this year. Much of this is probably just speculation based on the hosts of this year's festivities: James Franco and Anne Hathaway.

With that all said, it's time to hand out the hardware. Last year I had only seen 3 of the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture before the awards. I went 6 for 6 in my predictions. This year I've seen 9 of the 10 movies nominated for Best Picture. I'm not sure if I can go 6 for 6 again (I'm only unsure of my Best Picture pick). Let's give it a shot either way.

Best Picture

Black Swan

This film is both physically and emotionally painful to watch, but it's also very good. Good enough to win? Probably not. My brother Pat characterized it in three words, "it's fucked up".


The Fighter



My favorite film of the year because it was real (based on a true story). Boxing movies have been produced ad nauseum over the last 30 years, but this one was less about the actual boxing and more about family, fame, making your own decisions, blind loyalty, and overcoming hardships at every turn.


Inception



An intriguing mind thriller that starred the best in the business (Leonardo DiCaprio) and sparked more cooler talk conversations than any other movie in recent memory.


The Kids Are All Right



A lesbian couple each has a child from the same sperm donor and when the kids grow up and meet the their biological father he briefly becomes a part of their life. Misleading title?


The King's Speech



As my buddy Frank recently tweeted, "The King's Speech is g-gr-gr-gre-great."


127 Hours



The only one of the ten that I have yet to see. That should tell you that my expectations aren't too high. James Franco plays a man who gets stuck in-between a rock and a hard place (literally) for 5 and a half days. I've heard good things, but it has zero chance of winning.


The Social Network



The story of how Facebook was formed. Although many would contend that much of the film is inaccurate it has the potential to be the most influential movie of the year because of the ever growing popularity of the social networking site.


Toy Story 3



A borderline touching tale of growing up, moving on, and discovering new ways to be happy. Absolutely tremendous for an animated film. PS- Yes, I work for Disney.


True Grit



Surprisingly this is not just a token nomination because it was directed by the Coen brothers. A 14-year old in late 19^th century Arkansas is out to avenge her father's murder, so she hires a grizzly, old U.S. Marshall to track down the killer.


Winter's Bone



A 17-year old girl who's raising her younger brother and sister because her mother is a wacko (sits around in the house all day) has to prove that her father is dead in order to retain their family's home and land. Bring a pillow.


What movie should win? The Fighter

What movie will win? The Social Network


Best Actor in a Leading Role

Javier Bardem in Biutiful- I just watched the trailer for this movie and I have no idea what it's about. All I know is that Bardem was a bit of a surprise nominee. Many thought that Ryan Gosling would pick up the 5^th nomination for his role in Blue Valentine. Bottom line, Bardem isn't going to win, but he did just father a child with Penelope Cruz, so at least he's got that to celebrate.

Jeff Bridges in True Grit- If he were to take home the hardware he'd become the 10^th two time winner and the 3^rd to win the award in back to back years (Spencer Tracy 1937-38 and Tom Hanks 1993-94).

Jesse Eisenberg in The Social Network- Mark Zuckerberg may have invented the most influential social medium to date, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a big douche.

Colin Firth in The King's Speech- How Firth was able to deliver this constant stammer is nothing short of remarkable. At first I took it for granted, but thinking back it's award winning stuff.

James Franco in 127 Hours- No host has ever won an award of any kind, so Franco's chances aren't looking too good. He definitely railed Anne Hathaway though, so he got that going for him.





Which actor should win? Colin Firth in The King's Speech

Which actor will win? Colin Firth in The King's Speech


Best Actress in a Leading Role

Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right- Bening plays a lesbian mother who is particularly perturbed by the emergence of the sperm donor in her children's lives. She was good and probably has the best shot at unseating the presumptive winner Portman, but Julianne Moore, who played her partner, was pretty darn good too.

Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole- Apparently she's a really good actress (this is her 3^rd Best Actress nomination, she won in 2002 for her role in The Hours), but I'm on the fence as to whether or not she's hot. Call me crazy, but I'm going with not.

Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone- She's 20 and she's a babe, but she's not going to win. Not for nothing she becomes the first ever Best Actress nominee born in the '90's.

Natalie Portman in Black Swan- Portman plays a veteran ballerina cast to play the lead role in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake in which she has to exhibit two different personas. She dives head first into the role and soon becomes bruised and battered both physically and emotionally. Not only is she an almost certainty to win, but she's engaged and pregnant with the choreographer's baby.

Michelle Williams in Blue Valentine- Her ex-fiance Heath Ledger posthumously won an Oscar in 2009 for Best Supporting Actor, so if she wins on Sunday then their child would almost certainly be destined for greatness…or a drug overdose.





Which actress should win? Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Which actress will win? Natalie Portman in Black Swan


Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale in The Fighter- Bale is scary good in this film. Not only did he lose 35+ pounds for the role. He also has a better Boston accent than Mark Wahlberg and Bale is English. Also, the brother of the man he portrays has said that Bale is more Dicky than Dicky. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a better supporting performance in my life.

John Hawkes in Winter's Bone- Who would ever have thought that Kenny Powers' brother would be nominated for an Academy Award?

Jeremy Renner in The Town- The star of last year's Best Picture winner is the only nominee from the latest Ben Affleck joint. The Town is very entertaining, but I'd have to say that it's also a little overrated. And you know how much I love Affleck.

Mark Ruffalo in The Kids Are All Right- Ruffalo plays a sperm donor who is tracked down by his biological children. Over the course of a summer he becomes a significant figure in their lives, as well as the lives of their moms, but he eventually lets them down.

Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech- If not for Christian Bale's once in a lifetime performance this would be Rush's award to lose.





Which actor should win? Christian Bale in The Fighter and Geoffrey Rush in The King's Speech

Which actor will win? Christian Bale in The Fighter


Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams in The Fighter- I love Amy Adams and I loved The Fighter, but I didn't think that she was that great in it.

Helena Bonham Carter in The King's Speech- I haven't seen her since Fight Club, so it was nice to know that she's still in the game, but I also recently found out that she's married to Tim Burton which is a little lot weird to me.

Melissa Leo in The Fighter- She plays the mother-manager-matriarch of a boxing family in Massachusetts. She is both stubborn and destructive as she clearly favors one son to another while trying to convince the son she favors less to see things her way. She should win this award easily.

Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit- 1.) She was the protagonist/lead actress. Literally on the screen for 98% of the film. There's no way that you could convince me that she was in any way a "supporting actress". 2.) She's 14 years old. Grow up Peter Pan.

Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom- I knew that the Disney Theme Park was just a movie set and that the tigers and lions on the safari ride were fake. You can't fool me Mom and Dad.





Which actress should win? Melissa Leo in The Fighter

Which actress will win? Melissa Leo in The Fighter


Last year I also previewed and predicted the Best Director winner because of the James Cameron/Katherine Bigelow sub-plot. Well I successfully predicted that Bigelow would win, so let's ride the momentum and try to go for two in a row.

Best Director (otherwise known as the 5 movies that would have been nominated for Best Picture if the Academy didn't expand to 10 only because The Dark Knight was snubbed in 2008)

Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan- I think he should win going away for this reason and this reason alone. He puts the audience in the mind of the protagonist. We feel and experience virtually everything that Natalie Portman's character does. There's this overriding, palpable sense of tension hanging in the balance throughout the entire film. When she pulls skin off her own back we wince in pain, when she becomes delusional we are confused, and when she finally experiences her release we do as well.

David O. Russell for The Fighter- I gotta give it up to Russell for the way he intertwined the fight scenes with other moments that were key in plot development. My favorite scene of the year in any film (outside of the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis sex scene) is when Dicky is in jail talking to his mother on the phone while Mickey is getting his ass kicked in a fight.

Tom Hooper for The King's Speech- Apparently this movie was filmed on a gay porn set, so let's hope that Hooper doesn't win.

David Fincher for The Social Network- I think the star of the film is really Aaron Sorkin's screenplay filled with its incendiary dialogue, but Fincher is going to get a lot of love for the way he told the story visually both inside and outside the board room.

Joel and Ethan Coen for True Grit- Plain and simple, The Academy has a raging hard on for the Coen brothers.



Darren Aronofsky

Which director should win? Darren Aronofsky for Black Swan

Which director will win? David Fincher for The Social Network

Updated Top 25

In case you haven't noticed, Natalie Portman is everywhere. Everytime I turn on the TV she's on a different late night talk show. Everytime I go to the movies she's in at least one, if not two of the previews. Everytime I go to the grocery store she's on the cover of at least 3 magazines in the checkout aisle. The Israeli born actress' exposure is definitely at an all time high.



Back in August when I ranked the top 25 actresses, Portman was on the outside looking in. It seems almost unthinkable now, but back then she was just the cute girl from Garden State (2004) and V for Vendetta (2006) that randomly appeared on an episode of Top Chef with a bunch of her vegan friends. She was under the radar and I kind of dug that about her.

Now she clearly loves meat because she's engaged and pregnant. Her fiance choreographed Black Swan (2010) and also played a small role in the film. Portman's performance in that film is clearly her best to date. In order to prepare for the role as a veteran ballerina Portman trained for 5-8 hours a day for 6 months and lost roughly 20 pounds in the process. Her hard work and dedication definitely paid off. She's already won the Golden Globe for Best Actress and will almost surely win the Oscar in the same category.

Portman also stars in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached, which came out in theaters on Friday, alongside Ashton Kutcher as well as the action/adventure film Thor, which is set to be released in early May.

Due to her rapid ascension among the Hollywood elite, I have decided to update my rankings.

Again, here is the criteria.

-Looks- Looking good is half the battle and don't let anyone tell you any different.
-Talent- How good of an actress are you? Can you play multiple roles? Have you been typecast? Do you just skate by on your looks?
-Prestige- Will your name be enough to sell a movie? Does your acting resume stack up? Have you been nominated for, or won, big time awards?
-Exposure- Do I know who your husband/boyfriend is? Are you magazine cover worthy? Will the papparazzi leave you alone?
-Wealth- What kind of price tag do you have on you? What do you make per movie?
-Recent Activity- What have you done for me lately? When I hear your name can I easily recall the most recent movie that you've been in? If so, was that movie successful?


Top 25

1.) (1) Angelina Jolie- Even duds like Salt (2010) and The Tourist (2010) (neither of which I've seen) can knock Angelina off the top spot.

2.) (2) Jennifer Aniston- She's not a talented actress (Razzie nominations for her roles in both The Bounty Hunter and The Switch), but she's immensely popular, looks great for 41, and puts the asses in the seats.

3.) (NR) Natalie Portman- Like I said, she's everywhere right now. She's kind of like the Kemba Walker of these rankings. Back in August she was unranked (the UCONN men were unranked in the preseason) and now she's burst onto the scene as one of the best actresses going (Kemba became the most talked about player in college basketball as UCONN won the The Maui Invitational and skyrocketed into the top 5).

4.) (5) Reese Witherspoon- I haven't seen How Do You Know (2010) yet, but she couldn't look any better than she does in the trailer.

5.) (8) Anne Hathaway- If being cast as catwoman in the next Batman movie wasn't enough to warrant a 3 spot bump in the rankings, showing off her assets in Love and Other Drugs (2010) is.

6.) (6) Sandra Bullock- She hasn't been in a movie since winning the Oscar for her role in The Blindside last year, but she's scheduled to appear in a film alongside Tom Hanks that will begin filming soon. Also, she's been in the news because her ex-husband is marrying the woman that he cheated on her with. Oh and she's been linked to Scarlett Johansson's ex Ryan Reynolds.

7.) (9) Scarlett Johansson- Did I mention that she's single?

8.) (3) Kate Winslet- I haven't heard a peep about her since August, but she's still the most talented actress in the world.

9.) (10) Julia Roberts- Eat, Pray, Love (2010) got her back in the conversation.

10.) (4) Meryl Streep- It's Complicated (2009) has been on almost every day in the past month and I've been fighting every urge in my body to not waste 2 hours of my life watching it.

11.) (12) Penelope Cruz- She's pregnant with Javier Bardem's baby.

12.) (13) Halle Berry- She earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her role in Frankie and Alice (2011), but she was one of the few Oscar snubs. Also, Aretha Franklin wants her to play her in a biopic that's currently being written.

13.) (7) Cameron Diaz- Only because of her relationship with A-Rod.

14.) (23) Nicole Kidman- A great bounce back year for this Aussie sensation as she just picked up her third career Oscar nomination.

15.) (14) Jennifer Garner- She obviously gets major bonus points for being married to Ben Affleck. Also, she was hammered during Martha Stewart's Christmas special.

16.) (22) Amy Adams- The most underrated actress in Hollywood continues to deliver with another Oscar nomination for her role in The Fighter (2010).

17.) (18) Ellen Page- She's not attractive, but she's a very intriguing actress. I loved her in Juno (2008) and Inception (2010) and I can't wait for her next role.

18.) (11) Vera Farmiga- Where've you been Vera? I almost put you in the top 10 last time?

19.) (24) Rachel McAdams- I'll be honest, I didn't know that her most recent film (Morning Glory (2010)) was released in November, but she's still adorable.

20.) (21) Zooey Deschanel- She sang the national anthemn before a World Series game and she's great to follow on Twitter (@therealzooeyd). Also, in case you're wondering, I'm still madly in love with her.

21.) (19) Jessica Biel- She's drop dead gorgeous and she dates Justin Timberlake. Enough said.

22.) (16) Keira Knightley- Apparently she recently broke up with her boyfriend that I've never heard of, but she's going to have to get back to being beautiful on screen to stay in the rankings.

23.) (NR) Mila Kunis- She finally broke up with Macaulay Culkin and she was great alongside and on top of Natalie Portman in Black Swan.

24.) (NR) Michelle Williams- The former Dawson's Creek star earned her second Oscar nomination yesterday (first for Best Actress) for her performance in Blue Valentine (2010).

25.) (20) Kate Hudson- She's becoming less and less relevant by the day, but I always had a thing for her back in the day.

Others receiving votes: Helen Mirren, Hilary Swank, Gwyenth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore, Julianne Moore, Helena Bonham Carter, Melissa Leo, Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Bell, Minka Kelly, Jennifer Connolly, Isla Fisher, Cate Blanchett, Amanda Seyfried