Top 10 Underrated Women of Hollywood

   7.4  

She's going to be the biggest actress in America in about 5-10 years. Count on it.

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   7.2  

I know what you're thinking. That Beckinsale and the word "Underrated" are never spoken in the same sentence together. But I think alot of that is due to her looks, which isn't the only appealing factor. Kate Beckinsale is an excellent actress, or at least, she is when she gets meaty scripts and good directors. I loved her in Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco", Marty Scorsese's "The Aviator", and David Gordon Green's "Snow Angels", and this year, her turn in the Courtroom Drama "White Out" was denied academy consideration because the production company went backrupt. She has an "Eye Candy" reputation because people think she does "Eye Candy" movies, but she's great with actual talent involved in her work.

CRT's rating:

   6.4  

Wanted to include her because of the tremendous internet backlash she's received over her "Juno" screenplay, which has been trashed as being "Hipster-chic" or "Quirky for the Sake of Being Quirky". I liked the film. I think she has talent for creating interesting characters and a universe around them, and pending the release of her new work like "Jennifer's Body", I think she will either prove that she's better than Internet Trolls give her credit, or that I'm wrong, but I think it's the former.

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   6.8  

In my opinion, no female talent in Hollywood has been given more of a bad career turn through no fault of her own than Winona Ryder. Everybody knows her major films, like Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and "Heathers" is one of my all-time favorites, but smaller productions like Jarmusch's "Night on Earth" proved that Ryder, if not destined for A list stardom, could have been a huge indie talent. Sadly, when the studios attempted her comeback with "Girl, Interrupted", they accidentally launched Angelina Jolie (Probably the industry's most OVERrated female talent) instead. Winona's recent work in very small limited release films is fun though. Somebody needs to take a chance on Winona with something meaty, and I think she'll be forgiven.

CRT's rating:

   7  

I was never interested in Claire Danes until I saw 2007's Fantasy Breakthrough "Stardust", and immediately fell in love. Going back and watching her earlier work, and ignoring critics that believe her talent is very limited, I was impressed by both her performance in "Shopgirl" (Steve Martin's Novella adaptation) and "Stage Beauty" (An excellent 2004 period piece from the director of "Notes on a Scandal). I think Claire is adorable, very talented, and it would be great to see her in bigger roles, if even supporting parts, because I think most people, when they hear her name, only think "Romeo and Juliet".

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   7  

I had a big thing for Franka years ago after I saw her in her breakout starring role in "Run Lola Run", and "Princess and the Warrior", her followup film with then boyfriend, director Tom Tykwer. Her international popularity from the former landed her in the female lead of "The Bourne Identity", which we all know made an action superstar out of Matt Damon. But then Franka, who proceeded to make a couple DTV horror films, dropped off the face of the earth. What the hell happened, and how long before we can see her again?

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   6.5  

Rosario Dawson is a geeky film fan's fantasy woman. She's talented, smokin' beautiful, and to quote Lloyd's friends in "Say Anything" , "A Brain....trapped in the Body of a Game Show Hostess", a Hot Nerd , who is purely unapologetic of that fact. Rosario was the best part of Kevin Smith's "Clerks 2", and was great as one of "Faster Pussycat!" wannabes in Tarantino's "Death Proof". But recently, her roles have been anything but appetizing. Yes, I know they might allow her to be in bigger movies with bigger stars, which is what you want to see, but Rosario needs more roles for fanboys.

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   5.3  

If you haven't seen Gregg Bishop's "Dance of the Dead" (In that case, go rent it right the hell now) you probably have no idea who this girl is. If you have seen "Dance of the Dead", you probably fell in love with her as Student Council VP Lindsey like I did. Greyson's name is as unique as her fiery red hair and adorable smile. Assuming she continues acting and gets decent roles, she could be a big star. She definitely reminds me of a young Amy Adams.

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   7  

This Pastor's Daughter played Kirk Cameron's Wife in last year's Christian drama "Fireproof", and may have been the only truly redeemable thing about the picture. Bethea says she wants to pursue acting, and she has a definite star quality. Put her in a movie with people who can actually act, and she could be an interesting indie movie prospect.

CRT's rating:

   7.3  

Yeah, you probably think I'm insane. Reese Witherspoon? You mean the oscar winning actress, film producer, and a-list actress...on an underrated list? For the record, the only reason I'm putting Reese this low she doesn't really NEED to be any bigger than she is.

The only reason she's here at all, is in hopes she starts picking more quality scripts. Walk the Line? Wonderful. Legally Blonde? Lots of Fun. Most of the stuff she's doing anymore however? Pretty Awful. Reese looks like she'll be great for this year's "Monsters vs. Aliens", let's see if she can get more screenplays that will allow her to flex her considerable acting muscles.

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