best films of natalie portman

with pitchers and catchers looming tomorrow, i thought i'd sneak a non baseball post in before you get inundated with mostly posts about the great game. she has been cleaning up at the awards shows so far for her role in BLACK SWAN. she has also been nominated for an oscar as well. she also has another one just out called NO STRINGS ATTACHED, with another four due out later this year before she takes a break to have her kid.

TOP TEN: BEST OF NATALIE PORTMAN

HONORABLE MENTION

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (2008)

she plays an ill-fated 2nd wife to henry VII played by eric bana

10. MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM (2007)

portman plays the employee of a magical toy store, co-starring with dustin hoffman, who plays the eccentric 243 year old mr. edward magorium (think a version of gene wilder's willy wonk.)

09. WHERE THE HEART IS (2000)

portman plays a 17 year old who, after finding out that she is pregnant, runs away to california with her boyfriend. the film is based on the novel with the same title, which was a national best-seller by billie letts. kudos, natalie for making a pregnant teenager actually look responsible.

08. STAR WARS: EPISODE III-REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

yes most people would agree the three star wars movies were her worst but here she displays that she is a strong independent woman, that is filled with love and compassion, not just for her family but for the WHOLE galaxy.

07. COLD MOUNTAIN (2006)

only a small part, she plays a widow trying to protect herself and a baby in this civil war drama but you'll find yourself empathizing with her choice she has to make in the movie.

06. THE PROFESSIONAL (1994)

although this is one of her earliest performances, don't let her age fool you. portman plays a young girl, orphaned from her abusive, drug-addicted family by a corrupt cop (gary oldman). despite his better judgement, an assassin (jean reno) takes her in and protects her. here she proves she has the acting chops at an early age. one minute she's young and innocent, the next she's cold and heartless.

05. V FOR VENDETTA (2006)

in this film version of alan moore's graphic novel , she shaves her head and her character helps destroy the parliament, it still stands as one of the better movie adaptations of a graphic novel. her next movie taken from comics (thor) will have a lot to live up to.

04. CLOSER (2004)

portman plays along side jude law, clive owen and julia roberts. in this rare film about a love rectangle she plays an exotic dancer, she's not that convincing but she holds her own with this impressive cast around her as the movie rolls along in mystery with twists and turns.

03. GARDEN STATE (2004)

written and directed by former scrubs dude, zach braff, who also plays the friend/ love interest of portman. the film leaves you with a fairly open interpretation, but a satisfactory sense of closure and happiness. also after meeting my future lovely bride for the first time when i was out one night, i invited her back to my place to watch this.

02. beatiful girls (1996)

directed by the late ted demme, a star infested cast including matt dillon, lauren holly, timothy hutton, rosie o'donnell, uma thurman, mira sorvino and michael rapaport. portman plays the next door neighbor who is smart and funny and develops a crush on musician timothy hutton when he comes back to visit his family. it's about a group of small-town friends that join up for their first high school reunion. They find themselves evaluating their lives and their relationships. It's about growing up and facing reality.
01. BLACK SWAN (2010)

this movie marks portman's greatest performance to date, it draws her subtlety and innocent charm, but we get something is just not right about her character, and this film is why she will win her first oscar.