Top Five Movies of Cate Blanchett

I?ll be honest with you. If I were to have a top five most beautiful actress list, Cate Blanchett would easily be in that top five. So, that said, I know I will be seeing the movie ?Hanna? just to see her and her equally wonderful acting and when I say wonderful, I mean it.

Cate Blanchett in black and white

When making these lists, it is sometimes tough to create a list of five movies. With Cate however, I leave off Liv Tyler?s number one movie, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, because as beautiful and frightening as Cate is in this movie (and I do mean frightening ? the transformation in Frodo?s dream gave me chills in the theater), she is not in the movie much, therefore I can?t list it in comparison with her other roles. ?The Gift? is almost a worthy guilty pleasure, and it has Katie Holmes in a very sexy role as well, but there are better movies to list. ?The Talented Mr. Ripley? is a fantastic movie and one of Gwyneth Paltrow?s top five, but not here. She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for ?Elizabeth? but I think her performance actually dwarfed the movie (which was kind of boring.) I can?t in good conscience put on ?I?m Not There,? because I?m not a big Dylan fan and if I?m thinking of movies where she is wonderful to see, I don?t want her playing a man. So, that said, let?s look at the best movies of Cate?s career.

5. Bandits

I think this was the movie that made me fall for Cate as she plays the female lead and holds her own with Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis. It?s definitely one of those movies that I will stick with when I happen to catch it on cable at night.

4. Coffee and Cigarettes

This movie cemented my vision that Cate is one of the coolest actresses out there. In her segment of the movie Cate plays herself and her near identical cousin as they have a conversation in a hotel lobby. Add in another segment that has RZA and GZA talking with Bill Murray and it?s an insta-classic.

3. Notes on a Scandal

Holy smokes. Judy Dench chastising Cate about her relationship with a high school boy so that Judy can create a relationship with Cate is a pretty cool concept behind this intelligent and well-acted movie. Well-acted is probably a bit of a redundancy because what else would you expect as both Judy Dench and Cate were both nominated for Academy Awards?

2. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

When people ask me what my favorite Wes Anderson film is (it actually happens more than you would think), I say it is this movie. Why? Bill Murray is more of a lead than a supporting character as he is in most of Anderson?s other films and because of the presence of Cate.

1. The Aviator

I don?t know if it gets any better than Cate doing an impression of Katherine Hepburn in a movie directed by Martin Scorsese. That?s why she won the Academy Award and that?s why it is number one on the list.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Cate Blanchett top five?