Top Five Movies of Helena Bonham Carter

I look at Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movies, and think to myself, ?Maybe I should give that series another shot.? That?s the thing about examinations regarding individuals rather than subject matter. Depending on the person, you remember what makes them good or bad and project that onto other projects.

For example, Nicholas Cage has been in some of the worst movies I?ve ever seen. So, I hear that ?Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans? may be pretty good, but I can?t convince myself to see it. On the other hand, I look at Helena?s movies and I start to think to myself, maybe Harry Potter won?t be that bad. Maybe Mel Gibson?s ?Hamlet? will be worth watching. Maybe ?Dark Shadows? will be funny. However, I draw the line at musicals. No matter if Helena, Anne Hathaway, the female cast of ?Charlie?s Angels? and all the ladies from ?Mad Men? were to star in ?Les Miserables,? I learned my lesson with current musical adaptations after Helena?s ?Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.? There may be good musicals in my future, but I just have to be convinced. In the meantime, I can go back and watch these five movies of Helena?s until ?The Lone Ranger? comes out.

5. A Room with a View

Back in the day, this was the movie that all the girls I knew talked about as the most romantic movie. Not only does it have Helena, but seeing the younger Maggie Smith and Judi Dench is always entertaining. However, the girls only have eyes for Julian Sands and Daniel Day-Lewis.

4. Howard?s End

Two James Ivory movies? Two James Ivory movies. (If Helena had been in ?The Remains of the Day,? I would have had to figure out a way to work that one in as well. It?s also another E.M. Forster adaptation, but since we aren?t talking about novelists, I?ll refrain from mentioning his other adaptations.)

3. Fight Club

I think the top three could go six different ways and I?d be happy with any of those rankings. For me, as much as I like ?Fight Club,? it still doesn?t get me right in the gut like the next two. It?s probably the cleverest, but I also think Edward Norton ranks below the next two leading men as well.

2. Big Fish

Since I first saw Ewan McGregor in ?Trainspotting,? I?ve pretty much dug every performance of his. (Note that I said ?performance.? That doesn?t mean I like any of the prequels that must not be named, I just liked his character.) If ?Fight Club? is the clever one, this one is the imaginative one.

1. The King?s Speech

I still remember coming out of this movie smiling. Helena?s performance was wonderful, as was Colin Firth?s and Geoffrey Rush?s. That?s probably why all were nominated for Academy Awards, though only Firth won.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Helena Bonham Carter top five?