Top Five Movies of Gemma Arterton

I don?t think I was really aware of Gemma Arterton until I saw the trailers for ?Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters.? I?d seen her sure, I just didn?t think that much about her. I think that comes with my fascination for fairy tale characters.

First of all, if you haven?t read ?Fables,? created by Bill Willingham, I suggest you go find the first four of the trade paperbacks (?Legends of Exile,? ?Animal Farm,? ?Storybook Love? and ?March of the Wooden Soldiers?) and try not to get hooked. The series takes characters that we know and love and then other tangential characters and weaves them into a fresh, new world with plenty of cool adventures. From that wellspring leapt other recent fairy tale adaptations like ?Once Upon a Time? and ?Grimm? and finally Gemma?s latest movie. (I know I?m missing some and I know there?s a correlation between the popularity of fairy tales and rough economic times, I just can?t find good links for either right now.)

So before catching Gemma and Jeremy Renner in this weekend?s latest glimpse into the fairy tale world, I think I may take some time to watch these five other movies where Gemma kicks proverbial ass.

5. A Deal is a Deal

Originally titled ?Three and Out,? this movie stars Mackenzie Crook, which if you are a fan of the British version of ?The Office,? you know as Gareth. It?s kind of cool to sit back and think about the differences between Crook and Rainn Wilson; Martin Freeman and John Krasinkski; and Ricky Gervais and Steve Carell; but the one thing they all have in common was that they had great chemistry together.

4. Quantum of Solace

In the tradition of Bond girls getting goofy names, I think Gemma?s character name of Strawberry Fields is up near the top. (Probably just behind Xenia Onatopp.)

3. The Disappearance of Alice Creed

This movie intrigues me, not least of which because the cast is only three people, Gemma, Eddie Marsan (?V for Vendetta? and ?Happy-Go-Lucky?) and Martin Compston. Then, the IMDB descriptions mention fortifying an apartment, kidnapping and not knowing why and that puts me over the edge to want to see this film.

2. RocknRolla

It?s Guy Ritchie, so you know it?s going to have a good cast. (I learned that way back when I watched ?Snatch.?) It doesn?t disappoint with Tom Wilkinson, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Ludacris and of course Gemma all making what I?m sure is a crazy gangster movie.

1. Pirate Radio

It?s the cast again that makes this movie land the top spot (and I think it is just slightly better than ?RocknRolla,? but I?m sure you could talk me into switching the two.) Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy (?State of Play?), Nick Frost (?Hot Fuzz,? ?Shaun of the Dead?) and Chris O?Dowd and Katherine Parkinson (?The IT Crowd?) in addition to Gemma and many others all hang out in this movie about a boat broadcasting rock and roll from the North Sea.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Gemma Arterton top five?