The Best and Worst of Charlize Theron

Films starring Charlize Theron that I've seen:
Mighty Joe Young
The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Italian Job 
Monster
Hancock
Young Adult
Snow White and the Huntsman
Prometheus
A Million Ways to Die in the West
Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Performance: Monster (2003)
This may seem like a lazy choice since Theron won an Oscar for this role, but her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who became the first female serial killer in the United States, is nothing short of mesmerizing. Theron tears up the screen with a fiery performance that portrays Wuornos as both a psychotic and tragically misunderstood person. The pivotal scene where Wuornos explains to her girlfriend (Christina Ricci) why she became a mass murderer shows the true depth and power of Theron's performance. Despite admitting to a heinous act, Theron makes the audience understand and respect her justification for killing people. It's a master class in how spectacular, raw acting can make you sympathize with even the most despicable characters. This performance made me develop an appreciation for Theron as an actress and as far as I'm concerned, there are few recent Oscar-winners that are as deserving as her.


Worst Performance: Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
2012's Snow White and the Huntsman was about as routine and mediocre as a blockbuster can be. About the only thing that's memorable about the film (outside of the outstanding visuals) is Theron's laughably awful performance as Snow White's stepmother Queen Ravena. Theron sticks to the stereotypical villain playbook giving a performance that's loaded with dramatic stares, evil laughs and exaggerated line readings galore. Her campy performance would've been perfect for an antagonist in a live-action Scooby-Doo or Inspector Gadget reboot, but in a stone-serious retelling of a beloved fairy tale, it's just embarrassing.

Best Film: The Italian Job (2003)
I will never understand why this film gets such a bad rap. In my eyes, The Italian Job is everything an action movie should be and more. The plot is simple and efficient, the acting ensemble anchored by Mark Wahlberg, Edward Norton and Theron is perfect with equally strong heroes and villains, the tone is appropriately loose and best of all, the action sequences are fantastic (the final car-chase is one of the most exhilarating to ever be put on film). The Italian Job epitomizes a fun time at the movies and is one of the most underrated action films of all-time.

Worst Film: The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
A film that features Theron, Matt Damon and Will Smith in the leading roles and has Robert Redford sitting in the director's chair can't be too bad right? Wrong. Just thinking about The Legend of Bagger Vince brings back all the rage and disappointment that came over while I was this steaming turd of a movie. A film that boasts this much talent on both sides of the camera should not be this corny, dull and pointless. Unless you're an avid fan of  overly sentimental, melodramatic golf stories involving magical caddy's or seeing established, respected actors put on terrible southern accents for two hours, stay far, far away from The Legend of Bagger Vance.
 
Thank you for reading this week's installment of "The Best and Worst of". Next week I'll take a look at the best and worst work of "Straight Outta Compton" star Paul Giamatti