The Best and Worst of Natalie Portman

The "Best and Worst" series profiles the best and worst work of an actor starring in one of the week's new theatrical releases. This week I take a look at the filmography of "Jackie" star Natalie Portman.

Films starring Natalie Portman that I've seen:
Leon: The Professional
Mars Attacks!
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
V for Vendetta
Black Swan
No Strings Attached
Your Highness 
Thor
Hesher
Thor: The Dark World
Jane Got a Gun

Best Performance: Black Swan (2010)
Portman's Academy Award-winning performance as a ballerina whose life is turned upside when she lands the lead role in Swan Lake is so haunting, intoxicating and layered that one Oscar doesn't seem like enough of an honor for it. The transformation she makes from unassuming, sheltered young woman to obsessive, paranoid lunatic is truly terrifying and serves as the anchor for one of the most insane psychological thrillers ever made.   

Worst Performance: Your Highness (2011)
Comedy has never been Portman's strong suit and those lack of chops were on full display in David Gordon Green's medieval stoner comedy Your Highness. Portman can't keep up with the rapid-fire improv bombs dropped by her co-stars (primarily Danny McBride and James Franco) and her visible discomfort on-screen went a long way in dragging down the quality of this thoroughly average film. 

Best Film: Black Swan (2010)
Darren Aronofsky is one of Hollywood's most twisted, dynamic directors and there's no finer example of his demented genius than Black Swan. Black Swan is the type of movie that takes pleasure in twisting the viewer's brain into a pretzel. The constant uncertainty and misdirection as to what is actually going on makes this a brilliant, enthralling mindfuck that dominated my thoughts long after the credits rolled.    

Worst Film: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
I was born in 1992, so like a lot of people in my generation, my first exposure to Star Wars came with The Phantom Menace. When I first saw it in theaters as a kid, I legitimately loved it. I found everything from the Podracing scenes to Darth Maul's double-edged lightsaber to be cool as shit. I was such a big fan of this movie that I even dressed up as Darth Maul for Halloween that year. That love disappeared when I re-watched The Phantom Menance when I was about 14 (roughly 2-3 years after I watched all of the original trilogy) and realized that everything outside of the final fight scene with Darth Maul was pretty awful. The primary plot surrounding Queen Amidala (Portman) and the liberation of her people is dumb, Jake Lloyd is god awful as young Anakin Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks is arguably the most punchable fictional character in the history of cinema. I feel for every Star Wars fan that had their souls crushed by this weak-ass movie after waiting 16 years for a prequel.  

 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 "La La Land" star Emma Stone.