The Best and Worst of Emma Watson

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 "The Circle" star Emma Watson.

Films starring Emma Watson that I've seen:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
My Week with Marilyn 
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Bling Ring
This is the End
Noah

Best Performance: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
If there was any doubt that Watson's career was going to be able to survive post-Harry Potter, her phenomenal turn in the The Perks of Being a Wallflower promptly killed that narrative. The combination of warmth, sex appeal and subtle insecurity Watson brings to the role of Sam makes the character one of the more believable free spirits I've ever seen in a coming-of-age movie.   

Worst Performance: My Week with Marilyn (2011)
Watson's first live-action role outside of the Harry Potter franchise wasn't exactly a rousing success. The combination of her being miscast as a goody two-shoes makeup girl on the set of the Marliyn Monroe/Laurence Oliver film The Prince and the Showgirl and jarring lack of chemistry with her love interest (Eddie Redmayne) makes this performance a notable dud in Watson's otherwise impressive early career.

Best Film: This is the End (2013)
Seth Rogen and co.'s gloriously fucked-up send-up of apocalypse movies is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. The entire ensemble (Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson) is at their best playing exaggerated, self-absorbed versions of themselves and it's one of the rare comedies that manages to get funnier with every repeat viewing.

Worst Film: The Bling Ring (2013) 
If Spring Breakers had no satirical elements and below average acting, it would've ended up being something like The Bling Ring. Writer/director Sofia Coppola squandered a golden opportunity to make a prime piece of satire by choosing to tell this fact-based story about a group of Los Angeles-area teenagers that robbed $10 million worth of cash and high-end merchandise from celebrities houses in 2009 with no real angle. The film consists of these wealthy teenagers partying, talking about high-end fashion and robbing various celebrities houses on a seemingly endless loop until they finally get arrested in the final 15 minutes. Without any biting humor, social commentary or strong condemnation of "The Bling Ring's" actions to add depth to the proceedings, the film ends up being just as shallow as its high-society protagonists.

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 "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2" star Zoe Saldana.