Brie Larson Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Brie Larson-whose latest project "The Marvels" is in theaters now.

Brie Larson's Filmography Ranked:

16.The Glass Castle (C)

15.Unicorn Store (C+)

14.Don Jon (B-)

13.Free Fire (B-)

12.The Gambler (B)

11.Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (B)

10.Captain Marvel (B)

9.Fast X (B+)

8.Kong: Skull Island (B+)

7.Avengers: Endgame (A-)

6.Trainwreck (A)

5.Just Mercy (A)

4.The Spectacular Now (A)

3.21 Jump Street (A)

2.Short Term 12 (A)

1.Room (A)

Top Dog: Room (2015)

The film that earned Larson her Oscar also happens to be my favorite thing she's ever done. Room handles the harrowing struggle of escaping an unspeakably abusive domestic situation along with the difficulties that people who've escaped that situation have with reacclimating to a "normal life" with such raw power, empathy and grace that it makes the film really difficult to shake for hours, if not days after watching.     

Bottom Feeder: The Glass Castle (2017)

Despite some solid performances from a talented cast toplined by Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts, The Glass Castle is ultimately too melodramatic and insincere with its messaging to be the tearjerker family drama it aims to be.  

Most Underrated: Short Term 12 (2013)

Larson, LaKeith Stanfield, Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek and Stephanie Beatriz all lent their then-unknown talents to Destin Daniel Cretton's-whose also leveled up a bit since 2013-remarkably powerful feature debut about the meaningful connections forged and life lessons learned between the people running a short-term group home for troubled teenagers and the kids they're in charge of. How Short Term 12 has continued to fly under-the-radar despite all of the success its cast and writer/director have enjoyed in the years following its release is completely beyond me. It's currently streaming on a number of streaming services including Prime Video, Tubi and Peacock and I highly recommend seeking it out if you haven't seen it.        

Most Overrated: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

The appeal of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World isn't lost on me. A stylish, hyperactive graphic novel adaptation that feels like an over-the-top cartoon-y fighting video game mixed with a snarky offbeat comedy and features a whole host of funny and cool actors including Michael Cera, Mary Elizbeth Winstead, Kiernan Culkin, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza doing funny and cool shit on screen is hard to dislike. However, I just feel like it's not as clever, engaging or fun as the rest of Edgar Wright's movies and doesn't live up to the excellent reputation its developed over the years courtesy of its increasingly large cult fanbase.