Nicole Kidman 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 Nicole Kidman-whose latest project "Practical Magic 2" releases in theaters today. 

Nicole Kidman's Filmography Ranked:

25.Lion (D)

24.The Others (D+)

23.Practical Magic (D+)

22.The Beguiled (C-)

21.Secret in their Eyes (C)

20.The Paperboy (C)

19.A Family Affair (C)

18.Batman Forever (C+)

17.Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (B-)

16.Stoker (B-)

15.Dead Calm (B-)

14.Days of Thunder (B-)

13.Eyes Wide Shut (B-)

12.Just Go with It (B) 

11.Destroyer (B)

10.Bombshell (B)

9.Babygirl (B)

8.The Upside (B)

7.Being the Ricardos (B)

6.Paddington (B)

5.Aquaman (B+)

4.Rabbit Hole (B+)

3.The Northman (B+)

2.To Die For (B+)

1.The Killing of a Sacred Deer (B+)

Top Dog: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Even by the standards of notorious sicko Yorgos Lanthimos, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is going to be a tough sell for a lot of people. This is a BLEAK movie that goes to some dark places early on and only ventures further down a rabbit hole of despair and hopelessness as it progresses. This dedication to uncompromising darkness alongside the terrific performances from Colin Farrell, Kidman and Barry Keoghan are the main reasons why this deeply unnerving movie is very high on my list of favorite Lanthimos joints. 

Bottom Feeder: Lion (2016)

While I can't speak to how true to reality its fact-based story of an Indian man (Dev Patel) who mostly grew up in Australia returning to India with the hopes of finding the family he was accidently separated from when he was 5, Lion plays out in such a shamelessly melodramatic matter that I didn't buy an ounce of the wannabe feel good bullshit it was putting down. Disingenuous, faux sentimental bullshit like will never not piss me off and part of me is glad that the love Lion received during the 2016 awards season has largely dissipated with time. 

Most Underrated: Rabbit Hole (2010)

Rabbit Hole is a moving, raw and honest portrayal of grief and guilt that has really managed to fly completely under-the-radar since it was released 16 years ago. Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are stellar as a married couple that's struggling to maintain their relationship as they try to process the death of their 4-year-old son in a tragic accident and the really smart script from David Lindsay-Abair does a terrific job of delivering a sensitive, emotionally intelligent exploration of how this unfathomable loss is driving a wedge between them that may never be able to be repaired.

Most Overrated: The Others (2001)

The Others was one of those movies that I was too young to see when it came out but was old enough to process just how much buzz there was surrounding it at the time. By the time I finally got around to watching it in the spring of 2022, I was kind of taken aback by how I didn't like it. Outside of its gorgeous gothic haunted house aesthetics, nothing about this movie impressed me in the slightest. The pacing is brutal, the performances are merely alright, and the really silly twist ending manages to further unravel an already pretty weak story.