My 10 Favourite Female Performances of 2011.

Here we go again with a little 'nostalgia' (I guess we can call it that). With this list, I wasn't really aiming for the 'normal Oscar crew' - these are lady performances which I just loved, despite the fact that they didn't get as much love as they should have. And no, you won't be seeing any Meryl Streep here. Without further ado, my favourite women of 2011 who totally rocked on screen...

Honourable mentions: Juliette Binoche - Certified Copy, Lubna Azabal - Incendies, Hayley Atwell - Captain America: The First Avenger, Vanessa Redgrave - Anonymous, Emily Browning - Sleeping Beauty, Vera Farmiga - Higher Ground, Berenice Bejo - The Artist, Emily Watson - Oranges and Sunshine, Elena Anaya - The Skin I Live In, Helen McCrory - Hugo, Mary Page Keller - Beginners, Rachel Weisz - The Whistleblower, Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn, Evan Rachel Wood - The Ides of March, Carey Mulligan - Shame, Jennifer Ehle - Contagion, Leila Hatami - A Separation, Sareh Bayat - A Separation, Shailene Woodley - The Descendants, Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs, Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs, Viola Davis - The Help, Octavia Spencer - The Help, Kristin Scott Thomas - Sarah's Key, Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids, Liana Liberato - Trust, Mia Wasikowska - Jane Eyre, Eva Green - Perfect Sense.

10. Saorise Ronan as Hanna in Hanna.

Maybe this comes out of pure envy. Saoirse Ronan is around the same age as me, and all I can think of when I see her is "how the heck does she do it?" She's such a talented performer, always lighting up the screen in whatever she's in. However, there is something truly terrifying about her performance in Hanna. First of all, she kicks ass. Second of all, she puts on this perfect accent - which is pretty hard for someone like myself to do (any European accent just sounds Indian if I do it). Third of all, she brings this strange fish-out-of-water aspect to it, wandering around her surroundings with such amazement and wonder. You can't help but feel sorry for poor Hanna, but then you remember that if you got on the wrong side of her, you wouldn't come out the other side all that well.
Key scene: "I just missed your heart."

Underrated Leading Performances of 2011

Last weekend, I looked at the ten most underrated supporting performances from 2011. I couldn't really just give you that list and run away laughing, now could I? It is time to look at the leading performances that didn't get an adequate amount of attention. Here's my ten picks, ranked...

10. Rachel Weisz in The Whistleblower

It pretty much sounds like an Oscar success story: an ever dependable actress playing the lead in a true story of a woman working against all odds. Alas, The Whistleblower wasn't received that well and hardly anyone saw it. Maybe the film is a little too dependent on Rachel Weisz being dependable, but she gives a wonderful lead performance that the film itself can never live up to. Her performance/character can be summed up by one line that she utters in the film: "I don't want a scandal, I just want to do my job." And what a brilliant job she does.

"I just missed your heart."

Film: Hanna
Year: 2011
Director: Joe Wright
Written by: Seth Lochead and David Farr
Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, Olivia Williams, Jason Flemyng, Jessica Barden, Vicky Krieps.
Running time: 111 min.

Imagine living out in the forest with your father, away from everything. Wouldn't it be so hard? Being so far away from civilisation, living in something similar to a cave, and having to fetch your own deer as some food to last for maybe a week or two. Now imagine being a teenager stuck in a forest. No Facebook, cellphones or iPods...THAT WOULD BE SO HARD! Well, for most of the teenagers who grace the Earth these days. Take a look at Hanna (Saoirse Ronan). She was brought up living in a forest with her father (Eric Bana), without ever hearing the sound of music, being taught stuff by her father. She didn't turn out so bad. Oh, and she could probably beat your ass in five seconds. Now, she's off to get out of the forest and into the big world...all at the flick of a switch. Her mission in the big wide world is to kill Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett), but this seemingly easy task turns out a little harder than expected. Oh well, once Hanna thinks she has killed Marissa (she only really killed someone trying to be Marissa), Hanna finds herself in Morocco and tries to deal with the real world. The real world that she never knew existed.

16 Days of Birthday, Day 4: My Actress Idols

Being around movies all the time, I tend to look up at a lot of actresses as role models. Not the Disney types of actresses that us young adults are all supposed to aspire to be...no. It's the real kinds of actresses who are out there kicking Hollywood's butt, and looking awesome while doing it. Here's my ultra cool list of some of my favourite actress role-models:

Jennifer Lawrence is someone who I think is completely awesome. Not only did her career sky-rocket in 2010 thanks to her gutsy performance in much acclaimed indie Winter's Bone, she is practically now one of Hollywood's most-wanted actresses. And you know, she still seems to be a completely normal girl. Completely normal.

Vera Farmiga has slipped off the radar a bit of late, but I sure am looking forward to seeing her directorial debut, Higher Ground. I just love Vera, and I can't really pinpoint on the exact reason why. But she's one cool chick.

Anne Hathaway has been my idol ever since I watched Brokeback Mountain back in 2006. She radiates all kinds of happiness it's just ridiculous. Oh, and who remembers that huge Disney princess phase she had back in the day? Yeah...that's a distant memory.

Y'all know that I quite like Rebecca Hall, the rather tall British actress who always seems to be in the right movies. Seriously, I will watch anything that she stars in. Even though she's so amazing that I want to cry.

I think I just wish I was Saoirse Ronan. She's one of those rare teenage actresses who has all the talent of an actor who has been in the profession for a few decades. Seriously, if I was an eighth of how awesome she is then I would be such a happy panda.

As you're all probably well aware, Amy Adams is my favourite actress, and I think she's an amazing person, too. Sure, there have been some mishaps in her career (ah, Leap Year, anyone?). But she's still one of the bubbliest and most vibrant actresses out there, who continuously shies away from the spotlight.

Ever since I watched The Disappearance of Alice Creed, I've been in love with Gemma Arterton. In that movie, I thought she was incredibly gutsy, and she looked so real, unlike any of those other stick-thin actresses. Also, watching Tamara Drewe fuelled my love for her a bit more. Seriously, the girl is amazing!

Who doesn't love Natalie Portman? I think she's such a cutie pie, and she seems to have a heart of gold. Plus, her laugh is crazy. Not to mention that she shaved off her hair for a movie role. And learned how to do ballet for a movie role. Dedication.

Emma Stone is probably the actress that I look up to the most. First of all, she made a powerpoint to convince her parents that she should be an actress. Look where that got her. Piles of crappy movies, but she always remained the best thing about them. And along comes Easy A, the film where she showed us all that she could indeed carry a comedy by herself, and be naturally funny. She's such a cute person, too. Let's just hope the sudden boom her career is having won't go to her head...

So, do you have any actress idols?