Emma Stone's Best Performances

Emma Stone has enjoyed an upward-trending career ever since her big screen debut in 2007's comedy classic, Superbad. That mountainous climb continues with this year's awards season musical juggernaut, La La Land. Stone's onscreen achievements, both past and present, are enough to devote December's Movie List of the Month to her finest performances (November's List).

Honorable Mention: Superbad and Zombieland

#5. Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Directing duo Glenn Ficarra and John Requa delivered one of the decade's finest romantic comedies with Crazy, Stupid, Love. Lead stars Steve Carell and Julianne Moore consume an enormity of the film's running time, but Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone displayed an undeniable onscreen chemistry that made their side-stepping love story an absolute joy to experience. It wasn't the grandest platform to showcase her talents, but Stone seized the opportunity with another career-propelling performance.

#4. The Help (2011)

Within the same year, Emma Stone enjoyed a larger leading role in the Best Picture Nominee, The Help. Tate Taylor's Civil Rights drama battled through a successful awards season run that sadly overlooked Stone's rangy turn. The film instead resulted in Globe and Oscar Nominations for Viola Davis and Jessica Chastain, while Octavia Spencer reigned victorious at both ceremonies. But despite Stone's failure to capture the recognition which she deserved, her role in The Help will always stand as a pivotal point in her career arc.

#3. Easy A (2010)

One of my largest guilty pleasures is the 2010 teen comedy, Easy A. Stone stars as a straight-laced high school girl who unfortunately finds herself caught in a wide-spreading lie that alters her image into the new school "trollop". There's never a break in the comedy and Stone's winning turn landed her a first Golden Globe Nomination. Easy A demanded the spotlight for its lead star and served as a cornerstone role that finally earned Stone more dramatic opportunities.

#2. Birdman (2014)

Best Picture Winner, Birdman, from acclaimed filmmaker Alejandro G. Inarritu, steamrolled through the Academy Awards for its original story, brilliant director and accomplished acting. Yet, the film's most unforgettable performance came from supporting actress, Emma Stone. Her scarred and emotionally battered character works wonders on the big screen and unforgivably took the backseat to an awarded veteran, Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) at the Oscars. Stone's turn left a deeper impression, but, as often the case, the awards season isn't always fair.

#1. La La Land (2016)

Finally, you'll have to see it for yourself to believe it, but Emma Stone has saved the best of her abilities for her most recent portrayal in Damien Chazzelle's mystical new endeavor, La La Land. Not only does she consume the audience with an affable and endearing character, her musical attributes demand a whole new level of appreciation. The effectiveness of Stone's performance is as impacting as her role in Birdman, yet her widely written character allows for a more fully developed persona. She captures your attention and she captures your heart in 2016's finest achievement, La La Land. Like I said, you'll just have to see it for yourself.

The Glass Castle

Destin Cretton is anything but a household name. Yet, the gifted filmmaker turned heads with his massively overlooked 2013 drama, Short Term 12 . The effort bridged together Cretton's singular story and vision with the remarkable acting talents of Brie Larson. Since then Larson has gone on to win an Academy Award ( Room ), but her career comes full circle in her latest collaboration with Destin Cretton in the adapted film The Glass Castle . Told non-chronologically through various flashbacks, The Glass Castle follows the unconventional childhood of gossip columnist and eventual Best-Selling author Jeannette Walls (Larson). Prior to her career as a writer, Walls grows up under the dysfunctional supervision of her alcoholic father (Woody Harrelson) and her amateur artist mother (Naomi Watts). But as Jeannette and her siblings begin to mature and fully comprehend their squatter-lifestyle and impoverished upbringing, they must work together to escape the clutches of their deadbeat par...

Rapid Reviews: Despicable Me 3 and The House

If there's one current animated franchise I always look forward to, it's the Despicable Me films. Credited directors Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin and Eric Guillon (co-director) bring to theaters the third installment of this series. Yet, with each subsequent journey into the hilarious and complicated life of former-super-villain Gru (voice of Steve Carell), the Despicable Me franchise seems to take a step backwards. After foiling an attempt at capturing the disgruntled former child star and 80s retro villain, Balthazar Bratt (voiced by South Park creator Trey Parker), Gru and Lucy (Kristen Wiig) are fired from the Anti-Villain League (AVL). And just as Gru breaks the unfortunate news to his trio of adopted daughters, he's visited by a man who reveals that Gru has a twin brother named Dru (also Steve Carell) who happens to possess a taste for villainy himself. The estranged siblings engage in some mischievous behavior behind Lucy's back and it leads on a path back to Bal...

2016's Most Underrated Movies

Just yesterday I broke down the year's most Overrated Films and now I want to to turn my attention to the more surprising and lesser known titles that proved to be worthwhile watches. As always, when you conjure up a list of this kind, it's important to outline the specific criteria that's used to determine the rankings. Below is a description of the factors I use to measure and classify a movie as underrated: Criteria: The two most heavily weighted components I use are awards season recognition and box office totals. If a movie sneaks a Globe or SAG Nomination, sorry but it won't be on this list (i.e. Captain Fantastic and The Edge of Seventeen ). Also, I try to identify movies that struggle to push $10 million at the box office. And although it's rare, my final assessing tool is recognizing a film that's been undeservedly panned by critics. #5. Green Room Jeremy Saulnier delivered a gem of a debut effort with the revenge thriller Blue Ruin . His mildly anti...

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