15 Actresses Deserving of Oscars Attention (But Probably Won't Get It)

I'm bored of the old guard of actresses ruling the Best Actress field every year, and this Oscar season doesn't look to be any different. In fact, most of the main Best Actress contenders skew a little bit older, and of course Meryl Streep is there for August: Osage County, apparently because she wore a lot of make-up and didn't wear out her throat screaming for two hours. Good for her. Her place in the race is assured no matter what, but this year in particular there were a wealth of great performances by women who will probably be ignored by the Academy, even though they have as much right to be there as anybody.

So what I recognized, and this will be the case for male performances too, is that most of the performances that had the greatest impact on me probably have no shot at receiving a golden statue. What they all share in common for the most part are two things: youth and opportunity. The oldest actress on my list is veteran scene-stealer Kristin Scott Thomas who gives bad mothers an even worse name in Only God Forgives. Right next to her is TV vet Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who displays in Enough Said a wit and dramatic range could have made her a big screen star. Others, like Brie Larson for Short Term 12, are under 25 and taking advantage of their first chance to play truly complex, lived-in characters. And then there are those in-between like Gaby Hoffmann, who has been acting steadily for 25 years and is only now just starting to come into her own as a blissful hippie traveler in Crystal Fairy. And yeah, a few were just extremely hot, like the crimson-haired Christa Theret in Renoir as the woman who reignited the legendary artist's passion.

What I've tried to do in each case is provide a clip to show off why these extremely talented ladies were so unforgettable. As always, feel free to weigh in with your own picks!

Waad Mohammed- Wadjda



Melonie Diaz- Fruitvale Station



 Christa Theret- Renoir



Rosario Dawson- Trance



Kristin Scott Thomas- Only God Forgives



 Veerle Baetens- The Broken Circle Breakdown




Amy Acker- Much Ado About Nothing



Berenice Bejo- The Past



Gaby Hoffmann- Crystal Fairy



 Greta Gerwig- Frances Ha



Julie Delpy- Before Midnight




Lake Bell- In a World....



Shailene Woodley- The Spectacular Now



Julia Louis Dreyfus- Enough Said



Brie Larson- Short Term 12

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Three Heartwrenching Clips From 'Fruitvale Station' Starring Michael B. Jordan

Winning a pair of Dramatic awards at Sundance and carrying that momentum through Cannes, Ryan Coogler's heartbreaking Fruitvale Station continues to look like an early Oscar favorite. At the very least it's a window into the talent of star Michael B. Jordan, who plays the real life figure Oscar Grant, who in the early morning of New Year's Day 2009 was shot in the back by BART cops while in their custody at the Fruitvale station. The murder sparked off a fierce debate on race relations, and considering that continues to be a hot button issue, especially with the events of the last few days, the film is going to arrive at a very interesting moment in time.

Three new clips have been released just a few weeks before it hits theaters, and if they make your eyes well up with tears then just wait until you've seen the whole thing. They show Oscar, just as he's starting to turn his life around, having a pair of really tough conversations with his mother (Octavia Spencer) and girlfriend (Melonie Diaz). But it's the scene between Oscar and his daughter that's the toughest to take, and you can probably figure out by the tone just how important every word he says to her is going to turn out to be.  Just be sure to bring lots of Kleenex when you catch Fruitvale Station on July 12th. And be sure to keep an eye out for my upcoming interview with Coogler.

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