By :Billy Gil | Posted: 23 Nov 2009
bgil@questex.com,

Besides being the best actress of her generation, Naomi Watts apparently is the best-earning one for studios as well, according to Forbes (read our story here). You may have seen her in huge-earning fare such as King Kong and The Ring and its sequel, and while those films are good and fine, there’s a reason people like me will see a film just because she’s in it. Here’s a list of five films you should see her in now:

1.    Mulholland Dr. (on DVD from Universal): I may be borderline obsessed with this film (I know I’m not the only one), but the reason this mindbender works so well is the utter flip in persona Watts pulls off effortlessly, moving from aw-shucks eager to unspeakably mad and hateful. I put it near the top of the best performances of the past 10 years — yet Oscar snubbed her, as it did David Lynch’s masterpiece for best film (at least they threw him a bone with a best director nom). Uh, Universal, can we get this on Blu-ray please?
2.    21 Grams (on DVD from Universal): Oscar wised up in 2004 and nominated Watts for her performance as a grieving mother in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s multinarrative film. Screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (who also wrote Babel and Amores Perros) directed a film recently released on DVD, called The Burning Plain, with Charlize Theron.
3.    Eastern Promises (on DVD and Blu-ray from Universal): David Cronenberg’s most recent film didn’t really get the attention it deserved. All the better reason to check it out on DVD.
4.    We Don’t Live Here Anymore (on DVD from Warner): An actors showcase for Watts, Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern and Peter Krause.
5.    I Heart Huckabees (on DVD from Fox): I’m not sure why some revile this star-studded comedy, but hopefully we can at least agree that Watts is awesome as the manic Dawn Campbell, the model of the Huckabees big-box retailer facing an existential crisis. The DVD includes a special feature on composer Jon Brion’s (Magnolia) early involvement with scoring the film.