Zenith of Hotness

No one wanted a blond Bond, but Daniel Craig proved the critics wrong and scored rave reviews as the hot new face (and body) of the Bond franchise.

However, he didn’t arrive out of the blue.

Before his turn as the suave spy, he made a name for himself turning in solid performances as a brother, a lover, a husband, a hitman and a terrorist.

He’s the damaged goods, the sensitive rogue and the hottest thing to hit big screens in some time.

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Some Voices (2000)

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

Sylvia (2003)

Layer Cake (2004)

Munich (2005)

Casino Royale (2006)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

There was a time when John Cusack was a stable shortcut to a good movie for me. If he was in it, it was going to be pretty good.

He had a great run of playing offbeat characters. Not ‘offbeat’ like you’re pitching a feel-good indy picture.

Offbeat in a way that was actually off the beat. A little different. A little more interesting than they ought to be. His performances suggested layers of depth.

He had soul too. And he could carry a movie.

And darned if the ladies didn’t love him.

From the deep cut of Say Anything… to the suave hitman of Grosse Pointe Blank to the lovable man-child of High Fidelity, John Cusack set hearts aflutter.

But we care nothing of accumulated Hotness. No no.

We need to find his Zenith of Hotness.

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Say Anything… (1989)

Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

Pushing Tin (1999)

Being John Malkovich (1999)

High Fidelity (2000)

Identity (2003)

Must Love Dogs (2005)

Grace is Gone (2007)

Have a testy suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

She started her career inspired by stage plays, worked her way onto TV and broke big with a killer role in My Cousin Vinny.

She was famous and Seinfeld’s George Costanza made her more famous.

More famous for her hotness.

If ever a star smouldered their whole career, it has be be Marisa Tomei. When someone asks me to define ‘lithe’ I say: ‘Marisa Tomei.’ And they get it.

She’s talented and hot, a deadly combination.

But when did that combo as manifest in Marisa Tomei reach its Zenith of Hotness?

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My Cousin Vinny (1992)

Only You (1994)

The Watcher (2000)

In the Bedroom (2001)

Someone Like You (2001)

The Guru (2002)

Alfie (2004)

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (2007)

The Wrestler (2008)

(And yes, I’m aware Marisa was hot in Wild Hogs. But really. I have no knowledge of the film. I have a hunch it could claim the title as worst release in the 21 century.)

Have a suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

Ms. Keener rose to prominence at a relatively late age. She didn’t get regular film work until her late thirties. Before that, she worked as a casting agent–an odd transition, particularly for a woman over thirty in Hollywood.

She’s certainly managed to carve out a spot as a serious actor. She’s got an easy manner on-screen, a kind of laid-back charisma that’s really charming.

Plus, look at that list of movies. With the glaring exception of S1m0ne, she can really pick the off-beat (and often dark) comedies.

At the age of 50, has she reached her zenith? Or is it still to come?

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Your Friends & Neighbors (1998)

Being John Malkovich (1999)

S1m0ne (2002)

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

Friends with Money (2006)

Capote (2007)

Hamlet 2 (2008)

Thanks to BlogTheCat for the suggestion of Ms. Keener.

Have a suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

Five years ago, I wrote a blog post in praise of this Ukranian born model-actress-singer-fashion designer quadruple-threat:

Then there’s her inexplicable choices of roles. She apparently was once quoted as saying ‘I’m still an artist. I’m never gonna do a shit movie, because I’ve got my modeling to support me.’ That doesn’t really explain much of her movie career, fraught as it is with flops and monster flicks . Surely she gets offered more average love-interest roles than a gun-wielding zombie killer. Yet, for reasons than aren’t apparent, she goes with the zombie killer.

She’s surely had one of the weirdest careers in Hollywood. Whether she’s playing a drugged-old high school girl or Joan of Arc, she’s feirce and lovely in every role.

Incidentally, Ms. Jovovich really started her movie career with Return to Blue Lagoon. Put she was only 15 years old when she shot it, so the Ghost World Rule applies. At 34, has she hit her peak yet?

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Dazed and Confused (1993)

The Fifth Element (1997)

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

Zoolander (2001)

Resident Evil (2002)

Ultraviolet (2006)

Thanks to Boris for the suggestion of Milla. He’s of Germanic descent, and thus has affection for Eastern European starlets.

Have a suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

Good Canadian boy makes good without hockey stick. That’s how I like to think of Mr. Reynolds, who comes from my hometown of Vancouver, BC. He strengthened his Canadian cred by dating that irony-laden Canuck chanteuse Alanis Morissette for several years. Of course he eventually wedded Scarlett Johansson. That’d be an upgrade in looks, but a downgrade in pipes.

But, at the mere age of 33, has he reached his hotness peak? Or maybe that’s still to come? You be the judge.

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Van Wilder (2002)

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Just Friends (2005)

Definitely, Maybe (2008)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Thanks to Marina at Row Three for the suggestion. She’s a cinephile and Canadian, so she knows a northern hunk when she sees one.

Have a suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

From early appearances on CHiPS and Fantasy Island, Michelle Pfeiffer evolved into a beauty who packed everything from malice to innocence with her chiselled features.

It might hurt, but it hurt so good.

That edge helped her land her first big role as Elvira Hancock in Scarface. She matched Pacino’s energy and grandstanding and earned a succession of roles that packed more hotness into a few years than most have in a lifetime. Yowzer!

Pfeiffer’s sexiness was always her own and no one else’s. But we are her audience, we demand judgement!

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Scarface (1983)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Tequila Sunrise (1988)

The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989)

Batman Returns (1992)

Dangerous Minds (1995)

I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007)

Thanks to Derek K Miller for the Michelle Pfeiffer suggestion. Suppose he’s a Pfan.

Have a suggestion?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

Born Demetria Gene Guynes, Demi Moore hails from Roswell, New Mexico but has never played a hot alien.

A good proxy for her range of hotness may be her hair. From backcombed brat packer in St. Elmo’s Fire to shorn mushroom in Ghost to bald and bristly in G.I. Jane, Ms Moore seems determined to use her plumage to show her character.

But forget that and the odd names for her children (Rumer, Scout LaRue and Tallulah Belle) and lame jokes about her body of work speaking for itself. Because we’re here to handle the truth.

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St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)

About Last Night… (1986)

Ghost (1990)

A Few Good Men (1992)

Indecent Proposal (1993)

Striptease (1996)

G.I. Jane (1997)

Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003)

Thanks to Trevor O of Layerboom for the suggestion of doing Demi Moore. Don’t mind if I do.

Have a suggestion of your own?

Hit us up with the hotness.

Suggest the works to be considered and send us some images and you’ll put a heater on the hotness. (Read: speed it up.)

He can play the hero. He can make the ladies swoon. He can play a room for laughs. He brought Jim Morrison back from the dead. He’s the Ice Man: Val Kilmer.

And his career has some outstanding cheesecake roles that take full advantage of those pouty lips and chiseled features.

So many moments of hotness, but what Zenith of Hotness?

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Top Secret! (1984)

Top Gun (1986)

Willow (1988)

Heat (1995)

Spartan (2004)

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Credits and Suggestions

Thanks to Raul for the suggestion of doing Val Kilmer.

Have a suggestion of your own?

Hit us up with the hotness. Heck, even suggest the works and send us some images to put a heater on the hotness.

She’s been a princess, Jane Austen and a beard. She’s also the heir apparent to Julia Roberts for widest mouth in Hollywood. All before the age of thirty. Has she peaked, or is that still to come? The inclusion of that particular photo from Havoc may skew the results set unfairly.

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The Princess Diaries (2001)

Ella Enchanted (2004)

Havoc (2005)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

Rachel Getting Married (2008)