I know I am quite supposed to be checking in with my Thanksgiving entry, but nope, I have yet to have garnered the inspiration for that. Instead, I'm gonna be blogging about something else. I've been watching a fair bit of movies this year, and I've become quite the movie buff. It used to be that I'll just watch something for the sake of watching it, but now I'll actually check out Wikipedia to see if it is any good before deciding upon it. Like I'm more picky about what I watch.

Nevertheless, there are always the few actors/actresses whom I can rely on to pick good movies to act in. I mean, they know which roles will be good for them, and even if the movie ultimately sucks, you can be assured that they'll somehow carry it through, either with their talent or their looks.

So I decided to come up with a top ten list of actors and actresses whom I will watch a movie for just because they are in it. That means that their star factor appeals to me enough that just their appearance will draw the money out of my wallet and convert it into a movie ticket. So here it is, in ascending order of merit.

10. Zhang Ziyi

To be honest, I only had 9 clear-cut celebrities whom I knew were in my list for sure, but somehow I had to come up with a 10th. I was considering Zhang Ziyi, a hot babe I wouldn't mind seeing more, Brad Pitt, who has acted in a few of my favourite movies (Fight Club and Ocean's 11, 12 13) or Leonardo DiCaprio's excellent performance in my favourite genre to date, biographical accounts of real people (Catch Me If You Can and The Aviator). I decided that the hot babe won over. This is not to say that the other two are any less; to me the fight is really close.

9. Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones is here for pure hotness, I really think she's hot in her own way. She looked great in Zorro, and I really feel that she is a great actress blessed with looks. Not getting any younger I know, but hey, I don't mind. Would you?

8. Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks may not be your James Bondish charismatic middle-aged man, but he's got boatloads of talent. Sixth Sense really drew me to him, and Green Mile and Catch Me If You Can were other movies where he really shone. Maybe its not him, but his choice of movies to appear in somehow appeals to me, so if he's there, I'm there. Would be higher if he's made any significant recent appearances.

7. Stephen Chow

Stephen Chow is a childhood favourite. Come on, everyone loves him. He's funny like hell. I know I laughed the hardest in Kung-Fu Hustle, and I know I'm gonna laugh at the sequel. If he's in, you know you are in for a laugh. What's not to like about a laugh? I'm all for guaranteed fun. If he appeared more often, he's gonna be higher up for me.

6. Johnny Depp

There's a reason why he is on the Walk of Fame, and that's because he's as good as they come in Hollywood. Johnny Depp's versatility and adeptness in portraying colourful characters means that he's gonna be different. He may not have any straight-on fans, but he's like the alternative, new-age genre in music. Captain Jack Sparrow was the reason why I loved Pirates, and Willy Wonka wasn't that bad either. Anyhow, if you want different, but good different, Johnny Depp delivers.

5. Andy Lau

The only truly active of the 4 Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong, he's the only one who I believe that is truly hardworking and dedicated. Zhizhong infected me with his enthusiasm for him, and in Protege he really kicked ass. I can't complain about someone so charismatic and so committed.

4. Morgan Freeman

I'm not sure why I love him so much. I mean, he rarely takes centerstage, but I just adore him to death. Maybe he's some kinda grandfatherly figure, but I just like the usual roles that he plays, in Bruce/Evan Almighty and Batman Begins, and how he always seems so confident in being the all-knowing person. If he's in the movie, I wanna be there too.

3. Jennifer Aniston

There's a reason why she was married to the hottest hunk on the planet, and it may involve her being so exotically hot even as she approaches 40. And she's no amateur to boot, which makes any movie with her just that good to watch. Derailed wasn't that shabby, and even that movie about that 3 generations of sleeping with the same guy was crap, she somehow carried it through. The Breakup wasn't too bad either; who'll complain about having her halfnaked?

2. Nicholas Cage

Been exposed to a bevy of Nicholas Cage lately, so I might have put him higher than he really should be. Then again, his appearance in Matchstick Men has stuck to me ever since, so never mind that he's great in Lord of War. Really the ruthless immoral businessman that was expected from the role. National Treasure was there too. The only reason why he isn't higher is because he has this predicted style of acting, and he doesn't deviate from it much. I think its his face; it doesn't change as often as it should. Although he did breakthrough alittle in National Treasure 2, I think he's good only for a few roles and I don't expect him to be as versatile as, say, Johnny Depp is.

1. Will Smith

Will Smith made me shed a tear, just by himself alone, in Pursuit of Happyness. I think that tear was the only tear in my entire life associated with happiness and joy; every other tear was shed in sadness, sorrow and tragedy. So I have to say that Will Smith really trumped it all in that one movie, and he was even funny in MIB. The thing is, he was not at all funny in Pursuit, and yet he just got to me. I Am Legend is coming right up, and I know that it's gonna be kickass for sure.

Honourable Mention 1: Jay Zhou: He made it great in Secret, but I still think he'll exploit his stardom in subpar movies, and I don't think he's quite there acting-wise.

Honourable Mention 2: Chris Rock: He's funny as hell, but if I watch a movie for his comic relief then it doesn't seem too right to me, since his roles are often just supporting and his jokes, while hilarious, are never pivotal to the plot. Still, his jokes alone make me go there.