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This week brings the unexciting release of yet another Resident Evil film. Seriously, what is the attraction with Resident Evil? I understand that it’s based on a popular video game series, but do the movies really make enough money to warrant so many sequels? What’s that? The movies make a boatload overseas? Well, okay then. Still, as much as I’m no fan of the series, there’s no question that the film’s star, Milla Jovovich, has managed to open the films. I know, you may think it’s just the film being related to a video game that gets it big bucks, but Jovovich is the only constant in the series. Her face is more well-known now than it used to be, even if her name’s not as recognizable. I sincerely bet her presence helps. So, good for her. She’s one of the rare actresses who’s managed to survive Hollywood, even if it’s in crappy action movies.

This week’s A-List, partially inspired by Jovovich and partially by a general lack of ideas on my part, focuses on five actresses under the age of 30 who should be lucky enough to get Jovovich’s career. These actresses are all, I think, far better at what they’re doing than Jovovich, and should become bigger stars than they are (at least one of the actresses here is already doing pretty well in the spotlight). Four of them have movies coming out before the end of the year, and one just starred in a little-seen gem that most of us here at Box Office Prophets, myself included, fell in love with (three guesses on what it is, and the first two don’t count). Like any actor, their films aren’t uniformly perfect, but their talent is unavoidable and should be nurtured. So far, these actresses haven’t put a foot wrong; here’s hoping the streak continues. On with the list.

Emma Stone

It’s not exactly rare for an actor or actress to be intelligent, but the quality seems to be in short supply when it comes to conveying that in a movie. In the few years that she’s been hanging around in movies, Emma Stone has proven to be one of the most intelligent performers. Her first major film was Superbad, where she played the object of desire for Seth, Jonah Hill’s breakout performance. What people might forget is that her character, in a nice and pleasant twist of teen-comedy tropes, wants to have a great party, even if that means not actually doing anything at said party. She wants Seth to get lots of alcohol because he offers it and it’ll make a great party; she doesn’t want to or intend to drink anything. Since Superbad, she’s appeared in a few films, including Zombieland and The House Bunny.

Next week, she makes her first stab at stardom, with Easy A. Based loosely (about as loosely as Clueless is based on Emma, it seems) on the Scarlet Letter, Easy A is about a girl who fakes losing her virginity to her gay best friend so people won’t beat him up at school. This ruse spirals out of control, and makes the lead revel in her faux status as a tramp. The movie doesn’t sound amazing, but the trailer makes it look funny on the same level as Mean Girls, and Stone appears to be maintaining her lead as the smartest female character in the movie. Add to that the heralded return of recently unretired star Amanda Bynes - unfortunately, she’s not on this list - and I’m more than happy to give a few bucks to the cause of making Stone a star.

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