Winona Ryder films: Best to Worst (all her films)
As you can probably tell, I have a bit of a thing for Winona.
The top 10 may be different to my other list "The Best of Winona Ryder" but that list is meant to be the films that give the best an all-round view of Winona's career (so for example Star Trek was left out because her part is pretty small). This list judges her films by themselves.
I've seen Turks & Caicos but I've chosen to leave that out because I consider it to be a TV drama program rather than a movie (or TV movie) Looking for Richard doesn't count because it's a documentary (ditto other documentaries she's appeared in) and Being John Malkovich just uses a bit of archive footage of her (at an awards show).
The top 10 may be different to my other list "The Best of Winona Ryder" but that list is meant to be the films that give the best an all-round view of Winona's career (so for example Star Trek was left out because her part is pretty small). This list judges her films by themselves.
I've seen Turks & Caicos but I've chosen to leave that out because I consider it to be a TV drama program rather than a movie (or TV movie) Looking for Richard doesn't count because it's a documentary (ditto other documentaries she's appeared in) and Being John Malkovich just uses a bit of archive footage of her (at an awards show).
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- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsNatalie PortmanMila KunisVincent CasselNina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.I think this an amazing film, a thrilling journey into madness. And it's perfect that Winona was cast as the veteran performer who up-and-coming Natalie Portman takes the place of. You have to admit there's a real-life parallel there.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppWinona RyderDianne WiestThe solitary life of an artificial man - who was incompletely constructed and has scissors for hands - is upended when he is taken in by a suburban family.The beginning of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's longtime collaboration and one of their best.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.The first proper Tim Burton film (with Pee-Wee's Big Adventure he was more of a hired gun), with bags of originality and charm and the Tim Burton-isms feel completely fresh - the expressionist set designs, the costumes, the Danny Elfman score and stop-motion sequences. Lydia Deetz is the most Tim Burton-esque characters ever and one of Winona's most iconic roles.
- DirectorNicholas HytnerStarsDaniel Day-LewisWinona RyderPaul ScofieldA Salem resident attempts to frame her ex-lover's wife for being a witch in the middle of the 1692 witchcraft trials.
- DirectorRichard BenjaminStarsCherBob HoskinsWinona RyderAn unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.Sweet, quirky, slightly corny but lovable little film. Winona is so convincing and endearing as a naive, confused, virginal 15 year old (she was about 18 at the time) I think it's one of her best performances.
- DirectorMichael LehmannStarsWinona RyderChristian SlaterShannen DohertyAt Westerburg High where cliques rule, jocks dominate and all the popular girls are named Heather, it's going to take a Veronica and mysterious new kid to give teen angst a body count.Personally I feel it's slightly overrated and you can tell it didn't completely live up to scriptwriter Daniel Waters' dream (he originally wanted it Stanley Kubrick to direct it) but Christian Slater steals the show with his Nicholson-esque coolness. One of Winona's best performances as well.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsWinona RyderAngelina JolieClea DuVallA directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.Flawed but occaissionally effective adaptation of a good but very difficult to adapt book. Most notable for being the film that won very soon-to-be Hollywood's hottest actress Angelina Jolie her Oscar.
- DirectorGillian ArmstrongStarsSusan SarandonWinona RyderKirsten DunstThe March sisters live and grow in post-Civil War America.Winona does a good job (she even earned a Best Actress Oscar nom) in this solid adaptation of a classic children's story.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsDaniel Day-LewisMichelle PfeifferWinona RyderA tale of nineteenth-century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsChris PineZachary QuintoSimon PeggThe brash James T. Kirk tries to live up to his father's legacy with Mr. Spock keeping him in check as a vengeful Romulan from the future creates black holes to destroy the Federation one planet at a time.Successful reboot of the Star Trek movie franchise. Only a small cameo role for Winona though (playing Spock's mother)
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsWinona RyderCatherine O'HaraMartin ShortWhen a boy's beloved dog passes away suddenly, he attempts to bring the animal back to life through a powerful science experiment.Admittedly it does feel like Tim Burton is repeating himself again, but I still liked this. It had a nicely dark sense of humour and great performances from it's voice cast. Winona however gets disappointingly few lines as schoolgirl Elsa Van Helsing (a bit like a hybrid of Lydia Deetz and Rina from Lucas)
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsWinona RyderGena RowlandsLisanne FalkAn anthology of 5 different cab drivers in 5 American and European cities and their remarkable fares on the same eventful night.Typically quirky and eclectic collection of stories from Jim Jarmusch. Winona is cast against type as a tomboy cabbie/grease monkey.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGary OldmanWinona RyderAnthony HopkinsThe centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
- DirectorBille AugustStarsJeremy IronsMeryl StreepMaria Conchita AlonsoA rancher, his clairvoyant wife, and their family face turbulent years in South America in this adaptation of Isabel Allende's best-seller.
- DirectorJean-Pierre JeunetStarsSigourney WeaverWinona RyderDominique PinonTwo centuries after her death, a powerful human/alien hybrid clone of Ellen Ripley aids a crew of space pirates in stopping the aliens from reaching Earth.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsPeter SarsgaardWinona RyderJim GaffiganIn 1961, famed social psychologist Stanley Milgram conducted a series of radical behavior experiments that tested ordinary humans' willingness to obey authority.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsKeanu ReevesWinona RyderRobert Downey Jr.An undercover cop in a not-too-distant future becomes involved with a dangerous new drug and begins to lose his own identity as a result.The rotoscoping is bold but sags somewhat because much of the running time is taken up by the drug-addled characters sitting around talking nonsense (might sound funny but it's not really) with an irritating Robert Downey Jr. producing the most verbal diarrhoea.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.
- DirectorDavid SeltzerStarsCorey HaimKerri GreenCharlie SheenA socially inept fourteen-year-old experiences heartbreak for the first time when his two best friends - Cappie, an older-brother figure, and Maggie, the new girl with whom he is in love - fall for each other.Sweet but quite dated 80s high school movie with a performance from tragic child star Corey Haim that shows what could have been. A very young and untested Winona debuts as a shy classmate with a unrequited crush on the title character.
- DirectorJim McBrideStarsDennis QuaidWinona RyderJohn DoeThe life and career of wildly controversial rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis.Silly but entertaining, and the music's still great. Then-18-year-old Winona makes a fairly convincing 13-year-old (as Lewis' underaged bride)
- DirectorBen StillerStarsBen StillerOwen WilsonChristine TaylorAt the end of his career, a clueless fashion model is brainwashed to kill the Prime Minister of Malaysia.Winona has a short cameo playing herself in this funny Ben Stiller comedy which now has a bit of a cult following.
- DirectorWoody AllenStarsKenneth BranaghJudy DavisLeonardo DiCaprioThe fortunes of a husband and wife differ drastically after they divorce.Average Woody Allen film with Kenneth Branagh playing Woody Allen. Winona gets 4 scenes but is certainly believable as someone he'd fall in love with at first sight.
- DirectorRebecca MillerStarsRobin WrightAlan ArkinMike BinderAfter her much older husband forces a move to a suburban retirement community, Pippa Lee engages in a period of reflection and finds herself heading toward a quiet nervous breakdown.Another recent minor supporting role for Winona but I think she made the most of it.
- DirectorGary FlederStarsJason StathamJames FrancoWinona RyderA former DEA agent moves his family to a quiet town, where he soon tangles with a local meth druglord.Wasn't expecting much but actually it wasn't that bad. Winona, playing a ex-biker gang groupie, doesn't get that much to do apart from acting as a go-between for James Franco's meth dealer and a biker gang but it's a new kind of character for her and she just about pulls it off.
- DirectorAriel VromenStarsMichael ShannonChris EvansJames FrancoThe story of Richard Kuklinski, the notorious contract killer and family man. When he was finally arrested in 1986, neither his wife nor his daughters had any clue about his real profession.Has a good cast but it's a bit flat and doesn't seem to really bring anything new to the gangster genre. Winona is second billed and gets the second most screentime but her scenes are quite brief and she still feels underused.
- DirectorVictor LevinStarsWinona RyderKeanu ReevesDJ DallenbachThe story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay and Frank, who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.A two-hander, basically a relentless stream of acerbic cracks. Hit and miss really but there are some quite good lines. Keanu is too wooden to really get the most out of it, Winona gives the better performance.
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsJason RobardsJane AlexanderWinona RyderA 13-year-old girl changes a pleasant life in the countryside for a troubled life in the city.Low budget 80s TV movie that isn't too bad for what it is. Winona's second film and her first leading role (although as a starting-out child actress she only gets 3rd billing)
- DirectorJohn Kent HarrisonStarsWinona RyderBarry PepperJohn BourgeoisBased on the true story of the enduring but troubled love between Lois Wilson, co-founder of Al-Anon, and her alcoholic husband Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.Fairly cheesy Hallmark TV movie although has a few good scenes where Winona and Barry Pepper pull some decent performances out of the bag.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsAl PacinoCatherine KeenerRachel RobertsA producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person.Corny comedy sci-fi fantasy, Al Pacino's worst film after Gigli and Jack & Jill. Winona gets about 5 minutes of screentime playing "a supermodel with a SAG card" (but isn't she a bit short to be a model?)
- DirectorJoan ChenStarsRichard GereWinona RyderAnthony LaPagliaRomantic drama about an aging playboy who falls for a sweet, but terminally ill, young woman.Unfortunately mawkish weepy with an ending that anyone could see from miles away. Richard Gere gives a typical Richard Gere performance (ie. pretty wooden) but at least Winona is very gorgeous most of the time.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsStarsWinona RyderJeff DanielsLaila RobinsA small town prepares for the homecoming of superstar Roxy Carmichael, as does a young outsider, who believes Roxy is her mother.
- DirectorJocelyn MoorhouseStarsWinona RyderEllen BurstynAnne BancroftBride-to-be Finn Dodd hears tales of romance and sorrow from her elders as they construct a quilt.All the older women's stories are too thinly sketched, it has some pretty corny moments and in the end it feels like something churned out to attract middle-aged, middle American women. Ellen Burstyn, Anne Bancroft, Maya Angelou and prestigious name must have been the reason Winona signed onto this, it surely couldn't have been because of the quality of the script or the wishy-washy character she plays.
- DirectorDaniel WatersStarsRobert WisdomTanc SadePatton OswaltA guy's life is turned around by an e-mail that includes the names of everyone he's had sex with--and ever will have sex with. His situation gets worse when he encounters a femme fatale (Ryder) who targets men guilty of sex crime.Winona reunites with Heathers writer Daniel Waters but the results are a bit disappointing (this certainly won't develop the cult following of Heathers)
- DirectorMichael PolishStarsWinona RyderMark PolishSean AstinAn author who returns to his hometown to deliver a commencement address to a class of graduating high school students has to deal with his feelings for an old flame as well as the advances of a student who has the hots for him.
- DirectorAsia ArgentoStarsAsia ArgentoDylan SprouseCole SprouseSeven-year-old Jeremiah is pulled from his foster home and thrown into a troubled life on the road with his teenage mother, Sarah.A depressing film that feels like it's just being gritty for the sake of it and has little else to say. And the "true story" it's based on turned out to be a hoax. Winona appears in one 2 minute scene playing a caricatured child psychologist, with a bad southern accent (accents aren't really her strong suit)
- DirectorJay AnaniaStarsWinona RyderJosh HamiltonMarin IrelandA playwright who begins to mentally unravel cannot decide if she is at the center of a manipulative plot or simply losing her grip on reality.Had some potential, the performances aren't bad and it's nice to see Winona in a starring role again (she gets more of a chance to act), it's just a shame the story doesn't go anywhere. It has interesting parallels to Black Swan though.
- DirectorSteven BrillStarsAdam SandlerWinona RyderJohn TurturroA sweet-natured, small-town guy inherits a controlling stake in a media conglomerate and begins to do business his way.A remake of an old Frank Capra film, really just an excuse for a particularly lazy Adam Sandler vehicle. Winona, in one of her worst performances, flounders with the lame script and has zero chemistry with Sandler. Made around the time of her shoplifting debacle, so that year must have been a real annus horribilis for Winona.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsVince VaughnKevin JamesWinona RyderA man discovers that his best friend's wife is having an affair.
- DirectorGeoffrey HaleyStarsWes BentleyWinona RyderRay RomanoA man (Bentley) who makes his living composing other people's suicide notes enters into a romance with the sister (Ryder) of a recent client.Winona is OK, but the script is quite insipid and the Ray Romano scenes are terrible.
- DirectorGregor JordanStarsBilly Bob ThorntonKim BasingerMickey RourkeOne week in L.A. in 1983, featuring movie executives, rock stars, a vampire and other morally challenged characters in adventures laced with sex, drugs and violence.Hardly anything happens in this film.
- DirectorErnest ThompsonStarsRobert Downey Jr.Kiefer SutherlandBruce DernTwo friends living in a small town during the 1960s, run away to enjoy their freedom during the Vietnam War, thus disappointing the father of one of them. When they return to town, they realize the importance of family unity.Comedy-of-age drama that's a rather feeble attempt at portraying the hippy/Vietnam era. A forgotten entry in the early résumés of Winona, Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Downey Jr. Winona gets nothing to do.
- DirectorFinn TaylorStarsJoseph FiennesWinona RyderDavid ArquetteTo investigate bizarre insurance claims that transpired in either accidents, death or both, a former cop and an insurance investigator travel throughout the country to look at the cases up close.Lame comedy flop which, like "The Ten", completely wastes an ensemble cast of good actors. Winona fails to make her character likable. Feels like it went straight to DVD and probably did.
- DirectorJanusz KaminskiStarsWinona RyderBen ChaplinSarah WynterA Catholic teacher meets an atheist journalist, whom a group of Catholics and Priests believes has been chosen by the devil to be the Antichrist.Bleak, dull, highly forgettable satanic horror.
- DirectorStacy CochranStarsWinona RyderLukas HaasJohn C. Reilly25 y.o. Patty is thrown off her horse and knocked out. Students from a boys' boarding school find her and smuggle her to John's room at the school as cops are looking for her at home.Poor excuse for a film that Winona sleepwalks through in a state of delirium.
- DirectorJustin SimienStarsLaKeith StanfieldRosario DawsonOwen WilsonA single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian to help exorcise her newly bought mansion after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts.
- DirectorDavid WainStarsPaul RuddJessica AlbaWinona Ryder10 stories, each inspired by one of the 10 Commandments.Terrible collection of unfunny, amateurish comedy sketches, only one of them raised a laugh from me thanks to Rob Corddry. Quite a few good and well known actors are in it but they are all wasted.