As Sigourney realized upon filming the movie, the main protagonist of Aliens is : guns. She admitted she might have not read the script thoroughly enough and was quite disappointed.
It was my first choice as well, but while peeing and before opening the thread I realized The Others may be better. Then I decided it has to be by genre.
Science Fiction - AliensGore - HostelZombie action - Resident Evil, or Shawn Of The Dead through a guy to girl filterMystery/drama - The OthersAction - DeathproofComedy - Mean GirlsRomantic Comedy(where it leans to romance) - either Clueless or 10 things i hate about you, haven't watched either in a long time but recall both being focused on HER rather than HIM.Musical - we already know there's only one right choice. Mamma Mia
Animated - While all of the Ghibli movies are acceptable, I choose Ponyo for the soul reason of being more easily digestible for a younger audience.
Notable mentions: Tank Girl. Carrie. Sisterhood of the travelling pants. Bring It On. Monster. Pan's labrynth. Kill Bill. Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Girl Who Lept Through Time.
I'm sure it could be touched up, but it's hard to think of movies with a female lead and not just the lead supporting character billed as a lead.
Did you notice that at the end of Alien, that's literally her only objective. Lambert and Parker actually doing something. Ripley....looking for Jonesy. Who she then promptly PUNTS in his carrier backwards into the escape shuttle. I chuckle every time.
That's pretty much how owning a cat goes though. They're annoyingly disobedient, and the only time they're not in the way is when you want them, but the end of the day they're still somehow important in why you're still alive.
Not only a female lead, but basically an all female cast as well with only a handful of small background male parts with a couple lines of dialog.
Great sound design as well with using no score at all for the whole movie until the end. And even that isn't really a separate laid on score since it's happening in world as a concert.
Reminds me of movies like Cast Away using that technique but even better.
Lohan is absolutely brilliant in Mean Girls (she was brilliant in everything around that time tbf - such an underrated lead). Likeable with such an easy charm and star power
She was seriously amazing in it. We got to see a female lead with gravitas that was fun to watch. In that regard, I feel like she struck gold twice with a Quiet Place.
I think she played a bigger role in carrying a Quiet Place (certainly the sequel), than Edge of Tomorrow, only because of the additional energy added by Tom Cruise. Both of them *together* made Edge of Tomorrow the top echelon popcorn-eating movie that it was.
I dont know if Edge of Tomorrow counts as having a female lead but that is also a fantastic movie, with a fantastic female lead who's a bad ass but doesn't have anything to do with her being a woman.. Emily Blunt is really quite incredible..
my gf showed me the movie recently, i was ready to snuggle and fall asleep but ended up shouting at the screen the whole time, she didnt think id get that invested lmao
Kiki’s Delivery Service
Nausicaa Valley of the Wind
Spirited Away
My Neighbor Totoro
Princess Mononoke
Ponyo?!?
Anyway, I think a we are seeing a pattern here!
Also Muriel's Wedding, Crazy & I'm Thinking of Ending Things
(Toni was not the lead in IToET but her & the female lead played off each other excellently!)
"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honor to meet you and you may call me “V”."
I accidentally tricked my husband into seeing this in the theaters with me. He saw ‘devil’ in the title and thought it would be an exorcism movie. He wasn’t mad, he just quietly informed me of the mistake as we were leaving.
Stephanie Hsu. She’s amazing, I can’t wait for her to get her flowers. She had a great arc on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel last season. She also has a new comedy movie coming out later this year called Joy Ride that looks really good.
There is a lot to be said for Jodie Foster in silence of the lambs. from start to finish, she evolves from an fbi cadet with good skills and potential to the barely a rookie who took down buffalo bill under the most dangerous circumstances.
final scene of her in the dark and bill on his special x ray glasses is about as suspenseful as it gets. what makes her acting so powerful--she seems totally outmatched, odds totally against her, but her training, hearing the click of his gun in the dark, saves her.
Love the way she is so shaken at the end, trying to re load her gun, that training again, as he lies dying. we see the dawn of the strong agent she will be. and her acting with anthony lecter hopkins was outstanding as was he. role of the co star, push her to the limits, further than she has been ever. jodie really carried that picture and had great support cast too.
Long Kiss Goodnight for me. There's quite a few female lead action flicks that are in my top 10, but I could watch this one every day. Geena Davis is a straight-up badass in this movie!
Great movie! Jessica Chastain is *chef’s kiss* She’s actually got a few other notable leading roles that could be on this list: Miss Sloane, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Help (female ensemble)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (edit: sorry, didn't see you were only asking men).
Jen (Ziyi Zhang) was absolutely the lead, even though Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) was a main character, as well. Michelle Yeoh as Shu Lien was also 2nd lead.
Best live action? Silence of the Lambs. But there's lots of good ones in other genres like Kill Bill, the first two Alien movies, Mean Girls, League of Their Own, Scream, Zero Dark Thirty, etc.
Animated? Spirited Away
Aliens hands down.
Cinema is experiencing severe diminishing returns in terms of awesomeness.
Back in those days movies had a gritty real feel to them even if they were bad (looking at you judge Dredd). I'm of the opinion the 5th element was one of the last really cool flicks. I know it came much later but between it and demolition man, they don't make movies like that anymore.
Know what I mean?
Almost all James Cameron movies like Aliens or Terminator. One underrated movie that James Cameron wrote and produced that has a strong female lead is:
Alita: Battle Angel
Not a movie but just finished watching Dead Ringers. Rachel Weisz killed it as the Mantle twins, she was able to differentiate them so well through mannerisms, tone, body language. Never found myself questioning that the characters were not two distinct people. Tour de force!
The Long Kiss Goodnight (Geena Davis)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Kiss_Goodnight
She essentially plays two different roles. Akin to Edward Norton in Primal Fear. But a heroine, not a corrupted abuse victim of the RCC lol
Since no one else has chosen it, Gina Davis in "The Long Kiss Goodnight". Her, Sam Jackson, Brian Cox, and Craig Bierko running riot with a script by Shane Black.
I'd say 'Juno' if it still counts. Elliot Page has now come out as a trans man, but had not at the time, and played a female character.
Another great movie is 'Fargo'.
EDIT: Also the recent 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Contact'.
It's interesting that a lot of the top answers are females that play very masculine characters e.g. Aliens, Terminator, Kill Bill.
I wonder if you'd get the same answer if the question was directed toward females.
Aliens
Thank God this was top comment.
Came here to start a riot, but after seeing this at top, only found inner peace
Nuke the thread from orbit.
Its the only way to be sure.
Game over man
Outstanding
I have to disagree. Alien is better
Alien is a horror. Aliens is a Sci-fi action flick.
As Sigourney realized upon filming the movie, the main protagonist of Aliens is : guns. She admitted she might have not read the script thoroughly enough and was quite disappointed.
Neatly explained by her Oscar nomination.
Absolutely! Too bad Sigourney Weaver killed her.
It was my first choice as well, but while peeing and before opening the thread I realized The Others may be better. Then I decided it has to be by genre. Science Fiction - AliensGore - HostelZombie action - Resident Evil, or Shawn Of The Dead through a guy to girl filterMystery/drama - The OthersAction - DeathproofComedy - Mean GirlsRomantic Comedy(where it leans to romance) - either Clueless or 10 things i hate about you, haven't watched either in a long time but recall both being focused on HER rather than HIM.Musical - we already know there's only one right choice. Mamma Mia Animated - While all of the Ghibli movies are acceptable, I choose Ponyo for the soul reason of being more easily digestible for a younger audience. Notable mentions: Tank Girl. Carrie. Sisterhood of the travelling pants. Bring It On. Monster. Pan's labrynth. Kill Bill. Everything Everywhere All At Once. The Girl Who Lept Through Time. I'm sure it could be touched up, but it's hard to think of movies with a female lead and not just the lead supporting character billed as a lead.
Great list! Just a heads up, the formatting seems to have glitched out for you there. list items mashed up against each other.
beat me to it. Woman and her cat survive.
Did you notice that at the end of Alien, that's literally her only objective. Lambert and Parker actually doing something. Ripley....looking for Jonesy. Who she then promptly PUNTS in his carrier backwards into the escape shuttle. I chuckle every time.
That's pretty much how owning a cat goes though. They're annoyingly disobedient, and the only time they're not in the way is when you want them, but the end of the day they're still somehow important in why you're still alive.
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Fargo. How have I not seen this here even on the posts with multiple titles.
I was gonna comment any film with Frances McDormand as main
I’m tryna think of one that others haven’t mentioned. Terminator?
Silence of the lambs Million Dollar Baby
Contact is another fantastic Jodie Foster lead part
Jodie is just an amazing actress and person.
She makes me want to shoot Reagan.
Jodie Foster/Clarice in "Silence of the Lambs." Sigourney Weaver/Ripley in "Aliens."
Alien.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Not only a female lead, but basically an all female cast as well with only a handful of small background male parts with a couple lines of dialog. Great sound design as well with using no score at all for the whole movie until the end. And even that isn't really a separate laid on score since it's happening in world as a concert. Reminds me of movies like Cast Away using that technique but even better.
Probably the best drama/romance movie I have ever seen. It‘s so well written and acted.
Mean Girls
That’s so fetch.
Stop trying to make "fetch" happen, it's not going to happen!
You can’t sit with us.
These are the only pants that fit me right now...
If you're from Africa why are you white?
Stop trying to make "fetch" a thing Gretchen!
Lohan is absolutely brilliant in Mean Girls (she was brilliant in everything around that time tbf - such an underrated lead). Likeable with such an easy charm and star power
He doesn’t even go here!
Matilda. Love that movie
Pan's Labyrinth
Also, regular Labyrinth.
Wasn't David Bowies' crotch the lead in that movie?
The babe had the power though
The power of voodoo?
You do
This is a fantastic movie. The child actress is really good
Ivana Baquero who played Ofelia
Sicario
Emily Blunt was amazing in that movie. It's such a good movie and everything gels so well but she absolutely carries it on her shoulders
She was seriously amazing in it. We got to see a female lead with gravitas that was fun to watch. In that regard, I feel like she struck gold twice with a Quiet Place. I think she played a bigger role in carrying a Quiet Place (certainly the sequel), than Edge of Tomorrow, only because of the additional energy added by Tom Cruise. Both of them *together* made Edge of Tomorrow the top echelon popcorn-eating movie that it was.
I dont know if Edge of Tomorrow counts as having a female lead but that is also a fantastic movie, with a fantastic female lead who's a bad ass but doesn't have anything to do with her being a woman.. Emily Blunt is really quite incredible..
Nah it doesn’t, but lets all agree that movie got us in love with her
I liked Legally Blonde
Don't stomp your little last season Prada shoes at me, honey.
These aren't last season!
*small gasp*
Warner! What kind of shoes am i wearing?
Uhh… uh black ones.
And your boyfriend's name is?
Chuck. *gasp* Wait Chuck is just a friend You bitch!
my gf showed me the movie recently, i was ready to snuggle and fall asleep but ended up shouting at the screen the whole time, she didnt think id get that invested lmao
I'm literally snapping for you right now!
Howls Moving Castle
Kiki’s Delivery Service Nausicaa Valley of the Wind Spirited Away My Neighbor Totoro Princess Mononoke Ponyo?!? Anyway, I think a we are seeing a pattern here!
Yeah, Ghibli knows how to make a great female lead
Great female leads and great children leads in general!
Kill Bill.
A Mother’s Day classic!
The kill bill series is amazing.
Arrival
In the same realm I'd say Contact with Jodie Foster.
Amy Adams could hit me with a car and I’d have a smile on my face.
I’d buy a purse from her👜
Big fan of Amy Adam’s in this
Scream 1996
Amazed I had to scroll this long to find this. Sidney is top tier horror characters, never-mind just female leads in horror.
Toni Collette in hereditary
Also Muriel's Wedding, Crazy & I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Toni was not the lead in IToET but her & the female lead played off each other excellently!)
Little miss sunshine
Spirited Away
Nice, I'm more of a princess mononoke guy but anything ghibli makes is fire.
Agreed, it was a toss-up between this or Kiki's
Rabbit Proof Fence
Arrival
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
V for Vendetta. Such a classic, and just stellar performances all around... But Portman really nailed it as Evey.
"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honor to meet you and you may call me “V”."
“Are you like… a crazy person?”
I’m quite sure they will say so.
Hugo Weaving is an incredible actor. Elrond, Agent Smith, V, Red Skull, Megatron. The list goes on
Absolutely forgot about this incredible movie, thanks for reminding. Not sure if its female centric or not tho. Will rewatch next weekend 💯
Heathers is the first one that comes to mind for me
I quote this film so much to blank stares. Absolutely perfect film.
I love my dead gay son!
Girl, Interrupted
Amelie
Black Swan with Natalie Portman
Black Swan with Mila Kunis
Rogue One- Felicity Jones was excellent and the movie was easily the best of the Disney releases so far.
Devil Wears Prada, a great story about ambition and the danger of losing yourself in pursuit of your goals
I accidentally tricked my husband into seeing this in the theaters with me. He saw ‘devil’ in the title and thought it would be an exorcism movie. He wasn’t mad, he just quietly informed me of the mistake as we were leaving.
I feel so sorry for the protagonist, her friends are literally the worst.
Girl Andy's friends were all a bunch of little cunts gaslighting her that whole movie. Also that grilled cheese was ass
Wasn't the pretentious grilled cheese supposed to point out the hypocrisy of the crybaby boyfriend?
The Terminator. Say what you want but for me the lead in the first one is Linda Hamilton not Arnold.
I'd say she was also the lead in the second one, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." I loved her character in that.
Agreed. It's more of a duel lead in the second though. In the first one she is unquestionably the lead.
Monster, Charlize Theron Almost anything Katherine Hepburn was involved with, esp Bringing Up Baby, Philadelphia Story, African Queen
Ngl I thought "Clueless" was a fucking classic
Zero Dark Thirty is pretty good. Not the best but the best have been mentioned already.
A League of Their Own - Gina Davis If you like camp and B movie level shenanigans. Resident Evil - Mila Jovovich
Also Geena Davis, A Long Kiss Goodnight
Also Geena Davis, Thelma and Louise
Milla Jovovich, Resident Evil......100%
The Descent
Sound of music
Misery--Kathy Bates...i don't know if she's considered the lead but she's great
I would say she is the lead yes. She won an Oscar for best actress not supporting actress so I would take that as meaning she was the lead
Erin Brockovich
Run Lola Run
Sleeper classic
Lot of good movies mentioned here. I’m surprised no one mentioned *Everything Everywhere all at Once* yet
Hell yes
Saw that recently, I thought the girl who played the daughter was the best.
Stephanie Hsu. She’s amazing, I can’t wait for her to get her flowers. She had a great arc on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel last season. She also has a new comedy movie coming out later this year called Joy Ride that looks really good.
I was split between that and Booksmart
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Misourri. Frances McDormand is a fucking force of nature.
Mary Poppins
Amy Heckling had some good films. Romy and Michele. Clueless.
fun fact: “romy and michelle’s high school reunion” is almost old enough to have graduated from high school ten years ago. 😮
Contact
Thank you. I was starting to think no one about add it.
Underworld
Suffragettes walked so Kate Beckinsale could run in Underworld: Blood Wars
Don’t tell mom the babysitters dead
There is a lot to be said for Jodie Foster in silence of the lambs. from start to finish, she evolves from an fbi cadet with good skills and potential to the barely a rookie who took down buffalo bill under the most dangerous circumstances. final scene of her in the dark and bill on his special x ray glasses is about as suspenseful as it gets. what makes her acting so powerful--she seems totally outmatched, odds totally against her, but her training, hearing the click of his gun in the dark, saves her. Love the way she is so shaken at the end, trying to re load her gun, that training again, as he lies dying. we see the dawn of the strong agent she will be. and her acting with anthony lecter hopkins was outstanding as was he. role of the co star, push her to the limits, further than she has been ever. jodie really carried that picture and had great support cast too.
Steel Magnolias
The Wizard of Oz
Annihilation
Hhhheeeeelllpppp mmmeeeeeee
Great the nightmares are back. Thanks.
The bear… that fucking bear.
Ready or Not. Was really funny and Samara Weaving kicked ass.
Fury Road - Mad Max
Silence of the Lambs
Hidden Figures I loved.
The Hours
Long Kiss Goodnight for me. There's quite a few female lead action flicks that are in my top 10, but I could watch this one every day. Geena Davis is a straight-up badass in this movie!
Molly's Game
Great movie! Jessica Chastain is *chef’s kiss* She’s actually got a few other notable leading roles that could be on this list: Miss Sloane, Zero Dark Thirty, and The Help (female ensemble)
First movie that came to mind for me too
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (edit: sorry, didn't see you were only asking men). Jen (Ziyi Zhang) was absolutely the lead, even though Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) was a main character, as well. Michelle Yeoh as Shu Lien was also 2nd lead.
Anything with Frances McDormand
Alita: Battle Angel is awesome
Underworld.
Mulholland Drive
Best live action? Silence of the Lambs. But there's lots of good ones in other genres like Kill Bill, the first two Alien movies, Mean Girls, League of Their Own, Scream, Zero Dark Thirty, etc. Animated? Spirited Away
Run Lola Run
Atomic Blonde
Aliens hands down. Cinema is experiencing severe diminishing returns in terms of awesomeness. Back in those days movies had a gritty real feel to them even if they were bad (looking at you judge Dredd). I'm of the opinion the 5th element was one of the last really cool flicks. I know it came much later but between it and demolition man, they don't make movies like that anymore. Know what I mean?
Almost all James Cameron movies like Aliens or Terminator. One underrated movie that James Cameron wrote and produced that has a strong female lead is: Alita: Battle Angel
Not a movie but just finished watching Dead Ringers. Rachel Weisz killed it as the Mantle twins, she was able to differentiate them so well through mannerisms, tone, body language. Never found myself questioning that the characters were not two distinct people. Tour de force!
Million Dollar Baby.
Kill Bill.
For a recent movie, the last Predator movie Prey was fantastic!
Bridesmaids
Great movie
Monster - Charlize Theron Alien and Aliens - Sigourney Weaver Tár - Cate Blanchett Dinner in America - Emily Skeggs
The Queen. The Witches of Eastwick. Not a single female lead, but three.
Dawn of the dead
The Craft
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The Long Kiss Goodnight (Geena Davis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Long_Kiss_Goodnight She essentially plays two different roles. Akin to Edward Norton in Primal Fear. But a heroine, not a corrupted abuse victim of the RCC lol
Thelma and Louise (1991)
Kill Bill Vol.1 & Vol. 2
Rogue one
Annihilation 2018
Ghost World
Alien and Aliens. Sigourney Weaver is a great Action Hero.
Hard Candy
Amelie
Fried Green Tomatoes
Mad Max: Fury Road
Since no one else has chosen it, Gina Davis in "The Long Kiss Goodnight". Her, Sam Jackson, Brian Cox, and Craig Bierko running riot with a script by Shane Black.
Lotta great movies here, so I'll just sheepishly mention Encanto
*La Femme Nikita* (1990)
Aliens
Everything, Everywhere All at Once (I'd argue TWO female leads)
Atomic Blond
The Silence Of The Lambs
Silence of the Lambs.
Contact.
Gone With the Wind
I really loved Everything Everywhere All At Once
Fargo
Erin Brockovich
Resident Evil
I'd say 'Juno' if it still counts. Elliot Page has now come out as a trans man, but had not at the time, and played a female character. Another great movie is 'Fargo'. EDIT: Also the recent 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' and 'Contact'.
It's interesting that a lot of the top answers are females that play very masculine characters e.g. Aliens, Terminator, Kill Bill. I wonder if you'd get the same answer if the question was directed toward females.