By Zach Seemayer
12:20 AM PDT, August 14, 2014
Today, August 14th, the gorgeous Halle Berry turns 48, and since her big-screen debut in 1991 in the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever, the immensely talented star has established one of the most successful careers in Hollywood.
Berry won Oscar gold in 2002 for her powerhouse performance in the gritty drama Monster's Ball, and is currently starring on the acclaimed CBS sci-fi series Extant.
In honor of Berry's birthday, let's take a look back at her seven highest-rated films, according to their scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
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She's 48?!
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Today, August 14th, the gorgeous Halle Berry turns 48, and since her big-screen debut in 1991 in the Spike Lee film Jungle Fever, the immensely talented star has established one of the most successful careers in Hollywood.
Berry won Oscar gold in 2002 for her powerhouse performance in the gritty drama Monster's Ball, and is currently starring on the acclaimed CBS sci-fi series Extant.
In honor of Berry's birthday, let's take a look back at her seven highest-rated films, according to their scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
Berry won Oscar gold in 2002 for her powerhouse performance in the gritty drama Monster's Ball, and is currently starring on the acclaimed CBS sci-fi series Extant.
In honor of Berry's birthday, let's take a look back at her seven highest-rated films, according to their scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
7. 'Bulworth'
Year: 1998
RT Score: 75%
Bulworth is about a liberal politician (Warren Beatty) who becomes disillusioned with the rhetoric and lies that permeate politics, so he decides to put a hit out on himself. Knowing he's going to be killed, he begins speaking honestly and openly, garnering him a massive following and the attention of a beautiful woman named Nina (Berry).
RT Score: 75%
Bulworth is about a liberal politician (Warren Beatty) who becomes disillusioned with the rhetoric and lies that permeate politics, so he decides to put a hit out on himself. Knowing he's going to be killed, he begins speaking honestly and openly, garnering him a massive following and the attention of a beautiful woman named Nina (Berry).
6. 'X-Men'
Year: 2000
RT Score: 82%
This is one of the first films that started the massive, modern superhero craze in Hollywood. In the film, Berry plays the weather-controlling mutant Storm. Her casting originally polarized fans who thought that she wasn't strong enough to play the fan-favorite mutant, but her appearance as Storm in all subsequent iterations proves she must be doing something right with the character.
RT Score: 82%
This is one of the first films that started the massive, modern superhero craze in Hollywood. In the film, Berry plays the weather-controlling mutant Storm. Her casting originally polarized fans who thought that she wasn't strong enough to play the fan-favorite mutant, but her appearance as Storm in all subsequent iterations proves she must be doing something right with the character.
5. 'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'
Year: 1999
RT Score: 83%
Technically a TV Movie, the film is a biography of legendary actress, singer and dancer Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge was the first black actress to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1955 for her role in Carmen Jones. In 2002, Berry became the first black actress to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Monster's Ball.
RT Score: 83%
Technically a TV Movie, the film is a biography of legendary actress, singer and dancer Dorothy Dandridge. Dandridge was the first black actress to ever be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1955 for her role in Carmen Jones. In 2002, Berry became the first black actress to ever win an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Monster's Ball.
4. 'Monster's Ball'
Year: 2001
RT Score: 85%
In this intensely depressing drama, Berry plays a woman whose husband is executed in the electric chair, and who later begins a coincidental relationship with the ex-prison guard who presided over the execution (Billy Bob Thornton). The film is known for securing Berry's Oscar gold, and for the intensely graphic and disconcerting sex scenes between the actress and Thornton.
RT Score: 85%
In this intensely depressing drama, Berry plays a woman whose husband is executed in the electric chair, and who later begins a coincidental relationship with the ex-prison guard who presided over the execution (Billy Bob Thornton). The film is known for securing Berry's Oscar gold, and for the intensely graphic and disconcerting sex scenes between the actress and Thornton.
3. 'Jungle Fever'
Year: 1991
RT Score: 86%
Spike Lee directed Berry in her big-screen debut in Jungle Fever. While her role was relatively minor, it showed her true star quality. The movie is an examination of the role race plays in friendships, relationships, sexuality and society.
RT Score: 86%
Spike Lee directed Berry in her big-screen debut in Jungle Fever. While her role was relatively minor, it showed her true star quality. The movie is an examination of the role race plays in friendships, relationships, sexuality and society.
2. 'X2: X-Men United'
Year: 2003
RT Score: 87%
Widely considered to be the best of the original X-Men trilogy, Berry reprises her role as Storm for this dark and sinister superhero outing. The film follows the X-Men as they try and keep mutants safe from a vengeful government official who orders everyone in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to either be captured or killed. Storm doesn't have any universally reviled one-liners like she did in X-Men, so generally it's considered the superior performance.
RT Score: 87%
Widely considered to be the best of the original X-Men trilogy, Berry reprises her role as Storm for this dark and sinister superhero outing. The film follows the X-Men as they try and keep mutants safe from a vengeful government official who orders everyone in Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters to either be captured or killed. Storm doesn't have any universally reviled one-liners like she did in X-Men, so generally it's considered the superior performance.
1. 'X-Men: Days of Future Past'
Year: 2014
RT Score: 91%
Berry's highest-rated performance is also her most recent, and again she is playing the mutant Storm, whose weather-wielding powers make her a force to be reckoned with. It was the first time in eight years that she had donned the skin-tight leather X-Men uniform, and apparently audiences loved everything about it.
RT Score: 91%
Berry's highest-rated performance is also her most recent, and again she is playing the mutant Storm, whose weather-wielding powers make her a force to be reckoned with. It was the first time in eight years that she had donned the skin-tight leather X-Men uniform, and apparently audiences loved everything about it.