Thursday 13

Thirteen Memorable Movie Smiles You know the ones. Those smiles that add sizzle to a scene—or even an entire movie. Here are some of my favorites and the actors who pulled them off. Warning! Mild spoilers follow. 1. Verbal smirks. While Agent Kujan's back is turned, Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint indulges in a small smile of secret amusement. The Usual Suspects 2. Vivian shines. With a certain spark that brought the world to attention, Julia Roberts uses her smile to show us the sweet romantic inside the brash prostitute. Pretty Woman 3. Vivi glows. In just one in a string of brilliant examples, Ashley Judd lights up the screen with her pearly whites. The contrasting scenes of Vivi's anguish only make that smile brighter. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 4. Wednesday frightens. Trying to blend in with the perky terrors at summer camp, Christina Ricci's Wednesday Addams tries on a smile. The result is chilling. Addams Family Values 5. Hannibal terrifies. Anthony Hopkins said once that he found it easy to play Hannibal Lecter. If that's the case, he certainly tapped into his inner psychopath. Hannibal's smile still gives me chills 17 years later. The Silence of the Lambs 6. Maximus takes the next step. Remembering the wife and son he lost, Russell Crowe's Maximus speaks of seeing them again. Then he smiles, just a little. "But not yet." Gladiator 7. Everett chortles. "Baptism!" George Clooney. O Brother, Where Art Thou 8. Dr. Einstein is relieved. Fully prepared to be arrested, Peter Lorre's not-so-good doctor giggles with hysterical relief as he makes his exit. Arsenic and Old Lace 9. Ray loses his composure. Having entirely too much fun for someone getting paid for what he's doing, Dan Aykroyd can't quite keep a straight face as he delivers the line, "You never studied." It makes for a vibrant scene that always makes me smile. Ghostbusters 10. Shoeless Joe anticipates. "What are you grinning at, you ghost?" Ray Liotta's Joe has a secret he can't wait to share. Field of Dreams 11. Mathesar gets the joke. Ideals intact and his people saved, Enrico Colantoni's Mathesar cracks up, in true Thermian fashion. Galaxy Quest 12. Hicks doesn't need to be told. Unnecessarily reassured of Ripley's competence, Michael Bien's Corporal Hicks smiles wryly and says, "Yeah, I noticed." Aliens 13. The Pimpernel surprises. An elderly Frenchman asks Leslie Howard's Percy Blakeney if the woman he's in love with is another man's wife. Smiling with great charm, Percy replies, "No, it's my own!" The Scarlet Pimpernel And three irresistible extras: 14. Nikita breaks our hearts. Anne Parillaud's Nikita, as part of her assassin training, attempts a smile for her beauty coach (the stunning Jeanne Moreau). Nikita hasn't smiled in years and doesn't quite have it in her after all she's been through. Ouch! La Femme Nikita 15. Jack Sparrow succeeds. Our second-favorite cap'n tosses a perfectly devilish smile over one shoulder as members of the British Navy (and their fastest ship) fall neatly into his trap. Johnny Depp. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl 16. Zula prepares to kick ass. Freed from her tether by one charitable stroke of Conan's sword, Grace Jones' Zula smiles with the sure knowledge that now it's a level playing field (even though she's outnumbered about 30 to 1). Rumor has it that Grace enjoyed filming this scene so much, she injured stuntmen and had to be asked to pull her punches. Conan the Destroyer Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants