1. Dredd
Dredd is number one because I think it was a truly brilliant feminist movie and that was a complete surprise. One of the best things about it is the fact that though it is strongly feminist, I dont think anyone left the theatre feeling like the feminist themes were shoved down their throats. I dont think the writers of Dredd specifically went out to create a feminist movie but their radical decision to treat the female characters as people made it so. Dredd also has a female villain, which none of the other movies do, and she is brilliant. Ma-ma might be my favorite female villain of all time. Most female villains are very different from male ones. Female villains usually fall into three categories, they are either vain and their goal is to be beautiful, they are a slighted lover out for revenge, or, if the writers try and fail to understand feminism, they want to control or kill all the men. Ma-ma is none of these things. Ma-ma is the leader of a highly feared and very powerful drug dealing gang. As a leader, she has many minions who are men and do not question her authority, but she is not afraid to get her hands dirty and do some intimidation or murder herself. The other stereotype Ma-ma avoids is that of a female villain only getting what she wants through sex. While there is nothing wrong with this, and such an act is not necessarily sexist, it was nice to see a change with Dredd and have Ma-ma get what she wants the same way a man would- through knives and threats. The final act of Ma-mas brilliant equality was her death. In most movies, a female villain will be dispatched by another female because the cant hit a girl mentality is still very present in Hollywood. Not so in Dredd. Unfortunately for Ma-ma, the kind of justice Dredd deals is both deadly and unisex. In addition to the female villain, Dredd also has a female hero who has as many lines and screen time as the man himself. Anderson is an equally strong female character. Her costume is the exact same as Dredds instead of being more revealing or more feminine, something that happens in most movies. The only difference is Andersons lack of helmet which is not a change made because of looks. The decision to not outfit her in a helmet made sense to the plot and to the movie as shes easier to relate to than Dredd, who with his helmet and attitude are closed off and cold. Most excitingly about her character is that Anderson never becomes a damsel in distress. She gets captured, gets herself out and manages to save Dredd at the end. This movie is empowering and feminist in a subtle and brilliantly unexpected way.