How gorgeous? So gorgeous we had to come up with two lists of the ten hottest women hitting cinemas in the next few months. Which, we’re well aware, makes for twenty of the hottest women in theatres by the holidays, but don’t nit-pick over the specifics. Just know we have pics of all of them and have given you another reason to get up next Thursday.

So enough of my babbling. Bring on the girls.

Kate Winslet – One of the finest living actresses in cinema today, Kate Winslet has three chances to add a gold statue to her mantle this fall (can you believe she’s been nominated four times and never won?). First up, the gritty southern political drama All the King’s Men with Jude Law and Sean Penn; she’ll follow that with Little Children, a quiet family drama with the next lady on our list. And she closes out the year swapping houses with Cameron Diaz in The Holiday.

Jennifer Connelly – And that woman Kate Winslet goes head to head with in that small family drama is Jennifer Connelly. Take a look at hat picture ladies. You wanna talk about all grown up since Labyrinth? Hot! And you get double doses of Jen this year. In December, she goes all action hero with us, getting down and dirty opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Blood Diamond.

Scarlett Johannson – Equal parts fresh faced ingénue and old-school Hollywood glam, Scarlett Johansson has quickly become the star everyone loves to worship in entertainment. First up for Scarlett this fall—the thriller The Black Dahlia, opposite the next stunning beauty on our list. Then, later this fall, she goes period agin—this time as a woman torn between two magicians in The Prestige. Word is both pics boast pretty heavy sex scenes. Are you checking out movietickets.com now?

Hilary Swank – She’s taking home gold for playing a girl who tries to pass as a boy. Then she took it home again for playing a truly buff and butch boxer. So I guess it’s only fair that this awards season, someone would let Hilary Swank put on a dress. And not just any dress. She’s playing a femme fatale for director Brian DePalma in the super noir The Black Dahlia. You don’t get much more femme than that.

Agnes Bruckner – After years of being considered Hollywood’s next big thing by casting directors and movie critics (though oddly, other than the deeply moving indy Blue Car I can’t tell you a damn thing Agnes Bruckner’s been in), she might just move a tad up the food chain with her role as a vampire torn between two lovers in Blood & Chocolate. It’s like Anne Rice, but more dramatic.

Kerry Washington – After playing second fiddle to Jaime Foxx in Ray, all Fantastic Four last summer and to Brangelina in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Kerry Washington is finally poised to make a name for herself in two films; as the strong willed first lady of Uganda in The Last King of Scotland and opposite Toni Collette in the psychological thriller The Dead Girl. Let’s hope the fire strikes in one of these, because this is one lady I’d love to see more of.

Juliette Lewis – After taking some time off to focus on her band, the original bad ass is back with a new film, but don’t expect any of that loud mouthed, foul behaving chick rock shtick she’s become known for on the road. No, Juliette Lewis is all poise when she shares the screen with Donald Sutherland and Joshua Jackson in the indy drama Aurora Borealis. But it’s all good. At least it proves she can really act.

Maria Bello - There’s something about Maria Bello I can’t quite put my finger on—she is all female, and yet she has this strength to her; this I don’t take no shit attitude. We’ve seen it in Coyote Ugly. We’ve seen it in A History of Violence. We’ve seen it in Thank You for Smoking. And while I’m not sure playing a mom in Flicka will allow Maria to go to the same bad ass sort of place emotionally, it’s just one more side of this sexy actress I’d love to explore.

Sandra Bullock – One of our most gifted and bankable actresses in Hollywood (as proven by the one two punch of Crash and The Lake House), Sandra Bullock goes the indy art house route again with Infamous, the second of the Truman Capote movies, placing her next in line to play Capote’s best friend, novelist Harper Lee. She also pops up as a nosy neighbor in Kevin Bacon’s latest, Loverboy.

Sarah Michelle Gellar - Sarah Michelle Gellar has been off our radar for the most part since Buffy went off the air, but our favorite bad ass heroine is back with three new flicks. First, she cameo’s in The Grudge 2. Then, she takes on a new horror genre, as a woman who has trouble differentiating dream from reality in The Return. Finally, she’s a porn-star trying to make a go of a mainstream career in Richard Kelly’s follow up to Donnie Darko, Southland Tales.

That’s the ten for this week. Next time around, we’ll feature a couple of sexy Oscar winners and the bi-sexual babe with the perfect pucker you all want to sleep with.

© This Week In Texas