Underrated

I don't remember the first time I saw Maria Bello in a movie. Wait a minute, I do. It was on a really awful that used to play on cable a lot called "Coyote Ugly" about some young women who worked as bartenders-dancers. But I recall I didn't seem to care bout the young bartenders but more about the thirtysomething woman who seemed to run the place.
Anyway, I saw her again in "The Cooler" a pretty good movie. And she was terrific in it. Her acting was excellent but also she projected so much sexuality in it, but not Pamela Anderson fake sexuality. She proved that attractiveness was not just about a pretty face, but about so much more. Then I saw her in "A History of Violence" and she deserved an Oscar for that performance. In a time, where actors don't take much chances, she did. It was a raw, amazing performance. But Oscars only go to showy performances and her performance was too real for wimpy Acedemy members.
I haven't seen her in any recent movies though. Which is kind of scary. It would be terrible to see her disappear from movie screens and see her in some Lifetime network movie. She could run the fate of so many actresses who grow old and are forgotten.
Anyway, catch her in any movie she's in. The movie can be awful, but she will never be.