ila Kunis has had roles in two high-profile movies this year that gave audiences very, very different impressions. If you caught her in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you probably think of her as a pretty, charming dream girl. But if you saw Max Payne, you'd wonder why anyone would sign on for such a thankless role that involved nothing but holding a gun.

Kunis really seems to be best-suited to comedy, which is why I wonder about her new role in The Book of Eli, a post-apocalyptic thriller starring Denzel Washington. The Hollywood Reporter says she'll play Solara, who is at first hired to betray Washington's Eli, a hero trying to find a book that could save humanity. Whether motivated by strong morals or Washington's irresistible charm, Solara eventually joins him on his quest.

The movie sounds like a whole lot of nonsense, but then, so do a lot of great fantasy and sci-fi stories. I still wonder about Kunis, who deserves the chance to show off her charm in movie roles, but rarely gets it. If this movie is even slightly better than Max Payne-- and that's not really that hard-- it might finally be her breakout role.

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