Why suffer through Hannah Montana's 3-D movie or Over Her Dead Body this weekend? Instead, take a guided tour of Heath Ledger's best performances in A Knight's Tale, Monster's Ball and Brokeback Mountain and reflect on the fallen actor's considerable talent.

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[Video: Jennifer Hsu]

Come on moviegoers, you know the stuff opening this weekend is drool: Over Her Dead Body with Eva Longoria Parker and The Eye with Jessica Alba? Puhleese! Plus, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus in a 3D concert is not my idea of the best of both worlds.

So out of respect for Heath Ledger, why not spend time with a few of his best and most surprising films. Look, Ledger made some crap. You try watching The Order or Four Feathers. But he always provided something fascinating to watch, something extra. While the tabloids dish about how many drugs he did or didn't abuse, let's concentrate on what's essential about a exceptional actor who died too soon at twenty eight. His mistakes didn't make Heath Ledger unique, his talent did. And through his movies that talent lives on. Here are a few Ledger films you need to know, in the order of their release:

A Knight's Tale 2001 Ledger told me how much he hated the poster for this tale of a knight wannabe. Can't blame him. The studio was selling his blonde hair and ringlets. He'd already done two movies, 1999's Ten Things I Hate About You with Julia Stiles and 2000's The Patriot with Mel Gibson, that traded on his looks. Ledger wanted to trade up into acting. And he acts with scrappy, subversive skill in A Knight's Tale. Director Brian Helgeland, who wrote the terrific scripts for L.A. Confidential and Mystic River, is messing with medieval history here. You don't see many movies about jousting with a Queen soundtrack. Helgeland surrounded Ledger with good actors, such as Rufus Sewell, Mark Addy and Paul Bettany, who does a fun spin on Chaucer. And Ledger laces his knight with teasing wit. He will, he will rock you.

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