Every great director has a filmography with one or two movies that fly under the radar for some reason. Some of these are duds, sure, but many of them are great movies that just don't seem to get the love their other movies get. Those are the movies that this list is about, like Spielberg's Empire of the Sun, David Fincher's The Game, and Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love. This is our list of movies from legendary directors that are underrated.

The Game

David Fincher had a heck of a run in the late '90s and early '00s. Starting with his second movie, Seven in 1995, to Fight Club (1999), and through Gone Girl in 2014, Fincher rarely missed. One movie that is as good as all of those, but often ignored, even by Fincher fans, is 1997's The Game.

The Frighteners - Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson will rightly forever be known first for his amazing adaptation of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Unfortunately, that also means that some of his early films, especially The Frighteners starring Michael J. Fox, tend to get the short end of the stick. It's a really great movie.

Silence - Martin Scorsese

Ticking off a list of Scorsese classics is easy. Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Wolf Of Wall Street, The Irishman, The Last Temptation of Christ, Gangs of New York, Casino, and so many more, the list just goes on and on. One movie that should be easily included in that list but almost never is, is 2016's The Silence. It took the legendary director decades to get the movie made and it was worth the wait.

Near Dark - Kathryn Bigelow

Director Kathryn Bigelow made a name for herself with 1991's Point Break and won a Best Director Oscar for The Hurt Locker, legendarily beating out her ex-husband James Cameron and his hit Avatar. Bigelow's first movie, Near Dark is a horror flick that even people that don't love horror can get into.

Topaz - Alfred Hitchcock

There is no bigger director in film history than the great Alfred Hitchcock. He literally wrote the book on how to direct a modern film and re-invented himself and his style many times over his decades-long career. Of all those movies, one that doesn't get enough attention is one of his last films, 1969's Topaz a spy movie that is soaked in the master's deft touch.

The Killing - Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick only made 13 movies in his career and basically all of them starting with his fourth, Paths of Glory in 1957 are considered masterpieces. His film just before Paths of Glory, the noir The Killing, is every bit as good as The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Dr. Strangelove, but hardly ever even gets mentioned with the rest because it was so early in his career. He was a genius from the beginning though.

25th Hour - Spike Lee

Edward Norton is one the best actors of his generation and teaming with Spike Lee for The 25th Hour, about a man spending his last day of freedom before going to prison is a great movie. Still, when people make lists of Lee's best work, it's rarely on the list, though it maybe should be near the top.

Somewhere - Sofia Coppola

Few people in showbiz start when they are just babies, but Sofia Coppola's did when she was just an infant when her father "cast" her in The Godfather in 1972. She found her ultimate voice as a director with hits like Lost In Translation and The Virgin Suicides, but one movie that isn't as revered but is just as good is the more personal family drama Somewhere.

The Rainmaker - Francis Ford Coppola

When you've directed The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2, and Apocalypse Now, it's reasonable that some of your other movies, no matter how good, will always be secondary. Francis Ford Coppola will always be remembered first for those three classics, but a lot of his other movies are great, especially The Rainmaker with Matt Damon. It's a fast-paced legal drama based on a John Grisham book and it's worth anyone's time if they haven't seen it.

Bird - Clint Eastwood

Charlie Parker was one of the greatest jazz musicians in the heyday of the genre. He was also an incredibly complicated person who struggled with some scary personal demons that led to his infamous addition and eventual death at age 34. The Clint Eastwood-directed movie, starring Forest Whitaker as Parker, is fantastic. Both stars are at there best here.

Empire Of The Sun - Steven Spielberg

It's hard to find a movie by Steven Spielberg that isn't lauded in some way, but still, rarely is Empire Of The Sun mentioned among the legendary director's best movies, even though it's really great in every way. From the acting performances by John Malkovich and a teenage Christian Bale to the screenplay by Tom Stoppard, to Spielberg's deft touch behind the camera, the movie should be considered one of his best.

The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean - John Huston

Director John Huston is one of the most famous directors from the Golden Age of Hollywood, most famous for his sweeping Westerns. He's the kind of director that one wouldn't expect would have kept up with the changing values of Hollywood in the 1970s. Instead, he teamed up with Paul Newman to make The Life And Times Of Judge Roy Bean, which fits in perfectly with the style of cinema in 1972.

A Passage to India - David Lean

When you hear the name David Lean, you probably think of one of three stone-cold classics, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Dr. Zhivago, or Lawrence Of Arabia. If those were the only films Lean ever made, his reputation would be forever cemented, but he made quite a few other movies, including what turned out to be another classic, and his final film, A Passage to India.

The Man Who Wasn't There - The Coen Brothers

With the exception of Ladykillers, which ranks pretty low on any list of the Coen Brothers' best movies, Joel and Ethan Coen haven't really made a bad movie. Still, some, like The Man Who Wasn't There are criminally underrated compared to their most loved movies. Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand carry the movie and both are brilliant, as you expect and the dialog oozes Coen Brothers.

I Will Follow - Ava DuVernay

Mainstream audiences really started paying attention to Ava DuVernay after she delivered Selma to the world, but film fans were well aware of the director after her debut, I Will Follow in 2010. It's a movie all film fans should check out.

Big Fish - Tim Burton

There are few directors with a style as distinct as Tim Burton. At his best, any viewer would know directed a film as quickly as they would recognize a Burton film. That very much includes Big Fish which doesn't have the cache of Beetlejuice, nor did it make as much money as Alice In Wonderland. It is, however just as good as both of those movies.

Jackie Brown - Quentin Tarantino

Like a few other directors on this list, it's hard to pick a Quentin Tarantino movie that is underappreciated, but Jackie Brown definitely is. It doesn't have the pace that his other movies have, but that's on purpose and while it isn't the kind of movie everyone loves the first time they see it, it is the kind of movie that rewards a second, third, and fourth viewing. Maybe more than his other movies.

Johnny Dangerously - Amy Heckerling

Amy Heckerling is certainly best known for Fast Times Art Ridgemont High and Clueless, and even fans of Johnny Dangerously may not realize Heckerling directed the farce starring Micheal Keaton as a 1930s gangster. It's a cartoonish movie, by design, but it's got more heart than, say, Dick Tracy, and it's actually really funny with a ton of quotable lines.

Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson

Other director on this list who hardly ever "misses" with a movie is Paul Thomas Anderson. His sprawling epics are always "must sees" when he releases a new one. For some reason, Punch-Drunk Love is never thought of the same way movies like Boogie Nights, There Will Be Blood, and The Master are, though it should be and ultimately, it's one of Anderson's most approachable movies.

Steve Jobs - Danny Boyle

Michael Fassbender brought Steve Jobs to life, but director Danny Boyle's vision made it a great movie. Boyle has a long list of fantastic movies like Slumdog Millionaire (for which he won an Oscar), The Beach, and, of course, 28 Days Later (and its 2025 sequel, 28 Years Later). This movie, about Apple founder Jobs, gets lost in the mix, but it's great.

Baby Boy - John Singleton

John Singleton burst onto the scene with Boyz n the Hood and he continued to churn out great movies until his untimely and tragic death in 2019 at age 51. Mixed in between Higher Learning, Shaft, and 2 Fast 2 Furious is Baby Boy, which is a smaller, more personal film and while not the blockbuster some of his other films were, is a really excellent movie.

Matchstick Men - Ridley Scott

No matter what, Ridley Scott movies always make an impression. They tend to either be classic, like Alien or Gladiator or they are polarizing like Napoleon or Gladiator II. They always spark conversation. One that doesn't seem to garner the same kind of discussion is Matchstick Men. Nicolas Cage puts in one of his best performance as a con man with Tourette's syndrome.

The Prestige - Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan hasn't made a bad movie but lost in the shuffle between The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Dunkirk is The Prestige. Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman are fantastic as rival magicians and the movie contains all of Nolan's signature tricks, like playing with time and practical effects.

Prince Of The City - Sidney Lumet

Few directors make such a huge impression on their first go as Sidney Lumet did with 12 Angry Men in 1957. For the next 50 years, Lumet churned out hit after hit, with movies like Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, and Network. The director received nominations for Best Director for all four of those films and he received a fifth nomination for Best Screenplay for Prince of the City, yet that movie isn't talked about nearly as much.

Backdraft - Ron Howard

Ron Howard has a portfolio of movies that range the gamut from thrillers like The Da Vinci Code and Apollo 13 to comedies like Parenthood and Splash to serious dramas like A Beautiful Mind (for which he won an Oscar). One of his most thrilling movies has to be Backdraft, which is admittedly a little dated, the the fire scenes are incredible.

Solaris - Steven Soderbergh

Solaris, from director Steven Soderbergh, is a polarizing film. Some people love and some people hate and that is probably why it seems so underrated by those that like it. Sure, it doesn't have the charm or the appeal of Ocean's 11, or Magic Mike and it's certainly a darker and more mysterious movie than his most-loved work, but it's great to see a director like Soderbergh dip into sci-fi and mystery.

The Straight Story - David Lynch

Director David Lynch made his career on the off-beat and weird. He was, himself, off-beat and weird in all the best ways. Audiences loved his movies because his mind worked in such a unique way. The only thing off-beat and weird about The Straight Story is the story itself and for that, it makes it one of the more interesting entries in Lynch's catalog, because he plays it so... straight in his direction.

Talk Radio - Oliver Stone

Over the years, Oliver Stone's conspiracy-minded work has gone further and further afield, but one movie that really nailed a vision of the future that not everyone was seeing was the prescient Talk Radio based on the true story of the murder of radio host Alan Berg. Bombastic, overly political talk radio really hadn't sunk into the culture the way it would in the years following the movie's release in 1988.

Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson

It's easy to include the Fantastic Mr. Fox from Wes Anderson on this list because in many ways it's the most quintessential Wes Anderson movie, including all his usual quirks and stylistic choices. It's got the great music, symmetrical camera shots, and quippy dialog we all love, but because it's animated, it doesn't seem to have the same cache with fans as his other movies have.

In The Cut - Jane Campion

It's not strange for Jane Campion's work to not be appreciated in the moment, only to find a cult audience and a critical re-evaluation later. That is certainly the case with In the Cut.

Children Of Men - Alfonso Cuarón

Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is not an easy movie to watch. It may be a bit of a stretch to call it underrated, but many will argue it's his best movie. That's a bold claim, but no one who watches it soon forgets it and there is something to say for that.

Taking Off - Miloš Forman

The first Oscar Miloš Forman won was for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, a movie that was a deep dive into mental health. Just before that legendary movie, Forman made a very weird, but very cool movie called Taking Off which explores seemingly normal people trying new things and throwing off the shackles of "normal" society.

For some people, Christopher Nolan can do no wrong.

Not me, though. I've been on and off with the beloved director for quite some time now. I think Tenet was the final straw for me, as I had some pretty major problems with that movie. However, I was kind of becoming less of a fan even earlier than that with The Dark Knight Rises, which I think is one of the weaker Batman movies.

Honestly, Inception is the last film that I truly loved from Nolan. So, for a time, I thought that would forever remain my favorite Christopher Nolan film. However, after rewatching 2006's The Prestige, I think I have a new favorite film of his. Here's why.

The Film Is The Rare Case Where It's Actually Better When You Know The Twist In Advance

If you're reading this article, I'm going to assume that you've already watched The Prestige, so I don’t mind spoiling the twist.

As you know, The Prestige is about two rival magicians named Robert Angier and Alfred Borden (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, respectively). Their beef begins when Angier’s wife dies during a water tank trick, as it was Borden’s job to tie the knots a certain way so that she could escape, but she can’t.

This pushes the former duo to break up and go their separate ways. This also means developing their own separate acts, and hiring new helpers, with Borden hiring an unknown man named Fallon. But, in the process, both magicians try to sabotage one another, which leads to some dangerous results.

Anyway, Borden’s biggest trick is what’s known as The Transported Man, which involves teleportation. This maddens Angier because he can’t figure out the trick, no matter how hard he tries. Not only that, but he even goes so far as to believing it must be a clone of his former partner (which I’ll get into later).

The actual reveal, or rather, The Prestige, as it were? Borden’s engineer, Fallon, is actually Borden’s twin brother, who was the real person he used for The Transported Man trick. And, let me tell you, knowing this in advance and watching The Prestige a second time makes the movie so much better. It’s like you’re in on the trick yourself, and it’s amusing watching Jackman’s character get so flustered at not knowing.

In this way, it makes the movie way more intriguing upon multiple viewings, and I don’t feel that way about any other Nolan film. Because whenever I rewatch any of them, I feel like the magic is gone (pun not intended). Not so with The Prestige, though, which is even better the second time around.

Nolan's Approach To Realism Works Better In This Film Than Any Of His Other Movies

I really think that where you rank Nolan’s films all depends on what you like most about the director’s work. For example, my colleague, Alexandra Ramos, loves Interstellar, calling it her favorite Nolan movie, as she really loves the themes. But, for me, I genuinely do not like that film.

Our very own Sean O’Connell gave Tenet a five star review, saying how it’s “hard to imagine movies getting much better than this,” but I honestly think it’s Nolan’s worst film. And, I think that’s the genius of Nolan, since he has something for everybody. Oppenheimer won Best Picture last year, but I thought it was just okay.

I think this is because what I personally love most about Nolan is his realistic approach to every subject, especially with the more out-there ideas. Realism is like Nolan’s calling card, so I’m highly intrigued with how he’ll handle the fantastical elements of Homer’s classic with the upcoming Odyssey.

But, I truly think his approach to realism works best in The Prestige. Because at its heart, this is a really out-there story. That said, it never goes off the rails, and I think that’s because Nolan made all these bizarre events feel like they could actually happen.

For example, just look at the Tesla/Edison subplot that is going on in the background. Much like Angier and Borden are at war with each other, so are Tesla and Edison. But, Tesla builds a cloning machine, and it genuinely feels like it could really work.

This is important, because this movie could have seemed silly, but Nolan’s realism makes the actual human drama work, because his style made the “silly” stuff seem realistic, which is no small feat!

At The Same Time, It's Also Nolan's Most Out-There Movie

You would think that a man with three Batman movies under his belt, and a film about people entering dreams would have been his most out-there films, but no. It’s The Prestige.

I want to circle back to the whole cloning subplot, since there is nothing else like it in Nolan’s filmography. This is especially since the rationale behind it is pretty much just, well, Tesla was kind of kooky, so he probably would build a cloning machine.

Inversely, let’s look at a movie like Tenet. One might say, Oh, that’s just a time travel movie, but no. It’s not. It’s about “time inversion,” and entropy. NOT time travel. No, that’s too simple.

Or what about Inception? If Nolan was any other director, he'd probably spend more time making truly out-there dream sequences, like in the 2006 film, Paprika. But, the dreams really aren’t all that out-there in Inception. A city folding in on itself actually seems kind of tame compared to some of my dreams, and I’m sure I’m not alone.

Batman movies are known for their “realism,” which is cool, but I actually like the silliness of films like Batman & Robin. That said, Nolan took a much more sober approach to these films, which changed the landscape of superhero flicks for a while, with a lot of them being grittier as a direct result.

But, The Prestige? It's weird, and while there is a sort of realism to it, it’s the one where I feel Nolan lets his freak flag fly the most, which is certainly enjoyable. I hope he does the same for The Odyssey.

The Acting Might Be The Best We've Ever Gotten Out Of A Nolan Film

Yes, I know. Cillian Murphy and Robert Downey Jr. won Academy Awards for Oppenheimer, but honestly, I think The Prestige has the best acting in any Nolan film.

Everybody is good, across the board. Jackman portrays both a tormented man, but also a conniving, horrible person. Bale is playing two roles, both as Borden, but also as Fallon, and the first time through, we have no idea that Bale is doing dual roles, which is great directing (and acting) to be sure.

Frequent collaborator Michael Caine is excellent as another stage engineer, and Scarlett Johansson fits right in as the magicians’ assistant.

My favorite actor, though, is David Bowie as Nikola Tesla, which is probably the most inspired casting in the film. His performance is both quirky, but serious, and I always loved when Bowie would show up in films. It was always good.

In fact, the acting is doing the legwork in this film as that’s what makes it all feel so believable.

No disrespect to The Illusionist, which also came out in 2006, but if the acting was as good in that one as it is in The Prestige, then it might have been more warmly received.

In The End, I Now Think It's Nolan's Most Daring And Enjoyable Film

The cool thing about Nolan is that he always swings for the fences. Yes, movies like Insomnia, Memento, and Following are more subdued than films like Interstellar, Batman Begins, and Dunkirk, but even his “subtle” movies have big ideas (like not being able to sleep due to the polar day in Alaska, or not being able to remember something from only a few moments ago).

Even though Interstellar has wormholes, and Tenet has…time inversion, I still think The Prestige is Nolan’s most daring and enjoyable film, and mostly because fun is really at its center.

Now, I’m not saying that this is a lighthearted movie, as it’s definitely not. There’s death, and all kinds of horrible acts. That said, I still think that at the film’s core, it is Nolan having his most fun.

The magicians trying to one-up each other is constantly enjoyable to watch, and we’re always locked in to the results. Plus, the weird sci-fi side of the story is unique in Nolan’s mostly serious catalogue, which really makes it stand out.

All of these factors make The Prestige my favorite Christopher Nolan movie, and if you haven’t seen it in awhile, watch it again. It’s worth a second look.

Con artists have been popular characters for a long time in Hollywood. Some of the most loved films from Hollywood's earliest days feature them, like The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man. In honor of that long history, here is our list of some of our favorite movies about con artists and their sneaky ways. 

American Hustle

American Hustle was sometimes jokingly called "American Hair and Makeup" because of the elaborate examples of both in this movie set in the 1970s. That's appropriate too, as the movie is loosely based on a real con set up by the FBI to nab corrupt politicians. The hair and makeup in the movie are also just a great bonus that help make American Hustle a really fun movie. 

Heartbreakers

Heartbreakers is a classic con artist movie. Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt play a mother-daughter team who trick men into marrying and giving up their money. It's filled with little scams throughout, which is also a fun little bonus, and has a great twist at the end, that you'll just have to watch the movie to find out about. 

The Sting

Without a doubt, one of the best movies about grifting has to be The Sting. The superstar cast led by Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and Robert Shaw chew up the scenery in this fast-paced and delightful classic. The key ingredient in the movie is David S. Ward's script which effortlessly explains what could be a fairly complicated con to understand on the surface. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street

While The Wolf Of Wall Street may be more about the dangers of excess and ego, at its heart is the massive grift that Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his cohorts pulled off as they built their fraudulent company. Scams on Wall Street are nothing new, they just took them to a level previously unseen. 

The Grifters

Any list like this is going to have to include anymore called The Grifters. The movie, starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening as a trio of con artists plays out like a '50s crime novel set in the early '90s. It has a "classic" feel to it and it's really fun. 

Ocean's Eleven

Some might call Ocean's Eleven a heist film, and it is. But it's also got a whole lot of grifting going on in it. Every one of the "eleven" has some hustle to their game, especially Danny Ocean (George Clooney). The smooth-talking burglar uses his wits more than his brawn to pull off their incredible heist. It makes for some incredible dialog and a some unforgettable moments. 

The Greatest Showman

It might not be totally fair to call PT Barnum a con artist, but there is a reason he is associated with the famous quote, "There's a sucker born every minute," though he almost certainly didn't actually say it. But as a showman, there was still a little grift in him. He just made it worth it to be to give them his money. 

Boiler Room

Years before The Wolf Of Wall Street, Ben Affleck, Giovanni Ribisi, and Vin Diesel teamed up for Boiler Room about a sketchy brokerage firm running basically the same scam Jordan Belfort ran that inspired the Scorsese movie. It's a raw look at the industry and its shifty ways. 

A Fish Called Wanda

Wanda Gershwitz (Jamie Lee Curtis) isn't the greatest grifter of all time, and her boyfriend Otto (Kevin Kline) has to be one of the dumbest ever. Teaming up with Ken and Archie (Michael Palin and John Cleese, respectively) doesn't help them much, either. Somehow, A Fish Called Wanda has become a little bit of a forgotten classic more than three decades after its release, but it's still wild and hilarious and we promise you won't be DISAPPOINTED with it. 

The Wizard of Lies

One of the worst, most destructive con men in history was Bernie Madoff. His decades-long con left many innocent people holding the bag. Two good happened after that. First, Madoff spent the last decade of his life having a miserable time in prison and second, HBO made a pretty darn good movie about the whole scam, starring Robert De Niro as Madoff. 

Six Degrees of Separation

The movie Six Degrees of Separation is based on a play by the same, itself loosely based on the life of grifter David Hampton, who scammed money out of Manhattan socialites by convincing them he was the son of actor Sidney Poitier. That's exactly what Will Smith's character, Paul, does in the movie.  And yep, if you're wondering it's the play that brought the term into the mainstream. 

The Talented Mr. Ripley

Tom Ripley, played by Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley is one of the more terrifying hustlers on this list. Through the tense movie, he proves he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. This is not one of the "fun" movies about con artists. 

Focus

Will Smith plays a con man who Margot Robbie has the misfortune of trying to con. It sets up an interesting dynamic and while it's not the most original idea to ever come of Hollywood, its sleek production and snappy script make well worth anyone's time. 

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Now we come to an all-time classic. Steve Martin and Michael Caine play two con artists forced to come together to pull off some huge cons in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and it works well...until it doesn't and they find themselves on the other end of a grift. It's just the best comedy about con artists ever made, and one of Steve Martin's best movies too, don't you agree?

The Wizard Of Oz

This is a tricky one to place on here, but there is no doubt that on the surface, the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz is a perfect example of a scam artist. He's a pretty great one too, seeing as how he got the whole of Oz to believe his nonsense. He can't pull one over on Dorothy though, she's sees his scam almost immediately. 

The Usual Suspects

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist," says everything you need to know about Verbal Kint aka Keyser Söze (Kevin Spacey). It's a line that sums up the entire movie in one breath. Verbal Kint is the ultimate confidence man, brimming with exactly that, confidence, after all, he pulls off his grift in the middle of a police station filled with cops looking for him. 

Saltburn

Like The Talented Mr. Ripley in the '90s, Saltburn takes things to absolute extremes when it comes to scams. Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is diabolical in the planning and execution of his scam. The fact that he gets away with it only makes it that much more disturbing. 

Catch Me If You Can

There's a lot to unpack with Catch Me If You Can. The movie, with a great cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, is based on the autobiography of career criminal Frank Abagnale. It's a fantastic movie that fans can watch over and over, but it may in and of itself all be a scam. There is a lot of doubt in how much of the book - if any of it - is true at all. So meta. 

Matchstick Men

In Matchstick Men, Nicolas Cage plays a con artist who really has everything always going against him. It's a look into what happens when cons go wrong, really. Like a lot of movies about grifters, we root for the criminal, and Cage's performance and his character's bad luck make it easy. 

The Spanish Prisoner

The Spanish Prisoner is the name of one of the oldest and most widely used scams in history. The movie of the same name is basically Steve Martin's character pulling this grift on Campbell Scott's character. It's the same scam that we've all had attempted on us by Nigerian scammers promising great wealth by helping them with a lost rich relative. 

The Producers

Of all of Mel Brooks' amazing movies, The Producers might be the one that is most surprising in how it's endured over the years, with a wildly successful musical based on it and another movie based on the musical. In the end, the plot it just a good old-fashioned scam. 

The Prestige

Magicians are, at their heart, con artists. Any great magician will admit to it. It's how they use the power of deception that separates them from criminal grifters. That's why The Prestige finds its way onto this list. Competing magicians fooling each other with their tricks and illusions are nothing more than scams. 

Now You See Me

Now You See Me is a perfect example of magicians using their powers of persuasion and artistry for crime. The magicians in the movie use everything they've learned about magic and illusion to commit crimes but with a side trick of actually acting a bit like Robin Hood with the ill-gotten gains. It's complicated, but that's what makes it great. 

Curly Sue

Kids have been used in deceptions for centuries and in the movies we've seen it with movies like Curly Sue. It's a classic grifter movie, with James Belushi playing the most stereotypical con man of all time. And yet, the movie still works really well. Sure, it's a bit dated, but hey, keep a sharp eye for a young Steve Carell, who made his film debut here. 

Leap Of Faith

It turns out Steve Martin has a real knack for blaming scam artists. In Leap of Faith, he plays one of the oldest versions of a grifter on earth - the religious type. Martin stars as Jonas Nightengale, a con man who discovers that he can make serious money by pretending to be a faith healer, using every trick in the book to separate desperate people from their money. 

I Love You Phillip Morris

I Love You Phillip Morris is really a love story, but it's about a con man who is so in love with Phillip Morris he can't stop scamming people or breaking out of jail to be with him. Jim Carrey's performance as Steven, the con artist is one of the most underrated of his stellar career. 

The Good Liar

Romance scams, like the one in The Good Liar, are as old as time. When it's Ian McKellen playing the grifter though, you know it's worth checking out. He's just so perfect in the role of an aging hustler running his scam on a widow (Helen Mirren). 

The Frighteners

Director Peter Jackson's The Frighteners is a different kind of grifter movie. The main character, played by Michael J. Fox runs his scams with the help of a few ghosts that only he can see. It's honestly one of the most underappreciated movies by Jackson with fantastic performances all around.  

The Music Man

If you've never seen The Music Man, but you're a fan of The Simpsons, you are more familiar with the plot that you may be aware. One of the best Simpson's episodes of all time has to be "Marge Vs. Monorail" and it's basically all based on The Music Man. In the movie, the "Man" isn't selling a monorail, but he is selling the town a scam with his words and his songs. 

Maverick

Mel Gibson has a few forgotten hits, and Maverick is a great example of one that should be better remembered. Gibson plays a gambler and card sharp in late 19th Century America on his way to play in a poker tournament but finds plenty of ways to hustle on the way. 

White Men Can't Jump

Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) sure knows how to hustle guys on the basketball court. He quickly becomes Sidney Deane's (Wesley Snipes) nemesis on and off the court. That is, until the two team up to hustle for even more money. 

Trading Places

While Trading Places is strictly about con men, the con that Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) and Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) team up to pull on the Duke Brothers at the end surely makes it worthy of addition to this list. Like many on the list, it's really easy to root for the ones pulling the scam. 

Christopher Nolan's films have genuinely changed the world – so we decided to rank them. 

When it comes to some of the most-known filmmakers, I'm sure plenty come to mind. Maybe you think of the best Steven Spielberg movies, or perhaps you think of the best David Fincher films. But today, we're going to be focusing on a director who has released some of the most influential films of the last few decades—and that's Christopher Nolan. 

From his debut movie Following to his latest, Oppenheimer, here is how we rank Nolan's films from the very start. 

12. Following (1998)

For a debut film, Following is a great one to have. The movie mainly tells the story of a young man who follows the lives of strangers in London, only to find himself drawn into the criminal world when it's taken too far. 

Nolan directed, wrote, and produced the film, and as his debut film, it's not the big, bold pictures that we've seen him make way down the line in his career. Following is an interesting story to begin on, but certainly not his best. 

11. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises is the third film in the Christian Bale Batman trilogy, telling how Batman needs to return to crime fighting when a terrorist known as Bane threatens nuclear destruction. 

Regarding the best superhero movies, The Dark Knight Rises is a great one, but it pales in comparison to the previous trilogy installments. After losing Heath Ledger, it suffers an understandable pitfall with a clunky storyline that's barely rememberable all these years later. While it's saved a bit by the performances of Bale, Tom Hardy, and Anne Hathaway, there's not much to this Batman entry. 

10. Tenet (2020)

Tenet was released during the COVID-19 pandemic and told the story of a former CIA agent who has to trace the origin of objects that travel backward through time to stop an attack that is going to occur. 

The premise for this film is wacky. I'll give Tenet a Top 10 spot mainly because the visual effects are out of this world. I believe it should have been given a long theatrical release when it first debuted. But, the story itself leaves a lot to be desired. I've had to rewatch this film a few times to truly understand it. 

9. Insomnia (2002)

Insomnia was released in 2002 and featured the story of two homicide detectives who are looking for the murderer of a teenage girl, only for their lives to become intertwined. 

The following movies in Nolan's filmography are all objectively great; it's just that some have more outstanding qualities than others. Insomnia, for example, is a silent killer of a movie. It features an exceptional performance from Robin Williams, but also Al Pacino, Hilary Swank, and so many more who rock here. If I had to pick one of Nolan's less intense films, this would be it—a true psychological thriller.

8. Memento (2000)

Memento is an interesting one – it stars Guy Pearce as Leonard, a man who can't make memories after witnessing the rape and murder of his wife. Now, he uses a camera and a gun to hunt down the person who did it to bring her justice. 

This film is excellent. I wasn't super impressed when I first watched all of Nolan's films, but when I rewatched it, the movie grew on me. The mystery unfolding is unlike any other and captures the eyes of the viewer in an instant. 

7. Batman Begins (2005)

The first film in the Nolan Batman trilogy, Batman Begins, tells not only the origin story of Bruce Wayne but follows as he attempts to stop Ra's al Ghul and other villains from turning Gotham City into nothing but a criminal haven. 

Reintroducing Batman to the general public after the bombs of the Batman franchise in the 1990s took guts, but Nolan did that and more with Batman Begin. It's a gritty drama with excellent acting, an incredible cast, and a story that made even a superhero hater like me a superhero lover early in her life. 

6. The Prestige (2006)

Starring Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, The Prestige is another psychological thriller that follows two rival magicians in Victorian London who try to sabotage the other to perform the ultimate magic trick. 

The Prestige surprised me when I first watched it, and even more so now, as it's one of Nolan's best movies. Both Bale and Jackman give career-high performances, but the sleight-of-hand scenes you witness mixed in with the game both the main characters are playing to outdo the other is what you stay for. Truly, so much fun.

5. Dunkirk (2017)

Dunkirk is an epic, and one of the best war films, that follows the soldiers during the real-life Dunkirk evacuation during World War II.

This film…sits with you. I don't think it's number one, but Dunkirk is a movie that you never really forget. Thanks to the sound editing, I can still feel the shaking of my theater seat years later, and I was blown away by the cinematography. 

The film is dark, realistic, and downright devastating when you think about all the lives lost. What makes it even better is that there's barely any speaking – only a true cinematic master can pull off a film with so much emotion when there's barely a peep of dialogue. 

4. Inception (2010)

Inception is a sci-fi action film about a thief who can steal information by literally entering his victims' minds. However, the chance to have his criminal record erased throws his life into a tailspin. 

Arguably, Leonardo DiCaprio should have won an Oscar for Inception, as it's one of DiCaprio’s best movies. Is it confusing at first? Yeah, it is, but everything changes once you start to understand the science behind it. And, of course, the visual effects have gone down as some of the best in film history. 

3. Oppenheimer (2023)

Oppenheimer is a biographical film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who created the atomic bomb. Was it one of the best movie experiences I've ever had? Heck, yes, it was. 

From the incredible Oppenheimer cast to the impeccable soundtrack, Oppenheimer hooked me. Pair that with an incredible lead performance from Cillian Murphy, and this is certainly one of Nolan's best-directed features. I think there are two others that surpass this, but it's up there. 

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

Most people would say that Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker makes The Dark Knight so high, but there are so many other reasons beyond his earth-shattering portrayal. 

The action scenes were incredibly well-done. Unlike any other Batman interpretation, the story was evenly paced and thrilling. The score is phenomenal. And let's not even get started on the number of iconic lines that have cemented themselves into pop culture. 

The Dark Knight would be number one if this last film didn't exist. So, one other film takes the cake for me. 

1. Interstellar (2014)

I had to put this at number one.

Some people wouldn't agree with my pick of Interstellar, but objectively, I can't not put this at number one for so many reasons. Sure, the sci-fi aspect of this film — that— they must travel into space to find a habitable planet for humans — is a little clunky — I can understand that. I've needed to watch this film a couple of times to truly understand it. 

But the themes are downright unforgettable. The Interstellar cast gives it their all for the entirety of the film, with a positively heartbreaking and yet uplifting performance from Matthew McConaughey post-Dallas Buyers Club. Hans Zimmer's score is one I still listen to in my car as I drive down a highway late at night. 

This movie has impacted my life so much ever since I first watched it — which is why I have to place it as my number one. 

This is my list, and while I believe this is the proper ranking, your ranking of Christopher Nolan's best films might differ entirely from mine. 

Either way, let's all admire how amazing he truly is as a filmmaker — and somehow patiently await his next movie, whenever that comes. 

Red carpet events should be old hat for Scarlett Johansson by now, but the longtime actress was recently floored when she was asked to watch footage of a woman disappearing in the background of one interview video she appeared in. After The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon shared a viral clip of a woman literally seeming to disappear behind the actress, things took a bit of a shocking turn when the Asteroid City actress admitted the woman was her own dear mother. 

No, really. The video was running around on TikTok before Fallon’s team caught wind of it. It’s from a 2006 Golden Globes Awards red carpet, the year the actress starred in films like The Black Dahlia and The Prestige, and in it Johansson’s mom briefly appears onscreen before seemingly disappearing into thin air. The whole thing is wild, and while I'm sure it's just a camera angle thing, I have no idea what the explanation for what happened is. 

Apparently, the actress had never seen this clip of herself and the mysterious disappearing woman, but shockingly the woman in the video is Johansson’s actual mother, Melanie Sloan, which she revealed after the late night host shared the video on the air. You can actually see her mom pop up in the back of some of the professional photos she took on the night of the event too. Not sure if this was pre or post her disappearing act, but she looks fine.  

Regardless, when confronted with her mom literally disappearing before her eyes, Johansson had a really funny attitude about it. 

It seems pretty clear from The Tonight Show clip that Fallon and his team had no idea what they were getting into when they decided to present this clip to Scarlett Johansson, but as it turns out the payoff of showing her the video was even better than expected. You can see the full late night exchange, below.

Scarlett Johansson went on late night TV to promote her new skincare line, which she recently tested out on husband Colin Jost’s face, though fans are pumped about her Tower of Terror movie and other projects coming up. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see if the actress brings her mom to any of those premieres though.  

Music and the movies are two worlds that cross over often, and to great effect. Sometimes the greatest overlap between those segments of entertainment comes from performances through figures we primarily know for carrying a tune over a scene. But believe it or not, these 32 movies featuring professional musicians are noteworthy for providing talent that can do both. 

Janelle Monáe - Hidden Figures

Playing Mary Jackson, an African-American mathematician crucial to the early days of NASA’s space race, Janelle Monáe showed off her dramatic chops in the historical drama Hidden Figures. One of the earliest cinematic roles in her career, Monáe would go on to become a more prolific actor and singer, adding films like Glass Onion: a Knives Out mystery to her resume along the way. 

David Bowie - The Prestige

As he continues to build amazing ensemble casts to carry out his cinematic visions, director Christopher Nolan has a knack for choosing talent. Which leads to that time Nolan begged David Bowie to be in The Prestige, as the helmer felt that the actor/singer would be a perfect Nicola Tesla. That instinct was as well played as the film it served to bolster.

Lady Gaga - A Star Is Born

Lady Gaga is such a natural entertainer that when she was announced as a lead in Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born remake, it didn’t feel like that much of a surprise. With previous films and shows to her acting credit, this role could be considered her cinematic breakout, as it landed her many raves, awards and nominations during the 2018-2019 awards cycle.

Frank Sinatra - The Manchurian Candidate

By the time Frank Sinatra made The Manchurian Candidate, his career had seen him make musicals, comedies, and intense dramas alike. The 1962 neo-noir thriller became one of his best received films, as Sinatra’s Captain Bennett Marco and his quest to prevent a clandestine assassination attempt distinguished itself as a contemporary hit, as well as an all-time classic. 

Queen Latifah - Set It Off

A landmark ‘90s drama that’s still fondly remembered to this day, Set It Off told a story of four women looking to live better lives through thievery. Queen Latifah’s Cleo Sims made up a part of that team, offering a complex performance that was both tragic and empowering. 

Gene Simmons - Runaway

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons knew what it was like to surprise the world when he and his bandmates took off their makeup for a period between the ‘80s and ‘90s. That was as good a time as any for Simmons to break into acting, as the villainous Dr. Charles Luther in Michael Crichton’s Runaway. 

Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard

If The Bodyguard had been made when it was first written, we might have seen Ryan O’Neal and Diana Ross playing the leads. But, as anyone in Hollywood could tell you, delays can sometimes gum up the works. Which is how, by time the ‘90s rolled around, Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston landed the iconic leads in this romantic-drama; with Houston making her historic cinematic debut.

Tim McGraw - The Blind Side

A year after Tim McGraw starred in Four Christmases, the country singer experienced two life changing moments. Not only did McGraw’s weight loss journey start to take off, but his acting career saw him co-starring with Sandra Bullock in the sports drama The Blind Side.

Beyoncé - Dreamgirls

2006 was a banner year for Beyoncé’s film acting resume, thanks to Deena Jones, part of the central trio in the musical drama Dreamgirls. The Renaissance woman helped boost director Bill Condon’s musical to awards glory, alongside co-stars Anika Noni Rose and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson. 

Lenny Kravitz - The Hunger Games

Lenny Kravitz jumped into the acting game in a pretty big way, after playing himself in several film appearances. Perhaps his most iconic role yet is that of portrayal of Cinna, stylist to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in The Hunger Games. Inspiring everyone’s favorite tribute into subtle acts of rebellion, Kravitz’s warmth helps solidify the guidance that helped turn Katniss into a hero for the ages. 

Cher - Moonstruck

“Snap out of it!” With four words, Cher became a romantic-comedy legend, as she tried to deal with Nicolas Cage’s amorous advances in Moonstruck. Not only did that impress audiences overall, it landed her the award for Best Actress at 1988’s Academy Awards as well.

Flea - The Big Lebowski

If you thought “Nihilist #2” in The Coen Bros’ legendary comedy The Big Lebowski looked or sounded familiar, you have a good ear. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Flea is the actor credited for that role, providing some comedic menace in Jeff Bridges’ neo-noir classic about blackmail, death, and bowling. 

Dolly Parton - 9 To 5

With a balance of commanding wisdom and unlimited sweetness, Dolly Parton is a country star that will always be an icon. However, watching 9 to 5 just might shock you, as the dark comedy shows her teaming with Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda to teach Dabney Coleman how to treat a woman in the workplace. Let’s just say that lesson goes beyond a catchy theme song.

Dean Martin - The Sons Of Katie Elder

Rat Pack icon of cool Dean Martin is mostly known for either his comedies alongside musical pals Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr., or his long running partnership with Jerry Lewis. But outside of either of those canons is Martin’s parts in westerns like The Sons of Katie Elder, which saw the crooner playing brother to genre legend John Wayne. So you can see how this was a pretty big deal back in 1965. 

Madonna - A League of Their Own

A League of Their Own's Mae Mordabito is quite possibly Madonna's most memorable part. As center fielder for the Rockland Peaches, she plays the entire cast with comedic precision with her free spirited character. 

Eminem - 8 Mile

Playing a fictionalized version of your own experiences isn’t a guaranteed success. And yet, Eminem took 8 Mile’s aspiring rapper Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith and made believers of fans and critics with his acting abilities. It was enough of a success that, decades after he has yet to take on another major film role, people are still curious if Marshall Mathers will ever lose himself in a movie again. 

Mandy Moore - A Walk To Remember

Pro-tip: if you’re a pop star that wants to become an actor, a Nicholas Sparks movie just might be the surest way to test those waters. Mandy Moore can attest to that fact, as her role in 2002’s A Walk To Remember was probably a good warm up for her future success as part of NBC’s drama series This Is Us. If you’re a fan of that meteoric network hit, and you haven’t watched this movie, you owe yourself a moment to correct that. 

Isaac Hayes - Escape From New York

A certain generation of Isaac Hayes fans will know him best as a soulful singer, while others would recall his velvety pipes from the romantically obscene Chef from South Park. And right in between those groups are the die hard fans of the best action movies ever who would remember Hayes as the menacing Duke in John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. 

Brandy - Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella

Everyone has their favorite Cinderella, and for Disney growing up in the ‘90s, Brandy is a prime candidate for those honors. Which is totally valid, as the singer’s leading portrayal in Rogers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is a magical glass slipper that ties the entire cast of notables together. To imagine this movie without her is, quite frankly, impossible.

Sammy Davis Jr. - The Cannonball Run

The entire Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. were all actors, as well as singers, at the height of their powers. One of Davis’ best gigs, besides the original Ocean’s 11, came out of The Cannonball Run, which reunited him with fellow pally Martin for two films of vehicular madness. 

Janet Jackson - Poetic Justice

Writer/director John Singleton’s Poetic Justice could very easily be counted as an acting win for either Tupac Shakur or Janet Jackson. However, Ms. Jackson wins out no question, as her dynamic performance as Justice anchors both the dramatic, and the romantic halves of this picture. Not to mention, this project marking Janet’s debut as a feature film actor is still a powerful statement felt by her fans.

Andre Benjamin - Four Brothers

While Four Brothers isn’t an exact, on-brand remake of the western The Sons of Katie Elder, it’s pretty close. The similarities between the two Paramount movies are even eerier when you think about how Dean Martin’s acting career was enriched by the 1965 western, and Andre “3000” Benjamin saw the same sort of fortune come from his part in the 2005 action-drama.

Diana Ross - Lady Sings The Blues

Upon its release in 1972, Lady Sings The Blues sparked critical debate over how good of a biopic it really was. What wasn’t up for question was the excellence of Diana Ross’ performance as Billie Holiday; a feat that not only won her raves from critics, but also scored her a Best Actress nomination at 1973’s Academy Awards.

Usher - Light It Up

Not long after Usher made his movie debut in Robert Rodriguez's The Faculty, he graduated to being a lead player in the ensemble for writer/director Craig Bolotin's Light It Up. Going back to high school with Rosario Dawson and Sara Gilbert as classmates, Usher took part in a teenage rebellion with a cause more serious than any alien invasion.

Alicia Keys - Smokin’ Aces

The words “professional assassin” aren’t exactly what come to mind when talking about singer/songwriter Alicia Keys. That perception is part of how 2006’s Smokin’ Aces was such an explosive surprise upon its initial theatrical release. Keys and Taraji P. Henson’s double act as hired killers with a job to do helped keep this ensemble action dramedy spinning with chemistry to spare.

John Legend - La La Land

Is John Legend’s La La Land character a villain? It depends on who you ask, with his part in splitting up Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling’s on-screen romance acting as a defining factor. Unsurprisingly, the piano man’s charm and musical prowess added some extra star power to Damian Chazelle’s colorful musical.

Mariah Carey - Precious

People like Mariah Carey and Charlize Theron “deglamming” for performances in powerful dramas only helped amplify their performances. In Theron’s case, that led to her first Academy Award nomination in Monster. Meanwhile for Carey, director Lee Daniels’ heartbreaker provided her with a credit that wowed the critics to an impressive degree.

Alice Cooper - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Decades before Across the Universe turned the Beatles songbook into a jukebox musical, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band used that premise to a campier extent. This is, after all, the movie where you can see Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees “fighting” villains like Aerosmith and Steve Martin. And a part of that collection of baddies is an equally creepy and intriguing Alice Cooper, playing the role of cult leader Father Sun. 

Björk - Dancer In The Dark

Writer/director Lars Von Trier’s Dancer in the Dark was only singer Bjòrk’s second motion picture. You’d never know it, as this beautiful but tragic mashup of drama and music saw the Icelandic singer-songwriter land a heartbreaking blow with her character Selma. Trust us, you need the right headspace, and a lot of tissues, to take on this experience.

Common - Run All Night

While Common eventually got to hunt down Keanu Reeves’ titular assassin in John Wick: Chapter 2, he practiced his killer skills with another action vet: Liam Neeson. Run All Night pitted the rapping/acting talent against Mr. Neeson, and the war waged between the two men is something truly impressive to behold. 

Britney Spears - Crossroads

Not a girl, not yet a woman, and because of Britney Spears’ intense “method acting” in Crossroads, there was one more thing she wasn’t at the time: an actor. Though she’d eventually play a couple other roles here and there, preparing to star in this teenage drama road trip was enough to make Spears question how much she really wanted to act. 

Prince - Purple Rain

The world knows the many sides of Prince through his mythic career as a guitar god and musical boundary pusher. Purple Rain made that image all the stronger, as the man is basically playing himself, with some dramatic and comedic embellishment. The result is a movie that was a white hot success, and a powerful calling card in Prince's future endeavors on both sides of this fence.

While it’s not for everyone, actor/musician crossovers are always interesting to keep an eye out for. Both commanding successes and curious one-off scenarios are equally intriguing, as one never knows where the next success story will come from. Aspiring singers and actors alike take note: these cases we’ve just discussed are good studies to keep in mind when plotting your own course to stardom! 

Over the years, there have been movies with endings so shocking, so hard to believe, and so wild, that audiences have been left with their mouths agape and heads filled with all kinds of questions and emotions. We’ve seen Academy Award-winning films do it, some of the best Marvel movies have wrapped up with unforgettable conclusions, as have countless others.

Here are 30+ movies with totally wild endings that we just can’t help but talk about after all this time. There are some massive spoilers throughout this article…

Se7en (1995)

The Se7en ending, with its unforgettable “What’s in the box?” cry from Brad Pitt’s David Mills, is one of those traumatic cinematic experiences no one who’s seen the 1995 David Fincher crime thriller will ever forget. Seeing the hot-headed detective become part of John Doe’s (Kevin Spacey) game while William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tries to stop the “Seven Deadly Sins” plan from coming to fruition is gutting.

Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock, a filmmaker known for plot twists and heightened drama, used both of his hallmarks for the Psycho ending. The scene where it’s discovered that Norman Bates’ (Anthony Perkins) mother has been dead (and in the basement) all along is one of those moments that’s just as shocking 60-plus years later.

Parasite (2019)

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite, which went on to win multiple Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, is a remarkable slowburn thriller with a nervous energy present throughout as you wait for something to happen to the Kim family. And when things do go south during the Parasite ending – Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho) becomes the “parasite” of the Park family home – you’re left with all kinds of questions and immediately want to go back and rewatch the whole movie.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Superhero movies are supposed to end on a happy note, or at least with a sense of closure. But that was not the case for the Avengers: Infinity War ending, which wraps up on an incredibly somber note after Thanos (Josh Brolin) snaps and wipes out half of all living creatures. Watching so many beloved MCU characters disappear was such an unforgettable and unexpected moment, one that could very well never be outmatched in a comic book movie. 

The Usual Suspects (1995)

“The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled,” the iconic line from Verbal Kent (Kevin Spacey) at the end of The Usual Suspects is one that will never get old. Finding out that the seemingly harmless and uninteresting man with a limp was actually the mysterious crime lord Keyser Söze is a revelation that’s so wild, and so out of left field, that we just can’t stop thinking about it nearly 30 years later.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

George A. Romero revolutionized the zombie genre with his all-time great horror movie, Night of the Living Dead. Released in 1968, a time in which racial and social tensions were at an all-time high, Romero ended his thriller in a manner that shocked audiences and opened the door to all kinds of discussions. The Black hero, Ben (Duane Jones), survives the zombie onslaught but is shot and killed by a White deputy the following morning.

The Mist (2007)

Talk about a gut punch, The Mist ending sees David Drayton (Thomas Jane) make the decision to kill his young son to prevent him from being tortured and killed by monsters only for the army to arrive and save him moments later. Upsetting is an understatement in this case.

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Undeniably the best Star Wars movie, as well as one of the greatest sequels of all time, The Empire Strikes Back ends without a lot of closure as it sees our heroes left in perilous and unknown situations. Oh, and we learn that Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker’s father. 

The Sixth Sense (1999)

M. Night Shyamalan is known for his twist endings at this point, but audiences didn’t have a big reveal in mind when watching The Sixth Sense back in 1999. The moments leading up to and following Malcolm Crowe’s (Bruce Willis) realization that he’s been dead the whole time are so riveting you almost forget how terrifying and well-crafted the rest of the movie is.

The Shining (1980)

Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining is a movie that fans and critics are still discussing and debating more than 40 years after its release. One of the topics that comes up the most is The Shining ending, especially the shot of the Overlook Hotel in the 1920s with a man looking like Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) in the middle of the frame. 

Planet Of The Apes (1968)

The 1968 sci-fi action film, Planet of the Apes, ends with astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) on his knees yelling into the sky in front of the Statue of Liberty after realizing he’s not in an extraterrestrial land, but on Earth, just thousands of years later.

The Prestige (2006)

The best Christopher Nolan movies are those that wrap up in a way that leaves you thinking about the story long after the credits roll. That’s very much the case with The Prestige ending where it’s revealed that Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) didn’t pull off his teleportation trick with theatrics but with the help of his identical twin, Bernard Fallon (Bale). But the trick is just part of the complicated and miraculous plan.

Gone Girl (2014)

David Fincher and Gillian Flynn made some key changes to the Gone Girl ending when adapting the psychological thriller from book to movie, but one thing that stays the same is Amy (Rosamund Pike) revealing she’s pregnant (as a form of blackmail) with Nick’s (Ben Affleck) baby. There’s no clean escape in this one.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood ending is wild, not because of Quentin Tarantino’s display of bloody and charred violence, but because it strays from the viewer’s expectations (Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate isn’t brutally murdered like in real life).

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2011)

Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 has one of those endings that probably didn’t throw the uninitiated for a loop but causes the heads of those who read the books to explode in disbelief. Basically, there’s a giant battle where numerous characters lose their lives, but it’s all just a vision of what could happen, not what actually does.

Fight Club (1999)

The big reveal that Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is the Narrator’s (Edward Norton) split personality in Fight Club, is one of the biggest “Wow” moments of the past quarter-century. However, that’s not even the ending of David Fincher’s book-to-screen adaptation. That comes later on when Project Mayhem carries out its plan of destroying multiple skyscrapers while the Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” blasts through the speakers.

The Others (2001)

For the majority of The Others, we’re led to believe that Grace Stewart (Nicole Kidman) is being tormented by spirits who won’t leave her and her young children alone. However, in the film’s final moments, it’s revealed that Grace and her kids are the ghosts tied to the tortured home.

Arrival (2016)

Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival throws a major twist at the audience in the film’s final moments when it is revealed that Louise Banks’ (Amy Adams) memories of her deceased daughter aren’t flashbacks but premonitions of her child who hasn't been born yet.

Promising Young Woman (2020)

Emerald Fennell was more than deserving of her Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the way she crafted the Promising Young Woman ending. This whirlwind of scenes sees Cassie (Carey Mulligan) get her revenge against the men who raped her best friend in the most unlikely of ways.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

The No Country for Old Men ending is cryptic, to say the least, and wraps up with Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) describing a series of dreams he had. This follows a wild turn of events that saw Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) getting killed by a random cartel member, not the man pursuing him, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem). We don’t even see Moss meet his maker.

Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan is a drama about the price of perfection and the obsessive behavior of those seeking it. In the final moments, it’s revealed that Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) didn’t stab her rival, Lily (Mila Kunis) with a broken mirror, she stabbed herself, putting into question the entire conflict between the two dancers.

Us (2019)

Jordan Peele’s sophomore effort, Us, is a wild thrill ride from start to finish, with the big reveal at the conclusion of the film being the icing on the cake. In the final moments of Us, Adelaide "Addy" Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o) reveals that she was the clone the whole time after switching places with the original version of herself.

Oldboy (2003)

Near the end of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, it is revealed that the woman who helped Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) in his quest for revenge, and later became his lover, was actually his daughter. He later goes to a hypnotist to have those memories erased, but the film ends in a way where you never know if it actually worked.

Uncut Gems (2019)

The Uncut Gems ending is one of those that hits you like a brick to the face, or in the case of Adam Sandler’s Howard Ratner, a bullet to the cheek. This comes after the gambling addict wins a $1.2 million bet. In the span of a few seconds, he goes from having the best day of his life to his last.

Primal Fear (1998)

The Primal Fear ending is dark, twisted, and one of the most legitimately shocking reveals of the 1990s. The movie plays out like a standard courtroom drama until the final scene when Edward Norton’s Aaron Stampler reveals to defense attorney Martin Vail (Richard Gere) that he pulled off a pair of murders with no remorse. The way his voice and demeanor change mid-scene is the stuff of legend.

Saw (2004)

The Saw movies are full of devilish tricks, twists, turns, and even more terrifying traps. The first movie in the saga also has an incredibly wild ending when the apparent suicide victim in the room the whole time rises up and reveals himself to be John Kramer (Tobin Bell), aka, Jigsaw, the mastermind behind it all.

The Departed (2006)

Near the end of The Departed, it seems like Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is going to get away with being Frank Costello’s (Jack Nicholson) mole in the Boston Police Department. However, when the embattled detective goes home, Sean Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) is waiting for him with a little surprise: cold steel revenge. 

Frailty (2001)

At the end of Bill Paxton’s 2001 psychological thriller, Frailty, it is revealed that the FBI haven’t been interviewing Fenton Meiks (Matthew McConaughey) for the “God’s Hand Killer” case the whole time, they’ve actually been speaking with his brother, Adam, who killed the real Fenton and is now targeting his next victim. 

Cabin In The Woods (2012)

The Cabin in the Woods was one wild ride from start to finish, but it’s over-the-top ending seriously is something else. After the surviving college students survive all the various monsters and traps throughout the property, they learn they are part of a sacrifice to appease the gods so they don’t destroy the planet.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

The final stretch of 2001: A Space Odyssey is a wild, technicolor, and complex series of events that see David Bowman (Keir Dullea) transform from an astronaut to an old man to a star child floating above Earth. 

Wild Things (1998)

The 1998 thriller, Wild Things, has an ending so wild and so convoluted, that you need to keep notes to keep track of everything. When it seems like Suzie Toller (Neve Campbell), Kelly Lanier Van Ryan (Denise Richards), and Sam Lombardo (Matt Dillon) were all behind one plot, it’s revealed that Suzie was orchestrating it all. The deaths (even her own faked murder), the scandal, and the massive court settlement were all hers.

The Menu (2022)

The Menu ending could best be described as an explosive dessert, quite literally in this case. At the end of the twisted dark comedy, Margot (Anya Taylor-Joy) makes a strange yet simple request for an order of cheeseburger and fries to go, and she escapes the island on a boat. For everyone else? Well, they are treated to s'mores and a massive fiery explosion.

These are just 32 great movies with wonderful and wild endings, as including every single film with plot twists in the final act would take a very long time. However, it wouldn’t be shocking for this list to go through some changes in the coming months, especially with all the upcoming releases on the 2023 movie schedule.

There’s no single CinemaBlend opinion on anything. Through countless arguments over the years, I’ve learned we’re not even on the same page about how to define the word best, from our choices for the top 100 '90s movies to our picks for the best horror movies of all time. What makes a movie the best is impossible to nail down from one person to the next, though it's perhaps easier to consider when thinking about a decade of movies that came and went and can't be added to anymore. But for the most part, it's all about what you like.

It’s because of those clashing perspectives that this Best Movies Of The 2000s list is unlike any list that a single person from our team could have crafted, taking into account both Oscar-worthiness and popcorn-friendliness. The list accounts for movies that have aired 5,000 times on cable, and movies that have been shared lovingly from generation to generation. It’s a retro-hodgepodge of what we loved then and then, from Adam Sandler's raunch to Daniel Day Lewis' aplomb.

This list is CinemaBlend’s collective celebration of the 2000s, in all its neon-hued glory, and we hope everyone will find plenty to love, though a few disagreements and good-natured debate never hurt anyone. Let the arguments begin…

100. Avatar (2009)

While it's the last on this list, there's no denying Avatar's impact on the film industry back in 2009. The movie is a sci-fi masterpiece that features incredible visuals, mainly following the tale of Jake Sully, a human who finds love and acceptance within the world of the Na'vi, the native people of Pandora.

The film takes the audience on a wild ride for two and a half hours. While the story of saving a planet from foreign invaders could be more groundbreaking, the unique visual effects that fans get to see are. And now, with a successful sequel out more than ten years later, it's the perfect chance to revisit the original.

99. Erin Brockovich (2000)

Julia Roberts had established herself as one of the most beloved actors in the world in the 1990s, and as calendars flipped over to the year 2000, she didn’t waste any time starring in yet another critically acclaimed box office hit. Hitting theaters in March 2000, Erin Brockovich tells the story of the titular lawyer who started a landmark case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company for groundwater contamination, and it’s a stellar work that further cemented the clear talents of director Steven Soderbergh. It’s thrilling and dramatic, but also funny and fun – in large part due to Roberts’ charm and charisma.

98. The Hangover (2009)

The Hangover is part travelogue and part comedic shitshow. It races its characters through what feels like an entire TV season’s worth of odd locations and ridiculous scenarios, somehow finding time for hospital visits, naked gangsters, weddings, Blackjack heaters, stolen tigers, missing babies and stun gun demonstrations. It sounds like way too much plot for an hour and forty minute movie, but the key to a good comedy isn’t the situations the characters find themselves in, it’s the rapport and natural chemistry between the actors/characters going through those situations. And Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms are fantastic together. Their clashing vibes, energy levels and comedic sensibilities somehow blend into a perfect cocktail, and with Oscar-nominated director Todd Phillips stirring the drink, The Hangover is able to turn its B-movie premise into one of the funniest comedies of the 2000s.

97. Cloverfield (2008)

The first decade of the Aughts saw one word playing into many of its most cherished cinematic successes: reinvention. For director Matt Reeves’ Cloverfield, two different types of genre favorites were mashed together to create a wildly new, very mysterious product: monster movies like Godzilla and found footage pictures such as The Blair Witch Project. 

Amping up the scale of what a handheld camera could cover, Cloverfield’s ingenious marketing campaign kept audiences guessing about what its true intentions were. In the wake of a mysterious/title-free teaser, it was anyone’s guess what writer Drew Goddard’s movie was about. To live up to the hype after stoking such anticipation for an unknown quantity only cemented Cloverfield as a certified success. In a market where it felt like the trailers gave everything away, a major studio movie broke with the norm, all in the name of a monstrous triumph. 

96. National Treasure (2004)

The race to steal the Declaration of Independence was on in 2004 as Nicolas Cage and his team of treasure hunters went on a high stakes mission to find the greatest treasure. This story sweeps across American history, and is held together by Cage’s protagonist and his drive to find this great prize, and protect the Declaration of Independence by stealing it, of course.

This Disney staple is a family classic, and an action adventure bound to entertain just about anyone. It was such a success that a sequel soon followed, and maybe, someday, National Treasure 3 will happen. However, let us not forget the majesty that is the original National Treasure. 

95. The Notebook (2004)

There’s a reason that when one thinks of the genre “romance” The Notebook instantly comes to mind. The 2004 Nicholas Sparks adaptation is nothing short of a timeless classic that gracefully dances between being a forbidden and second-chance love story. It’s the movie that made Ryan Gosling a Hollywood hunk matched by a passionate yet grounding performance by Rachel McAdams. Together they are a firecracker of chemistry who left a generation longing to kiss in the rain. Cliché and mushy as The Notebook can be, when the music swells on the final scene, it never ceases to remind us why it’s one of the most endearing and cathartic love affairs we’ve ever seen. 

94. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

Though it's been nearly two decades since its release, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy still stands as one of Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s greatest collaborations. The 70s-set movie marked McKay’s directorial debut and, with it, he masterfully injects humor and social commentary into a satirical workplace comedy set within the world of broadcast news. His screenplay is funny and occasionally, downright hilarious, but the cast truly makes the movie shine. Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carrell and more are just flawless. And of course, it’s Ferrell’s portrayal of the titular character that really puts it over the top.

93. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Anyone angling for a great sports drama that not only delivers sheer emotion but also captures the spirit of the pastime it’s tackling should check out Million Dollar Baby. Director Clint Eastwood’s Best Picture-winning film tells the story of an aspiring boxer (played by Hilary Swank), who teams up with a veteran trainer (Eastwood) in the hopes of achieving in-ring glory. The result is an emotionally affecting – and sometimes brutal – story about resilience and parental bonds. This boxing flick won Swank, Eastwood and co-star Morgan Freeman all Oscars and, when you see the movie, you’ll understand why.

92. Saw (2004)

2004's Saw revitalized the horror genre years ago, thanks to James Wan and Leigh Whannell, with its shocking twists and equally astonishing violence. But while the movie did include some truly grotesque “games” for Jigsaw’s victims, this was more than the mere “torture porn” that plagued the aughts. There was intention behind Jigsaw’s pain — making people think about the lives they’d led before forcing them to, “Live or die, make your choice.” 

The audience was along for the ride, trying to figure out why Adam (Whannell) and Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes) were chained up in a bathroom and how they could escape before it was too late. Thanks to some brilliant misdirection, the ensuing plot twist was truly gasp-inducing. These days you might not be able to get away with that ending, but don’t say you saw it coming back in 2004.

91. Super Troopers (2001)

Super Troopers From a plotting and acting perspective, Super Troopers isn’t exactly The Departed. Its basic premise, and even many of its specific scenes, are just nimbly bimbly excuses for the cast to make raunchy jokes about the natural absurdities of being a cop. That works, though, because the movie understands what we want as an audience: non-stop jokes and shenanigans about liters of cola, littering and smokin’ the reefer. From cat game to syrup fights to biker confusion, Super Troopers has its own vibe and unique sense of humor. It’s just out there, doing its own thing, and that’s why, more than two decades later, fans are still pulling over to watch it… even if they’re already pulled over and they can’t pull over any further.

90. War of the Worlds (2005)

Steven Spielberg wouldn’t be the first to adapt H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds novel for the screen, nor would he be the last. But his modern-day take on the 19th Century sci-fi novel certainly made an impression. From the main characters — led by Tom Cruise as Ray Ferrier, father to Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin) — to the various settings, to the unnerving sight (and sound) of the tripods emerging from below the ground to decimate or capture any humans in their path, War of the Worlds made its mark as an epic sci-fi action movie about survival and the choices a struggling parent has to make to protect his children from a worst-case-scenario. In true Spielberg fashion, the movie is thrilling and occasionally chilling, but also offers that added layer of a family element to keep us invested from beginning to end. 

89. Sin City (2005)

Most comic book adaptations aim to reimagine the characters and events of the source material in a way that more closely resembles reality. However, when director Robert Rodriguez teamed up with famed author and illustrator Frank Miller (acting as co-director) to bring his graphic novel series, Sin City, to the big screen, they did more than just adapt it. They brought it to life.

This anthology-style collection of three interconnected stories — all of which take place in the same hopelessly down-trodden, crime-ridden metropolis — is a masterclass in noirish storytelling (the razor sharp dialogue is straight out of a Raymond Chandler classic), astonishingly unique visual design (every beautifully grayscale frame resembles a comic book panel), and flawless acting from the entire Sin City cast, including Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Mickey Rourke, and so many more amazing A-listers. When it comes to non-superhero-related comic book movies, this might be the best of them all.

88. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

Anticipation for the feature adaptation of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary — itself a reinterpretation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice — was high, to say the least, for those of us who adored the book, when it finally made its way into theaters in 2001. Renee Zellweger’s mix of charm, determination for romance and occasional awkwardness alone are reason enough to love the adaptation. Then factor in the excellent chemistry she shares with both love interests — Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as Mark Darcy — not to mention the fantastic supporting cast, well-timed bits of hilarity and genuinely heartfelt moments of romance and what’s not to love about Bridget Jones’s Diary? 

87. Taken (2008)

Taken isn’t the most emotionally complicated or the most realistic movie, but it has a really good sense of its own strengths and leverages that particular set of skills perfectly. Liam Neeson might not be the prototypical action star, but he’s an Oscar-nominated actor uniquely good at portraying single-mindedness and determination. Taken is able to harness the badass fatherly intensity of a desperate man searching for his daughter and pair it with ruthless action sequences that rely more on craftiness than brute strength. The result is one of the best and most rewatchable action movies of the 2000s, a tight 90 minutes that’s so much fun it produced two sequels, a TV series and an unexpected late career resurgence for Neeson.  

86. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Before Will Smith earned his third Oscar nomination for King Richard, and after his nomination for Ali, he received his second Academy Award nod for The Pursuit of Happyness. Based on the real story of Chris Gardner, the movie follows Gardner's struggle to find a job to provide for his son during a year when they are homeless. 

The movie is inspiring for anyone, featuring an uplifting and memorable story. That, paired with an incredible performance from Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith – who made his acting debut in the film – makes this the perfect movie to watch on any given day. 

85. The Bourne Identity (2002)

Before Daniel Craig came along and ushered in a new era for the James Bond movie franchise a few years later, Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity welcomed audiences to the 21st century with this fresh, unique, and action-packed spy thriller. Matt Damon, who had already shown a great deal of depth in movies like Good Will Hunting and The Talented Mr. Ripley a few years earlier, became a bonafide action star with his portrayal of Jason Bourne, a trained killer with no recollection of his dark past.

There are few early 2000s action sequences as memorable as the movie’s iconic car chase through the streets of Paris. Audiences, used to seeing spies and assassins whipping around in souped-up sports cars were in for the ride of their lives with Bourne behind the wheel of a weathered Mini Cooper.

84. Love Actually (2003)

Love Actually has become annual holiday viewing for many since its premiere in 2004. Renowned rom-com filmmaker Richard Curtis struck gold with an A-list cast, as ten loosely connected plotlines each portray a different kind of love. Everybody’s sure to have their favorite stories within the movie, but they all strike an emotional chord, albeit in different ways. 

As these characters navigate the holidays, Love Actually tackles themes of grief, infidelity, unrequited love, workplace romance and more, while never losing its charm and eliciting tons of laughs. Throw in infinitely quotable dialogue (“Let’s get the shit kicked out of us by love!”), an infuriatingly hilarious cameo by Rowan Atkinson, and one absolutely iconic dance from Hugh Grant, and you’ve got yourself a classic.

83. (500) Days of Summer (2009)

In a decade greatly defined by bubblegum romantic comedies where audiences can take comfort in the same three act structure often ending in wedding bells, (500) Days Of Summer flipped the genre on its head. Romance and love can be a tricky, complicated thing that not only may be finite, but clouded by one’s fantasies, projections of potential and manic pixie dream girls. Marc Webb’s indie rom-com announces up front that it is “not a love story” and cleverly plays with structure as Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tom falls for Zooey Deschanel’s Summer. Between its stunningly memorable soundtrack, creative use of mixed media against its gorgeous L.A. backdrop, (500) Days Of Summer is a dark horse of a romantic comedy that tackles the expectations vs. reality of love with a sharp wit. 

82. Knocked Up (2007)

Most romantic comedies try a lot harder at one of those two things. They’re either romantic movies with a few solid laughs sprinkled in or they’re clearly comedies that shoehorn a romance in there as an afterthought. Knocked Up works so well because it tries really hard at both. It succeeds a little more as a comedy, given it has Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Craig Robinson, Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd, but it also takes a lot of time and care with its love story and has many thoughtful things to say about relationships and parenting. It never takes the easy way out or betrays itself for a cheap, inauthentic laugh, which lets the natural chemistry between Rogen and co-lead Katherine Heigl grow into a budding relationship you actually root for. 

81. Dawn Of The Dead (2004)

As proven decades ago by George A. Romero, slow zombies are quite scary – but in 2004, director Zack Snyder and screenwriter James Gunn teamed up to show us just how freaky fast zombies can be. Dawn Of The Dead is a movie that stays true to its source material, gathering a bunch of strangers in a shopping mall as the dead come back to life, but it has its own energy and no shortage of standout moments. The beginning is a terror, the ending is deeply unsettling (including the material in the end credits), but the baby is where this one hits its peak.

80. Remember the Titans (2000)

Remember the Titans will make you laugh, cry, cheer and feel a whole range of emotions as you go on a journey with newly integrated T.C. Williams football team to win the state championship. This incredible movie about bringing a football team together is led by Denzel Washington, and it’s not only regarded as one of his best movies, but it’s also widely known as one of the greatest sports films. 

Washington and Will Patton lead the stacked cast of Remember the Titans, which includes Wood Harris and Ryan Hurst as the team’s leaders. Along with them, the movie also features Donald Faison, Craig Kirkwood and Ethan Suplee as well as a very young Ryan Gosling and 10-year-old Hayden Panettiere, among many others. Overall, it’s an inspiring and moving movie about acceptance and determination. Let’s just say Remember the Titans always has us saying “We want some more!” 

79. Juno (2007)

While Elliot Page was an actor at a young age, Juno was the movie that made him into a household name. And for good measure, as Jason Reitman’s quirky 2007 flick delivers in both comedy and heartfelt, human moments. Page earned an Academy Award nomination at the time for his performance, which surely feels justified. 

2007's Juno centers around its title character, a teenage girl who accidentally gets pregnant. She decides to carry the baby to term, arranging an adoption with a married couple (played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). After being filled with plenty of funny moments (and a killer soundtrack) the ending provides an emotional catharsis that puts Juno above many movies around its time.

78. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

It’s no wonder that Disney has been trying for 20 years to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Inspired by a theme park attraction, but blazing its own trail, Pirates created one of modern cinema’s most iconic characters in Captain Jack Sparrow. But the rest of the cast, including Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and a scene-stealing Geoffrey Rush, is no less compelling. From sword fights to ship battles, Black Pearl’s action is near perfect, with the Johnny Depp vs. Orlando Bloom duel a textbook example of how to tell a story with an action scene. It set a bar so high that even its own sequels were never going to clear it.

77. Ray (2004)

Cinema lovers have been graced with plenty of great biopics over the decades, and Ray certainly stands as one of the best. Directed by Taylor Hackford, the movie chronicles the life and career of the great Ray Charles. James L. White’s screenplay effectively tells Charles’ story, chronicling his professional and personal highs and lows in the process. And of course, the production is (appropriately) infused with incredible music. There are plenty of great performances on display, but it’s Jamie Foxx’s uncanny – and Oscar-winning – turn as the titular musician that really makes this period drama worth a watch or two.

76. Unbreakable (2000)

M. Night Shyamalan had an unenviable task in 2000 – following up his overnight sensation, The Sixth Sense. Was that movie a flash in the pan? Or would Shyamalan live up to the billing he was receiving in the press as, “The next Spielberg?” Remarkably, Shyamalan came up with a deeper, more meaningful film that also started the bandwagon for superhero-movie fascination, only with a meditative origin story for a strong man (Bruce Willis) who doesn’t recognize his invulnerability. Pulp Fiction co-star Samuel L. Jackson tapped into his fiendish side to play Willis’s nemesis, a man plagued with brittle bones who assumed that his opposite had to exist in the world. But it was Night’s ability to generate an intense mood that boosted Unbreakable. We rode a wave of increasingly suspenseful tension until the moment Willis donned his raincoat and embraced his destiny. Unbreakable started a trilogy, but also guaranteed that Shyamalan was here to stay as one of our most original and effective storytellers. 

75. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall occasionally gets overlooked as being just another rom-com from the aughts – specifically the rom-com featuring the oddball pairing of Mila Kunis and Jason Segel, but I can’t imagine that anyone who’s lumping this movie into just another group of rom-coms has seen it recently because it is profoundly and consistently weird. 

Segel’s TV composer main character dreams of creating a Dracula musical featuring puppets called A Taste For Love. He also wants to get over his titular ex-girlfriend - hilariously played by Kristen Bell, who somehow ends up in the hotel room next to him having loud sex with her new rock star boyfriend. That messy journey of acceptance and moving on, amidst all its weirdness or maybe because of all its weirdness, never feels like a cliche. It’s consistently funny and has so many thoughtful things to say about relationships, break-ups and finding yourself. Don’t write it off.

74. School of Rock (2003)

Jack Black was many things in 2003, though many wouldn’t have considered his comedic stylings family-friendly until School Of Rock. Black’s musical abilities from his band Tenacious D paired with the wholesome story of teaching some kids how to rock, was fun for everyone and really skyrocketed him further into the mainstream and into more roles for younger audiences like Kung Fu Panda and Nacho Libre. Sure, he’d still do raunchier stuff like Tropic Thunder, but this movie was imperative to show the range he had as an actor. 

Let’s also not forget this movie boasted other celebrities who are notable talents in 2023, like Miranda Cosgrove and The White Lotus showrunner Mike White. Oh, and the music is still as great as it was then, even decades later. There’s a strong message here about the importance of teaching children about music and helping them follow their passion, and it’s that message that will keep this movie relevant for decades to come. 

73. Up (2009)

Pixar Animation Studios, a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, has always been known for its films that have reached a broad audience, starting with their debut full-feature film, Toy Story. However, in 2009, the studio released Up, the first Pixar film to receive a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Up is mainly about Carl, an older man living a lonely life, and to fulfill his promise to his late wife, he travels across the world in a floating house to South America – with the help of a local wilderness explorer who tags along for the ride. 

A lot can be said about Up, from its stunning animation to the beautiful soundtrack, but nothing beats the story. It's a tale of a found family and of finding love and compassion in places you would never expect. And you must always remember – the wilderness must be explored!

72. District 9 (2009)

Coming in at 72 on the list might just be an indicator of how underrated District 9 is, considering it’s one of the best science fiction movies of the 2000s. Neill Blomkamp’s feature walks the line between messaging about the various mistreatment marginalized groups are subjected to, to how humanity would respond if aliens were really discovered to be on Earth. Given recent reports at government hearings, it isn’t all that unbelievable that it wouldn’t take long for humanity to get back to normal after finding a bunch of alien refugees on Earth. 

Perhaps the best compliment to pay District 9 is that it’s a phenomenal standalone sci-fi movie with no sequels or prequels. This could be why it’s typically lower on the sci-fi lists as there may be a community of people that simply forgot about it as the years went on. Now is the time to revive the credit it deserves and maybe bump it up a few notches on future top lists. 

71. Shrek (2001)

Think of every DreamWorks Animation movie you can think of – I bet Shrek is one of the first that pops into your head. 

Shrek was a momentous occasion for DreamWorks Animation when it was released. It was a huge box office success, received rave reviews, and was even the first Academy Award for Best Animated Feature winner. The movie mainly follows Shrek, an ogre whose swamp is suddenly overrun with fairytale creatures, and to get them out, he must save Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a dragon on a mountain of lava and bring her to Lord Farquad. 

The DreamWorks Animation film created an empire of Shrek success. With numerous sequels and spinoff movies, Shrek is one of the most successful animated franchises ever. The first film featured some great CGI animation for 2001 but also had the hilarity of adult jokes that parents would get while their kids enjoyed the fantasy, animation, and love story. Besides, who wouldn't love listening to Eddie Murphy crack jokes as Donkey for an hour and a half? 

70. Mulholland Drive (2001)

There are two sides to David Lynch: the fairly normal filmmaker who wants to tell a linear story in a somewhat straightforward manner (examples include The Elephant Man and The Straight Story), and the absolute bonkers off-the-wall batshit fever dream of an avante-garde video artist (examples include Eraserhead and Inland Empire). What makes Mulholland Drive such a beautiful film, is that it’s the perfect balance of these two sides of the iconic writer/director. In fact, without spoiling anything, the film even has a pivotal moment where it completely changes tonally, effectively showing these two distinct sides of Lynch. Perhaps more importantly, this tonal switch is expertly pulled off by the film’s star Naomi Watts, who, between this and 2001’s 21 Grams, was at a point in her career where she was showing off her chops with an authenticity that was hard not to notice. Mulholland Drive will show you the full range of skill you need to see from both Watts, and the legendary auteur that is David Lynch. 

69. Watchmen (2009)

“Unadaptable” is a word that’s been used when approaching the most ambitious literary adaptations. Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ landmark graphic novel Watchmen was one such project, earning that brand after decades of potential adaptations failed to tackle the ambitious superhero narrative properly. 

Even in light of multiple cuts, and the ending being substantially altered from what was depicted in the 1985 source material, Watchmen is a miracle to behold. Somehow, the complicated narrative told through various mediums in that graphic novel was streamlined into a product that didn’t water down the full story. 

Only Zack Snyder’s third directorial effort, Watchmen is a powerful statement of the man’s developing skills in that point of his career. Arriving in the wake of Iron Man and The Dark Knight, it proved comic adaptations could be more than market-driving crowd pleasers. In the case of Watchmen, such movies could also be masterpieces.

68. Sideways (2004)

How the hell did Sideways, a dialogue-driven dramedy about a schoolteacher who loves wine, become such a mainstream pop-culture phenomenon? Try going wine-tasting without hearing a joke about drinking from the spit bucket, or somebody saying, “I am not drinking any fucking merlot!”

Sideways’ writer and director, Alexander Payne, has always told stories that are rather grounded in reality. Aside from Downsizing where he literally shrank Matt Damon, these are movies about common issues that most folks can relate to. The Descendants is about grief, About Schmidt is about aging, and Sideways is about letting go. With the script came Payne’s first Academy Award, a life-changing role for Paul Giamatti, and one of the best films of that decade. The bleak nature of the ending with just a dash of hope is a testament to real-life, and relatable for the average person. That is how a movie about a failed middle-aged writer with a drinking problem managed to cement its place in film history. 

67. Lost In Translation (2003)

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an American actor past his prime. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is a young, married, recent college graduate. Both are in Tokyo — Bob to shoot promos for a Japanese whiskey and Charlotte to follow her photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi) on his latest assignment — and overcome with feelings of loneliness and disillusionment until a chance meeting at their hotel bar gives the unlikely duo a sense of fulfillment when they both need it most.

Lost in Translation is one of the first films produced by Focus Features and is still considered to be one of the production company’s best releases two decades later for the refreshingly unique — albeit, unlikely — love story that still manages to warm hearts from its unforgettable opening shot to its cryptic, much-debated final moment. The charming, invigoratingly honest dramedy also managed to be a major turning point for Murray (who earned his sole Academy Award nomination), Johansson (a breakthrough performance), and second-time writer and director Sophia Coppola, who earned a well-deserved Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

66. The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

In the mid-2000s, big screen comedy underwent a titanic shift. Through the late ‘90s and the turn of the century, the genre was dominated by the so-called Frat Pack (Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jack Black, Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson)… but then along came The 40-Year-Old Virgin, the directorial debut from Judd Apatow. The film is hilarious and sweet, with a collection of wonderful characters exploring the high highs and low lows of sexuality and romance in the 21st century – and while not everything about it has aged perfectly, it does a tremendous job at leaning into the talents of its stars. And it’s a game-changer.

While it’s Steve Carell’s movie, a huge part of its legacy is featuring the breakout performance by Seth Rogen. In the wake of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Rogen and Apatow became the biggest names in funny, with not just their own comedic voices becoming popular, but also their improvisation-heavy styles.

65. Hot Fuzz (2007)

Hot Fuzz is the kind of action movie where every second feels crafted by a team of action movie fans, as opposed to a cast and crew just going through the motions. Co-written by the A+ pair Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, starring Pegg opposite frequent co-star Nick Front, Hot Fuzz is mostly set far from metropolitan skylines and endless high-rises, and its quaint Wicker Man-esque village makes for a wildly unique setting for any story filled with this many Point Break references.

As the second film in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, Hot Fuzz built on Shaun of the Dead's already stellar cast with a host of UK legends such as Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Edward Woodward, Billie Whitelaw, Olivia Colman, Bill Bailey, and the list goes on and on. (When you have Cate Blanchett making uncredited appearances, you're doing something right.) Unlike the other two Cornetto films, though, Hot Fuzz probably deserves another straightforward sequel set in this universe, with a new killer crime for Nicholas Angel and Danny Butterman to get crackin’ on.

64. Walk The Line (2005)

Music biopics might feel like they’re a dime a dozen, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t gems to behold in the genre, and one of those is absolutely James Mangold’s Academy Award-winning drama, Walk the Line. In it, Joaquin Phoenix portrays country music legend Johnny Cash through his tumultuous rise to fame, which includes his relationship with eventual wife, June Carter (Reese Witherspoon).

Sure, on one hand, we’ve seen music’s superstars descend into alcoholism and drug addiction on the big screen time and time again, but it’s how all the pieces of Cash and Carter’s story are put together that make the film a must watch. As such, the performances of the leads are everything here, and seeing June attempt to staunch her feelings for her married co-performer, while also trying to knock some sense into him as she watches his addictions grow and Johnny become more erratic, are some of the best parts of the movie. Witherspoon didn’t win a Best Actress Oscar for nothing, and Phoenix is at his peak here, as well.

63. Lilo & Stitch (2002)

With Walt Disney Animation fresh out of its renaissance after the ‘90s, the 2000s were a particularly experimental period for the studio which, looking back, found inspiration from numerous science fiction classics. The best 2D animated movie from the House of Mouse of the decade is a lively spin on E.T., but this mysterious alien is an intergalactic fugitive with a bad temper who falls to the Hawaiian Islands, becomes best friends with a young orphaned girl who teaches him the gospel of Elvis Presley. 

Not only is Lilo & Stitch an incredibly quotable, fun, family adventure, it’s one of Disney’s most authentic and original films that speaks to finding one’s ohana in unexpected places amidst great loss. Few Walt Disney Animation movies have felt as simultaneously intimate and commercial as Lilo & Stitch. Experiment 626 remains a gem that made Disney’s growing pains of the 2000s worth the while. 

62. Monsters, INC (2001)

Before Up, The Incredibles and even Finding Nemo, there was Monsters, Inc. Pixar’s decision to make its fourth feature a story about a company that generates scream-based power in a world inhabited by ferocious creatures may have seemed odd at the time. However, it ultimately turned out to be an inspired (and very) lucrative decision. Set in the world of Monstropolis, the film centers on two pals – both employees of the titular corporation – who must return a human child to her world in order to keep her out of harm’s way. And the result is a hilarious and heartwarming romp about loyalty and tolerance.

Pete Docter – who’d go on to direct Up, Inside Out and more – really proved himself as a filmmaker with this directorial debut. The flick is beautifully animated and populated with plenty of lovable characters. Speaking of which, John Goodman’s James P. “Sully” Sullivan and Billy Crystal’s Mike Wasowski still stand as two of Pixar’s most popular creations. The interactions between the two sometimes mirror the interplay of some of cinema’s best comedic duos. Monsters, Inc. would spawn a sequel and TV spinoff, but it’s the 2001 movie that’s truly an eclectic piece of storytelling.

61. The Hurt Locker (2008)

Best Picture award, but the voters got it right when it came to the prize handed out at the end of the 21st century’s first decade. Director Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is a heart-stopper that tears down the wall between film and audience: when Jeremy Renner’s Staff Sergeant William James is suited up and defusing bombs, you hold your breath in fear, terrified to feel the heat of the fiery explosion that will result with one false move by the protagonist.

Screenwriter Mark Boal’s work puts us directly in James’ mind – a soldier who is incapable of leaving the battlefield behind – and Jeremy Renner’s turn is a career best. In retrospect, it’s wholly understandable why Renner’s performance changed the trajectory of his career and turned him into the Marvel-bona fide star that he is today.

60. Moulin Rouge (2001)

On paper, Moulin Rouge is a movie that just should not exist. The premise alone, a modern jukebox musical set in 1890s Paris, creates a level of cognitive dissonance on its own that suspension of disbelief should be impossible. It’s the sort of thing that only a director like Baz Luhrmann would even try, but somehow, he not only makes it happen, he makes it work.

Everything about Moulin Rouge goes hard. The performances, the songs, the sets. It creates its unreality so perfectly that it’s near-impossible to avoid being swept up by it and brought along for the ride. And the absinthe-infused magic is so far removed from reality that even 20 years later Moulin Rouge feels just as fresh. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are perfect as the star-crossed lovers. We know how the story will end before it begins, but it doesn’t make any of it less heartbreaking. Luhrmann’s films can sometimes focus on style over substance, but there’s no lack of substance here. 

59. Elf (2003)

Elf is probably the most recent Christmas movie that became an instant classic. Jon Favreau crafted a delightful and bonkers story for the 2003 movie, with Will Ferrell offering one of his most iconic performances of all time. And it’s a movie that’s re-watched annually by countless families every Holiday Season… or other times in the year when you need a good laugh.

Elf’s concept is both ridiculous and simple; Buddy is a human raised by elves who eventually goes to New York City to find his birth father (played by Godfather icon James Caan). The juxtaposition between Buddy’s eternal optimism and the hard streets of the Big Apple is fodder for countless funny bits throughout its runtime. There’s also a touching story about family and the holiday spirit that makes Elf a true beloved Christmas movie. Plus, it’s got a pre-Game of Thrones appearance by Peter Dinklage. And of course, Santa (I know him!).

58. Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

In the 1950s, few people were as outspoken about the threat of Communism than Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy, whose blacklisting of anyone he deemed suspicious was so notoriously frequent that “McCarthyism” — a term associated with fear mongering — was coined after him. One of the few people brave enough to take a stand against him was CBS reporter Edward R. Murrow, whose defiance of the politician and the Red Scare nearly cost him his career, but also made him into one of the most influential icons of his craft.

This monumental moment in journalism history is dramatized with nearly the same level of passion for truth and justice in Good Night, and Good Luck. — named after the famous concluding catchphrase of Murrow, portrayed here in an Academy Award-nominated performance by David Strathairn. George Clooney, who also plays Murrow’s producer, Fred Friendly, earned his first Oscar nominations as a director and co-writer for this riveting history lesson, made even better with Robert Elswit’s gorgeous cinematography and exquisite acting from the star-studded ensemble, which also includes Jeff Daniels, Patricia Arquette, Robert Downey Jr., and Frank Langella.

57. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Wes Anderson’s style is so distinct that it has become something of a joke in pop culture, frequently being parodied on shows like Saturday Night Live. When folks reference Wes Anderson, and the trademarks of a Wes Anderson film, they’re primarily lifting it from The Royal Tenenbaums. The point is, Tenenbaums is by far the most Wes Anderson-y film to ever Wes Anderson; absolutely jam-packed with quirkitude, a variety of eccentric characters and deadpan dialogue delivery. This is the quintessential hipster flick that helped to define a generation of indie millennial film buffs.

Aside from The Royal Tenenbaums’ effect on pop culture, it truly exists as a wonderful, honest, hilarious, and heartbreaking film. Over twenty years ago when the film was released, there wasn’t a lot like it in mainstream American cinema, with the somewhat privileged (yet painfully relatable) themes it explores being limited to conversations had by those gathering to watch Jean-Luc Godard in their NYU dorm rooms. With his first Oscar nomination, The Royal Tenenbaums introduced much of the world to Wes Anderson, and many still consider it to be his finest work to date. 

56. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Oftentimes sequels don’t measure up to their predecessor, but Spider-Man 2 is one of the exceptions. Director Sam Raimi and screenwriter Alvin Sargent kept the best elements from the first Spider-Man movie and improved upon them, with the follow-up doing an excellent job exploring how Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker handles the burden of heroism and trying to balance his web-sliding activities with his civilian life. However, Spider-Man 2’s MVP is Alfred Molina, whose more sympathetic take on Doctor Octopus quickly cemented him as one of the best superhero movie villains of all time. It’s no wonder we still have yet to see another actor play the tentacled antagonist in a live-action movie. As a bonus, I love how the movie recreated the panel from 1967’s The Amazing Spider-Man #50 of Peter Parker leaving his costume behind in the garbage. A touch like that is a great Easter egg for Marvel fans, but is also just a gorgeous shot for the casuals watching the tale unfold.

55. Ratatouille (2007)

Pixar Animation’s eighth feature film, Ratatouille, is as surprising as its premise. It came at a time when the studio was high on a winning streak, redefining how we looked at toys, bugs, monsters, cars, superheroes and fish. Sure, making an audience empathetic to rats feels like a stretch, but the 2007 movie had a fresh and quirky way in that kept Pixar at an all-time high. What if one rat was secretly a gourmet cook in Paris, France? The results are so charming. 

Fronted by a charismatic voice performance from Patton Oswalt as Remy, packed with decadent and often mouth-watering animation greatly displayed inside a top-tier French kitchen and beautifully underlined by an all-time great score from Michael Giacchino, Pixar told a hilarious underdog story with the creativity and wonder the studio remains beloved for. It’s one of those movies that has one doing a double take at every human and animal you encounter next time you walk outside in playful curiosity about the world thinking “Anyone Can Cook.” 

54. Superbad (2007)

Seth Rogen has touted himself as a “permanent teenager,” and never has that title been truer than in the 2007 teen buddy comedy Superbad. The movie — which he penned with Evan Goldberg and stars a number of the regular Judd Apatow players — carries the funky vibe of the 1970s throughout, but its story is timeless. The only thing more relatable than high-school seniors Seth and Evan (played perfectly by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera) trying to get to a party to impress some girls was their underlying anxiety over not knowing what would happen to their friendship after graduation.

The laughs come a mile a minute — some may say it’s the funniest movie of all time — with an impressive cast that also includes Bill Hader, Joe Lo Truglio, Emma Stone and, of course, Seth Rogen. But in the end it’s the friendship at the heart of the story that makes this one worth watching again and again. Superbad is also responsible for giving us “McLovin,” for which we should be forever grateful.

53. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

One of the most intriguing stories related to the crime of check fraud is that of Frank Abagnale Jr., who impersonated various professions, passed off millions of dollars worth of phony checks, and outran the FBI between the ages of 16 and 21. At least, that is what the fraud prevention consultant claimed in his memoir, Catch Me If You Can. The book inspired an excellent movie of the same name.

This 1960s-set crime drama stars future Academy Award winner Leonardo DiCaprio as the young, elusive con artist, who enters an intense, enduring game of cat-and-mouse with two-time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks as a veteran FBI agent who will stop at nothing to bring him to justice, even if he becomes friends with him in the process. Following Minority Report, director Steven Spielberg completed his one-two punch of masterfully entertaining films in 2002 with this dazzling, devilishly charming, and even heartwarming tale. 

52. Cast Away (2000)

Everybody scream “Wilson!” with me! Now, let’s all break into violent sobs as we remember Tom Hanks losing his best friend… a volleyball with a face painted on it. Cast Away is a miracle. It’s essentially a one-man show that you can’t pull your eyes off of, because you root so hard for Hanks and want to see how he’s going to get off the deserted island on which he is stranded. Director Robert Zemeckis places us in Hanks’ sandals, so we feel frustration as he fails to get a makeshift raft over the incoming tide, and elation when he figures out how to start a fire. Hanks already was viewed as one of our greatest actors before he single handedly carried this survival story, but the gripping performance earned him his fifth Oscar nomination. (He lost to Russell Crowe in Gladiator.) Listen to this remarkable stat: Zemeckis filmed Cast Away’s first half with a chunky Hanks, then had to pause production while his leading man lost enough weight and grew enough hair to play his marooned self in the movie’s second half. During that pause, Zemeckis filmed an entire feature: 2000’s marital thriller What Lies Beneath, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford.

51. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

One thing to know about Ang Lee is that he keeps audiences guessing when it comes to his projects. And given his body of work leading up to the 2000s, not too many people might’ve expected him to helm a wuxia martial arts epic with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Yet movie lovers should be so glad he did. His seventh directorial effort is a masterpiece featuring beautifully choreographed fight sequences, impeccable production design, imposing performances and more.

Based on Wang Dulu’s 1942 novel of the same name, the highly ambitious production centers on a seasoned warrior and his equally skilled ally (and love interest), who aim to hunt down the former’s fabled sword so it can be delivered for safekeeping. Their quest ultimately leads them down a path neither could’ve ever imagined. Ang Lee assembled a highly formidable ensemble of actors led by Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi, who all give career-best performances. The martial arts genre features a wide array of movies, but few can meet the standard set by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

50. Legally Blonde (2001)

“What? Like it’s hard” to be one of the top 50 movies of the 2000s? It’s not for Legally Blonde, that’s for sure. Casually going to law school at Harvard to win back your ex-boyfriend is a far-fetched idea, but Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods doesn't just pull it off, she succeeds in grand fashion, obviously.  

Elle Woods is such an icon, she’s funny, gorgeous, and hyper-intelligent, and seeing her harness all of that to succeed at Harvard was empowering. Reese Witherspoon and the cast of Legally Blonde are also on their A-games in this movie, creating a hilariously smart and unique story. From Jennifer Coolidge’s “bend and snap” moment with our leading lady to the adorable rom-com subplot between Elle and Luke Wilson’s Emmett, the film is packed with memorable stories from fabulous characters.

Since then, Withersoon’s lawyer’s story has expanded into a sequel and a Broadway musical, because a world with more Elle Woods in it is “So Much Better.” 

49. Tropic Thunder (2008)

Tropic Thunder is a relentless and vicious commentary on the motion picture industry and all the absurdities associated with it. For two unyielding hours, Ben Stiller’s satirical action comedy mercilessly skewers the executives, the actors, the directors, the writers, the agents and even an explosives coordinator, painting them as deeply flawed and emotionally unstable people who will do anything to stay relevant and protect their own fragile egos. From blackface to stolen valor to exploiting the mentally handicapped, there’s no line they won’t cross in pursuit of their next award, their next paycheck or their next high.

Tropic Thunder shouldn’t work. From one angle, it’s a big budget, big studio action comedy filled with explosions, fart jokes and Tom Cruise dancing to Flo Rida. From another angle, it’s a deeply clever satire that repeatedly and without apology seeks out complicated and problematic subject matter. It’s a movie within a movie disguised as another movie, but instead of a disorganized mess, it somehow all comes together thanks to a fantastic script, an Oscar-nominated Robert Downey Jr. performance and the greatest little kid reaction shot in the history of movies.

48. Gladiator (2000)

Russell Crowe went on an absolute tear in the 2000s with a number of memorable movies, so it’s no surprise that the one he won the Best Actor Oscar for is on this list. Gladiator is an absolute triumph from start to finish, with knockout performances led by the direction of Ridley Scott. Maximus is an immediately likable character brought down to the lowest point of his life. He keeps fighting and survives solely because of the revenge he hopes to deliver to Commodus. 

And while Joaquin Phoenix did not win an Oscar for his nominated performance as Commodus, Maximus’ journey isn’t quite as sweet without him being every bit as unlikable as he should be. When the big scene finally comes for Maximus and Commodus to square off, how can you not be on the edge of your seat? Without a doubt one of the best gladiator movies of all time.

47. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

While not strictly a love story, Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire definitely owes a lot to the genre, as Jamal’s (Dev Patel) lifelong love for childhood friend Latika (Freida Pinto) drives much of what he does. The drama follows Jamal as he relays the events of his young life that have led him to correctly answering questions on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, after he’s arrested and tortured for cheating.

As Jamal takes us through the harrowing events of his childhood that led him not only to fall for Latika, but to compete on the show in an effort to find her again, we’re taken through an action-packed tale of survival under extreme circumstances, what a young man will go through to save the love of his life, and how we all probably know a lot more than we think we do. Definitely hard to watch at times, but inspirational nonetheless.

46. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

On one hand, Jonathan Daylon and Valerie Faris’ Little Miss Sunshine is one of the funniest movies of the 2000s, but on the other hand it’s one of the most tragic stories to come out of the decade. The “road trip from Hell” setup had been done countless times prior to the film’s 2006 release, but rarely had the subgenre been as effective, emotional, or laugh out loud funny.

Michael Arndt’s hilarious, heartbreaking, and nuanced screenplay, which earned him an Oscar, doesn’t play it safe by avoiding life’s tragedies (both major and minor), but instead faces them head-on, creating a cathartic experience for his characters and audience alike. Transformative performances by the late Alan Arkin (he also won an Academy Award), Abigail Breslin, Toni Collette and the rest of the Little Miss Sunshine cast make you feel their characters are family, which is the heart and soul of this outstanding film.

45. Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Keira Knightley’s Pride & Prejudice is hardly the first take on the novel of the same name, but the 2005 film arguably set the standard for modern Jane Austen movie adaptations. The love story between Elizabeth Bennet (Knightley) and Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) is beautifully told, and made all the more memorable for the cinematography, soundtrack, and chemistry between the stars. In fact, the cast was stacked with stars who either already had or would become big names, including Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench, Rosamund Pike, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan, and Kelly Reilly in addition to Knightley and Macfadyen. 

The world of the Bennet family in this Pride & Prejudice feels lived in and domestic in a way that adds a touch of modern realism to a Regency-era period drama and contrasts the more austere beauty of Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley estate. The film isn’t as faithful to the book as the beloved 1995 BBC miniseries, but it hits the important beats of the original Jane Austen story in just over two hours while also being completely accessible to viewers who haven’t read the book, with moments like the iconic hand flex of Mr. Darcy that fans far and wide know well. 

44. Adaptation (2002)

Adaptation is a book adaptation about the adaptation process. Understood? Wonderful. 

Nicolas Cage plays dual roles as the most neurotic possible version of screenwriter Charlie Kauffman, as well as his fictitious twin Donald Kauffman. Originally hired to write the film adaptation for Susan Orlean’s bestseller The Orchid Thief, Charlie Kauffman experiences a debilitating case of writer’s block, stemming from a slew of mental health issues including social anxiety, body dysmorphia and depression. This sends him on something of a tortured artist’s odyssey that leads him to write himself, and the experience, into his script. Thus, we get Adaptation, a hybrid of both the story of The Orchid Thief, and Kauffman’s experience adapting it.

These days, such a meta concept is somewhat commonplace, but over 20 years ago, this was the most bonkers script since Kauffman’s Being John Malkovich. Malkovich was even worked into Adaptation’s storyline, with John Cusack, Catherine Keener and the titular John Malkovich playing themselves. The point is, this film is WEIRD in the best of ways, yet still managed to grab Oscar nominations for Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, as well as a win for Chris Cooper. Adaptation is perhaps the greatest cinematic insight into the creative writing process, and the effect it has on one’s psyche, ever made.

43. Love & Basketball (2000)

The best romantic comedies might get a lot of attention from fans of lovey dovey stories, but romantic dramas deserve our eyeballs as well, and Love & Basketball is one that really should be praised. This romance (which is also a fantastic sports drama) tells the story of Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), two talented, basketball-obsessed kids who bond over their love of the sport, but have several trials as they attempt to take their relationship from friends to lovers in their high school and college years and, later, in their twenties.

Gina Prince-Bythewood’s feature-length directorial debut does an amazing job of showing how hard it can be for two people who are so dedicated to their craft to make time for one another, especially as the pressure to succeed in their sport pulls them in different directions. But, it goes much further than that, with each of their complicated family dynamics and emotional wounds taking this love story to the next level.

42. Minority Report (2002)

If you had the chance to predict and prevent a tragic crime, the choice sounds obvious, right? That is until you are faced with the possibility that the prediction is wrong and your arrestee was destined to be innocent. That provocative idea was the basis for a 1956 short story by prolific science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick, which was later adapted into one of director Steven Spielberg’s most exciting films of the decade, if not his full career.

Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton — the chief for a special police unit that uses a trio of clairvoyant siblings to detect future murders — who begins to question their seemingly “perfect” system when he makes the horrifying discovery that the potential perpetrator of his next case is himself, forcing him to go on the run. The truth behind this prediction revealed in the brilliant twist ending of Minority Report is one of the many fascinating and thought-provoking aspects of this astonishingly inventive sci-fi masterpiece that is not quite dystopian, but far from utopian either.

41. Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Over the past few years, there have been great strides for representation and diverse stories in Hollywood. But back in the early 2000s, this wasn’t exactly the case. Which is why Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain was such a groundbreaking movie upon its release. Hollywood simply wasn’t telling queer love stories through major blockbusters, let alone honoring them with major Awards Nominations.

While there’s been some backlash about straight actors playing LGBTQ+ roles, Brokeback likely only got produced because of its bankable (and yes straight) lead actors. For their part, both Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger offer moving and complicated performances that still stand up today. Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway also really deliver, which is par for the course for those talented actresses. This quartet of performers tell their characters’ stories through decades of time, and to devastating results. And the acclaimed film is still so beloved that it’s being adapted for the stage on the West End, starring Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges. 

40. American Psycho (2000)

Author Bret Easton Ellis’ novel American Psycho is a shocking literary experience. There are scenes in it that will make even the most seasoned horror fan blanche – and reading it, you can understand why it was deemed unadaptable for a time after its publication. When it did finally get brought to the big screen, co-adapted by screenwriter Guinevere Turner and director Mary Harron, the material was understandably pulled back a bit, but the movie still remains a scary and biting satire that takes aim at the hardcore capitalism in the 1980s.

Years before he became a big screen legend playing Batman, Christian Bale became a horror icon with his performance as Patrick Bateman – a white, rich sociopath who enjoys torturing and slaughtering women… but who nonetheless blends in with all the rest of New York’s white, rich sociopaths. It’s a rich cinematic experience that manages to be both satisfyingly scary and surprisingly funny.

39. 28 Days Later (2002)

Certain movies can be credited as causing shifts so powerful, an entire genre felt its influence. Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland’s 28 Days Later is one such film, as this lo-fi British horror-thriller would go on to see interest in movies like Dawn of the Dead (2004) and Shaun of the Dead being boosted. 

Revitalizing the zombie genre, while not calling its own creatures by the Z-word, the normal rules didn’t apply in this horror masterpiece. In the world of the previously coma-ridden Jim (Cillian Murphy), the vicious “infected” could come from anywhere, with blazing speed. Survival, in some situations, could be measured in a heartbeat, with a drop of blood or saliva making the difference. 

Stocked with a who’s who of actors like Brendan Gleeson, Christopher Eccleston, and Naomie Harris, 28 Days Later did for zombies what Scream did for slasher films. Challenging the status quo with relentless energy, the film is all at once terrifying, heartbreaking, and hopeful. Danny Boyle and Alex Garland resurrected the undead genre with stunning results.

38. Amelie (2001)

One of the most delightful stories committed to film. French ingénue Audrey Tautou was perfectly cast as the title character Amelie, who is believed to have a delicate heart condition and so is overprotected by her doting parents. As a result of her gently-imposed isolation, Amelie develops an overactive imagination, which leads her on a series of whimsical adventures. Amelie director Jean-Pierre Jeunet embraces magical realism as a style, with Tautou basically gliding through this giddy fantasy as she works to make the lives of everyone around her happy, and possibly find love on her own in the process. Amelie seems to transmit joy, and if you aren’t uplifted by Tautou’s effervescent performance, you might want to check to ensure you still have a pulse. Now, go borrow someone else’s lawn gnome, photograph it in front of a celebrated vacation spot, and spread the joy of Amelie with anyone who hasn’t yet seen this delightful gem. 

37. Donnie Darko (2001)

There may not be a more aggressively strange and maddeningly perplexing movie on this list than Donnie Darko. Yet, its mysterious and nearly off-putting nature may be the reason why — despite nearly becoming a cable TV movie (if not for Christopher Nolan’s praise) and ultimately bombing at the box office — it remains an enduring cult hit.

At its core, writer and director Richard Kelly’s feature-length debut is the story of an emotionally troubled young man (Jake Gyllenhaal) whose struggle to navigate adolescence in the late 1980s is worsened by visions of an apocalyptic soothsayer in a horrifying rabbit suit, but it is much more than that. It is a sharp coming-of-age satire on par with some of John Hughes’ films, a classic time travel movie, and a pervasively grim fantasy tale that serves as a perfect Halloween tradition, among other things. Above all, however, Donnie Darko is unique enough to defy categorization, resulting in a one-of-a-kind experience. 

36. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

If we’re only including one adaptation of the Harry Potter series on this list, it has to be Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The source material has our lead trio entering into their teen years with more studies than ever and higher stakes all around. New characters are introduced, major reveals transpire and there’s also that twisty bit of time travel. Oh, and let’s not forget the bone-chilling Dementors, whose powers include dredging up a person’s darkest memories and fears. 

Those things on their own give Prisoner of Azkaban an edge over some of the other books, but Alfonso Cuarón’s adaptation does more than just bring one of the best installments of the series to life. New layers of the magical world emerge on the screen thanks to the cinematography, not to mention Cuarón’s vision and patient approach to the pacing, which gives us the chance to really soak in the surroundings in any given scene. Whether it’s showing the change of seasons at Hogwarts or the stunning sight of Harry soaring over the lake on the back of a Hippogriff, it’s more than enough to set the film above its predecessors and raise the bar firmly for the adaptations that would follow. 

35. The Devil Wears Prada (2006)

The Devil Wears Prada is already a classic. While the film quality itself is high, the movie has also become part of the fabric of pop culture, thanks to its quotable lines and the unbelievable performance of one Meryl Streep. Anne Hathaway is regularly transformed into a meme thanks to the scene where Annie shows up to work post-makeover in Chanel Boots.

Aside from the pop culture of it all, The Devil Wears Prada is a delightful movie romp. The fashions are aspirational, and the cast is truly on top of their game. Special points to Emily Blunt, who became a household name following her performance as Emily. And considering how light and frothy even the movie’s drama is, the rewatchability of this book to movie adaptation cannot be understated. If you haven’t watched Devil Wears Prada recently, by all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.

34. The Lord Of The Rings Movies (2001-2003)

There are very few fantasy movie franchises out there that have been great all the way through. They have their dips and slides, but if there’s one major fantasy franchise to rule them all, it has to be The Lord of the Rings movies. 

The film franchise mainly follows Frodo Baggins as he travels with the Fellowship on a quest to destroy the One Ring in order to take down the person who made it, Sauron. But don't take that premise at face value – there is so much more to this story than meets the eye. 

The Lord of the Rings movies are perfect in every shape and form. From the battle sequences to the visual effects to the acting, there is much to love and adore about these films. The Lord of the Rings delivers in ways fans can't even imagine. There's a reason why the franchise is so popular years later – and how spinoffs, such as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, have been released in recent years. The love keeps pouring in. 

33. Casino Royale (2006)

When James Bond was given his iconic Walther PPK in Dr. No, Sean Connery’s initial incarnation is told the weapon has “a delivery like a brick through a plate glass window.” The same could be said for 2006’s Casino Royale, as the introduction to Daniel Craig’s James Bond movies wasn’t shy about changing things up, and surprising even the most experienced 007 fans with how it would depict Commander Bond’s exploits.

Director Martin Campbell’s franchise reboot was as lean and mean as they come. Casino Royale showed 007 getting his ass handed to him, and his heart broken. Such vulnerability didn’t weaken the character, but rather it humanized him and added a suspense that the Bond movies had lost for some time.

Daniel Craig stepped into the role of the modern James Bond as if it were a tuxedo perfectly tailored for his presence. Wryly funny, yet cold and calculating when he had to pull the trigger, Craig made the role his own from frame one. To see such an iconic series redefined so perfectly, after 20 movies and over four decades of history before it, is something that still astonishes as much now as it did upon initial viewing.

32. Batman Begins (2005)

One of the most notorious bombs in Hollywood history is 1997’s Batman & Robin — a movie that, despite having some fans, is so cartoonishly absurd and dismissive of the source material’s essential themes and tone that it would be the last we would see of one of DC Comics’ most important characters on the big screen for years. The Caped Crusader’s resurgence in cinema — and in modern pop culture — can be traced back to when director Christopher Nolan went back to basics and all the way back to the beginning of his war on crime in Batman Begins.

Christian Bale immediately asserted himself as one of the best actors to play Batman with his grounded and stoic performance as a Bruce Wayne desperate to rescue his beloved Gotham City — one of the most stunningly realistic and effectively grimy depictions of the burdened metropolis — from the cesspool of crime and corruption it has become. While it is not widely considered to be the absolute best of the live-action Batman movies so far (more on that one later), most would agree that Batman Begins is one of the best superhero movies in general for its refreshingly earnest and complex approach to comic book lore, exhilarating action sequences and technical mastery, and reinventing the Dark Knight for a new generation without losing sight of what made him an icon in the first place.

31. Children of Men (2006)

In a dystopian future, environmental malpractice has led to constant war, famine, and total human infertility. So imagine the surprise felt by former political activist Theo Faron (Clive Owen) when he learns that a young female refugee (Clare-Hope Ashitey) is pregnant, and is poised to deliver the first natural childbirth in eighteen years. 

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron was coming off of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (considered by many to be the best film in that saga) when he unleashed his talents on Children of Men. His breathtaking approach to editing and cinematography propels the action forward at a feverish pitch, with Cuaron often choosing to stage his movements in long, eye-popping, unbroken shots that lure the audience to the edge of their seats. Cuaron says this is a movie about hope, but you have to endure a lot of credible despair to finally unearth it. It’s worth the effort.

30. Ocean's Eleven (2001)

As times change, what’s considered popular is as fluid as water itself. Sometimes a movie can be ahead of the curve in that respect, dictating a whole era of cool in its very existence. Director Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven did just that, as both an uber slick heist movie, and as a modernized remake of a pre-existing film. 

The 1960’s Rat Pack extravaganza about war veterans looking for one big score was turned into a gathering of thieves, assembled by one man (George Clooney) looking for something more than cash. While the stakes were changed, and the number spelled out in the title, this film nailed the breezy energy that made the original so lovely.

Be it an all-star cast including Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Andy Garcia, and Julia Roberts, the insanely slick soundtrack, or even just the way George Clooney could rock a suit without a tie, Ocean’s Eleven doesn’t telegraph its style. It presents it with great confidence, and allows you to decide if it’s worth your while. It’s a love letter to the past, while playing to the viewer of today; with a result as cool as that drink you just ordered at the bar.

29. Chicago (2002)

If you look at just about any list of the best musicals of the 21st century, it’s basically a guarantee that Chicago will be there. The adaptation of Bob Fosse’s long-running musical is one of few musical films to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Catherine Zeta-Jones took home a trophy as well for her stellar performance as the “All That Jazz” singer who killed her husband and sister, Velma Kelly. This film has intrigue, sex, murder, genius performances and a whole lot of jazz, and it's truly a masterful musical adaptation.

Rob Marshall ultimately made a musical that stays true to its stage roots, but also heightens the entire story through movie magic. Take “Cell Block Tango” for example, the majority of the song is performed on a stage, and the women singing about murdering their husbands are in black costumes similar to the wardrobe from Broadway. However, it’s bigger as a whole, and it flashes between the actual prison, and this staged dream-like sequence. By doing this for every number, the film both elevated and paid homage to its predecessor, which is just one of the many reasons it’s so incredible.

28. Iron Man (2008)

From being the first self-financed Marvel Studios production, executives initially being opposed to casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, and most of the dialogue being improvised since the script wasn’t finished when production began, there was a lot that could have gone wrong with Iron Man. And yet, the end result stands as a triumph in large part due to Downey’s performance as the genius/billionaire/playboy/philanthropist.

But of course, one can’t discuss Iron Man without addressing how it changed the film franchise game. Once Nick Fury emerged from the shadows and mentioned the Avengers Initiative in the post-credits scene, that was the first big tipoff that this movie was the first chapter in a shared universe, just like in the original Marvel comics. More than a decade later, the MCU still stands as a Hollywood powerhouse, and many franchises, both superhero and from other genres, have followed in its footsteps. 

27. Shaun Of The Dead (2004)

The slacker bastard child of George Romero's Dead films and Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead is a rarity in cinema, and not just for having the gall to sacrifice the soundtrack to 1989's Batman. It's a largely perfect amalgam of authenticity and parodical storytelling, anchored to the comedic whims and wiles of  director Edgar Wright, his co-writer Simon Pegg,  and Pegg’s co-star Nick Frost. As it goes with that trio’s other film on this list (see #65), Shaun’s biggest strength is its characters who feel real enough to legitimize the zombie apocalypse chaos, while also making viewers care about them even when the gory threats aren’t around the corner.

Shaun of the Dead may go down as the funniest horror movie to have ever existed, while also delivering some genuinely disturbing moments throughout that keep the adventure from falling too far into the funnies. Simon Pegg even transcends the dual genre description by spinning palpable emotion out of his struggle to prioritize the safety of his relationship, his BFF, and his mom. And if that wasn’t enough, it allowed moviegoers to spend some time in the Winchester, and that’s a slice of fried gold that makes everyone’s life better.

26. Moon (2009)

Whenever we sit down for a sci-fi film, especially one that takes place on a remote station somewhere away from our planet, we all know that we’re in for a twisty tale, and Moon certainly fulfills that promise. Duncan Jones’ 2009 directorial debut (he also came up with the story) focuses on Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), the lone human working a mostly automated mining facility on the far side of the moon, who begins to have troubling hallucinations as he nears the end of his work contract.

What follows is surprising, as not only does the story take several intriguingly unexpected turns, but it also examines what it’s like to be isolated from others (including loved ones), holding on to a sense of community, and one’s willingness to sacrifice for the greater good. Throw in a creepy AI, which can’t quite be determined as a helper or a hindrance for a time, and you get science fiction gold.

25. The Incredibles (2004)

Released during the early years of the superhero movie’s surging popularity, The Incredibles still holds up tremendously after all this time, despite so many other offerings from Marvel, DC and other studios being delivered nearly two decades after its release. To be sure, Pixar’s sixth full-length feature does a spectacular job at both honoring classic superhero stories and tropes, as well as poking fun at them, including the hilarious ‘no capes’ gag. But The Incredibles’ greatest feat isn’t how it handles these larger-than-life elements, but rather how it makes these characters feel relatable and complex in the midst of the action.

From Bob and Helen Parr being concerned about their children’s welfare, whether they’re living everyday life in suburbia or fighting bad guys in costume, to understanding that Syndrome’s sinister motivations stem from the hurt he endured as an adolescent, The Incredibles never pushes aside its humanity in favor of spectacle; instead, they compliment each other quite nicely. Throw in outstanding vocal performances from actors like Craig T. Nelson and Holly Hunter, and Brad Bird excelling as both the director and screenwriter, this movie stands out not just as a superhero movie, but as one of the greatest entries in Pixar’s library.

24. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Join Us In Creating Excellence. More powerful than any anti-drug ad, Requiem for a Dream hit theaters in 2000 and has stood the test of time as possibly the most affecting portrayal of addiction to date. Based on the Hubert Selby Jr. book of the same name, Darren Aronofsky’s film explores more than just the heroin addictions of Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans’ characters. Ellen Burstyn’s obsession with being on television and fitting into her red dress is haunting, and there’s no questioning why the role earned her an Academy Award nomination.

The work behind the camera was equal to the all-around horrifying performances, as Darren Aronofsky and cinematographer Matthew Libatique added to the story in how every shot was framed, the choreography of the characters’ movements, and the use of sound effects and split screens. The score was worthy of praise all on its own, with "Lux Aeterna" — the song that played over the climax of the film — leaving such an impression that it has gone on to be re-orchestrated for several other movie and video game trailers. 

Combine all of this and add a little of Christopher McDonald’s Tappy Tibbons J.U.I.C.E., and you’ve got a real feel-bad movie that may never fully leave you.

23. Oldboy (2003)

Because many have such good storylines, South Korean films have become some of the biggest international movies.. A few examples could be Parasite and The Wailing. One movie in particular stands above many of them, and that's Oldboy. 

Directed by Park Chan-wook, the film is loosely based on the Japanese manga of the same name and focuses on Dae-su, a man imprisoned in a cell that looks like a hotel room, for fifteen years, without knowing who the person was behind his capture. But when he gets his chance at freedom, he makes it his mission to find out who committed the crime all those years ago – only to find out there is much more to his imprisonment than he thought. 

Oldboy is incredible. The action scenes are probably some of the best recorded on a movie screen and have been imitated many times – just the corridor fight scene itself is enough to satisfy any action-movie fan. The story is intriguing all the way until the end, which will blow the minds of first-time viewers. Truly, Oldboy is a staple of the South Korean film industry – and a fantastic movie of the 2000s. 

22. Collateral (2004)

Michael Mann had already cemented his legacy as one of the greatest directors in the world of crime thrillers, but he further made a case for himself with his 2004 thriller, Collateral. Clocking in at exactly two hours, this cool, violent, and ruthless neo-noir classic not only sees one of the best Jamie Foxx performances with his portrayal of cab driver Max (a role that should have earned him an Oscar), it also introduces one of Tom Cruise’s most unhinged characters: Vincent, a mysterious and deadly assassin.

Cruise, who was coming off movies like Minority Report and The Last Samurai, is incredibly refreshing as the film’s antagonist, and it shows a side of the star that audiences don’t get to see as much. Seeing the actor’s undeniable charm and big-screen energy used to breathe life into someone who is pure evil is quite the experience, and really messes with the viewers’ mindset. In addition to actors like Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, and Jada Pinkett Smith, the movie also treats the city of Los Angeles less like a backdrop and more as another character, one that feels more alive as the story goes on, much like Mann’s 1995 heist film, Heat.

21. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Since the early days of moviemaking, Walt Disney’s viewpoint of the fairytale has had a stake in popular culture. It’s G-rated, soft and sweet, and there’s always a happy ending. Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth brings to life a fairytale that redefined what a fantasy movie can look like with its distinct and unforgettable vision. Set in 1944 Spain as the country picks up the pieces of the Spanish Civil War, the R-rated fantasy film follows a young girl named Ofelia as she faces the violent reality of the Francoist period and stumbles upon a dark wonderland in the shadows (or at least the shadows of her imagination). 

As del Toro was coming off two more commercial movies in Blade II and Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth is a breathtaking highlight in an all-time great filmmaker’s career. Across two hours, the Spanish-language movie brings to life an extraordinary vision that beautifully balances being twisted and innocent all at once with memorable horror, gore, mythical creations and a ton of gorgeous practical creature effects. How does he balance a magical quest with political drama? Some especially memorable words in Pan’s Labyrinth answers that question: If “door is locked,” one must “create your own.” In a landscape where fairytales can be predictable, del Toro opened a wonderfully defiant world of his own with Pan’s Labyrinth.

20. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) And Vol. 2 (2004)

After turning the heist movie on its head with 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, and changing the way audiences perceive movies in general (and winning a screenwriting Oscar) with 1994’s Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino very quickly made himself into one of the most unique and esteemed icons of the medium. However, after releasing his 1997 Elmore Leonard adaptation, Jackie Brown, we would not see him direct anything for another six years. Little did we know that he was planning to come back with something big — so big, that just one movie was not enough to tell the story. Based on a character Tarantino created with star Uma Thurman on the Pulp Fiction set, Kill Bill follows a deadly assassin initially known only as The Bride — one of the greatest female action heroes — who wakes up from a four-year coma with a furious urge to punish those who tried to put her to sleep permanently, with her former boss (David Carradine) being the primary target. 

For years, it was debated whether or not the stylistically disparate halves of the story — with Vol. 1 being an ode to ‘70s kung fu movies and Vol. 2 counting as Tarantino’s first western, essentially — should count as one film. Well, even if the director had never officially clarified that he does see Kill Bill as one movie, we still would have designated one spot for both volumes of this exquisitely crafted, gorgeously choreographed, visually and emotionally breathtaking epic on this list, because that is the only way to experience "the whole bloody affair.” 

• A Kill Bill Quote To Remember: “That's right. I killed your master. And now I'm gonna kill you too, with your own sword, no less, which in the very immediate future, will become... my sword.” (The Bride)

19. Training Day (2001)

In 100 years, when film historians look back to determine why Denzel Washington was considered one of the best actors of his generation, director Antoine Fuqua's Training Day should be at the top of any screening list. Detective Alonzo Harris is a special kind of monster, and Washington’s work offers incredible escalation and power. At first, he just seems like a hardened detective who has made some scary discoveries about how best to patrol the city of Los Angeles, but he becomes a whole different kind of beast by the end – one that King Kong ain’t got nothin’ on.

But while Training Day features an all-time great performance from one of the all-time great actors, not to be ignored is just how terrific the movie as a whole is. Ethan Hawke is also at the top of his game as up-and-coming officer Jake Hoyt, who faces death and peril as he slowly understands the real game that Alonzo is playing, and David Ayer’s screenplay is special – packing the believable character arcs and growing stakes into a limited 24-hour time frame. Even on the tenth viewing it is successful at raising your pulse and getting you to invest in the protagonist’s peril, and that’s the mark of a truly great thriller.

• A Training Day Quote To Remember: “You gotta control your smiles and cries, because that's all you have and nobody can take that away from you.” (Jake Hoyt)

18. The Wrestler (2008)

Still considered one of the best movies of 2008 more than a decade later, Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler is a grueling battle royale of emotions that doesn’t pull any punches with its story about a broken-down professional wrestler looking for one last shot at redemption. Channeling both the triumph and tragedy, and the agony and ecstasy of putting one’s life on the line day-in and day-out for decades, Mickey Rourke gave audiences the performance of a lifetime with his portrayal of washed-up wrestler, Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a one-time larger-than-life titan caught somewhere between his past and uncertain future.

There are a lot of parallels between the character and Rouke’s own journey in this semi-autobiographical drama, which adds a tremendous amount of depth to not only his performance, but also the movie in general. Though wrestling is often considered a fake sport, Rourke’s performance and Aronofsky’s commitment to portraying the industry in an honest and genuine light is incredibly real. The physical, mental, and emotional pain can be felt in each of Randy’s movements, heard in his voice, and seen in his eyes as the former champ wrestles in high school gyms and attempts to make ends meet by taking on shifts at a local grocery store deli. Then there are the religious allegories that are explored through Randy’s character, as well as Marisa Tomei’s Cassidy, which make it all even more potent.

• A The Wrestler Quote To Remember: “I'll tell you somethin', I hate the fuckin' 90's.” (Randy Robinson)

17. Finding Nemo (2003)

Pixar has created some of the greatest animated films of all time, and Finding Nemo may be the studio’s true crowning achievement. It is as beautifully animated as it is emotionally powerful. The undersea world of Nemo is gorgeous simply to look at, and that’s just as true today as it was when the film was released. 

2003's Finding Nemo’s voice casting is second to none. Nobody does neurotic like Albert Brooks. Nobody can play clueless like Ellen DeGeneres. Nobody plays a tough guy of questionable sanity like Willem Dafoe. These are the actors you would cast if you were telling this story in live-action, and they bring it all to the voice performances in a way that truly brings these characters to life.

And Finding Nemo is able to balance its emotional extremes perfectly. We’re used to Pixar movies making us cry but years before Up, Finding Nemo opened with an incredibly heartbreaking moment. But after that, it’s able to be hilarious, scary, and even exciting. Finally, it concludes with the sort of resolution that stands the test of time, as young children will see the film and relate with Nemo, then grow up, and begin to understand Marlin in a new way.  Nemo does it all, not bad for a clownfish with a bad fin. 

• A Finding Nemo Quote To Remember: “Of course I like you. It’s because I like you, I don’t want to be with you. It’s a complicated emotion.” (Marlin)

16. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

“I think this just might be my masterpiece.” That’s the final line in writer/director Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, and coming as it does at the end of 153 minutes of perfection, it’s hard not to read it as a message directly from the filmmaker to the audience. In 2009, Tarantino was coming off of a low point in his career with the disappointing theatrical release of Grindhouse, but his follow-up is a phenomenal World War II epic that only he could make: Nazi-killing action packaged in a love letter to cinema.

Two stories – the revenge of Mélanie Laurent's Shosanna Dreyfus and the mission of the titular troop – play out in parallel with equal captivating energy right up until they collide in the (literally) explosive finale. While there isn’t a star in the expansive ensemble who doesn’t deliver a memorable performance (from Brad Pitt to Michael Fassbender to even Mike Myers), there isn’t a person who can watch the film and not walk away mesmerized by the work done by Christoph Waltz in his star-making turn as Hans Landa. It’s not an easy thing to blend a vibe of dastardly evil with sharp charisma, but Waltz is a force in the role, and it remains the best thing he has done in his career.

• An Inglourious Basterds Quote To Remember: “Well, you don't got to be Stonewall Jackson to know you don't want to fight in a basement.” (Lt. Aldo Raine)

15. Spirited Away (2001)

Studio Ghibli is one of the world's most-known anime film studios. Co-founded by legendary anime director Hayao Miyazaki, the studio has created some of the best anime films of all time, one of which is Spirited Away – which Hayao Miyazaki directed. 

Spirited Away is about a journey into the spirit world following the young Chihiro. Taking place in Japan, we follow the little girl, who happens to be moving to a new neighborhood with her family. When her parents decide to take a shortcut to their new home and explore what looks to be an abandoned amusement park, Chihiro is forced to go along. However, there's magic everywhere, and her mom and dad turn into pigs against their will for eating a gluttonous feast. For her to get them back, she must work for the spirits in the bathhouse, so they can return to the human world. 

The premise itself sounds like a lot at first, but it's become Studio Ghibli’s – and Hayao Miyazaki's – highest-grossing film. It’s also the only anime film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and the only hand-drawn film (so far) to accomplish the task. The movie features themes about love and learning to grow up and be brave. It's the perfect gateway movie into the anime film – indeed, one of the best movies of the 2000s. 

• A Spirited Away Quote To Remember: “I don't need any help; this place is full of soot.” (Kamaji)

14. The Prestige (2006)

The Prestige is a battle of wills between two talented and irreparably flawed magicians, who can’t stay out of each other’s lives. Their differing roles in a shared tragedy push them apart and then repeatedly back together, as their initial determination to succeed steadily gives way to an obsession for vengeance. That obsession drives them to sacrifice and abandon everything healthy about their lives until they’re each left with only a singular drive to sabotage the other.

Based on that description, The Prestige sounds like a really dark movie. In many ways, it is, but in director Christopher Nolan’s hands, it’s also often really fun. It has a sense of wonder and mystery about it, as it not only dives into the idiosyncrasies of magic but also the exciting possibilities of science in the 1890s and early 1900s. It was a time and place in which anything felt possible, and you really feel that hopeful uncertainty thanks to a timeline that jumps to and fro and fantastic performances from Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall and a perfectly cast David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. Like a great magic trick, the first time you watch The Prestige, you’re fascinated by the spectacle and simply along for the ride. Then every time you rewatch it afterwards, you’re blown away by all the subtle skill required to pull it off.

• A The Prestige Quote To Remember: “Nobody cares about the man in the box.” (Robert Angier)

13. There Will Be Blood (2007)

Looking back, 2007 was one of the best movie years in recent memory, considering classics like No Country For Old Men, Zodiac, and Superbad all premiered on the big screen. But one of the biggest, baddest, and most arresting of those releases was Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. An epic period drama about oilman Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) doing everything in his power and stepping on anyone in his way in his quest for wealth in the early 20th-century oil boom, the movie is a deep and vast exploration of a man’s psyche and desire to become the biggest player in the game.

While Day-Lewis’s performance is tremendous and more than deserving of the Oscar he received, it’s made even better thanks to his character’s conflict with Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a religious zealot who is just as tenacious and hungry for power as his counterpart. Several of the movie’s most iconic scenes (like the oil-town baptism and shocking ending sequence) are the result of the actor’s tremendous chemistry and ability to play off each other’s words. The pair, who get along like oil and holy water, create a dynamic that’s not quite a battle between good and evil, but instead something much deeper than that, which adds another level to this incredible cinematic achievement.

• A There Will Be Blood Quote To Remember: “You're an orphan from a basket in the middle of the desert, and I took you for no other reason than I needed a sweet face to buy land.” (Daniel)

12. In Bruges (2008)

Prior to 2008, Martin McDonagh was established as a talented and popular playwright, but he had ambitions to make his way into movies. In 2004, he directed the incredible short film Six Shooter (which won an Academy Award), and then he moved to features. He made his debut with In Bruges, and anyone who saw it instantly recognized McDonagh’s potential to become one of the best filmmakers working today (potential he has made good on with the genius of Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, and The Banshees of Inisherin).

In Bruges takes a high concept premise – two hitman hide out in Belgium waiting for instructions after a job goes bad – and weaves a remarkable meditation on life and death. It’s a dark comedy (and a hilarious one at that), but it has a beautiful blend of tones that radiate from the genius work of stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Farrell and Gleeson have a unique chemistry that works on both comedic and dramatic levels (it’s far from a mystery why McDonagh reunited them for The Banshees of Inisherin) and the bizarrely rage and logic-filled energy that Fiennes brings in the third act is icing on the cake.

• An In Bruges Quote To Remember: “I kinda like hearing people having sex. Means at least somebody around here's happy.” (Ray)

11. Almost Famous (2000)

If a 15-year-old going on tour with a raucous rock band wasn’t enough of a hook, Almost Famous also happens to have one of the most memorable posters/ DVD box covers of all time. It focuses on the enigmatic Penny Lane, the heroine of Cameron Crowe’s film, whom everyone loves to love and admire and most don’t bother to understand. With distinct shades and tendrils of blonde hair, she draws you into her world of Humble Pie and heartbreak, and in between commentary on what made the ’70s the ’70s and a slick soundtrack including Led Zeppelin, The Who and of course Elton John, she helps turn the film into one of the best of the 2000s.

It’s a career-defining performance for Kate Hudson, and she’s not the only one who delivers. Jason Lee grows a mustache and long hair to fall into his hilarious lead singer role while Billy Crudup is similarly unrecognizable as the talented and moody Russell Hammond. Patrick Fugit plays William Miller, younger than most but wiser than some, and he finds a terrific foil in Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays famed music writer Lester Bangs. Throw in great work from Frances McDormand, Zooey Deschanel and even Jimmy Fallon and it’s a masterclass of terrific performances. If it’s been a while since you’ve revisited the movie, maybe throw on some purple-tinted sunglasses and kick back to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America.” Settle in, you’re almost home.

• An Almost Famous Quote To Remember: “If you never take it seriously, you never get hurt. If you never get hurt, you always have fun. And if you ever get lonely, you just go to the record store and visit your friends.” (Penny Lane)

10. No Country For Old Men (2007)

No matter what kind of film genre is up for discussion, the power and breadth of the Coen Brothers' filmography is worthy of inclusion, and they don't make 'em much better than 2007's No Country for Old Men. An adaptation of Carmac McCarthy’s 2005 novel that’s every bit as faithful as it is chilling, the film meticulously dips its toes most heavily into the cinematic waters of crime thrillers and westerns. That said, Javier Bardem’s unflinching hitman, Anton Chigurh, would be at home in any horror narrative, with his Two-Face-esque coin flips and an unstoppable drive that rivals Jason Voorhees or Michael Meyers. At least if a big ol’ stack of cash was also their end goal.

Despite being one of Joel and Ethan Coen’s driest films regarding their signature screwball humor, the movie is an exercise in tension that thrives on its lack of levity, though it’s hard not to smile whenever Woody Harrelson is on the screen in any capacity. With a stellar cast including Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt and more, No Country for Old Men is, to date, the only Coen brothers masterpiece to win them the Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture, with Bardem taking the gold for Best Supporting Actor. It’s not the awards that best signify its impact, however, but the bolt pistol gripped in Chigurh’s ever-steady hand.

• A No Country For Old Men Quote To Remember: “Well all the time ya spend trying to get back what's been took from ya, more is going out the door. After a while you just have to try to get a tourniquet on it.” (Ellis)

9. Memento (2000)

Talk about a movie that you definitely need to watch without your phone in your hand. Christopher Nolan’s Memento is a mind-bending combination of different angles that demands and deserves your entire attention. The story is told backward, broken up by clips of a black and white, forward-moving montage of a mysterious one-sided phone call in a hotel, led by Guy Pearce, whose character Leonard, also happens to have anterograde (or short-term) amnesia, stopping our protagonist from creating new memories as he looks for his wife’s killer, who also gave him this debilitating injury.

As mentioned, Nolan basically begins at the end and works his way back, for the most part. The juxtaposition of the timelines bring the audience into the obvious confusion that Leonard lives with every day. "Even if you get revenge, you're not going to remember it," he's told by his new friend Teddy (played by Joe Pantoliano) but his reply shows just how far his love and determination will go, stating "My wife deserves revenge whether or not I remember it."  Toss in Natalie (Carrie-Anne Moss) to add some confusing sympathy (or treachery) and you will probably want a second viewing just to wrap your mind around what you might have initially dismissed as unimportant plot points from this Nolan classic. You’ll notice that Nolan has popped up numerous times on this list (and rightfully so) and he has also once again recently hit it out of the park with 2023’s Oppenheimer.  

• A Memento Quote To Remember: “So you lie to yourself to be happy. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all do it.” (Teddy G.)

8. Wall-E (2008)

Do you know who is a genius? Sound designer Ben Burtt. You might not know his name, but you certainly know the movies he contributed to over the years, including Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and 2009’s Star Trek. Burtt designed the “vocals” for R2-D2, Darth Vader’s heavy breathing, and the “voice” of E.T. But, his work truly soared when he lent dialogue to the adorable Waste Allocation Load Lifter assigned to an abandoned Earth. MIraculously, the first half of Pixar’s ingenious WALL-E works as a silent film, following our main character as it goes about its daily routine with a pet cockroach in tow. WALL-E’s life is upended when another robot named EVE arrives, searching for any sign of life. 

From there, the fate of humanity starts to be revealed, and it’s rather grim. Director Andrew Stanton’s animation for the film ranks as some of Pixar’s most magnificent, embracing the scorched orange of a deserted Earth and then painting with vivid colors for WALL-E’s eventual outer-space adventure. The environmental messages of the film are important without ever being preachy. And, the eventual romance felt and shared by WALL-E and EVE will lift every single heart, with the lovers sharing hardly any words. 

• A Wall-E Quote To Remember: “I see the ship's log is showing that today is the 700th anniversary of our five year cruise. Well, I'm sure our forefathers would be proud to know that 700 years later we'd be... doing the exact same thing they were doing.” (Captain B. McCrea)

7. The Departed (2006)

There are crime films and then there are Martin Scorsese crime films, and when it comes to The Departed, the director doesn’t let us down. A remake of the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, the 2006 movie gives us a range of characters to root for, root against or simply watch just to see what they’ll do or say next. That includes Leonardo DiCaprio’s undercover cop character Billy Costigan, Matt Damon’s sneaky, spying Colin Sullivan, Jack Nicholson’s mob boss character Frank Costello, and Vera Farmiga’s well-meaning therapist Dr. Madolyn Madden. To say that things get complicated might be understating it, but it’s the complexity of the characters and their roles in this story that makes The Departed such a fantastic and gripping movie from beginning to end. 

In a way, it’s all business for everyone involved, but it’s also personal for each character on some level or another. It’s impossible not to feel anxious for DiCaprio’s character as he attempts to navigate the criminal world without being caught for who he really is, just as it’s impossible not to grow increasingly frustrated by Matt Damon’s character for posing as an upstanding law enforcer who’s actually up to no good. It’s thrilling, stressful, riveting and ultimately satisfying, and that’s not even factoring in Mark Wahlberg’s character every time he has something to say (that’s just a bonus). 

• A The Departed Quote To Remember: “You know what I like about restaurants? . . . You can learn a lot, watching things eat.” (Frank Costello)

6. Best In Show (2000)

Nobody does mockumentaries like Christopher Guest, and 2000’s Best in Show is an absolute masterclass. The mundane musings of everyday conversation combine with outlandish characters and awkward situations to deliver one of the best movies of the decade. The dog show is the event that brings these unique and individually brilliant characters under one roof, but it’s no Maguffin. As bonkers as each dog-lover’s trip is to get to the show, everything is turned up to 11, if you will, when they all come together, and the event itself is perfectly colored by Fred Willard’s commentary.

There’s a reason this phenomenal cast has stuck together to appear in other projects. The chemistry between Eugene Levy’s Gerry and Catherine O’Hara’s Cookie (with her “hundreds” of boyfriends) left people begging for more, which they got in A Mighty Wind. Jennifer Coolidge was excellent in her attempts to substantiate her marriage to her ancient sugar daddy husband by saying they bonded over a love of soup and the ability to “not talk or talk forever.” The genius casting of John Michael Higgins and Michael McKean gave audiences the married couple they never knew they needed. 

Best in Show exploits the banal in some situations while heightening reality in others, to where Harlan Pepper naming nuts and the couple describing how they met at Starbucks (but two different Starbucks) land laughs just as hard as Gerry’s literal two left feet or Cookie walking with her knee out of socket.

• A Best In Show Quote To Remember: “Why don’t they put the bloodhound — put on one of those Sherlock Holmes hats and put a little pipe in his mouth? Are they ever allowed to do anything like that? Dress up the dog in a funny way? It would really get the crowd going. You know what I mean? The Sherlock Holmes hat with a pipe. I don’t know if you could make it look like smoke is coming out of the pipe.” (Buck Laughlin)

5. Zodiac (2007)

David Fincher’s greatest accomplishment, and that’s saying a lot. The director has spent countless hours analyzing the compulsion that drives people to seek the truth – be it lawyers parsing through statements to figure out who invented Facebook (The Social Network), or detectives tracking a serial killer who is inspired by the Seven Deadly Sins (Seven). But Zodiac is Fincher’s magnum opus, an engrossing true-crime thriller based on the books of Robert Graysmith tracking the diligent work of three men consumed by the search for the identity of the Zodiac Killer. 

Jake Gyllanhaal serves as the ideal audience surrogate, a puzzle designer for the San Francisco Chronicle who gets swept up in the mystery of the serial killer, who antagonized the police and the media as he committed vicious murders around San Francisco in the 1970s, Fincher painstakingly recreates the time period with breathtaking visuals and top-notch costuming and set design. His emphasis on the bustle of a newsroom is particularly spot on. The film also lingers in the haze of fear, anxiety, and suspense that comes from a killer on the loose. But it’s the supporting roles of Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo, as well as an inability to truly deliver a concrete ending, that makes Zodiac such a rewatchable movie, and a captivating masterpiece.

• A Zodiac Quote To Remember: “I am not the Zodiac. And if I was, I certainly wouldn't tell you.” (Arthur Leigh Allen)

4. Mean Girls (2004)

From wearing pink on Wednesdays to shouting “You go Glen Coco” it’s undeniable that Mean Girls has seriously influenced pop culture over the last (almost) two decades. So, “get in loser,” it’s time to appreciate this beloved coming-of-age comedy from Tina Fey.

This movie is a classic teenage tale about a girl who moves from Africa to the United States where she experiences the rude awakening that is high school by way of The Plastics. While it’s your typical coming-of-age story, it’s infused with the signature sense of humor from Fey – who was in the midst of her legendary run at Saturday Night Live – and it shows the high school experience in a totally unique way with a cast of characters played by actors who have since become icons. 

Not only did the film solidify Lindsay Lohan as an early 2000s star, it also simultaneously jumpstarted the careers of many in the Mean Girls cast, including little known actresses like Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried. On top of that, its legacy has lived on, as it was adapted into a Broadway musical, and is eventually coming back to the screen with an adaptation of said stage production. To say this film is a quintessential 2000s classic almost feels like an understatement because of the lasting impact it has managed to have on people of all ages since its release in 2004. 

• A Mean Girls Quote To Remember: "She doesn't even go here!" (Damian)

3. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)

You could argue that Jim Carrey makes much better dramatic movies than he does comedic features. And that opinion is coming from someone who adores Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, as well as Dumb & Dumber. But when you factor in the dramatic detours he embarked on for The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and this incredible romance, you begin to wonder how many Oscars Carrey might have if he got the industry to treat him seriously, instead of talking out of his ass (literally). 

Carrey and Kate Winslet are magnificent as Joel and Clementine, two soul mates who undergo a radical procedure to have their memories of each other erased after a bitter argument. Only screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation) could keep such a twisty premise from flying off the rails. And while the side-mission actions of the memory technicians can get a little silly, we remain wholly invested in Joel and Clementine’s complicated journey because of the heartbroken and beautiful chemistry shared between Carrey and Winslet. It’s a real challenge presented to these stars, as we’re not supposed to know whether Joel and Clementine are better off together or apart. But the satisfying resolution says as much about fate as it does about the existence of true love, so long as we remember how and when to look for it.

• An Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind Quote To Remember: “Constantly talking isn’t necessarily communicating.” (Joel Barish)

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

It’s been said before, but it’ll be said again – The Dark Knight is one of the greatest superhero films (and one of the greatest movies) ever made. Christopher Nolan’s ambition as a filmmaker has been well-noted, but even he outdid himself with his 2008 follow-up to 2005’s Batman Begins. The second chapter in the journey of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne sees the iconic DC Comics hero going up against the dangerous and unpredictable Joker. All the while, the Caped Crusader and his allies must also contend with mob bosses and Harvey Dent, Gotham City’s honorable district attorney who becomes the deformed Two-Face.

Where does one even start when it comes to singing this movie’s praises? There’s the impeccable screenplay, massive set pieces, engrossing score and much more. Yet I suppose what stands out the most are the performances, especially that of the late Heath Ledger. The actor, who posthumously won an Oscar for his work, fully committed to his role as the Clown Prince of Crime and is absolutely mesmerizing. His villainous turn is just one of the many reasons why Nolan’s film is a thrilling and compelling piece of work that’s still incredibly entertaining now, over a decade later.

• A The Dark Knight Quote To Remember: “Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just...do things.” (The Joker)

1. City Of God (2002)

Making its Brazil and festival run in 2002 and eventually hitting theaters in the U.S. and elsewhere  in the year that followed, Fernando Meirelles’ City of God, based on Paulo Lins’ semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, served as an inflection point in the world of cinema and served as a preview of what the the next few years would look like. Told through the eyes of young photographer Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), the movie explores the life of street kids in the Cidade de Deus (City of God) favela in Rio de Janeiro, an expansive slum filled with endless supplies of drugs, ruthless gangsters, and corrupt cops who allow the madness to continue. One of the most violent movies of the 2000s, City of God is a lesson in brutality, especially whenever depicting the exploits of Li’l Dice (Douglas Silva), a ruthless and sociopathic young criminal who stops at nothing in his quest for complete control. Oddly enough, the older version of the character known as Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino) never comes off as cold blooded as his younger self, which further illustrates the movie’s point about youth and violence. 

At the same time, City of God is also one of the most beautiful movies of the 2000s, and not just on an aesthetic level (though César Charlone’s cinematography is out of this world). The endearing spirit of those who wish to escape a life of crime, ranging from Rocket to the ill-fated drug dealer Benny (Phellipe Haagensen), adds a level of heart and soul one may not expect from a two-hour crime drama about young criminals with short fuses and, in many cases, tragically  shorter lifespans. 

• A City Of God Quote To Remember: “You need more than guts to be a good gangster; you need ideas.” (Rocket)

How we put this list together

Using a combination of internal recommendations and other best of lists, we compiled a spreadsheet of all the movies from the 2000s that we considered to be culturally relevant and/or critically well-reviewed. We pushed together some multi-part movies like Kill Bill and Lord Of The Rings and then had our staff of almost 30 go through and assign a score for each movie they’ve seen based on their own personal opinions. We disqualified any movies that didn’t get a minimum number of ratings and dropped the lowest score for each, as if we were judging a figure skating competition. We then ordered the top 100 based on average score and had someone who gave that movie a particularly high score write up a paragraph explaining what’s so great about it. This rigorous scientific process resulted in Idiocracy being slotted at 101, an omission I’m still furious about.

While it’s true that several filmmakers have their movies shown in the IMAX format, it’s Christopher Nolan who is most associated with the large-screen, premium presentation – and that’s because he spends so much time during his production making sure that he’s using IMAX cameras and proper film stock to translate into that format when his movies screen. Nolan has been doing this for years now, and it’s a massive part of the reason why Oppenheimer, his latest movie, exceeded box-office expectations and competed with Barbie for audience eyeballs. And IMAX executive David Keighley told us the Nolan scene that was tested specifically for IMAX in The Prestige. 

Christopher Nolan released The Prestige back in 2006, the year after he reinvented the comic-book genre with his grounded and brilliant Batman Begins. See where it ranks on our list of the best Batman movies. And way back then, Nolan was interested in IMAX… but wasn’t sure if he could film with the technology and have it translated properly for theatrical presentation. Apparently Nolan saw his footage for Batman Begins blown up to fit the IMAX format, but knew that he’d have to start filming in IMAX to achieve the best transformation. And that process started on The Prestige.

David and Patricia Keighley have worked at IMAX for the better part of five decades. They both currently hold the distinct title of Chief Quality Officer for IMAX, and it’s literally their job to ensure that IMAX theaters present the best version of a film in their locations. While speaking to CinemaBlend’s ReelBlend podcast about the work they have done with Christopher Nolan over the years, David Keighley went back to a scene in The Prestige as a major first step, saying:

You can see the moment at the two-minute mark in this clip from The Prestige below:

Did you have any idea that this one shot was filmed in IMAX as a test for Christopher Nolan to see if IMAX could be converted to 35mm film for a wider release? The scene is pivotal to the story in The Prestige, as Christian Bale’s character is explaining to Hugh Jackman how he pulled off his magic trick. (Read our breakdown of The Prestige ending if you forget the details.)  

And it worked! Which allowed Nolan to use even more IMAX footage in The Dark Knight, and then just keep refining the process for movies such as Inception, Dunkirk, and Oppenheimer. That immersive IMAX experience is a big reason why tickets to Oppenheimer in that format are tough to come by. Unless you happen to be Quentin Tarantino. Make sure you see Oppenheimer and explore its timeline in a theater, and then hit up our guide to the upcoming 2023 movies to plan your next theater trip.

Following the home release of Oppenheimer, there’s a good chance many are looking to watch the best Christopher Nolan movies more than any other point in the past few years. Whether you’ve seen his various psychological thrillers and all-time great superhero movies multiple times or never before, we have everything you need to know for one incredible marathon full of the director’s incredible scenes and his trademark style and plot devices.

And while we wait for Christopher Nolan's next movie, now's the perfect time to go back and watch everything the Academy Award-winning filmmaker has given us over the years. Here's how to watch Inception, Interstellar, Dunkirk, and so many other great films from the visionary director.

Inception (2010)

One of the sci-fi movies to not focus on aliens or robots, Christopher Nolan’s 2010 visually-stunning action thriller Inception offers a unique concept and one hell of an execution of said premise. The movie follows Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), an on-the-run thief who’s given the prospect of a clean slate if he can successfully break into the dreams of his client’s rival and plant an idea instead of stealing information. 

This star-studded spectacle is full of twists and turns, as well as an ending we’re still debating more than a decade later.

Rent/buy Inception on Amazon.

Interstellar (2014) 

In 2014, Nolan gave the world one of the most awe-inspiring and emotional sci-fi stories of all time with Interstellar, a movie that features equal parts hard science and human emotion. The film centers on Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey), a widowed NASA pilot-turned-farmer who becomes humanity’s best chance of survival as he leads a last-ditch effort to find a new home. Leaving behind a young daughter and son on a dying Earth, Cooper sets off to the cosmos for a mind-bending and heart-wrenching journey.

What makes the movie even more impressive is its scientific accuracy and the fact much of the movie was shot without a green screen.

Stream Interstellar on Netflix.
Stream Interstellar on Paramount+.
Rent/buy Interstellar on Prime Video.

Dunkirk (2017) 

One of the best war movies ever made, Dunkirk is also one of the more unique, as it picks up after the battle on which it draws its name instead of focusing on the action. With three different storylines – one taking place over a week, one a day, one an hour – the moving 2017 drama features a nonlinear narrative that shows that heroes come in all forms with varying motivations.

The movie features some of the director’s most impressive shots and sequences, and what makes them even more extraordinary are all the tricks and techniques Nolan employed to pull them off.

Rent/buy Dunkirk on Amazon.

Tenet (2020) 

Months after the pandemic forced major changes to the theatrical calendar, Nolan came out with Tenet, one of his loudest movies yet, which was also one with one of his wildest plots to date. The movie centers on a secret agent known as the Protagonist (John David Washington) as he is tasked with traveling through time to prevent World War III. 

This is an incredibly simplified description of the film’s plot and doesn’t even tackle the Tenet ending, as there are certain elements of the labyrinthian puzzle that are still being unpacked nearly three years after the film’s initial release. 

Rent/buy Tenet on Amazon.

Oppenheimer (2023)

In July 2023, Christopher Nolan released not only one of the biggest movies of the year but also one of the most well-received films of his career with Oppenheimer. This three-hour epic detailing the creation of the Atomic bomb and the man behind it, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) is an absolute tour de force, both in terms of storytelling and filmmaking magic. 

Focusing on several different periods in Oppenheimer's life, the movie examines what made the "Father of the Atomic Bomb" tick as well as the fallout of his landmark achievement. With its blistering pace and heightened drama, Nolan rewrote the biopic with Oppenheimer.

Stream Oppenheimer on Prime Video.
Rent/buy Oppenheimer on Amazon.

The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005 - 2012)

Over the course of seven years and three movies, Christopher Nolan told the story of Batman (Christian Bale) as he transforms himself from the heir to the Wayne family legacy to a symbol of hope for Gotham City. From his early days of burning the candle at both ends in Batman Begins to taking on an anarchic and violent enemy in The Dark Knight to saving the city he loves from a zealot in The Dark Knight Rises, the caped crusader (as well as the man behind the mask) goes through tremendous change.

With some of the best Batman chase sequences and unforgettable scenes we still think about years later, there are plenty of reasons the Dark Knight trilogy remains so popular after so much time.

Stream Batman Begins on Max. (Rent/buy Batman Begins on Amazon.)
Stream The Dark Knight on Max. (Rent/buy The Dark Knight on Amazon.)
Stream The Dark Knight Rises on Max. (Rent/buy The Dark Knight Rises on Amazon.)

The Prestige (2006)

Between his first and second Batman movies, Nolan took audiences to late 19th-century London with a story about two rival magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) who are driven to the brink of madness as they attempt to master the art of teleportation. 

The Prestige, with its complex story, outstanding performances by its cast, and stunning visuals, remains one of the best examples of the director’s work, whether or not you like the film's ending. 

Rent/buy The Prestige on Amazon.

Insomnia (2002)

Released in 2002, Insomnia follows embattled LAPD detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) as he travels to a remote fishing village in Alaska to help local authorities nab a serial killer who has been targeting young women. With the man suspected of the killings, Walter Finch (Robin Williams) toying with the cop and taking advantage of his troubled past, Dormer finds himself in quite a heated situation.

Though it’s not talked about as much as Nolan’s other films, this remake of the 1997 Norwegian crime thriller of the same name, is something that fans of his work need to check out.

Rent/buy Insomnia on Amazon.

Memento (2000)

Memento, the movie that put Christopher Nolan on the map back at the turn of the 21st century, is one of those movies that not only transformed the director’s career but also modern cinema. This riveting psychological thriller follows Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) as he attempts to find out who brutally murdered his wife. But that’s not the hard part…

Leonard suffers from an extreme form of amnesia that results in short-term memory loss and the inability to create new memories, which adds a whole other dimension to this complex murder mystery.

Rent/Buy Memento on Amazon.

Following (1998) 

If you want to go back and see where it all started for Christopher Nolan as a feature film director, then you have to check out his 70-minute, black-and-white thriller, Following. What starts out as a hobby of shadowing people around the streets of London quickly turns into a game of life or death for a young writer (Jeremy Theobald) after he makes the mistake of following the wrong person.

This is your classic neo-noir story but with some inventive Nolan-isms, elements that would be fine-tuned in the movies that followed.

Rent/buy Following on Amazon.

Christopher Nolan is truly one of the greatest living filmmakers, one with an incredible number of wonderful movies. And while we don't yet know what he has in store for us moving forward, it's safe to say Nolan is going to blow us away many more times in the years to come.

I actually would consider myself a big movie-buff. While I haven’t seen many older films in my lifetime, I’ve stayed up to date with a lot of the newer directors that have become mainstays in Hollywood over the last forty years or so, such as Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, Greta Gerwig, James Cameron, Guillermo del Toro – the list really goes on, but one person that I had yet to see all their filmography was Christopher Nolan. 

While Nolan is responsible for some of my favorite movies of the last two decades, he has many other films that I had never seen before. So, in honor of Oppenheimer releasing, I decided to revisit all of Nolan’s films, both the ones I did watch and the ones I had never seen before – and I have a clear favorite. Let’s get into it. 

A Lot Of His Earlier Films Didn’t Impress Me That Much

I’m going to be honest – many of Nolan’s movies from the late 1990s and early 2000s didn’t do it for me. 

Don’t get me wrong, they were all great films in many ways. Following was a great directorial debut, Memento is famous for many reasons and has an excellent story, and Insomnia has plenty of psychological moments that get you on the edge of your seat. They all have their good qualities.

But for some reason, I just couldn’t get behind these first three. While they were intriguing movies, I don’t think I would find myself watching them again. While they were fun to watch one time, I don’t anticipate heading back towards their respective streaming platforms in order to watch them again. 

It’s almost like Requiem for a Dream – I’m glad I at least watched it once, but in terms of coming back to the movie in the future, that’s not really my cup of tea. 

The Prestige Was Great – But Not My Favorite

Another Christopher Nolan film I had never seen before was The Prestige, and quite honestly, I think it’s probably my third favorite among all of them. 

The Prestige is an excellent film, helmed at the front by two amazing performances from both Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, and just the premise alone was enough to intrigue me – two rival stage magicians who are trying to perfect some sort of magic trick that would change the world as we know it. 

While The Prestige is a totally different film from Insomnia, I think it takes the psychological thriller aspect to a new level and really elevates it. And don’t even get me started on the cinematography – it was out of this world. 

Even so, the film is one of my favorites but not the best in my mind.

His Batman Trilogy Is One Of The Best 

When we talk about Batman and any iteration of the character that we have seen on screen, Nolan’s films are always in the conversation, and that’s for good reason – they’re good freaking films. The Nolan films are honestly some of the best Batman movies ever made, in my opinion.

From Batman Begins to The Dark Knight to The Dark Knight Rises, these three have cemented their legacy in the movie industry as mainstays, with brilliant performances in all three films – but of course, I have to single out Heath Ledger’s version of the Joker as one of the best. 

Beyond his impressive performance, there is so much to love about this franchise. Christian Bale is spectacular as Batman along with the rest of the incredible cast of characters. The visual effects are great. The story is out of this world. I love it. The Dark Knight Rises is definitely my number two among all of Nolan’s films. 

Even so, there’s one more that is number one – but we’re not there just yet.

Inception, Dunkirk, and Tenet Are Visual Masterpieces – But Storywise, They Lag

Okay, don’t get me wrong – I love visually dazzling films. I was eager to see Avatar: The Way of Water because I knew it was going to be absolutely beautiful on a big screen. My favorite film series of all time is the Harry Potter franchise, a movie series that is drenched in visual effects. 

Out of everyone who knows effects, Nolan knows how to make visual masterpieces and that is amazing to see. Inception, Tenet and Dunkirk are all beautiful examples of that. Heck, I remember seeing both Inception and Dunkirk in theaters (Tenet was during the pandemic so that was an at-home watch), and I was blown away. 

But the stories just lag for me. 

Before I re-watched these films, I would've had a hard time describing what they were about. The most easy one to understand was Dunkirk, since that was based on a real-life event, but the narrative moved around a lot. Tenet was almost too much information for my brain to handle that it made the movie harder to understand, and Inception is great, but the concepts – at least to me – were difficult to grasp even now watching it again. 

Out of the three of them, Inception is great, and would probably be number four because it feels like the easiest one to follow, but still – the visuals are what draw me in for that. One stands above the rest, though. 

However, Interstellar Is My Favorite, Overall

It’s just better. 

To be honest, the main reason I never watched this movie before was because when it first came out, I was in high school and taking a physics class at the time, and the last thing I wanted to do was watch a movie that was going to be centered around physics and science. So I just missed it for years. 

Now almost nine years later, I watched it. And I fell in love. 

Is the physics of the movie still a little hard to understand? For someone like me who was never the brightest bulb in science, yes, but it’s not nearly as complicated as some of Nolan’s other films, and for all the science that is included, it somehow flows very easily where it doesn’t feel like information overload. 

What makes it better is the visuals – the visuals of this film made me wish I saw it on a big screen. Granted, my partner bought an 85’’ television, so I have a pretty big screen at home, but I could only imagine what seeing this film would be like on a movie theater screen. There was so much thought and effort and design put into every one of these shots, I was absolutely floored. 

And the Interstellar cast in and of itself is just so full of talent. The story is heartfelt and inspiring and so much more. Nolan hasn’t made a film like this one since, that’s truly captured my heart and my soul in many ways. I could rewatch Interstellar again and again and not get bored. 

To me, it’s my favorite out of all of his films – and it’s time it got even more praise. 

I’m Not Sure If Oppenheimer Will Beat It

I am currently writing this piece on July 18th, 2023, and tonight, I am going to be seeing my Oppenheimer screening. 

This movie has been getting a lot of media attention recently, and I knew I was going to see it for months just based off of the incredible Oppenheimer cast, but I’m not sure it’ll beat Interstellar for me. While I do love a gritty, biographical movie about war that aims to teach me things about history, I don’t know if Oppenheimer is going to top Interstellar. 

I do think it’ll be one of my favorites. I adore these types of films and I really do think that Nolan doesn’t really miss on anything. Even with the movies I didn’t enjoy as much, they were still easily watchable. But we’ll just have to wait and see. 

What’s your favorite Christopher Nolan film? All I know is that I am prepared to have my heart hurt after watching Oppenheimer – before re-watching it all over again once I convince my dad to go see it in a theater instead of waiting for streaming. 

Whether he’s playing with time, pulling off massive action set pieces, or surprising audiences with a sleight of hand, Christopher Nolan has long had a unique sense of style that gives his movies a distinct look and feel.

As part of our partnership with AMC Theatres, where you can now purchase tickets to see Oppenheimer presented in IMAX, we’ve gone through the visionary director’s movies and picked out a scene from each that we think best represents his style, themes, and plot devices. Deciding on just one moment from each film was no easy task, so please enjoy.

Following - Following The Man In The Suit

Christopher Nolan made his feature film debut with the 1999 black-and-white neo-noir crime drama, Following, a movie about a struggling writer (Jeremy Theobald) who follows people around London as he tries to come up with material for a book. Though the movie lacks the flash and stunning visuals seen in the director’s later work, this 70-minute thriller features one of his best opening scenes: following the man in the suit (Alex Haw).

This sequence introduces several of the trademarks Nolan would use in subsequent movies, like the quick cutting between multiple scenes, expository voiceovers playing over the action, and layer of mystery that baits and hooks the audience.

Memento - The Polaroid In Reverse

In 2000, Christopher Nolan came out with Memento, a film starring Guy Pearce as a man with short-term memory loss and the inability to create new memories, leading to him tattooing himself and taking polaroids.

The scene that sticks out the most is the opening title sequence with the polaroid of a dead body being shown in reverse. Not only does it tell the audience that violence awaits, it also introduces the director’s trademark of tinkering with time, which would show up time and time again.

Insomnia - Sting Operation In The Fog

Christopher Nolan further developed his visual style in the 2002 psychological thriller, Insomnia, a disorienting film about LAPD detective Will Dormer (Al Pacino) as he travels to a remote fishing village in Alaska to assist with the investigation into the murder of a teenage girl who is believed to be the latest victim of an alleged serial killer (Robin Williams).

The entire movie has this feeling of being lost in confusion, and the scene that best represents this is the sting operation part way through the movie where Dormer attempts to lure the killer to the scene of the crime only for a wall of fog to make a mess of things. Not only is it visually stunning, it also creates this terrifying scene that messes with all your senses.

Batman Begins - The Tumbler Pursuit

Christopher Nolan has become one of the most creative directors when it comes to action set pieces over the years, and one of the best examples of this is the Tumbler chase sequence in Batman Begins.

After Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) is sprayed by Scarecrow’s (Cillian Murphy) fear toxin and goes into shock, Batman (Christian Bale) is in a race against time to save the woman he loves. And while this proves to be no easy task for the Dark Knight, considering all the police in between him and the Bat Cave, it leads to one of the most iconic action sequences of Nolan’s career, and 21st-century cinema.

The Prestige - The Reveal

Between his first and second Batman movies, Christopher Nolan released The Prestige, a movie about two rival Victorian era magicians who will stop at nothing to woo audiences and best the competition. In the final moments of the movie, both Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) reveal how they pulled off the “Transported Man” act in equally impressive yet unsettling ways.

We’ll avoid spoiling the ending for those who have yet to watch the movie, but the scene features one of the best peeks behind the curtain you’ll see in any of Nolan’s works.

The Dark Knight - Batman Racing To The Wrong Location

Coming up with the “most Christopher Nolan scenes” in The Dark Knight was harder than every other movie on this list simply because the director’s 2008 Batman movie is bursting at the seams with iconic moments like the opening bank robbery, the Hong Kong extraction, Jim Gordon’s funeral, etc., etc.

But the one that captures the essence of a Nolan film better than the rest is the sequence in which Batman races to save Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal), only to show up at the wrong location. It plays with action, time, and drama, while also leads to the creation of Two-Face after Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is burned in the explosion.

Inception - The Hallway Fight

Inception, Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending heist film about a thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) who breaks into people’s dreams to steal information remains one of the director’s best films, thanks in part to all those iconic sequences.

The scene that best represents Nolan’s visual creativity is the one in which Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) fights through a hallway in one layer of a dream as it is being subjected to the gravity of the first layer. It plays with time, cause and effect, and action, all staples of Nolan’s work.

The Dark Knight Rises - Destruction At Gotham City Stadium

The Dark Knight Rises is another movie that could have had multiple examples, but none are as epic and memorable as Bane’s (Tom Hardy) destruction of Gotham City Stadium at the start of his occupation of the city. 

The sheer size and spectacle of the exploding and collapsing football field during opening kickoff combined with the simultaneous destruction of all but one of the bridges and tunnels leading to Goham kicks off the second half of the 2012 movie in a startling way.

Interstellar - Venturing Into The Black Hole

Interstellar is a movie about science, human emotion, and determination to save the ones we love, no matter what it takes or how many years we spend accomplishing our goals. Christopher Nolan best illustrates this in the scene in which Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) slingshots himself into the Gargantua black hole so that Brand (Anne Hathaway) can reach the inhabitable Edmunds’ planet. 

The act of self-sacrifice, the stunning visuals of a black hole unlike anything anyone has seen, and the epic swelling of Hans Zimmer’s score create a dizzying and emotionally-charged sequence of events that lead to the biggest reveal of the movie.

Dunkirk - The Ending Sequence

One thing that Christopher Nolan has done over the years is end his movies as another chapter begins. He did it with The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar, and again in his 2017 World War II epic, Dunkirk.

This ending sequence shows the conclusion of all three major storylines and timelines while also leaving the audience guessing the next steps, both on the micro level with Tom Hardy’s stranded pilot and the macro with the continuation of the Second World War. It messes with our emotions and also leaves us wanting more, which is honestly the best way to end a movie.

Tenet - The Protagonist Fights Himself

There probably isn’t another Christopher Nolan movie that plays around with the concept of time more than Tenet, the director’s 2020 sci-fi action thriller starring John David Washington as a character simply known as The Protagonist. At one point in the movie, the future version of the character goes back to an earlier scene and is encountered by his past self, leading to an epic and creative showdown.

Admittedly, there are parts of the movie that feel like a puzzle that require additional viewings to figure out, but this scene is one of those all-time great Nolan moments that is just so much fun to revisit.

We can’t wait to see what Christopher Nolan has up his sleeve with Oppenheimer, but if it’s anything like previous efforts, it’s going to be one unforgettable experience. If you’re just as stoked for what’s to come, you’ll probably want to go ahead and purchase your tickets before Oppenheimer arrives in theaters on July 21st. 

Once in a while a new game or social media challenge will become a full viral craze. Wordle is definitely in that category, with countless users out there playing the word game daily (and sharing their results on social media). That popularity has resulted in a number of offshoot games, with the latest being a Worlde for movie lovers called Framed. And it’s just as addictive.

The Wordle fad has been strong for weeks now, resulting in a few spinoffs from other websites. There’s one for music lovers called Heardle, and now movie buffs are getting their own guessing game. Framed is set up similarly to its predecessors, and challenges your movie knowledge by being able to visually identify famous movies.

Rather than a video, those playing Framed will be shown one still from the daily movie choice. Players will then be challenged to guess the movie. With each failed answer comes a new still, with 6 tries in total allowed. It seems like said images start off more cryptic, before eventually showing main characters and famous actors that starred in it. The hints are easier as it goes along, which is why you can post your results to show your impressive knowledge as a cinephile. Just like Worlde, but for movie nerds.

I decided to give it a try myself today, as this is perhaps the best version of Wordle for me. The movie of choice was Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, and it definitely took me a few guesses to identify that Oscar nominated 2006 mystery movie. First I was shown a courtroom scene, which helped to establish the timeframe of the flick. Then there was a shot of a graveyard, which still wasn’t specific enough for me. But when Scarett Johansson and Christian Bale started appearing, I was eventually able to win the Framed for the day. Although I resisted the urge to Tweet my score.

Clearly there’s an open market for these types of guessing games, especially now that they’re being tailored for the players’ specific tastes. Movie buffs have their own, and I’m hoping to see #FilmTwitter lighting up with people’s scores. But the question is, how much more niche can we make a game like Framed? Can we get one just for horror movies, or comic book projects? The sky’s the limit, especially if Framed ends up with a fraction of the success seen by Wordle.

There are plenty of games out there for movie lovers, including the Cinephile card game and old classics like Scene It?. But Framed is done easily on your phone or computer, and can be refreshed once a day like Worldle. Who doesn’t want to see how well their movie knowledge stacks up against your friends and family? Although as a competitive person, this might also start a few friendly arguments over the dinner table.

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Whether it’s something like big-budget action spectacles like Godzilla vs. Kong and Marvel's Iron Man 3 or timeless romantic comedies like Starter for 10, the list of Rebecca Hall’s best movies is one that is rich and deep as just about anyone else in Hollywood today. She can make us laugh, she can make us cry, and she can make us feel something that we may have never felt before with her acting ability. But, before the British actress goes and does it again with her slate of 2021 new movie releases, let’s take a step back and look at the Rebecca Hall best movies list so far.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) travel to Barcelona for what will be an adventurous summer exploring the art, food, and culture the Spanish city has to offer. This trip quickly turns into something much more complicated upon meeting the talented and seductive painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), kicking off a summer romance neither saw coming.

Why it’s worth checking out: Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona — thanks in part to its brilliant cast — is at times as funny as anything else the director has released throughout his career and at other times a dramatic exploration of love, identity, and the battle between the head and the heart.

Stream Vicky Cristina Barcelona on Tubi.

Rent/Buy Vicky Cristina Barcelona on Amazon.

The Prestige (2006)

Two partners-turned-rivals, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), find themselves in the middle of a bitter feud caused by a magic trick in which one of the former friends has supposedly pulled off the impossible: teleportation.

Why it’s worth checking out: Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, if anything, is about how someone can lose touch with the world and people around them in the pursuit of greatness. This is best illustrated in Rebecca Hall’s performance as Sarah Borden, Alfred’s confused and emotionally traumatized wife who pays the ultimate price for her husband’s new trick.

Rent/Buy The Prestige on Amazon.

The Town (2010)

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) lives life one bank robbery at a time alongside his brother-in-arms, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), in the down-and-out Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, but his life becomes much more complicated when he forms a connection with bank teller Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) after taking her hostage.

Why it’s worth checking out: Directed by Ben Affleck, The Town is one of the best crime films to come out in the 21st Century thanks in part to its complex story, explosive heists, and a cast so believable you don’t see them as actors but the New Englanders they’re playing on screen.

Stream The Town on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy The Town on Amazon.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a broken man suffering from severe PTSD that brings on bouts of insomnia and horrific nightmares when he is able to rest. Iron Man’s life becomes all the more complicated when two ghosts from his past — Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) — come back for revenge with the fate of the world at stake.

Why it’s worth checking out: Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 isn’t everyone’s favorite MCU movie, but the follow-up to The Avengers does feature an emotionally-complex story based around the idea of cause and effect, especially when it comes to a hero’s less-than-heroic past.

Stream Iron Man 3 on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Iron Man 3 on Amazon.

Christine (2016)

Television reporter Christine Chubbuck’s (Rebecca Hall) life begins a tailspin when she is pulled off human interest stories to focus on crime news at a Florida station where “if it bleeds, it leads,” much to her detriment. What follows is a woman’s descent into darkness, one that leads to her committing suicide on live TV.

Why it’s worth checking out: Antonio Campos’ 2016 biographical drama Christine tells the traumatic story of the events that led to a reporter becoming the first person to commit suicide on a live television broadcast. Rebecca Hall’s portrayal of a person trying to find balance and meaning in life before ending it all is harrowing, yet sympathetic to Chubbuck’s position.

Stream Christine on Hulu.

Rent/Buy Christine on Amazon.

The Gift (2015)

Everything seems perfect for Simon Callem (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) after they move from Chicago to start a new life in Los Angeles, but all of that is forever changed when Gordon “Gordo” Moseley (Joel Edgerton) repeatedly shows up unannounced with various gifts. What starts out as a seemingly harmless relationship slowly unfolds into something much darker that could ruin everything the couple has built.

Why it’s worth checking out: Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is one of the most frightening psychological thrillers of the past few years and does a masterful job of steadily building tension and upping the ante as its complex and frightening narrative unfolds. Plus, The Gift ending is one of those open-ended conclusions that still has people debating.

Rent/Buy The Gift on Amazon.

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021)

Legendary monsters King Kong and Godzilla are pitted against one another in an epic battle for supremacy after being drawn to fight by a mysterious force. But, the two titans — and the humans monitoring them —soon realize that something with far greater consequences is going down in the shadows.

Why it’s worth checking out: Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong hits in all the right places. With a focus on the series of battles between the two titans and less of an emphasis on their human counterparts than previous titles in the Legendary MonsterVerse, the epic action flick finds the perfect balance. It also doesn’t hurt having Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Alexander Skarsgård serving as the bridge that brings the beasts together.

Stream Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max.

Buy Godzilla vs. Kong on Amazon.

Frost/Nixon (2008)

In 1977, Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) grants his first interview since resigning as the President of the United States just a few years earlier. On the other end of the series of 12 conversations is British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen), who may or may not be up to task of pressing the former commander-in-chief on his tumultuous past.

Why it’s worth checking out: Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon is a good enough movie on its own with its portrayal of Richard Nixon and the way it humanizes its subjects, but then there’s the superb acting on the part of Rebecca Hall, whose turn as David Frost’s love interest Caroline Cushing adds another dimension to this emotionally and politically charged movie.

Stream Frost/Nixon on Peacock.

Rent/Buy Frost/Nixon on Amazon.

The Awakening (2011)

Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), a writer and ghost hunter living in post-World War I England is invited to a boys boarding school to investigate hauntings that have been reported by one of the academy’s teachers, Robert Mallory (Dominic West).

Why it’s worth checking out: Directed by Nick Murphy, The Awakening touches on a number of different topics ranging from spirits haunting a preparatory academy and grief, to a country attempting to rebound from a devastating war and how people forced to face those problems learn to accept and move forward.

Stream The Awakening on Tubi.

Rent/Buy The Awakening on Amazon.

Starter For 10 (2006)

Working-class university student Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) finds himself in a rather precarious position when he falls in love with an intelligent old soul named Rebecca Epstein (Rebecca Hall), and bombshell Alice Harbinson (Alice Eve). Brian’s situation becomes even more complicated when he joins and finds success on the school’s quiz team.

Why it’s worth checking out: Tom Vaughn’s Starter for 10 has everything you would want from a great romantic comedy and then some. With a relatable lead in Brian, a great cast that also includes a young Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic Cooper, and James Corden, and a fulfilling story, there’s a little something for everyone here.

Stream Starter for 10 on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Starter for 10 on Amazon.

Even with so many great performances behind her, the future is still bright for Rebecca Hall as she continues to provide audiences with deep and rich portrayals of complex characters no matter the genre. That being said, don’t be surprised if Hall shows up in one or more of the 2022 movies with a lot of potential.

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Some people know Hugh Jackman from his iconic take on Wolverine in the X-Men movies. Others remember the multi-talented Australian actor for his dramatic work in modern-classics like The Prestige and Prisoners. And then there are those who can’t think about the Tony winner for anything besides The Greatest Showman. Whatever the case may be, a large portion of the movie-going population know and love any number of his noteworthy performances from the past 20 or so years. But still, the question remains: What are the best Hugh Jackman movies?

Truth be told, there are a ton of great Hugh Jackman movies; more good than bad, if we’re being completely honest here. Some of his biggest achievements on the screen happen to be some of the best movies on Netflix while others are best Amazon Prime movies a monthly subscription can buy. And in case you’re wondering what his best movies are, fear not because we’ve make a quick guide with his best achievements on the big screen (and maybe from the stage).

The Prestige (2006)

One of Christopher Nolan’s finest films yet, The Prestige follows two accomplished magicians — Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) — who find themselves trapped in a heated rivalry to one-up one another as they attempt to come to terms with a horrible stage accident in their own ways. Blinded by ambition and jealousy, the two former friends stop at nothing to one-up the competition, even if it means sacrificing their loved ones and their own humanity.

Rent/Buy The Prestige on Amazon.

Buy The Prestige on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Les Misérables (2012)

Tom Hooper’s stunning and intimately shot 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a prisoner of 19 years who makes a life — and name — for himself after being released from prison. While Valjean tries to forget his past and even becomes a beloved member of his community, the vengeful and despondent Javert (Russel Crowe) will have none of it and will stop at nothing to nab his reformed foe.

Stream Les Misérables on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Les Misérables on Amazon.

Buy Les Misérables on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Happy Feet (2006)

If you’ve ever watched the 2006 animated film Happy Feet and thought to yourself: Wow, this is anything but a silly kids movie and really has a bleak outlook on society as a whole like a Mad Max movie, there’s a good reason for it. Directed by George Miller, this at-times beautiful and others absolutely gutting tour de force follows the story of Mumble (Elijah Wood), a penguin cast aside by his colony (including his parents who are voiced by Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman), because he prefers to dance rather than sing, finding his own way in the process.

Stream Happy Feet on HBO Max.

Buy Happy Feet on Amazon.

Buy Happy Feet on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Swordfish (2001)

The 2001 techno-thriller Swordfish sees Hugh Jackman take up the role of Stanley Johnson, a recently paroled computer hacker who is given the opportunity to make $10 million if he can create a program that could potentially siphon $9.5 billion from unused government bonds. But nothing is ever quick, easy, or painless, as Stanley finds out through his dealings with the equally dangerous and charismatic Gabriel Shear (John Travolta).

Stream Swordfish on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Swordfish on Amazon.

Buy Swordfish on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The X-Men Movies (2000 - 2016)

There isn’t much we can say about the X-Men movies that hasn’t been said before. These movies helped usher in a new era of comic book movies, thanks in part to Hugh Jackman’s take on Logan/Wolverine.

Stream X-Men on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men on Amazon.

Buy X-Men on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X2 on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X2 on Amazon.

Buy X2 on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: The Last Stand on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: The Last Stand on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: The Last Stand on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men Origins: Wolverine on Amazon.

Buy X-Men Origins: Wolverine on DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Rent/Buy X-Men: First Class on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: First Class on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Rent/Buy The Wolverine on Amazon.

Buy The Wolverine on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: Days of Future Past on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: Days of Future Past on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: Days of Future Past on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Stream X-Men: Apocalypse on Disney+.

Rent/Buy X-Men: Apocalypse on Amazon.

Buy X-Men: Apocalypse on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Logan (2017)

After two decades and eight movies, Hugh Jackman hung up his boots, err claws, in James Mangold’s 2017 comic book masterpiece. A more intimate and emotional X-Men film than those that came before it, Logan picks up with a physically and emotionally broken Wolverine as he attempts to shy away from society with a deteriorating Professor X (Patrick Stewart), a plan that is upended when he is tasked with caring for a young mutant who is more like him than he’d care to admit.

Rent/Buy Logan on Amazon.

Buy Logan on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Prisoners (2013)

Denis Villeneuve’s 2013 psychological thriller Prisoners follows Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman), a man who goes off the deep end (rightfully so) when his six-year-old daughter and her friend go missing. When an investigation into the prime suspect (Paul Dano) comes up short, the determined father decides to take matters into his own hands, even if it means he won’t be the same man by the time he comes out of it.

Stream Prisoners on Hulu.

Rent/Buy Prisoners on Amazon.

Buy Prisoners on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Real Steel (2011)

The 2011 sci-fi sports drama Real Steel follows Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former prizefighter who now works as a fight promoter for what are essentially Rock ‘Em Sock Em Robots on steroids as he teams up with his young son to achieve the impossible: put together a winning robot fighter and make up for a life of bad decisions and heartache.

Stream Real Steel on Netflix.

Rent/Buy Real Steel on Amazon.

Buy Real Steel on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Hugh Jackman portrays the infamous P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman, welcoming audiences into the fantastical and extremely complicated life of one of the most notable names in the history of entertainment, no matter the cost.

Stream The Greatest Showman on Disney+.

Rent/Buy The Greatest Showman on Amazon.

Buy The Greatest Showman on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

The Fountain (2006)

Darren Aronofsky’s ambitious and confusing tale of a man doing everything in his power to save the woman he loves from dying is just as beautiful — if not more — than it is hard to follow. Over the course of The Fountain’s three intertwined narratives, three versions of the same character played by Hugh Jackman — a 16th Century conquistador, a present-day scientist, and a 26th Century astronaut — searches far and wide to preserve his wife, played by Rachel Weisz. If anything, stick around for the amazing score created by Clint Mansell, the Kronos Quartet, and Mogwai.

Stream The Fountain on Starz.

Rent/Buy The Fountain on Amazon.

Buy The Fountain on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Scoop (2006)

Woody Allen’s 2006 crime comedy Scoop tells the story of American journalism student Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) as she communicates with the spirit of a deceased journalist (Ian McShane) in her quest to obtain information about London’s Tarot Card Reader. But when the pursuit leads the ambitious writer to aristocrat Peter Lyman (Hugh Jackman), everything becomes much more complicated.

Rent/Buy Scoop on Amazon.

Buy Scoop on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Butter (2011)

The 2011 comedy Butter centers on one of the most heated of all competitions: Iowa’s annual butter-carving championship. When Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner) decides to follow in the footsteps of her retiring husband (Ty Burrell), she is willing to do anything to ensure a victory, even if it means calling in a favor from her ex-boyfriend, Boyd Bolton (Hugh Jackman) to make a mess of things.

Stream Butter on Amazon.

Rent/Buy Butter on Amazon.

Buy Butter on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Australia (2008)

Set on the eve of World War II, Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic romantic drama Australia follows the journey of Lady Sarah Ashely (Nicole Kidman) as she travels from Britain to Australia to look over a ranch she has recently inherited. Sarah soon finds herself in the middle of a great adventure alongside a local named Drover (Hugh Jackman) where they drive cattle hundred of miles before their story takes an unexpected turn.

Rent/Buy Australia on Amazon.

Buy Australia on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Eddie The Eagle (2016)

The 2016 biographical sports comedy Eddie the Eagle tells the story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton) as he travels to Germany to try his luck at competitive sky jumping. Not long after arriving in Germany, Eddie comes across Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former ski jumper who currently makes ends meet by plowing snow. The pair quickly strike up an unconventional relationship and try to make the impossible a reality at the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Stream Eddie the Eagle on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Eddie the Eagle on Amazon.

Buy Eddie the Eagle on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Kate And Leopold (2001)

Long before Hugh Jackman and James Mangold got together to tell the definitive Wolverine story, they teamed up for the 2001 romantic comedy Kate and Leopold. But this isn’t just your everyday rom-com as this one sees Leopold (Jackman), the Duke of Albany breaking through the fabric of time, ending up in 21st Century New York City where he meets and falls for the ever-independent Kate McKay (Meg Ryan).

Stream Kate and Leopold on Showtime.

Rent/Buy Kate and Leopold on Amazon.

Buy Kate and Leopold on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

Bonus: Oklahoma! (1999)

And then there is the 1999 film adaptation of the hit musical Oklahoma!, which sees Hugh Jackman return as Curly McLain, a role that made him a rising star in the world of theatre just one year prior. Jackman’s magical and charismatic portrayal of the classic stage character is truly something to behold, even if you aren’t a fan of stage-to-film adaptations.

Stream Oklahoma! on Broadway HD.

Rent/Buy Oklahoma! on Amazon.

Buy Oklahoma! on DVD/Blu-ray on Amazon.

This is just a small portion of all the great things Hugh Jackman has accomplished throughout his career. With more movies featuring Jackman coming up on the 2021 movies schedule, it’s safe to say this list will only grow from here.

For two decades, Christopher Nolan has carved out an impressive niche in Hollywood, garnering a loyal fanbase that’s willing to pretty much see anything he makes. Whenever he releases a movie, it becomes a huge cinematic event. While some of his earlier work, like Memento, Insomnia, and The Prestige leaned toward slower, quieter dramas, his latest work since Inception has involved loud soundtracks, fast-paced narratives, and tense storytelling. I think it’s high time he switched back to the former.

A “quiet” drama, of course, could take on many forms for the director. It could mean going back to basics, telling a simple yet profound story, and moving away from high-concept ideas like, you know, time inversion and entropy, and the high-stakes, adrenaline rush pace.

With Tenet, Christopher Nolan has doubled down on this trend, ratcheting up the action, the pace, and the sound. And, don’t get me wrong, I liked Tenet, but now that he’s reached a fever pitch in this style of storytelling, it feels like a good time to shift gears and do something totally different. Here’s 8 reasons why.

He’s Starting To Pigeonhole Himself

When he first broke onto the scene, Christopher Nolan was a fresh, visionary filmmaker with a keen ability to direct thoughtful, exciting new movies. However, since Inception, he’s been veering into a certain style of moviemaking and has been repeating many of the same tropes, like mind-bending concepts of time, fast-paced narratives and loud sound design.

On the one hand, I understand many of these hallmarks are his stock and trade. He’s earned his fanbase by working toward his strengths and he’s very good at what he does. But with Tenet, he might just be leaning too hard on these strengths and is in serious danger of parodying and pigeonholing himself.

That would be a sad waste of talent. Christopher Nolan is a versatile director. He’s made quieter pictures like The Prestige next to big, loud, action-packed movies like The Dark Knight. I'm fairly positive he can swap back and forth between two different styles of filmmaking. Now, more than ever, would be a great time to do it.

It Would Be An Unexpected Thing To Do

When a director sticks to certain genres and themes for a while, it’s expected that they’ll stay there. If news broke tomorrow that Christopher Nolan was making a new thriller about some element of space-time, it’s doubtful anyone would bat an eye. It's more likely they would yawn.

If Christopher Nolan wants to avoid having his audience check out, he needs to shake things up and do the unexpected. I can’t think of anything more realistically unexpected than taking on a low-budget, quiet drama (except maybe doing a comedy with Will Ferrell).

The fear, of course, is that if a filmmaker strays too far from their brand, it might turn off the built-in audience. It’s a legitimate concern, but I think Christopher Nolan has earned enough license to do pretty much whatever he wants right now (though that could wane if he does the same old thing). With that said, I think there’s a good chance his audience would be eager to see a quieter Christopher Nolan film again.

His Quiet Movies Are Some Of His Best

Like many Christopher Nolan fans, my love for his movies usually focused on the action-packed stuff, like The Dark Knight and Inception. But,over the years, I’ve almost come to appreciate his quiet films, like The Prestige, Insomnia and more.

These movies take their time to develop the characters, the plot and the mystery. They have their moments of tension, sure, but the tension doesn’t take center stage. They’re emotional, thoughtful and feel human and intimate; narrative pieces that Christopher Nolan has been abandoning more often lately for thrills, effects and camera work.

Christopher Nolan made Insomnia and The Prestige when his career was still growing. Now that he has twenty years of filmmaking under his belt, imagine what he could do with a slow, quiet drama today. I think with the right screenwriter, it would have the potential to be something special.

There’s A Precedent For Directors To Turn To Smaller Projects

Some of the best directors can tell all kinds of stories. They don’t allow one genre or technique to pigeonhole them. They’re able to go from directing a big, action-packed blockbuster to quickly turning to something slow and quiet.

Steven Spielberg, for instance, created an entire filmography around jumping back and forth between big blockbusters and smaller dramas. In the '80s, he went from directing Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom to directing A Color Purple. In the '90s, he simultaneously directed Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, two radically different movies.

Of course, not every director can do this; Michael Bay tried shifting gears with Pearl Harbor and that didn’t turn out so well. But Christopher Nolan isn’t Michael Bay. He’s proven he can make the shift from spectacle to subdued. So while it might feel somewhat unexpected to suddenly turn to a drama, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary in the grand scheme of things.

People Are Starting To Hate How Loud His Movies Are

One of the unique elements of Christopher Nolan’s latest movies is the sound design. Not only does he refuse to use much ADR, he loves to crank up his score and sound. Christopher Nolan's devotion to the theater experience, by and large, drives him to gear the sound to that end. This can produce surprising (and sometimes frustrating) results, making you feel immersed in the story and occasionally concerned you might be going deaf.

While his use of sound doesn’t bother me (though I’ll admit that it’s growing tiresome), many others are really starting to hate it. People don’t like the overbearing sound design and the fact that they can’t understand what the characters are saying.

So not only should he create a tonally quiet drama, he should also create a literally quiet drama. Imagine, for instance, if Christopher Nolan made a movie like A Quiet Place that hampers down on sound entirely. People would certainly be taken aback by it, but it might win back those fans that refuse to subject themselves to more eardrum abuse.

It Would Give Him A Chance To Focus On Characters And Actor Performances

With a quiet drama, Christopher Nolan wouldn’t be able to fall back on his typical filmmaker toolkit. He’d have to fundamentally rethink how he’d want to tell the story. Without using fast-paced storytelling techniques as a crutch, he’d need to turn his attention to character development and actor performances to churn out a compelling drama. No more hiding behind a thrilling theater experience; the characters and story would have to do the heavy lifting.

Notably, this is one of his biggest weaknesses as a storyteller. Some of the recent movies that he's written himself lack solid characters, with Dunkirk and Tenet being prime examples. We know barely anything about the characters in those movies. His focus seems more on the technical aspects of filmmaking rather than the story.

That doesn’t mean Christopher Nolan has never produced a drama with greater attention to character. Insomnia and The Prestige both do a fantastic job following flawed, nuanced characters, and have particularly strong performances from actors like Robin Williams, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman.

But it’s important to note that those films weren’t originally written by Christopher Nolan (Insomnia was written by Hilary Seitz and The Prestige was adapted from a novel by Christopher Priest). If he did another small picture, it might make sense to have another screenwriter tackle the script or team up with one that’s especially good at writing characters and drama.

His Status As A Power Director Could Give Dramas A Boost

Over the past decade, superhero movies have flooded the theaters and become some of the highest-grossing movies ever. Christopher Nolan had a part to play in this radical shift at the cinema. His grounded Batman trilogy totally redefined what superhero movies could be, paving the way for those types of cinematic tales to have a greater prominence at theaters.

As a result, dramas have taken a bit of a back seat to action and adventure films. Even within the last decade, the number of people going to see dramas has declined, while action and adventure movies have boomed.

I realize there’s some hubris here. I'm not saying Christopher Nolan is a wizard that can cure all ills. Still, historically, his movies have consistently been huge blockbusters; he’s one of the rare directors that draws an audience on name recognition. With that kind of status, there’s a good chance he could give greater attention to dramas and maybe give them a renewed boost at the theater.

It Might Get Him An Oscar

Christopher Nolan fans have long wanted the director to win an Academy Award. Though he’s been nominated five times, and some of his films have won awards for things like cinematography, he’s never snagged an Oscar himself.

It’s no secret that the Academy loves quiet, character dramas. If Christopher Nolan leaned in on this and proved he could provide a fresh take on this kind of story, it might turn some heads and put him back on the Academy’s radar. Nolan might have a real shot at finally winning an Academy Award.

There's no question Christopher Nolan is a talented filmmaker. He’s experimented with various genres and high-concept ideas, and found ways to make the theater experience incredible without using heavy CGI or 3D special effects. That’s quite a feat. Now that he’s done that, it feels like now is the time to shake things up and go after a new challenge that stretches him as a filmmaker. It’s time for him to make a quiet drama. Let us know if you agree in the comments below.

Christopher Nolan is a filmmaker that uses certain hallmarks in each of his films. We've already discussed his tendency to reuse ideas, theories, and even actors in his various productions, but one aspect of Nolan's work that is often overshadowed the way he uses extremely loud and violent action sequences to disrupt a normally calm or joyful scene. He's done this as far back as Batman Begins and even uses the trick in the opening scene of his latest offering Tenet.

Now, I'm not exactly sure why Christopher Nolan likes to return to this method time and time again (I'm not complaining because it works), but I would like to guess that he does it to rattle his audience and take them on a journey that is one of his masterful films. So, come with me as we take another journey into some of the most jarring scenes to take place in a Christopher Nolan movie. And who knows, maybe we'll learn something about why they're there in the first place. But heads up, there are some minor spoilers about the beginning of Tenet at the end of this piece, so you have been warned.

Batman Begins - The League Of Shadows Invades Bruce Wayne's Birthday Party

One thing that Christopher Nolan did in each of his three Batman movies is introduce (or reintroduce) the main villain during scenes where you would least expect it. This is especially true with Bruce Wayne's birthday party near the end of Batman Begins when Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) reveals himself to be real Ra's al Ghul. Throughout the first two-thirds of the movie, everyone (Batman and the audience) is under the impression that the leader of the League of Shadows is dead and gone, but this pivotal scene proves that not only is the group's leader alive, he's been pulling the strings all along.

The scene ends in an extremely violent manner with Bruce Wayne beaten down by the League of Shadows and Wayne Manor in rubble, which helps guide the audience into understanding what is really at stake and that the destruction of Gotham City is a reality and not some far-fetched scheme by the city's crime lords and psychotic doctors.

The Prestige - Julia Drowns On Stage

Christopher Nolan wouldn't waste any time inserting an extremely violent and impactful scene in his next film, 2006's The Prestige. The movie, which details the friendship turned bitter rivalry between Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), starts off with what appears to be a normal magic show with the two central characters playing the shills to John Cutter's (Michael Caine) water tank trick. Everything seems normal when Angier's wife, Julia McCullough (Piper Perabo) goes into the covered tank, but the routine trick quickly goes awry.

Before the audience is even settled into their seats, Christopher Nolan throws one of the most violent and shocking scenes in the entire movie and strikes a nerve as Robert Angier stands by helplessly as his wife dies in front of him. The magic trick gone wrong sets the tone for things to come later on and the rivalry that consumers both of the film's leads couldn't have benefited from it more.

The Dark Knight - The Joker Takes Over Harvey Dent's Fundraiser

Not to be outdone by himself, Christopher Nolan went back to his old bag of tricks in The Dark Knight in 2008 with the scene where The Joker (Heath Ledger) and his goons take over the Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) fundraising event at Bruce Wayne's Penthouse. The audience has a feeling that something is going to happen before Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and every party guest not named Bruce Wayne, but the gang's introduction is just as explosive and frightening.

At this point in the movie only the poor sucker who dressed up like Batman and Gambol (Michael Jai White) had felt the true strength of The Joker's punch, but in this scene, the upper elite of Gotham City were put face-to-face with someone who goes against everything they, and the rest of society, represent. And with the firing of a single shotgun blast, the world is introduced to The Joker and his intentions.

Inception - Disrupting Mr. Saito's Dinner

Okay, this next one is a little different because, well, it takes place in a dream within a dream in the opening minutes of Christopher Nolan's 2010 sci-fi head-scratcher Inception. After the movie's confusing opening of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) being brought into an elderly Mr. Saito's (Ken Watanabe) residence, the scene switches over to a conversation the two are having at what appears to an earlier time during a larger party. The first hint that something is up is seen when the building begins to shake and Cobb and Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) give each other an apprehensive look.

Everything is brought into full swing when the world begins caving in on itself and the once ornate Japanese palatial estate is brought to ruin. And then things get even crazier when Mal (Marion Cotillard), Cobb's deceased wife and the manifestation of his guilt, appears and tries to take over the scene. If Christopher Nolan was trying to confuse and disorient the audience here, I think it was a success.

The Dark Knight Rises - Bane Blows Up Gotham During The Rogues Football Game

Say what you will about The Dark Knight Rises, but the scene when Bane (Tom Hardy) destroys the field (and a large chunk of Gotham City) during the Gotham Rogues football game is and forever will be one of the most intense and shocking scenes in any Batman movie (even if it was featured heavily in all of the trailers). And what an introduction at that!

Leading up to the scene, no one besides Batman, Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman), and a few others knew or believed in Bane, but after this, everyone in the city of Gotham and around the world knew what Gothamnites were up against. 

Not only is the field taken out (and the poor Mayor of Gotham), but all but one of the bridges, tunnels, and other means of escaping the locked down island are cut off, leaving the residents trapped with a madman and a nuclear device. And while the story gets muddied in the second half of The Dark Knight Rises, the football game will always be a reminder of how Christopher Nolan knows how to ruin a perfectly good day with a lot of style.

Interstellar - Dust Storm At The Baseball Game

Christopher Nolan did something similar, but to a lesser extent, in 2014's Interstellar when he disrupted a baseball game with a massive dust storm. And while it's not as explosive, or really all action-packed, but it does accomplish two things — first, it disrupts the normal flow of a perfectly fine weekend afternoon, and second, it pushes Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his daughter Murphy Cooper (Mackenzie Foy) back home where the truth behind Murph's "ghost" is planted in their brains.

Now that we have that little breather out of the way, let's get to what we've been waiting for — That insane opening sequence in Tenet. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you might want to hold off on the rest of this article as there are minor spoilers.

Tenet - The Opening Scene At A Kiev Opera House

Christopher Nolan didn't waste any time getting the ball rolling in Tenet. Like with The Prestige, Nolan's 2020 spy thriller starts with a large crowd finding their seats, only this time it's in a Kiev opera house. Just before the band can tune their instruments and sync up with one another, a group of masked assailants burst in with guns drawn, sending us in the audience down a loud, explosive, and extremely confusing journey. With frantic music, screams, and concussive shots from semi-automatic rifles and explosive charges, it's hard to make sense of what is going on, and I think that's what Nolan is trying to do.

If we know what's happening and what's coming down the road, we will be able to see the small clues he left behind (don't worry, still not really spoiling anything major). Instead, we're distracted trying to figure out who's the hero, what they are trying to prevent, and who's behind the attack. Sometimes, a filmmaker needs to treat his audience like a group of hostages a part of the action, and Nolan does just that.

What did you think about the opening of Tenet, the film's confusing final act, or any other action-packed scenes from Christopher Nolan's collection of movies? Make sure to sound off in the comments below.

For the past two decades, Christopher Nolan has been delivering films that have been widely praised by both audiences and critics alike. To date, all of the Dark Knight director’s movies have been warmly received and have gotten a high ratings from online sources. With that said, it looks like audiences aren’t digging Tenet as much as his other films, as it just earned Nolan his lowest CinemaScore since The Prestige.

As of right now, Tenet has a B rating on CinemaScore. While that’s not anything to be ashamed of, for Christopher Nolan, it matches up with Insomnia and The Prestige as one of his lowest-ranked movies. Unsurprisingly, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises rank among the highest, with both having A ratings.

Meanwhile, on Rotten Tomatoes, Tenet is currently sitting about even among critics and audience members with 74% and 79% scores, respectively. So most viewers seem to be in agreement regarding how they feel about the movie.

Of course, CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes aren’t an exact science and aren't always a firm representation of viewers' feelings. So what are critics saying about Tenet? Well, criticism of the film seems to vary, with some highly praising it while others come down on it a bit more.

CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell gave it a 10/10 in his review, calling it “a hold-on-by-your-fingernails thrill ride with subtle touches of wit, romance, suspense, tragedy, determination and cinema-driven awe woven throughout it.” However, other reviews have criticized its weak characters and heavy exposition.

Aside from CinemaScore rankings, Tenet is looking to ignite the box office, which is understandable considering how much it cost to make. The box office, of course, is just revving back up after being shut down for months due to current events, and Tenet is one of the first movies to premiere with theaters back open. While there had been some concern that people might not go back to theaters yet, early international box office returns have been pretty impressive. So far, the film has only had a modest effect on the domestic box office, though.

Tenet was originally scheduled to release on July 17th, but Warner Bros. delayed it and then made the unprecedented move to release it internationally before having it open in the US.

Christopher Nolan’s films always seem to be highly-anticipated but, with Tenet, there was a heightened expectation that it might bring something new and fresh to the spy genre. And depending on where you’re standing, that might be an understatement.

With the wait is over and Tenet now in theaters, the next true test will be if it can succeed at the box office in the US. Be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest.

Christopher Nolan is one of the 21st century's most inspiring, groundbreaking and innovative filmmakers. Every movie he’s directed has been a critical success, a box office success or both. Usually, it’s both. Starting with Following in 1999, he’s been putting out hits for twenty years, and in that time, I’ve been able to pick out some trends along the way.

Most directors reuse techniques and trademarks they’re comfortable with. However, sometimes, a director reuses something so much it becomes predictable, bland and distracts from the overall work. Here are seven things Christopher Nolan likes to reuse in his movies.

Nonlinear Storytelling

By now, nonlinear storytelling is one of Christopher Nolan’s core trademarks. This technique tells a story by breaking up the timeline, rather than telling the story sequentially along a timeline. It’s by no means a new technique and has been used for a long time in a variety of media, but nevertheless, Christopher Nolan likes to use it... a lot. He started using nonlinear storytelling in Following, his first feature film about a writer that follows people for material and inspiration. However, it’s in Memento that he took the technique to new, mind-bending extremes. This movie, and its use of nonlinear storytelling, is arguably what established him as a visionary filmmaker.

Rather than call it a day and put nonlinear storytelling away, Christopher Nolan leaned into the storytelling formula more. From Batman Begins to Dunkirk, nonlinear storytelling is used in one way, shape or form. Of his movies, Inception is the closest he comes to returning to the confusing, cerebral extremes of Memento.

While his consistent use of this technique has widely played to his strengths as a storyteller, recently some movie critics have called him out for using it too much, specifically with his latest movie, Dunkirk. One critic wrote of Dunkirk:

It’s hard to say if Christopher Nolan will use nonlinear storytelling in Tenet. Still, from the looks of the trailer and talk of “inversion” and time travel, I suspect he will.

Michael Caine

Since playing the role of Alfred Pennyworth in Batman Begins, Sir Michael Caine has appeared in every Christopher Nolan movie. He’s become something of a lucky charm for Nolan. That’s not to say he puts him in large roles. Oftentimes Caine will appear only for a few small scenes. In Dunkirk, Michael Caine only came on for a sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, where his voice is heard over Tom Hardy’s radio. Christopher Nolan even admitted at the time that Caine had to be in the movie in some form.

In Tenet, Michael Caine got more than a voice-over cameo. According to Caine, he did one day’s work for one scene with John David Washington, which is likely the same scene we see in the trailer. Honestly, there’s little reason Christopher Nolan shouldn’t keep reusing Caine in his movies. He’s an extraordinary, two-time Academy Award winning actor, after all. At the same time, unless he plans to use him in a large, meaningful role, perhaps he’s become more of a distraction than anything else?

Trains

Alright, hear me out on this one. No, Christopher Nolan doesn't use trains in every movie, but I think his use of them is more significant than it looks. The first example of this was in Batman Begins. If you recall, Thomas Wayne builds a train in the city as means of cheap transportation. Ra’s Al Ghul later tries to use this train against Gotham by pumping Scarecrow’s poisonous gas into the city. Of course, Batman allows the crashing train to kill Ra’s Al Ghul instead.

Near the beginning of The Prestige, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) rides a train to Colorado Springs to visit Nikola Tesla, hopeful that the destination will solve some of his problems. He wants Tesla to build him a machine for his next magic trick. But it’s really in Inception where trains become an important motif. While Cob and Mal are in Limbo, they lay their heads down on the train tracks while Cob says, “You're waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope the train will take you, but you can't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter. Now, tell me why?”

The train kills them in the dream and brings them back to reality. But Mal can’t accept that it actually is reality and jumps out of a window. Later, while Cob and his crew are burrowing into the recesses of Robert Fischer’s mind, the same train comes down a city road, smashing through cars. What Cob says about the train is more important than the train itself. The train is a symbol of linear time, going from one point to another. Most people see this as an assurance that they know the train will take them from point A to point B, but from what Cob says, there is no real assurance of this.

Christopher Nolan uses the train to signify what we hope for in the future along a timeline. They’re a vehicle for where we want to go and what we want to do. For Thomas Wayne, that meant helping the poor. For Ra’s Al Ghul, that meant destroying Gotham and starting over. For Bruce Wayne, well, that meant destroying the train entirely and killing Ra’s Al Ghul in the process. Christopher Nolan seems to conclude we don’t really know what will happen on the train ride, and that it doesn’t matter in the end anyway.

All of this brings us to Tenet. I couldn’t help but notice the train scene in the Tenet trailer, which I find humorously suspect since the movie deals with the reverse flow of time. Will these trains play a large role in the story? There’s no real way of knowing until we see the movie, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

Time Relativity

Similar to reusing nonlinear storytelling as a technique, Christopher Nolan loves exploring the concept of time, specifically in Memento, Inception, Interstellar and Dunkirk. In Memento, Leonard has no real concept of time because of his memory loss. Without the ability to make memories, he’s stuck in a loop, constantly reliving the same tragedy over and over again. Inception is a sort of kindred spirit to this idea, except it’s not about memory this time, but dreams and reality. Like Joseph-Gordon Levitt’s character says,”Five minutes in the real world gives you an hour in the dream.” This long duration of time, however, also warps the character’s sense of reality, confusing them from what is real and what is a dream.

Interstellar plays with time relativity even more, using some real science theory to back it up, no less. However, in contrast to Inception, for Matthew McConaughey’s character Cooper, time becomes a precious commodity. One hour on the first planet he visits equals seven years back on Earth. He watches emotionally as his kids become adults while he stays the same.

Watch the first trailer for Dunkirk, and you’ll hear time ticking away. With this movie, it’s less about time dilation and more about immediacy. Time is closing in on our heroes as they fight for survival, each hero at land, sea and air experiencing time in different ways.

With Tenet, Christopher Nolan is back to his old ways of twisting and manipulating time to confuse the audience, not to mention the actors themselves. But, this time around, the story is about the reverse flow of time.

Paradoxes

I think it’s safe to say most audiences hate paradoxes. Typically, we want things to logically make sense and to resolve in an understandable way. If something in a movie doesn’t resolve itself neatly, the usual complaint is that there’s a “plot hole.” But a paradox, by definition, can’t be resolved, and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. Inception and Interstellar are the two most obvious examples of using paradoxes. In Inception, Christopher Nolan even gives the audience a blatant heads up when Arthur and Ariadne walk on the penrose stairs, aka. the infinite staircase. He’s practically telling everyone, “Guys, the ending of this movie is going to mess with your head.”

But it’s Interstellar where the time loop paradox comes on hot and heavy. If you’ll recall, the messages Cooper tries to give his daughter, Murph, are coming from the bookshelves. Murph uses this information from the future to save the world and eventually reunite with her father out in space. It’s a prime example of the causal loop paradox. If you didn’t catch it, Tenet handed us a paradox at the end of the trailer when John David Washington’s character says, “This reversing the flow of time, doesn’t us being here now, mean it never happened?” You better believe Tenet’s paradoxes are going to give people headaches.

Epistemology

Epistemology means the study of knowledge. It typically asks the questions, “What do we know? How do we know?” These questions play a central role in many of Christopher Nolan's movies, starting with, you guessed it, Memento. And that only makes sense since the subject matter of memory loss lends itself to the topic. Memento asks the question, “How do we know our memories are true?” With Leonard’s impaired memory, questions naturally arise about how he can know something is true. Almost every character questions him about the reliability of his memories and what he can really know for sure. By the end, we learn that Leonard’s present truth is lies he wrote down on his Polaroids.

The Prestige asks the question, “How do we know what we see is true?” In this movie, two magicians, played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman, bend and twist the truth in front of an audience for entertainment. People want to be deceived for fun. Christopher Nolan reveals this with the line by Cutter, played by Michael Caine, “Now you're looking for the secret. But you won't find it because of course, you're not really looking. You don't really want to work it out. You want to be fooled.”

But next to Memento, the Christopher Nolan movie that plays even heavier with these themes is Inception, which asks the question, “How do we know the real world from the dream world?” In the story, to help determine the dream world from the real world, Cob and his dream thieves use totems. At one point in the story, Cob and Mal go so deep in the dream world that they can no longer tell the difference until Cob brings them back out by planting an idea in Mal’s mind with inception. But, while in the real world, she still thinks she’s in a dream.

These threads of knowledge and truth stay fairly persistent in his work. And Christopher Nolan’s usual answer is that people don’t really want the truth; they want their truth, and who are you to tell them otherwise? Along with the paradox I mentioned before, Tenet is already laying the groundwork for more philosophical questions, like “How do we know something actually happened at all?”

Christopher Nolan reusing all of this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Most directors reuse the stuff that made them successful. Sometimes these tried-and-true techniques should be reused. Tenet, though, already feels a little too familiar just after watching the trailer, like he’s getting repackaging old concepts. The danger for Nolan here is reusing so much that it becomes a faint echo rather than a powerful noise; it becomes eye roll-inducing rather than a gleaming inspiration. As a fan of Christopher Nolan, I’d rather his movies be the latter.

Of course, this isn't a full list. There's probably stuff I didn't mention. What are things you think Christopher Nolan reuses in his movies? Let us know in the comments!

We’re currently in the longest wait in between David Fincher movies in the filmmaker’s prestigious career. How’s that for some excellent suspense? When Gone Girl hit theaters back in 2014, the chilling thriller based on Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel (and adapted from her own screenplay) chilled our bones to their very cores. The Oscar-nominated thriller pulled out a career-defining performance from Rosamund Pike as the mysteriously disappeared wife to Ben Affleck’s Nick Dunne and featured memorable appearances from Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry and Carrie Coon.

At least fans have had the likes of Netflix’s Mindhunter to mull us over while we wait for David Fincher’s next movie Mank coming later this year – which is actually a biographical drama about the making of Citizen Kane starring Gary Oldman, Lily Collins and Amanda Seyfried by the way . But, if you’re itching for more films with a likeness to Gone Girl, there are plenty of masterful thrills to stream across a ton of your favorite platforms. I think you’ll enjoy checking out these titles if you’ve tired out Gone Girl rewatches:

Dark Places - Netflix

What It’s About: Charlize Theron stars as Libby Day, a woman haunted by the tragedy of her parents being murdered when she was just eight years old. For almost 30 years she has been convinced that her brother (Corey Stoll) has been at fault as he continues to serve his prison sentence until Nicholas Hoult’s underground detective and his “True Crime” club challenges what really happened that night.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: 2015’s Dark Places is the perfect next step from Gone Girl because it’s also based on a book by Gillian Flynn therefore giving the plot just as much richness as David Fincher’s even if the filmmaker is not behind the camera.

Stream it on Netflix here.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - STARZ

What It’s About: This psychological slow burn thrill ride centers on Daniel Craig’s journalist Mikael Blomkvist who is investigating the disappearance of a woman who has been missing for 40 years. He decides to pair up with Rooney Mara’s clever computer hacker Lisbeth Salander to uncover the person behind the mystery.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is another film directed by David Fincher – in fact it’s the movie he made just before Gone Girl. The two movies undoubtedly have a likeness to each other especially since they’re both Fincher’s visions of popular bestselling crime thriller novels.

Stream it on STARZ here.

The Prestige - Cinemax

What It’s About: The Prestige centers on two competing magicians played by Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman back in the 19th century. It’s a gritty and mysterious story about how their rivalry to pull off the perfect magic trick for their audiences transforms into each of them crossing the line in this intense psychological thriller also starring Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie Michael Caine, Piper Perabo and Rebecca Hall.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: Christopher Nolan is well-known for an expertly executed twist, but not enough for 2006’s The Prestige. The movie pulls off a clever and shocking twist that will remind you of the Gone Girl experience.

Stream it on Cinemax here.

A Simple Favor - Amazon Prime, Hulu

What It’s About: A Simple Favor is Paul Feig’s dip into crime thrillers with a splash of comedy shaken in. It follows Anna Kendrick’s blogger mommy Stephanie Smothers, who forms an unlikely friendship with Blake Lively’s secretive Emily Nelson. Emily asks Stephanie if she can watch her young son and then disappears without warning even to her husband (Henry Golding).

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: The 2018 thriller is a twisty fun take on the elements found in Gone Girl that has Anna Kendrick add her quirkiness alongside Blake Lively’s sultriness. It has an engaging story you won’t see coming either.

Stream it on Amazon Prime or Hulu.

Gone Baby Gone - STARZ

What It’s About: Ben Affleck’s directorial debut is 2007’s Gone Baby Gone starring his brother Casey Affleck along with Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris and Amy Ryan. The movie takes place in Boston (because of course) and centers on two detectives investigating the disappearance of a child. It goes on an exciting and suspenseful turn when Affleck’s character goes rogue to solve the case.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: Sure there’s “gone” in the title and Ben Affleck is involved in both Gone Baby Gone and Gone Girl but that’s not the only reason it’s a great pick. The film shows, perhaps, why Affleck signed on to Gone Girl – he’s clearly into the genre and watching his first film is an impressive addition to crime dramas.

Stream it on STARZ here.

Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile - Netflix

What It’s About: Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile is about the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy through the lens of his longtime girlfriend Liz Kendall who was in a relationship with him for years without the awareness of his deadly crimes. Zac Efron plays the “charming” killer how many women described him to be and Lily Collins is Liz.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: This Netflix release will appease fans of Gone Girl because it’s scarier in some ways – it’s true. True crime is something that David Fincher was trying to portray in his 2014 movie and Extremely Wicked Shockingly Evil And Vile uses actual events to twist the genre in new ways.

Stream it on Netflix here.

Destroyer - Hulu

What It’s About: Destroyer is a 2018 movie that fell under the radar for many of us. The crime drama directed by The Invitation director Karyn Kusama is an intense film that follows an unrecognizable Nicole Kidman as a police detective with a tale of vengeance. LAPD detective Erin Bell goes after the gang, years after investigating them undercover to tragic results. Kidman earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role in the movie also featuring Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell and Tatiana Maslany.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: Chilling storyline? Check. Badass female lead. Check. Elements of crime and investigation? Check, check and check. Destroyer is a great alternative to those looking for something like Gone Girl.

Stream it on Hulu here.

Prisoners - HBO

What It’s About: Denis Villeneuve’s first American film that would later propel him into other projects like Arrival, Blade Runner 2049 and the upcoming adaptation of Dune is 2013’s Prisoners. It’s another must-see crime drama, but this time it centers on Hugh Jackman’s Keller Dover when his daughter and her friend goes missing and he takes it into his own hands as Jake Gyllenhaal’s Detective Loki also pursues leads such as Paul Dano’s Alex Jones.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: Although David Fincher makes different decisions, Denis Villenueve is a matched filmmaker with an inspired style to his work and Prisoners is a fascinating and brutal approach to the genre.

Stream it on HBO here.

Widows - Cinemax

What It’s About: Steve McQueen’s Widows is a gritty take on an ‘80s television series of the same name. It’s about the wives of criminals who die during their last job and they are left to pick up the pieces. The “widows” are made up of Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki and Cynthia Erivo and they are suddenly haunted by Brian Tyree Henry and Daniel Kaluuya’s characters who have come to collect. The women decide to stage criminal activity of their own to pay up.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: This is another instance of an incredible filmmaker moving to crime drama to amazing results. Steve McQueen made this right after 12 Years A Slave won best picture and Gone Girl novelist/screenwriter Gillian Flynn co-wrote Widows with McQueen.

Stream it on Cinemax here.

Fight Club - HBO

What It’s About: First rule of Fight Club is no one talks about it, so I’m technically obligated not to tell you about it but I’ll make an exception here. Brad Pitt is in his prime in his absolute classic role as Tyler with Edward Norton who form an underground fist fight club together until it evolves into a much bigger monster and grows out of control.

Why Gone Girl Fans Will Like It: If you somehow came across Gone Girl before Fight Club, it’s David Fincher’s second movie and his most famous to date. It’s always fun to look back at the film that kind of started it all for him and this is it.

Stream it on HBO here.

And as a small bonus, check out the six-episode mini documentary series The Murder of Laci Peterson available on Hulu here. Since it came out back in 2017, viewers have noticed quite a few comparisons between the cases leading some to believe it’s the source of inspiration for the original novel (it’s not though). Otherwise happy streaming! Enjoy this thrilling selection of movies you’ll enjoy if you’re a fan of Gone Girl.

Christopher Nolan has easily cemented himself as one of cinema’s most prolific filmmakers of the 21st century. He’s thrilled audiences with The Dark Knight Trilogy and Insomnia, and he’s more than tested moviegoers’ psyches with The Prestige and Inception. With such a complex body of work, you can imagine that Nolan’s features aren’t always the easiest to cut. Yet longtime Nolan editor Lee Smith appears to have found a way to control the chaos.

Lee Smith recently caught up with IndieWire and admitted that Nolan’s films can present challenges in the cutting room. Nevertheless, he believes his ultimate goal as an editor is to preserve Christopher Nolan’s vision while still keeping the audience in the loop:

Smith says his editing process becomes fine-tuned through the test screening process, but no edit is ever made to appease viewers’ sense of clarity if it takes away from Nolan’s original vision:

Christopher Nolan typically likes to balance a number of spinning plates when it comes to making movies. With each film, he seeks to tell a unique and complex tale that includes plenty of underlying themes at its core. On top of this, films like The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk also include a level a spectacle that must been exciting but simultaneously tame.

It’s for these reasons and more that Nolan’s films are truly made to be seen on the big screen. The filmmaker himself has been a major advocate for the theatergoing experience for years. Most recently, he made a plea to Congress to provide support to movie theaters in the wake of the crippling blows dealt to theater chains by the coronavirus pandemic.

If Lee Smith’s work on Christopher Nolan’s films – including his Oscar-winning editing on Dunkirk – are any indication, it would seem that he has a solid grasp of Nolan’s brand of storytelling. There still, however, may be some room for him to grow, as Nolan continues to evolve as a filmmaker. Nolan’s latest feature will be the John David Washington and Robert Pattinson-led thriller Tenet, which is still slated to open on July 17.

Andy Serkis is one of the few actors out there that could literally show up in anything and we wouldn’t be surprised. Since becoming a worldwide sensation as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, Serkis has appeared in dozens of films and other projects where sometimes he steps out of his motion-capture suit and shows the world his real face.

Over the years, the talented actor, writer, director, and motion-capture artist has thrilled audiences around the globe by popping up in some of the most random movies. I mean, looking at his filmography, you see Serkis in blockbusters like Black Panther and then small features like 24 Hour Party People. And that’s not even mentioning his stellar work in most recent Planet Of The Apes trilogy or Star Wars. Seriously, the guy is everywhere.

All of this got me thinking - what are the 10 best Andy Serkis movies? After going through his extensive list of roles - remembering the ones I’d forgotten and realizing that he was in certain movies - I think I’ve put together a great, varied list of Andy Serkis performances. Let’s take a look, shall we?

10. Long Shot (2019)

To be completely honest, I didn’t know that was Andy Serkis under all the makeup in his portrayal of Parker Wembley, a wealthy media mogul who attempts to blackmail U.S. Secretary of State Charlotte Filed (Charlize Theron) with a video of her secret boyfriend/speech writer Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen), but yeah that’s him.

The premise of the film is pretty far-fetched, and Serkis is a little bit over the top in all of his scenes, but he makes the most of what he is given and puts on a stellar performance that is only made better by his dedication to losing himself in his characters. Although Long Shot probably won’t be remembered as the most iconic Serkis role, it’s definitely one worth checking out.

9. 13 Going On 30 (2004)

You might not remember, but Andy Serkis is also in the 2004 fantasy romantic comedy 13 Going On 30, starring Jennifer Garner as Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old girl who wishes to be an adult. Serkis portrays Richard Kneeland, Jenna’s boss at Poise magazine after she is transferred into a 30-year-old. The big moment for Serkis comes about halfway through the film when Jenna is trying to save a nearly-dead Poise party by getting everyone to dance to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” At first, Kneeland stands back and watches in a state of defeat, but as more and more people join in, his mood shifts and we see him jump into the lead spot in the dance routine and take over the show.

This was Serkis’ first film after the release of the third and final The Lord Of The Rings movie, and it was a departure from his menacing take on Gollum in that series, but you still see some of the mania that lies behind his eyes in practically every scene where he is featured.

8. The Adventures Of Tintin (2011)

By the time Andy Serkis was cast as Captain Archibald Haddock in Steven Spielberg’s 2011 computer-animated action-adventure film The Adventures Of Tintin, he has already made a name for himself for his motion-capture work in a number of executive producer Peter Jackson’s films (more on those in a bit). Throughout the film about Tintin (Jamie Bell) trying to find the secret of the lost ship the Unicorn, Serkis provides a great deal of comedy and tragedy as the drunken sea captain who doesn’t remember much of his past.

As his adventure plays out alongside Tintin and Tintin’s dog, Snowy, Haddock begins to learn more about his past and his infamous ancestor Sir Francis Haddock who sank the Unicorn to protect the treasure from pirates. In addition to exploring Haddock’s family’s past, the once drunken sea captain learns more about himself and pulls himself out of haze he’d been living in before coming across Tintin. It’s in Serkis’ performance that we see the humanity of the character brought out.

7. 24 Hour Party People (2002)

Between the first two The Lord Of The Ring movies (I promise we’re going to get there ), Serkis took on a different type of role than that as Gollum, though still quite strange and unhinged. The role I’m talking about is that of real-life Martin Hannett in the 2002 biopic 24 Hour Party People about the Manchester music community between 1976 and 1992. The film primarily follows the life of Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) head of Factory Records as he covers bands like Joy Division and New Order.

Hannett’s character comes in as the producer who is tasked with recording Joy Division during the “Unknown Pleasures” and “Closer” sessions. Those recording sessions give us some pretty explosive outburst from Serkis, including the “faster, but slower” bit. And not unlike his motion-capture performances in other movies, Serkis is covered in a mask of bushy hair and tinted glasses in 24 Hour Party People, but you can still see his distinctive menacing smile throughout.

6. King Kong (2005)

Following his The Lord Of The Rings trilogy, acclaimed director Peter Jackson turned to one of the first Hollywood monster movies and gave it the facelift of all facelifts for the 2005 retelling of King Kong. The film was essentially the same as the 1933 original, but this time it had a massive, 25-foot computer-generated monster that was brought to life by none other than Andy Serkis.

At the time, there really wasn’t anyone else who could do a better job than Serkis in this regard, especially after he killed it over the course of three movies as Gollum. In a 2005 Variety piece on the making of the film, it was revealed that Serkis would sit through two hours of makeup every day of shooting, where they would attach 135 markers to the actor’s face in order to capture all of his facial expressions. No wonder Kong, who is fully animated, had so much emotion throughout the film.

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Say what you will about Star Wars: The Last Jedi, but Andy Serkis absolutely killed it as Supreme Leader Snoke. There’s no getting around the fact that Serkis gave us one of his strongest and most menacing characters in Snoke in the first two installments of the Star Wars “sequel trilogy.”

We saw a little bit of Snoke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, while his performance was limited to a massive hologram, but we saw the Supreme Leader in all his glory when Rian Johnson gave us one of the most polarizing films in recent history. The entire “throne room” scene sticks out especially. There are times throughout Snoke’s monologue (right before he’s cut in half) where you forget that you’re watching a digitized character and that Snoke is nothing more than a massive computer file brought to life. Serkis is that captivating in the role. No wonder Serkis wishes the character survived the film.

4. Black Panther (2018)

Over the course of his career, Andy Serkis has been a major player in The Lord Of The Rings, Star Wars, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which so happen to be three of the most successful franchises in all of box office history. Serkis first entered the MCU in the 2015 crossover film Avengers: Age Of Ultron where he appeared as the South African black-market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue, but it wasn’t until the 2018 blockbuster giant Black Panther that he was given a lot of time to shine.

Featured heavily in the first half of the Film, Klaus is the character that serves as a bridge between Wakanda and the outside world as he helps Eric “Killmonger” Stevens enter the hidden civilization to take the crown from his cousin, T’Challa. Before his character is killed off, Serkis gives much more of the character that introduced three years earlier, this time with an explosive arm. In addition to his physical prowess, Serkis brings a lot of humor and unhinged energy to the smuggler and gangster that really helped set up just how evil Killmonger would end up being later on in the film.

3. The Prestige (2006)

Christopher Nolan’s 2006 The Prestige is another one of those movies that you forget Andy Serkis was in until you watch it again. I am not trying to take away from Serkis’ performance as Nikila Tesla’s assistant, Mr. Alley, but his small role is often overshadowed by those of Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier and Christian Bale as Alfred Borden.

We don’t see much of Mr. Alley throughout the film, though his arrival comes at a major point in the story where Angier wishes to meet with Tesla (David Bowie) to build an invention that would give his show the upper hand over his rival Borden. In order for Angier to get to Tesla, he has to go through Alley, which is something that Serkis took into consideration when bringing the character to life. In an interview with indieLONDON, Serkis described his character as being the combination of a gatekeeper and a conman, and that by combining those two elements he crafted a fully-realized character.

2. Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes (2014)

Andy Serkis will be teaming up with Matt Reeves in The Batman where he will play Bruce Wayne’s longtime caregiver and confidant Alfred Pennyworth when the film hits theaters in 2021, but this won’t be the first or second time the two have worked together. That honor goes to the 2014 summer blockbuster Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, where Serkis shined as Caesar, the leader of the tribe of evolved apes.

The film picks up 10 years after the events of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and throws the audience into a world that has been devastated by the Simian Flu pandemic. Humanity is fractured and left to rot in the remnants of a former society while the evolved apes begin to take more and more ground. The story is highlighted by Serkis’ masterful performance that really brings the character of Caesar to life better than anyone else could even dream of doing. If it weren’t for a certain character in a fantasy trilogy, this would have been Serkis’ most memorable performance.

Speaking of which…

1. The Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003)

We were first introduced to Andy Serkis’ version of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring in 2001, and we saw him again the next year in The Two Towers, but it wasn’t until The Return Of The King that we saw the true potential of the character and the performance by the masterful actor that brought him to life.

With the third and final installment of the Middle Earth saga, we were shown elements of Gollum that we hadn’t seen before. This is highlighted by the heartbreaking opening scene where we see Sméagol Trahald slowly transform into the wretched Gollum as all traces of humanity are stripped away in the deep, dark pit of misery and obsession. You can’t help but feel a great deal of pity for the character that, up until that point, was constantly trying to get his “precious” from Frodo Baggins. The performance is so outstanding that you still feel bad for Gollum when he bites Frodo and steals the ring before ultimately dying in the lava of Mount Doom.

No one besides Serkis could have brought the character to life over the course of three films, and no one besides Serkis could give us such a fulfilling sense of closure for the character. By the end of the film, we all realized just how great of an actor Andy Serkis really was, and we couldn’t wait to see more.

Warning: spoilers for a ton of movies are present in this article. More specifically, 13 movies, including Last Christmas, are going to be ruined for those who haven’t seen them. If you see a title that you haven’t seen yet on this list, breeze right past it and head to familiar shores.

Whether you’re watching a movie that’s hailed as the best of a generation, or the worst of any particular box office season, you’ll sometimes find a film with an ending so wild, it manages to drop your jaw right to the floor. We saw such an ending make its way to theaters in recent times, with director Paul Feig’s Last Christmas taking a pretty big turn in its narrative; one that some folks on the internet called out pretty quickly. In the spirit of that corkscrew of an ending, we’d like to talk out some of the biggest twists in movie history.

In some instances, that’s the sort of thing that makes or breaks a movie, as the right ending can save everything that’s come before it, or dash all of the good work done prior to the final twist. Let it be said that when it comes to the endings we’re about to discuss, each one of them has made things interesting and kept these particular films in the pop culture conversation for some time.

Last Christmas

From the moment the first trailers for Last Christmas had dropped, audiences called the film's twist simply by knowing the song it was based off of. And sure enough, what started out as a cute romance between Emilia Clarke’s Kate and Henry Golding’s Tom turned out to be, as people had predicted, a ghostly affair.

The year prior to the events of Last Christmas, Kate was deathly ill and required a heart transplant. That heart, obviously, came from Tom, who was killed in a bicycle accident around that same timeframe. So, technically, last Christmas, Tom gave Kate his heart. And the very next year, she was haunted by his ghost to be a better person.

So to the smart cookies that called that twist, we issue a hearty tip of the hat, and the challenge to see if you can recall these other wild endings that have vexed the imaginations of audiences for some time now.

Serenity (2019)

When being marketed to the public, last year’s Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway-led thriller Serenity looked like an erotic thriller you’d expect out of late ‘90s Cinemax. With McConaughey’s character being paid by his ex, played by Hathaway, to kill her husband, tinges of sex and neo-noir seemed to have audiences thinking this was a totally different film than it turned out to be.

In actuality, Serenity takes a pretty wide turn, when we find out that the world we’ve been seeing Matthew McConaughey’s navigate around is actually a video game. What's even crazier is that McConaughey’s character is a new addition coded into a fishing simulator, thanks to a boy trying to deal with the death of his father and an abusive stepfather who's terrorizing him and his mother.

In both the fishing simulator and real life, this abusive presence is killed, leaving the boy to be charged with murder and Matthew McConaughey’s digital consciousness to meet a new character: his son from the real world.

Identity

Most audiences are more familiar with director James Mangold’s work on films like 3:10 To Yuma, Logan and more recently Ford v Ferrari. But one of his lesser known gems is the horror mystery Identity, a movie that pits John Cusack, Amanda Peete and a motel’s worth of recognizable faces against an unknown killer on a dark and stormy night.

The overall twist to this film hides in plain sight, as the criminal case of convicted killer Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is the real story. The motel caper we’ve been witnessing turns out to be one of Rivers’ multiple personalities killing off the rest of the lot.

The entire murder mystery has been playing out in his mind, with the hunt for the murderous personality ending in one final twist. Rivers’ true personality is the killer, as it resembles his traumatized self as a child, who then kills the final innocent persona within his psyche and escapes police custody.

Fight Club

The twist to David Fincher’s Fight Club is one of the obvious choices we had to throw into this rundown of wild endings we’ve seen in pop culture. It’s a twist that’s as influential as it is mind-blowing, and that last part is pretty literal when all is said and done. So sing along if you know this one.

As we’ve presumably been following our unnamed protagonist (Edward Norton) and Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) on an escalating tide of anarchic activity known as “Project Mayhem,” we soon learn the deep and dark truth: they’re both the same person. Tyler is a manifestation of our lead character’s frustrations with the world, and has only existed to allow him to play havoc on everything he despises.

Ending with a gigantic explosion that takes out a whole bunch of financial institutions, and one last dirty image spliced into the film’s reel, Fight Club goes out on one hell of a needle drop that compliments its subversive ending.

Saw

Oh, Saw, the torture porn hit that launched a thousand imitators and the twist ending that inspired a franchise to keep trying to top itself. Depending on who you are and what sort of fan you are when it comes to this house of horrors, you may think it’s never matched these heights.

With Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes) and Adam (Leigh Whannell) trying to figure a way out of the abandoned bathroom that’s supposed to be their prison, they settle on two different bids for survival. The good doctor saws off his foot, while Adam kills another pawn in Jigsaw’s big game.

But that murder reveals one last trip to Bananaville, as the dead body that’s been in the room throughout the whole movie? That’s Jigsaw, a.k.a. John Kramer (Tobin Bell) himself. And he wasn’t dead, he was just resting. Oh, and the solution to the room’s “puzzle?” That was the key you saw go down the drain in the film’s opening. Game over, man.

Primal Fear

Edward Norton must be a fan of twist endings, and who could blame him when his career started out with a role as intensely rewarding as Primal Fear’s Aaron Stampler. But, of course, as anyone who knows the movie would tell you, in order for that statement to be totally true, there’d have to be an Aaron in the first place.

With “Aaron” turning out to be a fabricated personality, we find out that Norton’s character, Roy, was trying to get away with murder by pretending to have a fractured psyche. And it worked too, as he’s sent to a maximum security mental facility and found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Throughout the whole film, Roy had fooled the audience and his own laywer (Richard Gere) into believing one version of the truth. When, in fact, it was all one big shell game that allowed him to uncover a church abuse scandal and be a somewhat free man in the process.

The Sixth Sense

Talking about the greatest hits of twist endings almost requires we mention M. Night Shyamalan’s career, as the man has built an industry off of turning a plot on its head towards the end of his films. And if it wasn’t for the whopper of a reveal at the end of The Sixth Sense, a lot of movie history may have never happened!

Haley Joel Osment’s Cole learns to accept his gift to see ghosts thanks to psychologist Malcolm Crowe’s (Bruce Willis) help and understanding. In turn, Cole tries to help Malcolm by telling him to confront his supposedly distant wife, which leads to the legendary ending audiences are still talking about over 20 years later.

We learn that Malcolm’s wife hasn’t been ignoring him throughout The Sixth Sense. Rather, Malcolm has been dead since the beginning of the film, when he was shot by a former patient. And now, he’s free to cross over to the realm of spirits after getting his closure in life.

Memento

It’s hard enough to keep a story straight when it’s told in linear chronology. But Chrisopher Nolan’s Hollywood debut Memento not only had the honor of telling a story in reverse order, but it used that device in service of a story that had a kicker of a finale. Or is that a kicker of an opening?

Retrograde amnesiac Leonard (Guy Pearce) has been using notes, tattoos and clues to try and hunt down the killer of his wife. And throughout the film’s unfolding narrative, we find out that not only is our hero being led astray on purpose, he’s already gotten his revenge a year prior to the film’s events.

As luck would have it, Leonard’s “friend” Teddy (Joe Pantoliano) actually led him to his wife’s killer and let him get his revenge. But thanks to that retroactive amnesia he’s suffering from, “Teddy” (whose real name is John) has been using him as his own personal hitman ever since. So his death at the beginning of the film not only makes sense, but it’s well earned.

Shutter Island

Is it better to live as a monster or die as a good man? That’s the question that Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island asks its audience throughout its adaptation of author Dennis Lehane’s mystery thriller, and it does so with some very subtle misdirection from the word go.

What looks like a routine investigation under the control of federal agent Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) actually turns out to be an elaborate form of role playing therapy that sees our protagonist confronting his own heinous acts. Because, as it turns out, Teddy is really Andrew Laeddis, a mental patient who had a dissociative event after killing his wife (Michelle Williams), who had previously killed their children.

It’s a deception that, upon subsequent viewings, is a truth that was staring the audience right in the face. Which makes Andrew’s decision to “die as a good man” all the more painful to watch when Shutter Island arrives to its bittersweet conclusion.

The Prestige

Christopher Nolan?! What are you doing on this list again? It’s probably not a shock that Nolan has another jaw dropper on this list, and for those of you who were wondering if The Prestige would be on this list, your moment has come.

A tale of two magicians with a bitter feud, the narrative of this particular film revolves around an alleged murder and a trick known as “The Transported Man.” With Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) accused and convicted of the murder of his former partner Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman), we eventually learn that it wasn’t Angier who supposedly drowned to death – it was a copy made as part of his version of the trick.

However, just as we’re led to believe that Robert Angier has let Alfred Borden wrongfully hang, we find out that it wasn’t Alfred that died. His secret twin, Fallon, was the one who died; just as it was he who helped him fool the audience into thinking he transported.

The Usual Suspects

The identity of Keyser Soze is one of those wild endings that has stayed in the pop culture conversation ever since The Usual Suspects debuted in 1995. Writer Christopher McQuarrie’s neo-noir pot boiler surrounds the hunt for the infamous Soze, in connection with a horrific fire that leaves only two survivors.

One of those lucky souls, Roger “Verbal” Kint (Kevin Spacey) tells the story of the so called Usual Suspects, and how each of them was led to that boat by Keyser Soze himself. Just as it looks like Kint is in the clear, and he’s released into the wild, that story is discovered as a total fabrication.

Oh, and in a grand finale worthy of a Saw movie, Verbal Kint is revealed to be Keyser Soze himself. His whole story was pulled together with details he spotted in common view and turned into a crime tale that was pure fiction, allowing for him to disappear once again and continue his criminal enterprises.

The Village

Yes, we’ve previously covered an entry written and directed by twist master M. Night Shyamalan. That being said, if we’re going to really get into shocking twists that have come out of this man’s pen, then The Village is a movie that really needs to be discussed, as it’s a pivot point in the man’s own career.

Fans were split down the middle when it came to how this tale of terror in a bygone era panned out, as throughout the entirety of The Village, we were led to believe that the action was set in the 19th century. But, through some exposition and chance encounter, we’re shown that it’s actually panning out in present day America.

As for the “beasts” that roam through the perimeter of The Village’s main setting, we find out that this is another fabrication, as it turns out the elders that crafted this village as a way to escape the modern world depend on such a legend to keep people in this idyllic setting.

Predestination

To close out this mammoth compilation of twists that had us reeling in our seats, we have the mother of all endings that had our heads spinning. If you’ve never heard of [The Sperig Brothers’ Predestination](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination_(film), we highly recommend you back out and avoid this one, as it’s the most shocking of this bunch.

Still here? Good. So what if we told you that Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook were the same person? Ready to go one question deeper into the rabbit hole? What if we told you there were two Sarah Snooks, one male and one female, who gave birth to another Sarah Snook; who would in turn become Ethan Hawke?

In a nutshell, this is the twist to Predestination, as a lot of time travel and physiology are involved in this story of a temporal agent from the future who is tracking down a rogue bomber in 1970s New York. And in perhaps the greatest turn of all, it’s that very temporal agent that turns out to be the culprit referred to throughout the film as “The Fizzle Bomber.”

Like we said, it’s a nutso twist, but it’s one that totally makes sense in the film’s narrative. And it’s also the best of this pack of wild endings to finish off this conversation. Of course, if this were a movie, this would be the perfect time to lay down some sort of twist of our own. But seeing as you’re probably still digesting everything we’ve laid down here, we’re going to leave you with the standard happy ending. Or are we?

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Scarlett Johansson has done everything from battling giant spiders in Eight Legged Freaks to saving the world alongside the Avengers in the MCU to becoming the object of a tech-obsessed divorcee in Her. Also considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, the star of the upcoming Black Widow movie (set to release on May 1, 2020) has proven herself to be one of Hollywood’s strongest performers over a 25-year career, from a brief role in 1994’s North to her Golden Globe-nominated performance in 2019’s Marriage Story. But which of ScarJo’s movies is her crowning achievement?

It is no easy task, but I have managed to span the actress’ illustrious filmography down to what I believe are the 10 films on her resume that not only utilize her talents to the best of her ability, but prove she is rarely one to choose a role unwisely… rarely being the key word. Without further ado, these are the best Scarlett Johansson movies, ranked from worst to best.

10. The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie (2004)

Scarlett Johansson has lent just her distinct voice in movies to great acclaim in roles, such as hypnotic python Kaa in Jon Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book, former show dog Nutmeg in Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, and another that will appear later on this list. Her first voice acting role comes from a film that was a personal favorite of mine at a younger age which manages to delight me and other fans of iconic Nicktoon even today: The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie.

In the first big screen adventure of Nickelodeon’s porous animated icon, Scarlett Johansson provides the voice of Mindy, the teenage daughter of King Neptune (Jeffrey Tambor), who tries to help SpongeBob Squarepants (Tom Kenny) and Patrick Star (Bill Fagerbakke) retrieve her father’s stolen crown before the accused Mr. Krabs (Clancy Brown) is punished. The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie could be considered the funniest of the goofy Bikini Bottom fry cook's adventures and is easily the most exciting.

9. The Avengers (2012)

She was introduced into the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an undeniably explosive entrance in 2010’s Iron Man 2. However, Scarlett Johansson’s first moment to really shine as Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow, came when she effortlessly stood out among the boys while defending the planet alongside them in The Avengers.

Joss Whedon’s 2012 action-packed spectacle marked the historic moment of seeing some of Marvel’s greatest heroes share the big screen for the first time, which became an astounding critical and commercial achievement. Even in its quieter moments, The Avengers never lets down on its intensity, especially when Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow confronts the captured Loki (Tom Hiddleston) for a revealing discussion.

8. Jojo Rabbit (2019)

In the fall of 2019, Scarlett Johansson collaborated with Taika Waititi, the New Zealand-born director of 2017’s hit Thor: Ragnarok. However, her role in Waititi’s Golden Globe-nominated Jojo Rabbit, which also stars fellow MCU alum Sam Rockwell, is a far cry from superhero fare.

In the bold World War II-era satire, Jojo Rabbit, Roman Griffin Davis plays the title character: a lonely German boy whose only friend is an oafish version of Adolf Hitler who only exists in his imagination. Jojo’s world turns upside down when he discovers that his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic from the Nazi regime.

7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

Many consider the beginning of the MCU being taken more seriously than your average comic book film at the time was when Joe and Anthony Russo were hired to tackle the sequel to 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. What they did put Chris Evans’s man-out-of-time Steve Rogers and Scarlett Johansson’s resilient warrior Natasha Romanoff in a complex, gritty, ‘70s-style spy thriller with top-notch action sequences and a grounded sense of humanity that only blockbusters had dared to touch at the time.

While Chris Evans may play the title character, I think Captain America: The Winter Soldier is just as much a Black Widow movie as it is a Captain America movie, as he and Scarlett Johansson find themselves on the run after S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised and its director, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), is supposedly killed by an infamous assassin known as The Winter Soldier. The film also sees Black Widow at the peak of her espionage persona in the MCU, which I hope to see more of in her upcoming solo film.

6. The Prestige (2006)

After Batman Begins put the British director on the map as a master of bankable and mature cinema, Christopher Nolan followed that up by r-eteaming with Christian Bale and casting first-time collaborators Hugh Jackman and Scarlett Johansson for The Prestige. The mind-bending period film depicts the friendship-turned-rivalry of two 19th-century magicians (Jackman and Bale) as they dedicate their lives to being the better illusionist.

Scarlett Johansson, adopting a British accent, assumes the role of the film’s femme fatale, Olivia, who finds herself becoming a pawn in Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman’s battle of wits on the magic show stage. The Prestige is beautifully designed hot-cooker cinema that keeps you guessing its secrets from the beginning to its unbelievable conclusion.

5. The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

Scarlett Johansson has had the pleasure of working with many of the industry’s most acclaimed filmmakers, from Woody Allen to Wes Anderson. She was only 17 when she was cast in Joel and Ethan Coen’s film noir tribute The Man Who Wasn’t There.

Gorgeously shot in black and white, The Man Who Wasn’t There is one of the Coen Brothers’ most overlooked gems, following a barber (Billy Bob Thornton) whose suspicions of his wife’s (Frances McDormand) adultery lead to craft a blackmailing scheme that only sends his life on an unexpected downward spiral in 1940s California. Scarlett Johansson’s screen time is minimal, but her daring role of teenage Birdy Abundas, who shows unwanted affection for middle-aged Thornton’s character, is essential to some of the amusingly melancholy film’s most memorable and darkest moments.

4. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Even with the release of Black Widow on the horizon, I still have a feeling that, years from now, we will be looking back on Scarlett Johansson’s time playing Natasha Romanoff in the MCU, and this film will be the one we will talk about the most. As a film more deserving of being called an event movie than blockbusters of any year do, Avengers: Endgame sees the heroes who survived Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) cataclysmic Infinity Gauntlet snap reuniting for a literal race against time in hopes to reverse the moment.

Anthony and Joe Russo’s Avengers: Endgame has far more screen time dedicated to Scarlett Johansson than its direct predecessor, Avengers: Infinity War, and for good reason. ScarJo’s performance sees Black Widow at her most vulnerable, helpless in a world with most of her friends gone, but still strong enough to later give her life to the depths of Vormir to acquire the Sole Stone in an emotionally paralyzing moment that cements Natasha Romanoff as one of the boldest Avengers.

3. Marriage Story (2019)

What this film and the following two entries on this list have in common is how they exhibit Scarlett Johansson’s ability in expressing raw, almost dreaded emotions associated with romance. What sets Marriage Story apart from the other two is that its take on romance is often funny and not particularly unique in conception, but is a challenging experience due its brutally honest execution.

From writer and director Noah Baumbach, this Netflix original movie chronicles the ending of parents Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole’s (Scarlett Johansson) marriage. Featuring two Golden Globe-nominated performances by its leads, Marriage Story is an often hilariously recognizable yet devastatingly authentic opposition to the traditional romantic comedy.

2. Lost In Translation (2003)

In yet another comedy on Scarlett Johansson’s resume with untraditionally dark romantic themes, ScarJo plays Charlotte, a young woman who follows her emotionally absent photographer husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), to Tokyo. At her hotel, she meets Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a faded, middle-aged movie star starring in a promotional campaign exclusive to Japan, who finds a new sense of liveliness in Charlotte’s presence.

Lost In Translation is as much a quirky, often fun, comedy as it is a thought-provoking, sometimes off-putting, drama depicting a mismatched friendship that evolves into something even more unlikely. An Oscar-winning achievement for writer/director Sofia Coppola, the film also put Scarlett Johansson on the map as one of Hollywood’s most sought after talents and helped her earn her first Golden Globe nomination.

1. Her (2013)

I mentioned earlier that Scarlett Johansson has lent her voice talents to great acclaim before. This is defined most exquisitely by her breathtaking performance as Samantha, the disembodied voice of Theodore’s (Joaquin Phoenix) digital personal assistant, in Her.

Writer and director Spike Jonze, whose screenplay for this winning dramedy won an Academy Award in 2014, ponders the idea of if a person could fall in love with Siri (a concept that is not as ludicrous as it sounds) as an exploration of how far our obsession with technology may take us in the near future that is just as heartbreaking, yet more endearing than, an episode of Black Mirror. Her is also a master class in acting, with Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson displaying an astonishing chemistry while never being in the same room.

Few and far between does Hollywood see a powerhouse like Scarlett Johansson: a woman of stunning beauty and stunning versatility who has mastered her craft and shown up some of the best that cinema has offered as of late. We have mentioned several of her best films above, but what is your favorite, or what do you feel should have been mentioned?

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Is there anything that Hugh Jackman can't do? The charming A-lister is a bonafide triple threat — a gifted actor, singer and dancer — and he holds an Oscar nomination and two Tony awards to prove it. But for some audience members, they only see Jackman for his most prominent role: Wolverine.

It is certainly not the only character the high profile actor has played throughout his career, but it's undeniably his most recognizable. But if you're only point of reference with Hugh Jackman is when he's wearing those adamantium claws, carrying the character's distinctive mutton chops and possibly chomping down on a cigar, you really should check out some of his other titles. After all, there's a good reason why Hugh Jackman is as famous as he is today.

There's no doubt that Hugh Jackman's time as Wolverine will be looked back upon for a long time fondly by a lot of fans. Nevertheless, let's push aside his time contributing to the Marvel landscape and look at six movies that prove that Jackman is certainly more than Wolverine!

The Prestige

In The Prestige, Christopher Nolan's sorely underrated drama-mystery, Hugh Jackman acts opposite Christian Bale as a magician battling to pull off the ultimate illusion, in a competitive rivalry that finds both professionals forced to sacrifice nearly everything in their competitive need to be the best. While Bale's more, shall we say, deceptive role is typically more celebrated than his co-star's, Hugh Jackman nevertheless gives a great performance.

In the role of Robert Angier, a character whose career and legacy were ultimately built upon tragedy and a desire to be the best, Hugh Jackman does a commendable job capturing the emotional arc of this journeyed character. He brings the emotion and humanity of the story in equal measure, providing us with a nuanced and commanding central figure through which we can connect with the tricky, duplicitous characters. It's an undervalued performance in a good movie, and if you want to see Hugh Jackman in a role that really shows his magic, this is a solid pick.

The Fountain

Like many Darren Aronofsky movies, The Fountain has won over as many fans as it has earned detractors over the years. The ponderous, spiritual and deeply existential sci-fi/magical romance is a dense piece of work, crossing throughout storylines and incorporating immortality, divinity and ever-long devotion and love in a way that can be a little too elusive and overreaching for some folks' tastes. But no matter how you feel about the film itself, many people can agree that Hugh Jackman gives a tour de force performance at the center of the film opposite Oscar-winning actress, Rachel Weisz, who was the artistic director's partner at the time.

As Tomás Verde, i.e. Thomas Creo, i.e. Tommy the Space Traveler, Hugh Jackman must commit very wholeheartedly to the expansive role(s) he plays. Thankfully, Jackman is entirely dedicated to this immensely wide-reaching character, one who finds himself in three completely different timelines and across at least two separate planes of reality. It's a hard role to communicate fully and thoroughly one 97 minute-long movie, but Jackman is a dedicated performer, allowing himself to fully trust the visionary director and provide a wrenching, beautifully emotive performance that is full of spirit and soul. It's hard to know for certain if The Fountain will be your cup of tea unless you watch it, but even if you don't dig it, it's easy to commend Jackman's work.

Les Miserables

The long-awaited film adaptation of the beloved musical sensation based on Victor Hugo's epic tome, Les Miserables was not a flawless transition from the stage to screen, but it was an emotionally intensive, impressively acted feat which featured two particularly phenomenal performances from Anne Hathaway, who deservedly won the Oscar for her work, and Hugh Jackman, who was also nominated for his tremendous take on Jean Valjean.

The captivating, commanding central performance allows Hugh Jackman to show off the exceptional musical talents that have otherwise been sorely absent from the silver screen. While he did some great, Tony-winning musical work on Broadway and on the Oscars stage, Les Miserables was the A-list actor's chance to bring those stellar pipes to the movies, and his performance didn't disappoint. It's a towering, emotionally powerful performance and it's understandable to see why it's among his most celebrated achievements. He would also bring these talents to 2017's The Greatest Showman.

Prisoners

While there are a number of intense performances on Hugh Jackman's resume, his work in Prisoners might take the cake. The moody, often bleak prestige picture is certainly not lighthearted, but through the captivating performance from Jackman at the forefront, the film carries a righteous sort of anger which channels how a decent man can be driven to vengeful violence when the ones they love disappear in the cold, quiet air.

Playing the role of Keller Dover, Hugh Jackman plays a father torn with guilt, terror and dismay. This is the sort of indignant and vicious performance that can only be played by a top-caliber actor. Thankfully, Jackman more than lives up to the challenge, producing an exceptionally haunting performance that shows what Jackman can do when he incorporates Wolverine's visceral anger and brutal strength into a role that's much more grounded in reality.

The Front Runner

While it wasn't quite the Oscar front runner that many folks were hoping it would be, Jason Reitman's The Front Runner is nevertheless an investing and intriguing look at the imploding world of politics, and how everything in the topsy-turvy world of image control and public perception can change in practically an instant, which can feel like a lifetime in the always moving world of media and reporting. In this particular movie, Hugh Jackman plays Senator Gary Hart, the real-life Democrat candidate who inadvertently blended the political and the personal into the world of national coverage, and the politician who found himself going from the forefront of the political world to the disgraced one-time presidential hopeful — all in a matter of three weeks.

It's easy for Hugh Jackman to play a handsome, charismatic political hopeful, and it's hard a stretch to see him capture the tenuous emotions that are abound when you find your life and career on the fringe. But Jackman's take on the real-life political figure is still an impressive one, capturing the wide range of emotional dismay, tormented confusion, blistering guilt and quiet acceptance under the blaring white light of the media circus that can circulate around a man of this stature at this point in the political process. While the accuracy of the movie has recently been disputed, there's a lot to value in Jackman's sturdy, engaging performance, which really brings the whole scope of Gary Hart's promise and downfall into a captivating cube.

Bad Education

Admittedly, Bad Education is still circulating the film festival circuits, and there aren't a lot of people outside of the festival attendees who have had a chance to see the film for themselves. But if the word of mouth lives up to its promises, there's a chance that we might be seeing one of the very best performances of Hugh Jackman's career thus far in this film, which serves as the sophomore feature for up-and-coming young filmmaker, Cory Finley.

According to the early reports, Hugh Jackman plays Frank Tassone, a school administrator who finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of trouble district-wide. While it does sound like some thematically similar content to Jackman's previous performance in the aforementioned The Front Runner, the actor is exceptionally good at playing charismatic figures with weighted moralities, and this performance sounds like it's yet another winner from the exceptionally talented and proven actor. The movie was picked up by HBO Films for a hefty price. We look forward to checking it out very soon.

These are only a handful of the noteworthy, non-Wolverine movies that Hugh Jackman has starred in throughout his celebrated career. There's also the previously-mentioned The Greatest Showman, which could easily be considered among the most prolific of his non-X-Men-related movies to date. The actor has also done a number of voice-only performances in films like Flushed Away, Happy Feet, Rise of the Guardians and, most recently, Missing Link. There are also some intriguing performances in otherwise not-especially-great movies, like Pan, Chappie, Australia and Real Steel, to name a few.

Nevertheless, it should hopefully be made clear that Hugh Jackman has provided audiences with a high volume of acclaimed films and stellar performances. What's your personal favorite non-Wolverine movie from Hugh Jackman? Please be sure to let us know in the comments below. We're sure to have your own personal favorites, and we'll be curious to hear how they compared to the titles we've listed above or failed to mention.

Looking at the wider cinematic landscape, don't forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what's hitting theaters for the rest of this year. Or you can get a head start on planning your theatrical visits next year with our 2020 release schedule.

Hugh Jackman is clearly as obsessed with Ryan Reynolds as Reynolds is with Wolverine. So it seemed fitting to follow last week's suggestions on Ry-guy roles with a list of Jackman movies worth streaming. Jackman actually has a shorter filmography than Reynolds, but it's packed with more worthy titles than one list can cover. I'm skipping his famous X-Men movies, and not just because none of them are on Netflix. (Logan is definitely worth watching, but you knew that.)

Per usual, Netflix only has a handful of options, and the streamer doesn't tend to get the best films all at once. So you have to balance your streaming odds with other options like Amazon, and wherever else you personally like to stream. Here are some options for your viewing pleasure right now.

Erskineville Kings

This 1999 drama was Hugh Jackman's very first film role. He plays Wace, brother of Barky (Marty Denniss), in the indie film which co-starred fellow Aussie Joel Edgerton. Jackman actually won the Film Critics Circle of Australia award for Best Male Actor for this role (beating out none other than Heath Ledger for Two Hands.) Amazon Prime Video has Erskineville Kings available right now, and it's a great way to see how it all began for Jackman, before he shot to fame as Logan/Wolverine in 2000's X-Men.

Stream Erskineville Kings right now on Amazon.

Kate & Leopold

Hugh Jackman is charm itself in this time travel romantic comedy that helped put him on the map as a heartthrob. He had just established himself as a badass beefcake-with-heart in X-Men. The next year, he showed his debonair side in this adorably cheesy Meg Ryan rom-com. Interestingly enough, Kate & Leopold was directed by James Mangold, who would return to direct Jackman as Wolverine in the acclaimed X-Men movie Logan. The supporting cast of this movie is amazing -- Liev Schreiber, Breckin Meyer, Natasha Lyonne, Bradley Whitford -- and it's worth re-watching this beauty just for them.

Stream Kate & Leopold right now on Starz, and through Amazon with a 7-day free trial of Starz.

Chappie

Hugh Jackman is known for playing heroes, so it was a stretch for him to play a bad guy in Chappie -- even if that bad guy finally gave him another opportunity to use an Australian accent. Jackman plays an ambitious soldier-turned-computer designer who wants to create a killing robotic machine, something very different from human-like robot Chappie. Jackman told the Chicago Sun-Times he appreciated the acting stretch:

Chappie was co-written and directed by Neill Blomkamp, who also made the brilliant District 9 with Sharlto Copley, as well as Elysium with Matt Damon. Chappie wasn't a big hit with critics, but it's still good to see Hugh Jackman in a different light.

Stream Chappie right now on Netflix.

The Prestige

Christopher Nolan has yet to make a bad movie. I'd argue he's yet to make a movie that wasn't great. The Prestige is actually one of Nolan's under-appreciated movies, at least when it comes to critics, with a lower score from critics than most (76% still isn't bad) -- along with a B CinemaScore from moviegoers polled on opening night. I don't care. I loved the literal and figurative magic of it all, along with the performances, and just the look of it. The Prestige earned Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction. It's a gorgeous film, with acres of charisma from both Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians. And David Bowie as Tesla! The Prestige was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by British writer Christopher Priest, so if you love the movie too, consider picking up the book as well.

Stream The Prestige right now on HBO or through Amazon with a 7-day free trial of HBO.

Swordfish

I'm not going to pretend Swordfish is one of the great crime thrillers of our time, but Hugh Jackman is one of the main stars and it's on Netflix right now, so I felt like I should include it. We gotta work with what we got, kids. Please complain to Netflix about the selection. Swordfish came out in 2001 and made headlines for Halle Berry's topless scene and John Travolta's Razzie-nominated performance. But it was a big career move for Jackman to co-star alongside them. After all, in 2001, he only had a handful of movies on his resume -- including his breakout in X-Men in 2000. This R-rated crime thriller came out several months before the very different Kate & Leopold in 2001.

Stream Swordfish right now on Netflix.

BONUS: Movie 43

OK, this one is really weird and got terrible reviews, but stay with me. Movie 43 features 14 different storylines, each one by a different director. Hugh Jackman co-stars with Kate Winslet in "The Catch." They go on a double date, and at first she's charmed by the city's most eligible bachelor. But it soon becomes more clear why he might still be single -- when he removes his scarf, she sees ... well ... not to spoil it ... but ... you can actually see in the photo above ... he has a pair of testicles dangling from his neck. I don't know what to tell you about why, but "The Catch" was produced and directed by Peter Farrelly, whose Green Book just won the Oscar for Best Picture. Movie 43 was eviscerated by critics with a 5% rating -- the lowest of Jackman's career, and probably most careers. But come on. You should watch for the testicles dangling from his neck! Because he plays it off like it's nothing and the immature 12-year-old in you might enjoy it.

Stream Movie 43 right now on Netflix.

If you're looking for more streaming recommendations, check out these past features:

• 5 Sci-Fi TV Shows To Watch On Netflix: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 5 Documentary Series To Watch On Netflix: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 5 British TV Comedies On Netflix You Should Bloody Well Watch: Our Streaming Recommendations

• 3%, Occupied, Harlots, and Other Streaming Recommendations

• 5 Excellent Keanu Reeves Roles Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

• 5 Robert Downey Jr. Movies To Love 3000 On Netflix

• 5 Chris Evans Movies Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

• 5 Ryan Reynolds Roles Worth Streaming On Netflix And Amazon

What Hugh Jackman movies have you been streaming lately, and on what platforms?

The ending is the most important part of a film. It completes the story being told and is the lasting impression audiences leave the theater with, thus holding tremendous sway over opinion of the film. With the release of Glass, we are treated once again to a movie with a controversial ending. It seems that for a lot of people, enjoyment of Glass largely hinges on how you feel about the ending (the third act overall really), and you either love it or hate it, with very little middle ground.

Glass is, of course, not the first movie with a controversial ending; it’s not even the first M. Night Shyamalan movie with a controversial ending. So in light of Glass’s divisive ending, it seems like the right time to look back at other controversial movie endings that we are still debating long after we first saw them. The films in this list have endings that are controversial for different reasons. They have a huge impact on whether you like the movie or not, with strong passions no matter what side you come down on. The endings don’t have to be ambiguous a la The Wrestler, although they can be; they just have to be controversial. Here are 10 controversial movie endings we’re still debating today.

The following contains SPOILERS for multiple films, so if you care and haven’t seen one of the entries, just skip to the next one.

Contact

For the majority of Robert Zemeckis’ 1997 movie Contact, we are watching a hard sci-fi story about humanity discovering the possibility of the existence of extra-terrestrial life and the impact that would have on individuals, faith and society. Then, when Jodie Foster’s Dr. Arroway finally gets to use the machine that is expected to transport her to the Vega star system, things get weird.

From the perspective of the observers, the machine doesn’t work and the transport vessel just drops right through the machine. But for Dr. Arroway, she is transported to a beach from her childhood, where she meets an alien that takes the form of her deceased father. When she returns, there is a discussion of whether or not the experience was all in her head.

This ending is controversial not only for the ambiguity of what actually happened (although it is strongly hinted that her experience was real), but also because of how a realistic and cerebral film in the end chose to be sentimental. The ending does fit with some of the themes of the film, but it also kind of cops out on showing aliens and can be considered overly schmaltzy.

The Prestige

Endings that leave you scratching your head and buying a ticket for the next showing to figure out what just happened are Christopher Nolan’s specialty, and he fittingly pulled some clever slight of hand with his tale of dueling magicians, The Prestige.

The end of the film is an assault of twists and reveals that show us how both Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) achieved their signature tricks. Angier repeatedly cloned himself via a machine built by Nikola Tesla, essentially meaning he killed himself every night. Borden is revealed to actually have a twin. The twin was charged with the murder of Robert Angier and dies for the crime that never actually happened. Borden returns to get back his daughter and kills Angier, winning the battle between the two.

It’s a complicated and bewildering ending upon first viewing, and even though the reality of what happened seems straightforward in hindsight, it has nevertheless been the subject of tons of fan theories online positing alternative possibilities. Some also take issue with the ending because a film based on tricks and slight of hand in the end adds in real magic in the form of cloning.

Gone Girl

If you want to talk about controversial endings, look no further than David Fincher’s Gone Girl, which has an ending that you either love for its depravity or makes you want to scream with rage.

The ending, which is similar to the ending in Gillian Flynn’s novel, finds Ben Affleck’s Nick Dunne staying with his psychotic wife Amy, played by Rosamund Pike. This is after Amy faked her death and framed Nick for her murder. In a final act of cunning madness, she gets pregnant with Nick’s baby, ruining any plans he had to expose her lies and evil to the public. He is forced to stay with her and endure for the sake of his child.

You want to scream at Nick to just pay child support or expose her and get the kid taken away, but for the love of God, don’t stay with her! But to be fair, her actions and his are both true to their characters. We expect villains to get their comeuppance in movies and justice to be served, so it’s frustrating when that doesn’t happen, and Gone Girl provides no such closure.

The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project started the found-footage sub-genre of horror, telling the story of three student filmmakers, Heather, Mike and Josh, who venture into the woods in Western Maryland to make a documentary about local legend, the Blair Witch. The film ends when Mike and Heather go into an abandoned house looking for Josh and are separated. The final image we see from Heather’s camera is Mike just standing in a corner.

We are still debating this ending today and there are plenty of fan theories about what really happened and what it all means. Was there ever really a witch or not? Did Josh kill his friends or did he and Mike both plot to kill Heather? The weirdness and ambiguity of the ending provides plenty to discuss.

There is also a fair bit of controversy for a film that received such hype to end in this way. For some, the final image of Mike just standing in a basement corner is terrifying and intense. For others, it's not scary to the point of being laughable. Your opinion likely dictates whether you think The Blair Witch Project is a seminal moment in the genre or fodder for jokes.

Man of Steel

If you take a controversial character choice and add in the passionate opinions associated with superhero movies, you have a recipe for a debate more akin to a shouting match. That’s what we got with Man of Steel. At the end of Zack Snyder’s divisive film, Henry Cavill’s Superman is faced with a choice: either kill Michael Shannon’s General Zod or allow him to murder a helpless family. Superman chose the former and set off a contentious debate we’re still having to this day.

On the one hand, Supes had no choice, and as a hero, he couldn’t let innocents die. But killing someone, even an enemy, goes against everything established canon over 70 years has told us about who Superman is. He doesn’t kill, period. So even if he clearly had no choice, you could argue that the film should have never put Superman in that position.

Fans of Snyder’s DCEU vision passionately defend this choice while others loathe it and think that the director fundamentally misunderstands the character. Either way, it’s fascinating to look at how the end of Man of Steel and reaction to it set the story of the DCEU in the films after.

Blade Runner

Blade Runner is perhaps the most unique entry on this list because not only is its ending controversial, but there are multiple endings to the film and controversy over which ending is the true one. Depending on the version you watch, Harrison Ford’s Deckard and Sean Young’s Rachael either escape LA and live happily ever after in a natural landscape or their fate is left a mystery, as is Deckard’s status as either a human or a replicant.

So if you prefer a version or saw it first, you may take that ending as canon, regardless of what director Ridley Scott says. Thus this ending has been discussed and argued about for ages, both fueled by and contributing to Blade Runner’s status as an all-time science fiction classic.

As far as the question ‘Is Deckard a replicant?’ goes, even the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, leaves that open for debate, adding multiple new wrinkles to think about. And so the ending of Blade Runner will be dissected and analyzed in forums and columns for years to come.

The Village

Given his penchant for twists, it’s no surprise that Glass isn’t the first M. Night Shyamalan film to have a controversial ending. There are multiple to pick from, but the ending of The Village seems to mark a turning point in the director’s career, after that he went through a nadir that lasted multiple films before his recent resurgence.

In the film, a 19th century rural village lives in isolation, in fear of the wickedness of surrounding towns and the evil creatures that lurk in the woods beyond their borders. At the end of the film, we learn that this story is actually taking place in modern times, and that the village and the monsters are just elaborate creations of the town elders to avoid contact with the horrors of the modern world.

It’s a doozy of an ending, but it doesn’t work for everyone. Some find it anticlimactic and disappointing considering the fun mythology of monsters that the film was sold on. Others love the twistiness of it. M. Night Shyamalan endings are often controversial, but unlike The Happening, which is largely loathed, the ending of The Village has many ardent defenders.

Titanic

Titanic is one of the most beloved and successful films of all time. It also features one of the most controversial endings of all time. After the ship sinks, Jack and Rose are trying to stay alive in the frigid Atlantic Ocean, and he helps her onto what appears to be a wooden door. There, Rose survives long enough to be rescued, while Jack dies of hypothermia in the water.

Ever since Titanic first enraptured moviegoers, people wondered why didn’t Rose make room for Jack on the door. Whether there was enough room for both of them as there appears to have been has been the subject of countless discussions over the years. People have actually done practical recreations to show how these star-crossed lovers could have lived happily ever after.

Everyone has weighed in on this controversy, and thanks to the movie’s enduring popularity, it has become a permanent part of pop culture that will debated forever. James Cameron himself even got tired of hearing it over the years and offered the an appropriately cold response to the question of why Rose didn’t make room, by saying “It says on page 147 [of the script] that Jack dies.

Interstellar

It probably says something about Christopher Nolan’s style that he manages to get two films on this list. While Inception has probably Nolan’s most memorable ending for its ambiguity, I view the ending of Interstellar as more controversial and divisive.

At the end of the film, in an attempt to save the mission to colonize a habitable planet, Matthew McConaughey’s Coop jettisons himself and the TARS robot into a black hole. There he enters a tesseract where space and time become, wait for it… a flat circle. Coop then realizes that he was his daughter Murph’s ghost in her bookshelf. When he is ejected from the tesseract, Coop is able to finally see Murph again on a space station.

Then he seemingly leaves this person he’s spent the whole movie trying to get back to on her deathbed to go help Anne Hathaway’s Brand. Similar to Contact, Interstellar’s ending is either heartfelt and thematically rich or mawkish and disappointing. Like most Nolan endings, there’s a lot to discuss and just as much to disagree about.

The Mist

Frank Darabont’s The Mist, based on the Stephen King novella, finds a group of people, including Thomas Jane’s David and his son, hiding out in a grocery store from the deadly creatures lurking in the mysterious mist outside. At the end of the film, David, his son and three others escape the store in a car to seek salvation.

When the car runs out of gas, they all decide that there is no point in going on. So rather than suffering horrific deaths at the hands of the creatures, David shoots the others, including his own son, to spare them. David is left without a bullet for himself, but moments later the mist recedes, the army arrives and he sees that if he had only waited a few minutes longer, they would have been rescued.

It’s an agonizing and brutal ending, and for that reason it is highly controversial, with think-pieces written both for and against it. Some view it as a great gut punch whereas others see it as ironic tragedy for its own sake. Stephen King, whose novella’s ending is far more ambiguous (no child murder for sure), actually seems to really enjoy Frank Darabont’s version.

Even if you hate a particular ending to a movie (and there are certainly plenty of hateable ones), controversial endings are still of value because they give us reasons to revisit a film, to discuss and debate it with others, and perhaps see it from different a perspective. That kind of engagement is one of the best parts of the moviegoing experience and helps movies to live on long after their release dates.

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We've all done it: we load our Netflix streaming queues with movies we've been meaning to watch again, or for the first time, after seeing them available. And yet, month after month, when it comes time to refresh the line-up, one thought recurs just as frequently: what am I going to miss? Well, if you're worried about what you'll be missing out on during the month of April, you're in luck! We've got a list of titles that you probably have in your queue and should be revisit as soon as possible. Otherwise, April's showers will wash away your last chance to enjoy these films without the aid of discs or other streaming methods.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

While it's been threatened for some time now, movement on the proposed reboot of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective has just started to find its feet. After re-watching Jim Carrey's breakout film role, it's easy to see just why it might have taken so much time to get this one off the ground, as the original is pretty damned iconic. If you haven't heard a friend yell "Laces out" during at least one football game, or seen a friend walk out of the bathroom thinking "Do not go in there!" is the right joke for the occasion, you just might need to sit everyone down and give them a reason to question why anyone would try to lay a finger on this modern classic.

American Pie

How's this for scary: if you were watching American Pie back in high school when the film was released, you might be old enough to have kids who you can introduce the film to on your own terms. Which would be an interesting exercise, considering how raunchy the film was considered back in the day. To think, we were all once Jims and Michelles, only to grow and become Jim's dad, or one of the various parental equivalents in the film's universe. So sit your kids down, prepare them for the majesty that is adolescent humor and a Blink 182 cameo, and pass the torch to your youngsters, should it be the right time.

Apollo 13

While Ron Howard may have a new film in this year's Solo: A Star Wars Story, it's not exactly the sort of project you'd think he'd sign on for. The reason being that the man has made a name for himself mostly in prestigious biopics and films based around moments in history, with Apollo 13 serving as a particularly effective example of the latter. It's a film that not only wows movie fans, but probably gets a high school science/social studies class pretty pumped as well, considering the film's an exciting, but stoic, look at the mission that almost went to the moon. If you're in the mood for some history with your suspense, look no further.

Batman

Back in the day of Tim Burton's Batman, the film was received with a response similar to that of Batman Begins. With the franchise originating its film and TV arm through Adam West's campy and colorful adventures, nobody expected Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Bassinger to usher in an era of a darker, more stylistic version of the Caped Crusader and his adventures. These days, the Burton/Schumacher era is relatively tame compared to what Christopher Nolan would do with his version of the character. But back then, it was another seismic shift in Gotham City's history.

Caddyshack

Some movies never age, despite being a product of the era they were produced in. While Caddyshack is definitely the epitome of an '80s comedy, it doesn't totally root its laughs in the decade. It's more of an '80s film in execution and approach, but not totally in the humor it weaves. Of course, one has to experience Caddyshack to truly get its brilliance, and if you're one of the folks that hasn't had the pleasure just yet, you should get on that. The gopher won't wait forever.

Never Let Me Go

Have you ever seen a movie where the leads were just coming into their own as performers? You definitely have if you're a fan of Mark Romanek's adaptation of Never Let Me Go, as both Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield starred in this flick around the time their stars had just started to rise. Though if you dig deeper into this bittersweet sci-fi drama, you'll find even more familiar faces in co-stars Domnhall Gleeson, Andrea Riseborough and Sally Hawkins. Don't let this all-star cast fool you though, as there's a lot going on underneath the surface of this heart-wrenching film.

Small Soldiers

Everyone remembers Joe Dante for Gremlins, and maybe Gremlins 2. But if you delve deeper into the man's body of work, you'll see similarly offbeat and quirky films that are worthy of your enjoyment, including Small Soldiers. One of Dreamworks' earliest major motion pictures, the film suffered from being released in the summer of 1998 by a relatively young studio still trying to find their feet. Which is a damned shame, as this story of killer toys waging war across suburbia is pretty funny, while also managing to find some sweeter moments between a boy and his toys.

The Shawshank Redemption

If there's a movie that defines whata perfect film is, and always should be, The Shawshank Redemption is one of the prime examples of such a movie. No matter how many times you watch it, no matter what point it's at when you flip onto it during a channel surfing session, you're almost always bound to watch the film through to the end. It's a timeless production that doesn't age itself and always hits the same perfect notes it hit when it first played its tune. If you have the time, you should revisit Andy and Red one last time in April.

The Whole Nine Yards

Out of all of the friends from Friends to embark on a film career, Matthew Perry could be argued as one of the most successful, thanks to a string of comedic cult classics that includes the next film on our list, The Whole Nine Yards. Pitting Perry's neurotic brand of laughs against Bruce Willis' killer cool demeanor worked like a charm with this sleeper hit from the turn of the century, and it's certainly worth a watch. However, don't let this tempt you into watching The Whole Ten Yards, no matter how convenient the prospect may be. This film truly was lightning in a bottle, and its subpar sequel only proved it.

The Prestige

There's two ways to watch The Prestige: one way is to watch it as a casual fan, enjoying Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman's increasingly deadly game of one uppmanship all the way to its shocking conclusion. The other is to revisit the film with its secrets laid bare, truly taking in its message of how a magician, or in this case director Christopher Nolan, works their magic through all of the phases of a trick. Either way, once the act is over, you'll probably be sitting on your couch, stunned and shocked at what just happened before your eyes.

Kung Fu Panda 3

As consistently as the Kung Fu Panda franchise has delivered, it still feels like Kung Fu Panda 3 is the forgotten entry in the series. With Jack Black's Po finally reuniting with his father, played by Bryan Cranston, the series only further expanded on its mythos by fleshing out Po's backstory with even more colorful detail. On top of the higher emotional stakes is an even greater threat, courtesy of J.K. Simmons' Kai - a villain bent on becoming the most powerful master in the kung fu world. A blend of action and emotion that only this franchise could deliver, Kung Fu Panda 3 is a fitting volume in Po's story.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Street artist Banksy has always been an enigma wrapped in a riddle with a killer sense of humor. His art is provocative, as well as bitingly funny, and if anyone ever knew who he really was, he'd probably draw equal rounds of praise and damnation. Much like the man himself, Exit Through The Gift Shop is a film that is either an authentic documentary or a mockumentary that only helps perpetuate the mysterious aura of Banksy and his art. We'll leave it up to you to decide, but it's a decision that'll be fun to make once you've seen the film in question.

If you're curious about what you missed throughout March's Netflix purge, head over to the list of awesome movies that left the platform throughout this month. You still might have time to enjoy a couple of them before April 1!

Audiences continue to flock to theaters to drink in the visual and audio delights of the show-stopping new musical The Greatest Showman. In it, entertainer Hugh Jackman puts on his best song-and-dance routine to play P.T. Barnum, famed peddler of the three-ring oddities who risked his personal and professional stakes to build an entertainment empire. But as I watched Jackman create the on-screen persona of P.T. Barnum, I thought only of the actor's passionate performance as Angier in Christopher Nolan's brilliant show-biz thriller, The Prestige. So when CinemaBlend sat across from Jackman to discuss The Greatest Showman, we brought up the Prestige comparison, and learned it was no accident. Jackman told us:

In Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale play stage magicians -- illusionists, if you will -- who dedicate their lives (and make painful sacrifices) to entertaining the masses with escalating feats of impossible trickery. The men are obsessed with each other's acts, and the more they try to figure out how each is pulling off a magic trick, the more they let their personal lives crumble.

Figuring out the art of a performance, and unraveling the mystery behind a successful show, speaks to both P.T Barnum AND Angier, the character that Hugh Jackman played in The Prestige, though they come at in in two different ways. For Angier, the struggle to entertain became a single-serving quest, one that consumed him and cost him everyone who he held close. Barnum -- though he damages his relationship with wife Charity (Michelle Williams) -- brings more people into his fold in an effort to create the Greatest Show On Earth. Collaboration was never Angier's strong suit.

Here's Hugh Jackman, talking about the parallels that exist between The Greatest Showman and The Prestige, possibly the best movie of which Jackman ever has been a part:

The Greatest Showman currently plays theaters near you, and though it's competing against blockbuster hits like Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, it's posting impressive numbers as word of mouth draws more people into multiplexes. Hugh Jackman knows that both Barnum and Angiers would be proud of the movie's heralded success.

A glorious ending can paper over the cracks of even the most mediocre movie, adding a spring to your step as you leave the cinema that previously hadn't looked likely.

But it can also be the polar opposite. Because a sublime film can be instantly waylaid if it doesn't provide the rousing conclusion that it had seemingly promised, leaving you so sour that you are suddenly blinded to the positive traits that it had previously showcased. It happens more often than it should do, too. So much so in fact that we've compiled a list of 10 good movies that were stopped from being great because of their endings.

Man Of Steel

Now that the DC Extended Universe is apparently in a crisis, it's easy to forget just how entertaining the opening hour to Man Of Steel actually was. The scenes on Krypton were concise, rich, and provided a solid ground for the film to build off of, while Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer even managed to make the age-old story of the Kent family seem fresh, and its action beats are undeniably enjoyable. But it succumbs in its overly long final act, which just drags and drags, turns Superman into a murderer, and is so needlessly aggressive and utterly joyless that, by the end, you feel as battered as Metropolis.

Signs

After the critical and financial success of both The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable it seemed as though M. Night Shyamalan could do no wrong. And going into the final act of Signs that still felt the case, too. But then a single splash of water, which caused one of the film's aliens to scream in agony, immediately ruined all off that. Before then, Signs had been a taut and intriguing sci-fi thriller. But after the alien is doused in water and then dies, all you're left wondering is why they thought it would be a good idea to visit a planet that is 70% water.

Now You See Me

Thanks to its lightning quick pace, beguiling tricks and set-pieces, and all-star cast, Now You See Me proved to be a rather surprising success back in 2013, as director Louis Leterrier wove together a variety of plot points to create a hugely entertaining effort. But come the end of the film, and once you had started to try and piece all of them together, you realized that there were some glaring plot holes, especially when it was revealed that Mark Ruffalo's Dylan Rhodes wasn't actually an FBI agent but was actually the fifth Horseman. It's all just a little bit too far-fetched.

Argo

When a true story is adapted for the big-screen, you're usually able to forgive it some artistic license. Of course, there's only a certain amount of leeway you can give, especially when you're immediately able to recognize that a film has gone off book. Only individuals well versed in the story at the heart of Argo would have known that the film minimized the role of the Canadian embassy in the rescue, but everyone watching was able to guess that the group's plane wasn't followed by the cars of the Revolutionary guard as it tried to take off. This attempt to create a superficial intensity immediately rids the film of its integrity, and is proof that Hollywoodizing isn't always the best policy.

Steve Jobs

The teaming up of Danny Boyle and Aaron Sorkin should have resulted in a bona-fide modern masterpiece akin to The Social Network, especially considering the man at the heart of the biopic. Over the first two acts, Steve Jobs does a sterling job of providing an entertaining insight into what made the man tick and so flawed. But by the third act the structure of Steve Jobs bumping into everyone he has ever crossed and gone up against half an hour before he is due on stage becomes too much. Suddenly you feel like you're watching an episode of Cheers as the same characters just keep on walking through doors and back into his life. Steve Jobs is still fun, but its hampered by a plodding framework that renders it simply OK.

The Prestige

Since The Prestige is a film about magic it was always going to use misdirection to try and trick its audience at the end. It's just a shame that The Prestige's misdirection ultimately feels like a cheat. Not the fact that Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier has been killing clones on a nightly basis as part of his trick, which adds a wicked twist to the entire film. But the fact that Christian Bale's Alfred Borden is actually an identity assumed by two twins. It's a lazy, obvious, and gimmicky way to bring The Prestige to an end, which is especially frustrating because up until that point it appeared to be building to a rousing finale that it ultimately fell way short of providing.

Superman

Even though Superman was released close to 40 years ago, and was the first of what's since become an endless array of superhero movies, it's still regarded as one of the greatest the genre has ever produced, and the definitive depiction of the character. Which is all the more impressive considering just how outrageously stupid its ending is, as Superman is able to fly into space and around the Earth at such a speed that time is reversed and Lois Lane actually survives. It's not just an easy fix that ruins everything that has come before it, but the threatened consequences of this alteration never arrive, too, meaning that Superman has its cake, eats its, and then flies off to the sunset expecting us to be pleased.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

For most of A.I. Artificial Intelligence's running time it seems as though the film has managed the impossible, as the lightness of Steven Spielberg perfectly juxtaposes with the morbid ambition of Stanley Kubrick to create an intoxicating cinematic concoction. But then it arrives at its conclusion, which at first looks like it is just going to see David trapped in the freezing ocean asking the Blue Fairy, who he thinks is real, to be turned into a real boy. However, there's a prolonged epilogue that sees David revived 2000 years later, given the chance to reunite with a cloned version of Monica for the happiest day of his life, and then dying alongside her. It's classic Spielberg, but also too sugary sweet for such a grueling film, and only makes you wonder how Stanley Kubrick would have brought it to an end.

I Am Legend

Will Smith is utterly titanic in I Am Legend, as he commands every inch of the screen and imbues it with a genuine dread that means you're on the edge of your seat for a solid portion of the film. But then, at around the hour mark, I Am Legend takes a number of turns that completely ruin it. First of all the Infected aren't scary in the slightest, and look as though they've come straight out of a Playstation game. Then the final act dovetails away from its source material, incorporating divine intervention as a plot device and finding a cure to the Darkseekers that belies Richard Matheson's novel.

Moonlight

Don't get me wrong, I was overjoyed when Moonlight finally picked up the Best Picture Academy Award over La La Land back in February, as it was a poetic, beautiful, and important film that revolved around lives and was set in a world that we seldom see. But was I the only one who felt a little underwhelmed by its final scene? Sure the interchange between Trevante Rhodes' Black and Andre Holland's Kevin in the diner was captivating, but when they arrived back at his home I couldn't help but feel as though it required more gravitas and a more powerful exchange between the pair. I was still undeniably impressed by Moonlight. But its damp squib of a finale left me thinking it could have had even more of an impact.

While April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, this year they'll bring a little something extra to you folks with a Netflix subscription. In particular, the titles we're about to list below will be on their way to your instant streaming queues, should you choose to partake in them. And with a good mix of the new with the old, there's certainly a lot of options to choose from.

Here's what's heading to Netflix Instant in April. However, please keep in mind, titles and dates are, as always, subject to change. In addition, if you are looking for the list of March 2017 releases, we have you covered.

Week of April 1st

A Weekend with the Family (2016) -- April 1

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) -- April 1

Across the Universe (2007) -- April 1

An American Tail (1986) -- April 1

An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) -- April 1

An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster (1999) -- April 1

Boy Bye (2016) -- April 1

Born To Be Free (2016) -- April 1

Cool Runnings (1993) -- April 1

Good Witch: Season 2 (2016) -- April 1

Gremlins (1984) -- April 1

Only for One Night (2016) -- April 1

Richard Pryor: Live & Smokin' (1971) -- April 1

Scooby-Doo (2002) -- April 1

Schindler's List (1993) -- April 1

Something's Gotta Give (2003) -- April 1

Thunderstruck (2012) -- April 1

Wynonna Earp: Season 1 (2016)-- April 1

Trouble with the Curve (2012) -- April 1

Tropic Thunder (2008) -- April 1

The Tenth Man (2016) -- April 1

The D Train (2015) -- April 2

Chewing Gum: Season 2 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 4

Louis C.K. 2017 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 4

Disney's The BFG (2016) -- April 6

El Faro De Las Orcas --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 7

Dawn of the Croods: Season 3 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 7

The Get Down: Part 2 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 7

Win It All --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 7

Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) -- April 8

Week of April 9th

Documentary Now!: Season 2 (2016) -- April 10

Kevin Hart: What Now (2016) -- April 11

DC's Legends of Tomorrow: Season 2 (2016) -- April 12

Chelsea: Season 2 ---NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 14

El Elegido (2017) -- April 14

Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 14

Sandy Wexler --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 14

Disney's Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) -- April 15

Slam --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 15

Week of April 16th

Lucas Brothers: On Drugs --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 18

A Plastic Ocean -- April 19

Bill Nye Saves the World: Season 1 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 21

Girlboss: Season 1 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 21

Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On: Season 1 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 21

Sand Castle --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 21

Tales by Light: Season 2 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 21

The Mr. Peabody & Sherman Show: Season 4 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 21

The Prestige (2006) -- April 21

Tramps --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 21

The Great British Baking Show: Masterclass: Season 1-3 (2016) -- April 22

The Secret Life of Pets (2016) -- April 22

Week of April 23rd

Liv and Maddie: Season 4 (2016) -- April 23

Phantom (2013) -- April 23

Long Nights Short Mornings (2016) -- April 24

Disney's Queen of Katwe (2016) -- April 25

The 101-Year-Old Man Who Skipped Out on the Bill and Disappeared --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 25

Vir Das: Abroad Understanding --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 25

Real Rescues: Season 6-7 (2012) -- April 26

Trust (2010) -- April 26

Las Chicas del Cable: Season 1 --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 27

A Murder in the Park (2014) -- April 28

Casting JonBenet --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 28

Dear White People: Season 1 ---NETFLIX ORIGINAL -- April 28

Rodney King --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 28

Small Crimes --- NETFLIX ORIGINAL FILM -- April 28

Week of April 30th

Sofia the First: Season 3 (2015) -- April 30

Movie fans are getting a lot of new content from both the past and present eras of film-making, with a lot of recent releases hitting the streaming service. If you happened to miss Kubo and The Two Strings or Disney's The BFG, both films will be streaming towards the beginning of the month. Meanwhile, further family friendly options will be dropping towards the end of the month, when The Secret Life of Pets and Disney's Queen of Katwe make their way on to Netflix's digital library.

Adults in the family make out better with the more classic films launching on Netflix Instant, as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Gremlins, and Schindler's List all hit at the top of the month. Though kids will still get something out of the deal, as all three films of An American Tail's run will be added at the same time. If your tastes run more to the modern, you'll be able to watch Tropic Thunder or The Prestige, among all of the other listed options, throughout the month.

TV-wise, things are a little light, as season 2 of DC's Legends of Tomorrow is the only non-original option that seems to be of note. That said, Netflix's original material seems to be in full form in April, as Louis C.K. has a new comedy special premiering, and the widely anticipated revamp of Mystery Science Theater 3000 is finally going to be unveiled for all to see! Also, if you're a fan of The Get Down, you should probably start re-watching part 1 now, as part 2 is coming on April 7th, completing the show's first season.

Can't find a Netflix original on the list you could have sworn was dropping in April? Or are you just curious about what the streaming network has released, and is looking to produce in the coming months of 2017? Check out our Netflix premiere schedule, which can be found here.

One of the best things about the Dishonored series is the unique set of abilities it gives the player to achieve their various missions. In the recently released Dishonored 2, one player has discovered a pretty diabolical trick using one such ability, but its handiness comes at the cost of kinda-sorta killing yourself.

This Dishonored 2 trick is now being called "The Prestige" by many folks because the mechanics at play are reminiscent of the 2008 film by the same name. Just so we're clear, there are huge spoilers ahead for The Prestige, so tread lightly if you still plan on watching that magical Rubik's Cube of a film. If you're more concerned about the game, fear not, as there are no spoilers as far as Dishonored 2 is concerned.

Over on Twitter, game designer Tom Francis has posted a gif showing off their newly-discovered trick in Dishonored 2. We'll just let Francis do the talking for a moment.

In case it's unclear what is happening here, Francis is using an in-game ability to create a clone of his character. From there, he uses the ability to drop-kill said clone to traverse great heights without dying himself. As Francis points out, this trick should make folks with anything resembling a conscience feel kind of like a monster. I mean, you're creating a clone for the sole purpose of killing it off in a matter of seconds, all so you can skip using a ladder. It's a pretty nasty move, and we think it's pretty rad that it's included in Dishonored 2.

Now for those of you who have not seen The Prestige and aren't afraid of having the twist ruined, you're probably wondering how this in-game trick ties into the movie. You could always dive into our previous coverage that looks at the ending and the many theories surrounding it, but the short version of it is this: Two magicians are in competition to create the world's most amazing trick. Both tricks have the magician appear to travel from one point of the stage to another in a way that should be physically impossible. It turns out that one magician has employed the rather ingenious method of bringing their identical twin in on the act. The other, as it turns out, is quite a bit more sci-fi than that. Working with Tesla, they utilize a machine that literally makes a perfect clone. For reasons I still don't understand, the magician decides that the only way for the trick to work is for his clone to die every time it is performed, thus getting rid of any evidence of tomfoolery.

So, similar to The Prestige, this new trick in Dishonored 2 allows you to create a clone and then instantly kill them for your own gains...Ta-da! You can take a look at the ending of the film below.

We lost one of the greats in the history of entertainment when David Bowie passed away on January 10. Since then, a number of his collaborators have spoken about what it was like to work with the singer and actor. The man had a number of film roles but one of his last was as the enigmatic inventor Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film The Prestige. Now, the director has opened up about working with the icon, and why he had to have Bowie in his movie.

According to Christopher Nolan, casting the small, but vital role of Nikola Tesla in The Prestige was one of the most difficult actions in the film. As the one character in the movie who was based on a real person, it was important that the man playing him be right for the role. Like all right-thinking people in the world, Nolan is a huge fan of David Bowie. At some point, the director made a connection between the two creative and unique individuals, and realized Bowie was the only one who could play the part. He explained to Entertainment Weekly that he did everything he could to get the man on board.

Nolan says that he "begged" Bowie to take the part, telling him that he no idea where to go with it if Bowie didn’t take it. The director doesn’t go into detail regarding what he said to convince The Goblin King to take the role but Nolan was apparently able to convince David Bowie that he should do it.

The Prestige tells the story of competing illusionists, played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale who repeatedly try to outdo each other. Jackman’s character, who has a personal vendetta against Bale’s, has an idea for the ultimate illusion and ends up going to a man with a reputation for the impossible in order to make the idea a reality. Check out a scene below.

Just from that brief glimpse, it’s nearly impossible to consider anybody else in the part. David Bowie was unlike any performer who came before him. While Bowie’s film career was only a footnote in his life, it’s unfortunate we’ll never be able to see him onscreen again. He was one of a kind.

Few contemporary filmmakers have managed to garner the respect and adoration of Christopher Nolan. It’s been a decade since the release of his beloved film about rival magicians – The Prestige – and yet fans continue to dissect it and draw their own conclusions about what exactly happened in that masterpiece. One new theory has recently begun gaining traction among fans, and we have to say we find it difficult not to see the theory’s merit.

There will be spoilers for The Prestige from this point forward.

Posted by one very observant Redditor, the theory posits that a line read from the diary of Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) by his nemesis Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) fundamentally changes the way we should view the film and its themes:

Essentially, the theory indicates that while most audiences take the line as Borden speaking to his rival, Angier, through the diary, it’s actually Borden’s private thoughts about his own life. As anyone who has seen The Prestige knows, the secret to Borden’s ability to perform many of his tricks in the film is that he has a twin brother who he shares his life with. They are both "half" of Alfred Borden, rather than possessing separate and whole lives for themselves. This twist makes itself apparent at the very end of the film, but is also alluded to at various points throughout The Prestige. This new theory would have it rearing its head earlier than we ever realized.

If it's been a while since you've seen The Prestige, get yourself caught up on the ending before proceeding:

Ultimately, what this theory does is alter the way in which we, as an audience, view the rivalry between these two men. The entire movie revolves around two men trying desperately to learn each other’s secrets, when in reality, Borden’s secret was in front of Angier the entire time. Boiled down to its basic elements, the theory makes the movie thematically revolve around the idea that our obsession can make us blind to the truth that's really in front of our very eyes.

Of course, there are some holes in the theory. For one, Borden goes to great lengths to hide the secret of his tricks in the film, so for him to so blatantly admit something in a diary that he knew would fall into Angier’s hands doesn’t completely make sense. There’s also the fact that later portions of the diary do in fact read as if they are directly intended for Angier’s eyes. Do you think that they are?

There’s a wealth of evidence that supports both possibilities: the original idea, as well as the new theory. Only one thing is for certain at this point, and that’s the fact that I am about to go throw The Prestige in my DVD player and have my mind blown again, because ten years later it's still an endlessly watchable masterpiece.

Believe it or not, 2006 was a hell of a year for film. While Hollywood continued to crawl out of the dark ages that were the early Aughts, the hits just kept on coming. With both awards bait and blockbuster fare becoming increasingly better by the month, the ten best films out of the crop were a hard bunch to select. But if you look really hard, you can begin to peg out ten gems that really shine in the crown that was 2006's achievements. Here now are those ten films, which are naturally open to interpretation, but represent our portrait of the best films of that year.

10. The Departed

The greatest irony about The Departed is that Martin Scorsese ended up winning his first Best Director AND the Best Picture trophy on the back of this Boston flavored crime drama. The change in venue doesn't dull Scorsese's talents, and despite it being what some consider to be an inferior remake of its source material, the Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, it's still a fun film. With Jack Nicholson anchoring the whole universe down as the crime boss that Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon are working on opposite sides of, the film boasts some wonderfully comedic moments with a cast to die for. It also has some of the most unexpected deaths in any crime drama, which helps the film keep the audience guessing the whole way through.

9. Casino Royale

After the failure that was 2002's Die Another Day, the James Bond franchise went into lockdown in an attempt to try and salvage its image. With the controversial firing of Pierce Brosnan, the hunt was on the way for a new 007, leading to the equally fan rousing pick of Daniel Craig as the next torch bearer. By the time 2006's Casino Royale rolled its opening credits for the first time, audiences knew that they'd found their man. Bringing Bond back to his Ian Fleming roots, the serious adaptation of the first novel in his canon revitalized the British super-spy as a man living on the edge. With a new found frailty to his origin story, it would redefine the franchise for the years to come, and became known as the shot in the arm the series needed to become a more modern entertainment.

8. United 93

The terror attacks on September 11th will forever be etched into the consciousness of the generations of Americans who experienced them first hand. As a sort of catharsis, two films were made based on those attacks – Oliver Stone's World Trade Center and Paul Greengrass' United 93. In all honesty, the Greengrass picture is the better of the two, as the Stone flick is surprisingly devoid of the filmmaker's trademark sharpness and devolves into a patriotic puff piece. United 93 doesn't make those mistakes, instead opting for a low-key re-enactment of the doomed flight with equally under the radar actors. Even better is the fact that some actual air traffic controllers and military personnel involved in the reaction and damage control to the incident actually play themselves in the film. A solemn tribute to the heroism of its passengers, United 93 is a well put together film that helped a grieving nation heal its wounds.

7. V For Vendetta

If there was any sign that proudly trumpeted V For Vendetta's relevance after all of this time, it's the fact that it inspired Anonymous to adopt the face of the masked vigilante as their own. Yet behind that mask is a film that's so dependent on causality and the domino effect, that it actually has the plot to back up such devices. With a chain of events slowly growing out of control, the message of people standing up to their government in times of extreme duress still rings true after all of this time. While the film is part satire and part moving political statement, it is all entertainment – right up to its literally explosive finale.

6. The Holiday

Nancy Meyers' movies, even at their worst, are extremely fluffy affairs. Part of the reason that The Holiday makes the list of 2006's best films is the fact that it is a Meyers film that serves as the exception to the rule. Instead of just being an airy puff piece of comedy, both Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet's characters face down some real emotional baggage, and come out the other end like champions. Most impressively, the film contains a Jack Black character from his earlier heyday that manages not to become an annoying catch-phrase machine. Instead, Black's Miles is endearing, charming, and yes, still funny. If you walk away from The Holiday remembering nothing else, you should at least remember what a charming Jack Black feels like.

5. The Fountain

After five years of delays and re-writes, Darren Aronofsky was finaly allowed to tell his story of love across three souls in three different eras of time. While it was made with half the budget, and minus a couple of bigger set pieces that Aronofsky's original draft included, The Fountain is a film that transcends its limitations and tells a story that is deeply affecting. Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz's spectacular performances compliment the visual wizardry that the Black Swan director paints every frame with. Yet at the same time, the film's beauty isn't too distracting from the actual emotional story being told, as life, love, and loss all meet to form an equally beautiful story of what we'll do in the name of a love that is truly eternal. Come for the visuals, stay for the gorgeous Clint Mansell score.

4. Pan's Labyrinth

In what is probably Guillermo del Toro's finest film in his entire history of film-making, Pan's Labyrinth is all at once a fairy tale and a history lesson. Set during the oppressive time of the Spanish Civil War, the film focuses on the journey of Ofelia – a highly imaginative girl who must complete three trials to unlock the secret of immortality, in the hopes of saving her ailing mother. Serving as the most serious, as well as most fantastic, film he's ever made; Pan's Labyrinth cemented its director's name in Hollywood, and rightfully so. A visual feast of a fable, told with a darker sensibility that tempers its flights of fancy, Pan's Labyrinth is bound to be remembered as a classic.

3. Stranger Than Fiction

Will Ferrell, especially at the time of Stranger Than Fiction's release, was mostly known for shouty, brash comedies that involved lower grade humor than Marc Forster's film would ever boast. Yet this high concept dramedy about a character in a book who can hear his author's intentions to kill him is actually the antidote to those very films. Ferrell's straight-laced accountant makes for a perfect protagonist to struggle with Emma Thompson's plotting, as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal's rambunctious antics. Yet for as funny as Stranger Than Fiction is, it earns every laugh – and even some tears – with high quality writing that's even fit for folks with higher brows.

2. The Prestige

Christopher Nolan loves to twist his stories, and he's shown it since day one of his career. Yet The Prestige's big twist is probably still one of the most talked about endings that we've ever seen. With the entire film's plot between dueling magicians Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman serving as one, big puzzle box – that final revelation really was a shock to audiences back in the day. The fact that we can remember it so clearly ten years on signifies just how much of an impact the film has made on audiences, and how it will continue to endure as a suspense masterpiece. When The Prestige asks you if you're paying attention in its enigmatic opening, it's not just for show, it's a portent of things to come.

1. Children Of Men

Considering this was the same year that produced the equally incendiary V For Vendetta, Children Of Men seems like the superior piece of speculative political fiction. While the former film still serves as a general symbol for activism for the people, Alfonso Cuaron's film stands out as a brilliant exercise in taking the fears of the day and accelerating them into a plausible future state. Clive Owen's transformation from apathetic to sympathetic hero is brilliant, with everyone from Michael Caine to Chiwetel Ejiofor serving as influencing factors on Owen's journey. As beautiful of a story as it is a series of images, Children Of Men is a film that still lives up to its legend after a decade of existence.

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What is it with Christopher Nolan and his endings? The celebrated director frequently drops a dénouement that forces the audience to continue the conversation long after the lights have come up and the crowd has shuffled into the parking lot. What did Alfred (Michael Caine) really see in that Italian café at the end of The Dark Knight Rises? What does the spinning top mean at the conclusion of Inception? Where was Matthew McConaughey going as Interstellar wrapped? And seriously, what the hell happened at the end of The Prestige?

Nolan's 2006 standoff between rival magicians, The Prestige, is the film I widely considered to be his masterpiece (at least until Oppenheimer arrived in 2023) -- and revisiting it again for the benefit of this column did nothing to sway that opinion. Nolan loves creating intricate screenplays with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, and we usually don't have the complete story until the final piece of the story has clicked into place. It's not surprising that the ending to The Prestige is still frequently discussed on message boards nearly two decades after the film's release. The conclusion seems fairly cut-and-dried. But is it? Let's dig in to The Prestige and try to unlock its many secrets!

Obviously, this feature will reveal multiple spoilers about The Prestige. You have been warned!

What Happens At The End

The Prestige follows a rivalry waged between one-time partners and stage illusionists Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). The death of Angier's wife (Piper Perabo) during an earlier trick drove a wedge between the two men. Since, they have been playing a dangerous game of one-upmanship, and it's finally leading to their demise. As the movie concludes, Borden is on trial for Angier's murder. The magician snuck below the stage one night to see how Angier pulls off the latest iteration of The Disappearing Man. Only, Angier ends up in a tank of water, and Borden's set to hang for the crime.

Nolan saves a number of rug-pulling reveals as The Prestige races to a close, and if you aren't paying attention to them all, you might have left confused. Essentially, both men had created ways to deceive the audience using doubles, duplicates or clones to help them pull off each trick. Was Angier using a duplicate in the finale staging of his Disappearing Man? Did he really die in the tank of water that night? Or was Borden ultimately tricked by his rival. I'm pretty sure I have the answers to all of Nolan's riddles. Read on!

What It Means

Obviously, if you have made it this far, you know that Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) had a twin brother, and the two siblings took turns playing both Borden and his manservant, Fallon. Bale, the actor, plays both characters throughout The Prestige, and the siblings go to incredible lengths to hide the identity of the twin so as to protect the integrity of their stage trick. This means that the one brother, the one who loved Olivia (Scarlett Johansson), is the one who is behind bars for Angier's "murder." And the real Borden -- the man who got his fingers blown off earlier by the "Catch A Bullet" trick -- is left on the outside while his sibling hangs for a crime that didn't happen.

Angier, meanwhile, followed a red herring left by Borden that sends the struggling magician to Colorado, and the workshop of unconventional inventor Nikola Tesla (David Bowie). In a nutshell, Angier believes that Tesla built a machine for Borden, and he demands that the inventor replicate it. Tesla finally relents, and creates a machine that allows Angier to clone himself. Finally, Angier can pull off his magic trick. Each night, he clones himself on stage by stepping into Tesla's machine. The "original" Angier drops into a tank of water waiting below the stage. Meanwhile, the "clone" emerges in the balcony seconds after, completing the trick. We see Angier's blind assistants taking tanks of Angier "clones" out of the theater each night and dumping them in a deserted theater, where Angier and Borden will have their final encounter.

Angier, as you see, survives his final act. He drops a "clone" in the tank, allows Borden to be captured at the scene of the crime, knows that his rival will be charged with murder, and then chooses to disappear. Earlier in the film, Angier reveals that his family is wealthy, and that they are embarrassed by his pursuit of magic. So at the end of the film, we see "Angier" assuming the role of the wealthy Lord Caldlow -- who actually is the last created Angier clone.

This final deception is revealed to Angier's longtime associate, Cutter (Michael Caine). Cutter, upset by the betrayal, tips off Borden -- who is able to reunite with his daughter. Borden confronts Angier/Caldlow in the abandoned theater where the bodies of the "Angier" clones are left. He shoots Angier/Caldlow in the chest and leaves him to die... seemingly stopping the cycle of Angier clones and, finally, emerging victorious in the battle of the two men.

Why is Borden victorious? I mean, he has lost a ton in his life, including his brother and his true love, Sarah (Rebecca Hall), who hung herself because she believed her husband was cheating. But even through that, he is reunited with the daughter he believed would end up in Angier/Caldlow's care, and he's finally rid of his rival. Isn't he?

Wild Theories

Revisiting The Prestige, the ending struck me as clear cut, as far as Nolan's conclusions go. There wasn't a lot of room for interpretation, and the reveal of the Angier body in the floating tank of water was just confirmation that the illusionist was "killing" himself night after night, but creating a fresh clone who would live until the next performance.

Of course, as Cutter says in the final bit of narration:

So, I dug around. And I tumbled down a spectacular Reddit hole of alternate theories. Fans of the film raised a lot of fantastic questions and points that the film either doesn't address, or doesn't answer well enough. For example, if Angier really wants to perfect The Disappearing Man, why doesn't he just clone himself once, use the clone in the trick night after night, and never have to drown anyone? There's the fact that Angier dies symbolically this way because it's how his wife died. And Cutter has a line where he told Angier how drowning was like "going home," only Cutter lately reveals that he was lying. That dialogue is in the movie for a reason. Still, without a natural twin, Angier could have cloned himself once, then performed the trick from now until infinity with Borden never being the wiser.

However, that would mean he never could have framed Borden for "murder."

Another prevalent theory online states that Tesla's machine never worked, and that he was stringing the wealthy Angier along so he could fund his next project. When the government got too close to Tesla, the inventor left, leaving Angier with a broken machine. Those who follow that thread point out that Angier's "clones" should have had the same limp that the Angier Prime had, from a brutal fall earlier in the film. There are a surprising amount of people who believe that the real trick to The Prestige is making the audience believe that a machine capable of cloning another human actually exists.

What do you believe? Is there a deeper twist at the end of The Prestige that we aren't seeing? Or did Christopher Nolan leave his cards on the table this time, for all to see? Weigh in below with your best guess and wild theories. And go watch The Prestige again if you haven't in a while.

A musical homage to set the scene. Take a 'Waltz in the 4th Dimension' as you read...

Ten episodes into the second season and Hannibal remains the best drama on network television. Season 2 got off to a ferocious (flash-forward) start with "Kaiseki" and followed it up with a phenomenal stretch of original, horrifyingly stunning installments. After the slightest mid-season misstep with "Su-Zakana," the last two weeks have more than made up for the 'palate cleanser.' The titles for Bryan Fuller's second course all come from traditional Japanese cuisine and, obviously, we should have expected the vegetable dish would be the one a little lacking in flavor. The episode played too much like the first of a two-parter, not paying off until the more substantial "Shiizakana" was served. (My last pun, I'm full. Sorry.) Still, both parts, same as the seven before them, contained crucial steps in Will's reckoning, like an ice-fishing trip between old pals. And last week's "Naka-Choko" (the season's second palette cleanser) wasn't just one of the best of the series but it once again hinted at our hero's hand. How does he plan defeat the devil? Magic. This is Will's design.

After this video, I won't just be discussing Hannibal through the lens of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige but using it to speculate about the rest of the season, so, if those kind of 'spoilers' are not your thing, stop now. Otherwise, please press play...

"Are you watching closely?"

Christopher Nolan's fourth feature opens with a flash-foward narrated by Michael Caine's ingénieur that describes, in detail, the three parts of a magic trick and this probably won't be the first (or last) time that the sequence has been discussed as a metaphor for screenwriting, the illusion's parts standing in for the 'three acts' of a script. At its most rudimentary, the 'pledge, turn and prestige' can be seen as fulfilling the Aristotelian notion of drama, a story must have a 'beginning, middle and end.' I suppose that in this universality, you could then use The Prestige to dissect just about any on-screen storytelling, however, the connection to Hannibal that I'd like to discuss is far more direct. Bryan Fuller is obviously aware of this classical narrative paradigm but I think he's taken it a little more literally and structured Season 2 as an illusion. The showrunner as ingénieur with Will Graham playing the part of the magician. That doesn't mean there hasn't been a few hiccups for our hero along the way.

"There really is a very good explanation for all of this."

Speaking of hiccups, Friday night's episode saw Freddie Lounds find her way 'backstage' and therefore she must also become part of the illusion. She becomes a disappearing act. There are now a couple of characters who have vanished that, I believe, will be brought back but as part of Will's design. But I don't want to skip ahead to the prestige, especially since that involves the most speculation. Instead, let's start by looking at the speech from The Prestige when applied to Hugh Dancy's seemingly transforming hero. What we know for sure is that while incarcerated Will made his pledge in the form of a reckoning. He was back to being of sound mind, back to being ordinary, and we even had an episode or two to inspect him. Then came the turn, when our good boy began breaking bad, doing extraordinary things, things that might even fool Hannibal Lecter. Like killing and eating Freddie. Sorry, a 'long pig.'

"This is the trick."

The 'Goldfish Bowl' scene not only helps explain Will's method but was actually what made me start thinking about a connection between Hannibal and The Prestige in the first place. The wonderful sequence has the two young magicians sent to discover how an old, feeble one performs a particular trick and ends with the discovery that his whole life is an illusion. The scene came to mind while watching "Naka-Choko" because it answered the only lingering question: what would it take to fool Hannibal Lecter? One is not knowing the truth - in the case of Will's 'accomplices,' that means being on a need to know basis or simply disappearing - and the other is living the lie. And this is where all credit must go to the creator. Hannibal has always been told from Will's point of view and Bryan Fuller is using this to his advantage to pull the wool from our eyes. We are witness to the 'transformation.' Freddie almost had it right but it's actually 'in order to beat Hannibal Lecter, join him.' This is Will's design. And it's almost time for the prestige. It's time to bring him back. Of course, this is assuming that Hannibal, like Christian Bale's Borden, didn't spot it immediately. He might have a few tricks of his own.

Hannibal returns with Episode 11, "K? No Mono," next Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET on NBC. Created by Bryan Fuller and (loosely) based on the novel 'Red Dragon' by Thomas Harris, the series stars Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas and Laurence Fishburne.

Even though mash-ups have been done to death, there are still the rare few that burst through the thick layer of crap and actually impress. Just the other day we shared a clever and well executed parody of Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris recut to Kanye West and Jay-Z's "Niggas in Paris" off their "Watch the Throne Album." Today it's another Batman themed edit but instead of the traditional mash-up, this video, with voice-over from The Prestige, acts like a brand new trailer for The Dark Knight Rises as well as Christopher Nolan's trilogy as a whole.

Michael Caine's voice-over narration from the opening of The Prestige works perfectly, and not just because he also happens to play Alfred in the Batman films - although that certainly doesn't hurt - but because the 'three-acts to a magic trick' speech is a wonderful way to describe Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Of course, it could serve as an apt analogy for any of Nolan's films (the very reason for including in The Prestige, a film that is as much magic trick as narrative) but when played over the chronologically edited images it is oddly powerful.

A lot of credit obviously belongs to Nolan, DP Wally Pfister and the actors for creating such powerful and indelible images but it's still a well put together piece of fake advertising. The slow build of the voice-over which eventually gives way to the now iconic Zimmer and Newton-Howard score is really well done. The video was made by Dominaz3000 and posted on his YouTube page before making its way to reddit. Don't get me wrong, it's certainly not perfect, a few of the cuts are a little too on the nose, but overall it does an amazing job of building even more anticipation for the final chapter in the caped crusader's cinematic saga. Not that it's a particularly hard sell.

The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20. It stars Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Marion Cotillard. It is directed by Christopher Nolan. More information on The Dark Knight Rises can be found in our Blend Film Database.