10. Alfonso Cuarón- Here is one of those up and comers. He directed the best Harry Potter movie (number 3) and he helped to bring Hispanic films into the mainstream with his quietly brilliant Y tu mama Tambien. However, all of that pales in comparison to the brilliance of Children of Men(SEE THIS MOVIE!). He possesses an ability to make something seem a lot more tense than it should be like a car chase featuring a car that doesn't even run and the tracking shot in Children of Men is reason alone for him to be on this list. He gets incredible performances out of actors and while he is still figuring out his style, I cannot wait for 4 projects he has upcoming. His unique visual style sets him apart from so many and his choice of project also shows his good taste. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- Y tu mama Tambien and Children of men.
9. Paul Greengrass- The master of the handheld shaky camera, Greengrass has an ability to put the audience in his movie. His in your face, dizzy style of directing makes movies an active experience, not a reactive experience. He changed the genre of the spy action movie with the final two Bourne movies and that kind of action movie is being copied all over the place. He knows exactly what to capture and knows how to elicit emotions exactly when he wants them. His movies looks stylized but they all have a heart as well. He has less than 10 movies to his credit, but again, I have always liked what I have seen thus far and I have every reason to believe he will continue to wow me. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- The Bourne Ultimatum and United 93.
8. Martin Scorsese- I know it seems sac-religious to put this god of directing so low on the list, but it is my list, so deal with it. Infatuated with the dark violent aspect of life, Scorsese carved a niche for himself directing gangster or mob movies. He started making these small raw bloody movies and has since transformed into creating big raw and bloody movies. He will direct documentaries, music videos for big artists as well, but his bread and butter is a good old fashioned mob movies. He tends to reuse actors, staying in a creative comfort zone with them, but often the gel together so well, I can forgive it. He has pulled a few incredible performances out of Robert De niro and Leo Decaprio. I always know when I am watching a Scorsese film to expect things to happen in abrupt spurts following some great dialogue and I always know to remember that blood will be spewed, usually often. However, he has always done it in a very cinematic gorgeous fashion. He is the king and will always be the king. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- Raging Bull and Taxi Driver.
7. Peter Jackson- Yes he is an arrogant, pompous, self important jerk, but he is an incredibly talented arrogant, pompous, self important jerk. The creator of the greatest trilogy ever (yeah I said it, what!?) Jackson is a visual genius. Long before he created that franchise though, Jackson cut his teeth creating horror-gore epics. His blend of brilliant camera angles with campy, gross out horror really showed his level of skill and when he moved on to less gory projects like Heavenly creatures, he showed his visual flare was good for every kind of movie. Now he needs millions upon millions of dollars to make movies, but I do not blame him because when the end result looks as good as King Kong, it is all good. I am not saying King Kong is incredible but it looks incredible. He prefers to make grand epics, but he finds a way to make them seem small. He is the champion of New Zealand and most of the long epic shots he captured for The Lord of The Rings trilogy show probably every breathtaking view of that country. He takes a long time to make his masterpieces these days so his filmography is not lengthy but he always packs a brilliant punch! The two movies that best show why he is on this list- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Frighteners.
6. Bryan Singer- It would be bad of me not to include the director of my all time favorite movie- The Usual Suspects. The way he weaved that story was brilliant on so many levels and while he has spent the rest of his career trying to recapture that magic, he has made another few excellent movies and helped get House M.D on the air to boot! Singer is a young man with a big vision. He helped bring the superhero genre in the big time with the great X-men movie and the even better X2 movie. In a comic book that features a vast number of characters he found the right blend of personalities and characters in the mutants he chose to bring to the screen. He has pulled a few great performances from acting legends- Kevin Spacey, Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart and he pulled Hugh Jackman from obscurity. Yes, he had a misstep with the Superman movie, but no one is perfect. I also got to attend a lecture/Q&A he was giving and his passion for film was amazing. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- The Usual Suspects and X2.
5. David Fincher- A man in the prime of his film making career, Fincher cut his teeth in the music video genre and graduated to making movies that make you think and keep you guessing all the way through. He also has this following camera tracking like shot that he uses in every movie and it finds a way to be effective no matter what movie it is. He made a possibly bad story (Panic Room) into an absolutely thrilling ride of a movie and of course his masterpiece-Fight Club-is a wondrous work in every sense of the word. A cult like director, Fincher directs interesting projects, but he is not afraid of admitting to mistakes (see Alien 3). He gets down and dirty in his film work, showing some brutally grisly things and always finding a way to keep an edge about each project. I did not enjoy Zodiac at all this year, but with such an impressive resume, it can be forgiven. Sometimes it seems like he doesn't do enough work, but I guess being choosy with projects is a good thing. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- The Game and Fight Club.
4. Quentin Tarantino- The man of the brilliant dialogue, Tarantino is also the man of the brilliant non-linear mind screws. Pulp Fiction is a brilliant twisting genre bending movie and even though Kill Bill sucks in both volumes his visual style is picture perfect. Everyone who loves film knows a Tarantino film when they see it. He loves his long circular shots and boy does he love feet. His movies are more than just pop culture phenomenons they are homages to movies, homages to what raised him. He is also responsible for Reservoir Dogs, one of the best movies ever. The scenes where Tim Roth is bleeding and screaming in the back of the car are so raw an d real, I felt like I was there. Tarantino is a big too self congratulatory at times, but when you created the movie that defined an entire decade, I think you can get away with it. His movies are always oddly paced between incredibly fast and incredibly slow but he find a way to make it work because he gives us time to care about the characters we are meeting. he is meticulous in setting up shots and capturing these amazing iconic shots from his actors. He is always fresh and inventive which makes each movie a fun adventure. The two movie that best show why he is on this list- Reservoir Dogs and Death Proof.
3. The Coen Brothers- Before back to back bad movies- The Lady Killers and Intolerable cruelty, this writer/director brother team hit home run after home run. They tackled the dark world of crime with Blood Simple and Miller's Crossing. They nailed the absurd comedy genre with Raising Arizona and the brilliant Big Lebowski. They also turned a kidnap thriller on its head with the hilarious and dark Fargo. To top it off they created a movie that I think is the funniest movie ever with O Brother where art thou. Their resume is one of the most impressive things ever and they continue to reinvent themselves. With absurd camera shots and even more absurd stories these brothers have carved a place in movie history. They get hilarious yet layered performances from each leading man or woman and even better performances from their supporting casts. They find a way to perfectly capture their madcap characters in just the perfect light and they have a great visual style that makes their movies a treat for all the senses. The Two movies that best show why they are on this list- O Brother where art thou and Miller's Crossing.
2. Chris Nolan- If Tarantino is the man of the brilliant non linear mind screw, Nolan is the man of brilliant non linear, mind rape. He burst onto the scene with backwards playing Memento but before that he did a movie called Following that tells a story in three different tenses and it will mess with you hardcore. He believes in multiple twists in a movie, not on the one big twist at the end and he has created an entire world or dark, bleak tortured characters. His Batman is truly the dark knight and he took a topic like magic and turned it into this brutal tale of ultimate revenge. Basically he took the magic out of magic and turned it on its head. His use of light or lack there of is always exciting and he manages to weave deep elaborate metaphors in his movies as well. Don't believe me, watch Insomnia again. He only has 7 films to his name and I have seen 5 of them and 1 has yet to be released, but I have loved each and everyone of them. And if what I have seen and heard of The Dark Knight rings true, I have no doubt that I will also love it beyond belief. I like a man unafraid to push me, to make me think and keep me on my toes. The two movies that best show why he is on this list- The Prestige and Batman Begins.
1. Steven Speilberg- It may be an easy choice, I know, but no one has done what he has done. No one switches genres as effortlessly as he does and no one can create huge massive big budget blockbusters and still find a way to make movies with serious subjects matters, or theme pictures and be just as successful. A man with an infinite vision of how movies are meant to be made, Speilberg is the god of it all. He has his misses sure, but even in failure he makes brilliant moments in those failures. His Jurassic Park is the reason I love movies the way I do and he keeps making movies that re-affirm my love. He may direct too many movies but when a man has that much vision to give, who can blame him. He can give us big budget (Indiana Jones) Intimate and weird (A.I) Gritty realism (Saving Private Ryan) Heart Wrenching drama (Schindler's list) and even pure escapism (Catch me if you can) and he can make them all feel real and feel wonderful. I can list about 15 movies of his I consider to be great films and of those 15 I can name 5 or 6 that I think are just pure movie brilliance, even if they are just big action movies. I could go on and on about this man, but you all know who he is and what he has accomplished. Picking two movies for this list was virtually impossible, but the two I came up with were Jurassic Park and Schindler's list.
So there you have it. I did not include Kevin Smith or Judd Apatow on this list because their true fgift lies int he writing of a movie, not the directing, although maybe Apatow will end up on this list at some point. I know the number 1 is pretty obvious, but I believe what I believe, so deal with it. Feel free to add any favorites of yours. I know I left some notable names off this list liek Sam Raimi and Tim Burton, so feel free to represent for your choice!
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