241 Pizza

52 The Constant Gardener (Fernando Meirelles, 2005)
A John Le Carré thriller brought to life by the Brazilian director Meirelles, this is storytelling that is charged with energy and idealism. Ralph Fiennes is tremendous as the conflicted widower driven to make sense of his wife’s murder.

51 The Son’s Room (Nanni Moretti, 2001)
Moretti, of Dear Diary fame, dumps his previous penchant for on-screen clowning with an emotionally punishing account of a psychiatrist (Moretti) dealing with the sudden death of his son. There are light moments, especially with his neurotic clients, but this mostly made for weeping.

50 The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)
The final and most satisfying Rings movie snagged a record $1.1 billion at the box office, plus 11 Oscars, and cemented the trilogy’s reputation as one of the great all-time franchises.

49 Knocked Up (Judd Apatow, 2007)
Ambitious career girl Katherine Heigl and stoner scruff Seth Rogen get more than a phone number at the end of their night together. It’s gleefully rude and deliriously funny, but the film’s ultimate strength comes from its unexpectedly soft centre.

48 Little Miss Sunshine (Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris, 2006)
A Hollywood honcho’s dream ticket, this heartfelt family drama cost only $6 million but grossed over $100 million. The story of a ramshackle road trip to California in a clapped out VW van set the quirky tone for future indies, such as Juno.

47 My Summer of Love (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2004)
Heady, intoxicating and a little crazy — the teenaged crush is explored in all its deranged intensity, with two sterling central performances from Natalie Press and Emily Blunt.

46 Traffic (Steven Soderbergh, 2000)
Soderbergh and screenwriter Stephen Gaghan somehow achieve the impossible by making a single star-laden movie (step forward Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas) about the human cost of the drugs trade that’s even better than the six-hour Channel 4 mini-series that inspired it.

45 Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald, 2003)
In 1985, two climbers attempted to scale the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. This documentary, about endeavour and survival, is as tense as a thriller.

44 Under the Sand (François Ozon, 2000)
Charlotte Rampling dazzles as a woman in denial about her husband’s death. An uncharacteristically subtle and sensitive work from Ozon.

43 The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
A rare example of a film franchise in which the director’s vision triumphs over the tendency to churn out a homogenous brand. A chilling, brilliant swan song for Heath Ledger as the Joker.

42 The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004)
Superhero-mania gets a wryly affectionate drubbing with an ironic adventure from Pixar

41 Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
Staggeringly accomplished photography from Emmanuel Lubezki brings an urgency to this dystopian vision of a near future where humankind has become infertile. An outstanding film which somehow slipped through the net.

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