2. Christopher Nolan
The current king of blockbuster cinema, few directors are as capable of holding together huge films the way Nolan does while at the same time making them interesting. Nolan's first movie was the very impressive Following, depicting a young writer who follows strangers in London for inspiration. Nolan broke out with his 2000 cult film Memento, about a man with memory loss who attempts to hunt down his wife's murderer. Memento was notable for having two story-lines, one going forward and the other backward and Nolan deftly balances them in a way few other filmmakers could. His next film was the 2002 thriller Insomnia about a murder investigation in Alaska. While very solid, Insomnia is arguably Nolan's weakest film to date but featured Robin Williams as a great villain in a brilliant casting choice. In 2005, Nolan resurrected the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, one of the greatest superhero films and a brilliant imagining of the batman character.He followed that with 2006's the Prestige, his most underrated film, about rival magicians who embark on a deadly game of one-upmanship. Nolan returned to the batman world in 2008 with his most successful and iconic film, the Dark Knight. Featuring a legendary performance from Heath Ledger, the Dark Knight broke box-office records and redefined how good a superhero film could be. 2010 saw the release of what is likely Nolan's best film so far as Inception became one of the most mind-bending blockbusters ever made as well as one of the most acclaimed. 2012 saw Nolan return once more to the batman universe, unfortunately the Dark Knight Rises was seen by many as a bit of a disappointment although the film was not without its merits, most notably Tom Hardy's brilliant portrayal of Bane. Nolan earns a place on the list for his ability to put together extremely difficult films and make it look easy as well as his ability to make financially successful films that still respect an audiences intelligence. Finally, I had to put him this high because there are few thing scarier than an angry Christopher Nolan fanboy.
Eligible Films: Following (1998), Memento (2000), Insomnia (2002), Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), Inception (2010), The Dark Knight Rises (2012)