2. Argo - Ben Affleck
Remember the early to mid 00's? Remember how no matter how hard he tried, Ben Affleck was laughed out of the room whenever he attempted a summer blockbuster? Yep, that was pretty much a yearly tradition for Affleck. Whether it was the thunderously appalling Pearl Harbour, slightly embarrassing Daredevil, or the flat-out pathetic Gigli, a good 90% of the things Affleck touched during that time was utter dross. That's not to say he didn't have his signs of promise to begin with, the previous decade had given us hope with his collaborations with Kevin Smith, but these weren't in any way truly dramatic roles. In all honesty, most of us are probably still angry that it was Bruce Willis who stayed trapped on that asteroid in Armageddon, and not Captain Chin Dimple up there. But then something altogether weird happened. Not unlike Sofia Coppola, Affleck stepped behind the camera (well, sort of... he stayed in front of it for some too) and directed Gone Baby Gone and The Town. Those films immediately became modern staples of the mystery and crime genres, respectively, and won a lot of attention Affleck's way. However, the accolades started arriving in truckloads in 2012 when he released Argo, undoubtedly one of the finest films I have ever seen. Affleck displayed a talent for directing suspense in a believable way, not to mention strutting his stuff as a more than respectable actor for the first time in over ten years. All of which is even more hilarious when you compare it to just how overblown everything he ever did under the dangerous influence of Michael Bay.