Batman Begins (2005) has elicited a collective sigh of relief from most film critics. The movie has successfully revived the Batman icon after the disaster called Batman & Robin in 1997.

If Batman Begins reflects the character’s tonal pivot, we could say that The Dark Knight accomplished a similar feat of rehabilitation - but this time, it’s for Batman's arch-nemesis, the Joker. (Let’s admit that, though not a complete disaster, the previous portrayal of the Joker by actor Jack Nicholson has fallen short of our expectations. It failed to establish a benchmark for the character.)

Though it is technically a superhero film, The Dark Knight is, at its heart, a genuine crime saga. The same could be said about its source material, which originated from the columns of Detective Comics. Heath Ledger's portrayal as the King of Criminal - The Joker - is a natural force. The character was scripted as a crime leader who desires nothing less than Gotham's own soul. Ledger's Joker is both scary and comically funny. He is a stark reminder of why Joker deserves to be the true nemesis of Batman, the World's Greatest Detective.

Release year: 2008

IMDB score: 9.1/10

Metascore: 84/100

In The Prestige, Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman portrayed rival magicians, who competed to outdo one another in magic performances. However, their true motive is vying for a kind of immortality. They are fighting for the trust of the same audience. And they need all of that trust to themselves, since trust is something that cannot be shared. Each magician strives to inspire awe and beliefs in their viewers - just as Nolan wishes to do with his own audience - as though such an accomplishment would bestow divinity on the achiever, whether it is based on deception and illusion or not.

Nolan starts The Prestige with a scene of top hats strewn over the jungle floor, while a voice-over asks quietly, "Are you looking closely?" It is a snapshot out of space and out of time in comparison with the rest of the movie; Nolan altered our sense of what we are seeing and when, in order to replicate the three important stages of the "magic" acts shown in the film.

Nolan seems to think that human religion is founded on falsehoods that we feed ourselves and others - a theory he elaborates throughout his Batman films later on - suggesting that symbols are revered not for their reality, but for the inspiration they generate.

Release year: 2006

IMDB score: 8.5/10

Metascore: 66/100

There has always been something intriguing and appealing about Batman - something dark, brooding, and human about him. These attributes cannot be seen in his other superhero counterparts. Now, combine this sad comic-book character with an immensely imaginative director such as Christopher Nolan (who produced Memento and Insomnia), and you get a tremendously dark and contemplative film. What can be said with certainty is that Batman Begins is a film for men rather than children.

Batman Begins sparked a trend of "realistic" and "grounded" reimagining of generally cheerful characters, including Man of Steel, a movie about Superman. However, most of these interpretations seem to have overlooked the core of Nolan's superhero film. Despite its emphasis on realism, Batman Begins retains a formalist style, an explosion of contrasts from a multitude of sources across time and geography.

However, the film's greatest artistic achievement is its editing. The film begins in flashbacks (in this instance, a dream scene) and regularly cuts to Bruce Wayne's (Christian Bale) infancy and adolescent years. Similar to Insomnia and Memento, Bruce's memories appear on the screen as some abrupt, jolting blasts of image stimuli, which instantly draws the audience's attention to the mental realm inside Bruce Wayne.

Release year: 2005

IMDB Score: 8.3/10

Metascore: 70/100

Ford v Ferrari - directed by the outstanding James Mangold - revs its way into cinemas. It's an excellent film on one of the industry's unsung heroes, Ken Miles (by Christian Bale). As the title implies, the film contains flawless acting, good directing, stunning racing sequences, and a gripping underdog narrative that will appeal to a wide variety of audiences.

Bale is the genuine outstanding performance and star in this film. This is one of his most stellar performances to date. Ken Miles is an excellent example of an everyday hero. He is quite harsh and overly frank with his coworkers as a professional. While he may have an unpleasant personality, Ken Miles is a devoted father and spouse.

Bale imbues Miles with a natural style and a genuine sense of humor as he takes control of the GT40. All the racing moments are flawless. They are neither careless nor excessive, and quite unique compared to other films of the same genre. The peril and suspense are both tangible and dramatic. Ford v Ferrari is a one-of-a-kind examination of the bond that a racing driver shares with his race, his car, and his career.

Release year: 2019

IMDB Score: 8.1/10

Metascore: 81/100

Steven Spielberg, who used to be famous for being a producer of family films, wedded J.G. Ballard, a controversial author of nightmarish social horror books. Their marriage may have seemed out-of-no-where at first. However, by reforming the semi-autobiographical war novel, Empire of the Sun, into a gloomy tale the director has risen to his wife’s level in terms of mature themes. Spielberg has created one of his most mature and poignant masterpieces of that time period.

Empire of The Sun is about World War II, as seen through the lens of a restless kid: Jamie (by Christian Bale, at the tender age of 13 delivering one of his finest performances). Jaime was cruelly ripped from his English bubble when Japanese soldiers captured his Shanghai house and imprisoned him. For normal children, playgrounds are fun and thrilling. For Jaimie, playgrounds are warfare and blood. In the absence of judgmental parents and teachers, jail is a safe haven for the creative young child. He sneaked onto the adjacent Japanese airport as if it was a game of hide - and - seek, while nuclear bombs were exploding everywhere and people kept dying around him.

It is an emotional film. And Spielberg, for the first time in a very long time, did not force a happy ending on his audience. Rather, he opted to conclude the story on an uncertain note: is Jamie rescued, or is he permanently lost?

Release year: 1987

IMDB score: 7.7/10

Metascore: 62/100

"American Psycho" is twenty-two years old at the moment of this writing. Yet this horror film, drenched with comedy and replete with underlying social background, is as potent as it was in 2000. This is largely owing to Christian Bale's astonishingly accurate acting and Mary Harron's excellent directing.

Patrick Bateman (by Christian Bale) has it all: success, attractiveness, and even a lovely girlfriend (by Reese Witherspoon). However, all of his pleasantries are just an act. At night, his murderous instincts emerge. He yearns to control and torture people. This man, an American psycho influenced by yuppie culture, becomes anxious over even the tiniest detail - such as the sharpness of his card, or his failure to book reservations at an expensive restaurant. Patrick is also meticulous about his looks. Everything he possesses reflects his desire for "being the best."

His coworkers and pals are practically cut from the same fabric: their materialism runs through them all. In many respects, these characters are carbon copies of one another - they are hollow, egotistical, and devoid of definition. Patrick is often concerned about fitting in, yet he understands that deep inside, he is just as hollow and empty as everyone else around him.

Release year: 2000

IMDB Score: 7.6/10

Metascore: 64/100

"American Hustle" has a bizarre tone to it. It is as if an exaggerated version of our everyday life is being played out. Perhaps the reasons lie in the outlandish 1970s fashions - long hair, broad collars, and flaring pants - or the edgy performances by the film's stellar ensemble. All in all, the movie seems a little far away from reality.

Christian Bale is a star in "American Hustle". His portrayal as Irving is a jumble of opposites. Irving is a guy of confidence with a moral; a man who believes it is unethical to entrap lawmakers so quickly after the public's distrust of them. He is a sleazebag who is stuck in a bad marriage, but still unwilling to give up on his wife Rosalyn because of his concerns for their kid. And Irving also really cares for Carmine, despite the fact that he is about to sentence this man to prison.

Bale adds genuine nuance to a role that could have been simply a gimmick. While other performers would have depended on their weight gain and poor hair to carry the role, Bale brings life to the character and makes you feel sympathetic for him.

Release year: 2013

IMDB Score: 7.3/10

Metascore: 90/100

"Little Women" seems boldly untrendy in a film industry dominated by violent masculine fantasies, Louisa. M. Alcott, in the era of Sharon Stone and Courtney Love? Fortunately, director Gillian Armstrong and writer Robin Swicord seem rather unfazed. They introduced the March sisters to the 1990s audience, keeping all the graces of vanities of nineteenth-century New England intact.

This gorgeous "Little Women" movie adaptation graciously depicts the domestic routines of the March household. It paid careful attention to the smallest details, ensuring that the story about these four sisters and their self-discoveries would beguile us once again.

Actress Winona Ryder (as Jo) is enthralling — to the point that she knocked off the emotional balance. She is more seductive and fragile than the strong Jo we are so used to in the book. The sequence in which Jo declines the marriage proposal from her closest friend Laurie (by Christian Bale) is equally memorable. Most viewers are taken aback by her choice, since Bale and Ryder seem to be a perfect match. However, our disappointment proves that the film can withstand the test of time: the directors have integrated us into the March family and turned us into a member. We care about the characters, and we want to discuss their love decisions for the sake of their happiness.

Release year: 1994

IMDB Score: 7.3/10

Metascore: 87/100

The movie is smart, challenging, and maddening. It is unassuming yet fascinating, more mysterious than disclosing, self-contained and wildly imaginative. It is entertaining, perplexing, and some parts are just obscure. So is he there or not? If he is not here, then where is he? In the end, who is really Bob Dylan? Is the movie truly about him, or is it about some imaginary 1960s singer concocted by a filmmaker who enjoys playing extremely complicated games?

All of these ideas raced through our minds as we watched I'm Not There - a brilliant film from the eccentric director Todd Hayness, who was also behind masterpieces such as Far From Heaven and Poison. Each of these thoughts are equally accurate and valid, because, after all, this film is about a changing man, a guy who refused to be defined - whether by fans, critics, or traditions.

Lots of arguments, theories and discussions were raised among fans. They are never really gratifying anyway, since we all know that whatever discussed here is literally screaming "I'm not there”, just like the movie’s title.

Release year: 2007

IMDB Score: 6.8/10

Metascore: 73/100

Terrence Malick's "The New World" got rid of all the fancy and glamor from the famous tale about Pocahontas, her clan, and the English immigrants at Jamestown. Instead, he reimagined the narrative, depicting how foreign and weird all of these people must have seemed to each other. If the Indians were taken aback by the English, the English were equally taken aback by the melancholic beauty of the new land and its inhabitants. They referred to the Indians as "the naturals," oblivious of the term's true appropriateness.

Malick spent the majority of the film attempting to conceive how these groups met, and how they initiated communication - especially when we consider the fact that both groups are terribly unfamiliar with the other. Of course, many history lessons have taught us the tragic consequences of this fateful encounter, but the characters in “The New World” are not aware of that yet. They view each other with open curiosity, and perhaps a certain modesty of nature as well.

The Indians survive because they accept the blatant truth of their country, whereas the English are nearly killed off due to their ignorance and arrogance.

Release year: 2005

IMDB score: 6.7/10

Metascore: 69/100