Erin Brockovich (2000)

t's hard to find any true cineaste who doesn't feel Paul Newman was royally cheated when his career-defining performance in 1961's The Hustler lost out to Judgment at Nuremberg's Maximilian Schell for the Best Actor Oscar. Newman would finally win his Academy Award a quarter-century later, and it would be for The Color of Money, the Hustler sequel that found him reprising his role as pool shark Fast Eddie Felson. But don't believe those detractors who state this was merely a sympathy prize: Newman's terrific here, as his older and (usually) wiser character serves as mentor to a young stud (Cruise) who's seemingly invincible at the table. Working with his crack technical team, Martin Scorsese turns the film into a high-wire act, using everything from the crack of the balls to the rockin' soundtrack (best bit: Cruise playing and preening to Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London") to pump up the action. In addition to Newman's win, this received nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Cruise's street-smart girlfriend), Best Adapted Screenplay for Price, and Best Art Direction & Set Decoration.