Summer is over, and the fall movie season is quickly gathering steam. This week sees the release of Don Jon, which stars Joseph Gordon Levitt as a porn-obsessed ladies man and Scarlett Johansson as his latest conquest. That's a great pairing, and it should hopefully be another entry in a string of great movies from both actors. But we're here to celebrate Scarlett Johansson!

Loading

10. The Island

From big-budget fare like Marvel's The Avengers to The Island, to period dramas like The Prestige and Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johansson has tried it all. She's been very successful with indie hits like Lost in Translation and Ghost World , and collaborated several times with Woody Allen in movies like Match Point and Vicki Cristina Barcelona. The Coen Brothers featured her in The Man Who Wasn't There and she's played opposite Robert Redford in The Horse Whisperer. But what is the best of her best movies? Read on...We all know what to expect from director Michael Bay by now, and it begins and ends with giant explosions. But Bay is often at his best when he tackles smaller, more unpredictable films. It was true with Pain & Gain this year, and it was true in 2005 with The Island.With The Island, Bay offered his own unique spin on the familiar dystopian future sci-fi film. In this world, a select group of humans live in a perfectly arranged bottle city where advertising runs rampant, every citizen's life is entirely micromanaged, and cloning is the name of the game. Johansson starred alongside Ewan MacGregor as a woman empowered by romance and attempting to break free from society's shackles.While Bay certainly delivered the sort of high-octane chase scenes and action sequences we've come to expect, The Island offered far more humanity and intelligence than most of his work. And for their part, Johansson and MacGregor really sold their characters and their odd love story despite the limited timeframe.

9. The Horse Whisperer

The Horse Whisperer offered an early chance for Johansson to shine in 1998, and she certainly rose to the challenge. Robert Redford directed and starred in this adaptation of Nicholas Evans' popular novel. Redford played the titular Horse Whisperer, a kindly rancher gifted with the ability to nurture injured and traumatized horses back to health. He faced his greatest challenge in the form of Johansson's teen riding enthusiast and her horse, both of whom narrowly survived a terrible accident. Kristin Scott Thomas also starred as a mother struggling to reconcile her newfound love of the Montana wilderness with her busy life back home.What could have been a schmaltzy romance instead became an emotional, contemplative look at the relationships between people and horses. Redford's direction was impeccable, and Johansson expertly conveyed the tumultuous blend of typical teen brattiness and the deeper physical and emotional suffering her character required.

8. Girl With a Pearl Earring

When casting this adaptation of Tracy Chavalier's novel, director Peter Webber apparently had eyes only for Johansson as his star actress. It's tough to argue with the results. Here, Johansson played Griet, a servant girl working for famous Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth). Despite her humble background, Griet's knowledge of art quickly catches the eye of her master. Griet soon becomes the subject of Vermeer's newest masterpiece, as well as the object of his desire.While Johansson had already proven her talent and versatility by this point, Girl With a Pearl Earring quickly proved to be another showcase for the up-and-coming actress. She deftly adopted a British accent and delivered a subtle, nuanced portrayal of a timid girl thrust into a complex romantic entanglement. And the movie's brilliant camera work also deserves a mention, with inspired use of lighting that embodies Vermeer's legendary artistic style.

7. Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Loading

6. The Man Who Wasn't There

5. Match Point

4. The Prestige

For most actors, your career isn't complete unless you've starred in at least one Woody Allen project. That puts Johansson ahead of the curve. Vicky Cristina Barcelona marked her second collaboration with Allen.Vicky Cristina Barcelona offered a return to form of sorts for the director after a period characterized by overly complicated plots laden with metatextual commentary. And for a filmmaker so closely identified with New York City, it was a treat to see Allen shift his focus to the sun-drenched streets and buildings of Barcelona. Johansson played Cristina, while Rebecca Hall played her friend Vicky. The two women found themselves under the magnetic spell of painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), accompanying him to his home for a romantic fling that became complicated by the arrival of Antonio's tempestuous ex-wife (Penelope Cruz).A premise like this lives and dies on the strength of the writing. Thankfully, Allen was very much on his game with Vicky Cristina Barcelona. The characters were fully realized, allowing each actor to dive fully into their roles and explore the chaotic nature of Allen's love quadrangle. The central theme of the film was, "Only unfulfilled love can be romantic." That's classic Woody Allen right there.It could also be argued that no actor's resume is complete without at least one Coen Bros. film. Admittedly, Johansson's role in The Man Who Wasn't There is small, but the movie as a whole is so good that it deserves to be on this list nonetheless.The Coens' films tend to run the gamut when it comes to genres. The Man Who Wasn't There offered their spin on film noir starred Billy Bob Thornton as a barber in 1940's Santa Rosa, CA who, in classic Coen fashion, found himself well in over his head after attempting to blackmail his way into a $10,000 payday. The film also featured Coen mainstays Frances McDormand and Michael Badalucco as well as supporting roles for the likes of James Gandolfini and Johansson.But more than any actor, it's the cinematography that emerges as the star of this film. The Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins concentrated on making the most of the black-and-white format, delivering a visually striking film worthy of the noir classics.As we mentioned, Vicky Cristina Barcelona was Johansson's second collaboration with director Woody Allen. Her first was this 2006 project, another effort that helped wipe away the bad taste of Allen's underwhelming '90s output. But whereas Vicky Cristina Barcelona brought us back to the classic days of Allen's romantic comedies, Match Point succeeded precisely because it offered something different.Match Point starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a tennis pro who charms his way into the family of a rich client (Matthew Goode). But even with the promise of financial security and a romance with said client's sister (Emily Mortimer), Rhys Meyers' character faces temptation in the form of his client's American fiancee (Johansson).Allen could have framed all of this as a more traditional romantic comedy, but instead he went for an uncharacteristically straightforward drama. Longer than most of his films and very carefully constructed, Match Point played out like a Hitchcock film. Amid a strong cast, Johansson stood out with a performance that evolved from confident and poised to desperate and manic as her relationship with Rhys Meyers shifted.This is the second Top 10 list in a row to feature The Prestige in the top 5 lineup. What can we say? The Prestige is just a great, endlessly watchable film from the director who gave us The Dark Knight and Inception. It still ranks as one of Christopher Nolan's best.The Prestige revolves around two rival magicians at the end of the 19th Century, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale). Johansson played Olivia Wenscombe, a magician's assistant caught in the middle of their bitter feud. Far from being a throwaway role, Wensombe was a morally conflicted character who played both sides and left viewers guessing as to her true loyalties. And it all fed into the movie's very memorable twist, a sleight-of-hand worthy of these talented magicians.

3. Ghost World

When you think of candidates for the best movie based on a comic book, the obvious choices are The Dark Knight, Road to Perdition, and the like. But Ghost World is a film that more than deserves to be in that running. Terry Zwigoff directed this film, which writer Daniel Clowes adapted from his graphic novel. Ghost World revolves around two teenage friends, Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Johansson), who have recently graduated from high school and are restlessly seeking their respective places in the world. Enid's newfound friendship with a middle-aged music lover (Steve Buscemi) threatens to drive a wedge in their friendship.Much like the source material, Ghost World succeeded in creating a cast of quirky, lovable, immensely flawed characters that both played to the strengths of the actors and challenged them. As Enid became obsessed with her new world and her pursuit of her art, Rebecca gravitated towards boys and shopping and the other things a stereotypical teenage girl is supposed to fawn over. Far from a teen comedy, Ghost World subverted expectations until the very end.

2. Marvel's The Avengers

Loading

1. Lost in Translation

Speaking of one of the all-time great comic book movies, The Avengers has quickly become a classic of the genre in its own right. The movie finally realized fanboy dreams of seeing Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk together on the big screen. But while there was action and spectacle to spare, The Avengers offered something that too many superhero films lack - a sense of humor and a willingness to have fun with the characters. That's the benefit of hiring Joss Whedon to write and direct a movie.Unlike her co-star, Jeremy Renner, Johansson wasn't overshadowed by the likes of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark or Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner. Compared to her debut in Iron Man 2, The Avengers offered a much stronger vehicle for Johansson's deadly Black Widow to shine. She excelled in both the action sequences and the more subtle interrogation scenes, as Widow used her manipulation skills to run circles around even the god of mischief. Widow will be back in Captain America: The Winter Soldier next year, and we can only hope a solo spinoff is in the cards.As Don Draper says, "If you don't like what people are saying about you, change the conversation." That's what Sofia Coppola did. Now, instead of being remembered as the poster child for everything wrong with The Godfather: Part III, Coppola has developed a reputation as a director worthy of the family name. That process started with 2000's The Virgin Suicides, but Coppola really left an impact with 2003's Lost in Translation.In a setup worthy of a classic Woody Allen movie, Johansson and Bill Murray played two Americans whose lives intertwined while staying in a Tokyo hotel. Murray's character was an aging movie star filming a bizarre whiskey commercial, while Johansson's character was a newlywed all but abandoned by her distracted photographer husband. Despite the vast age difference, the two entered into a short, sweet, and utterly doomed romance amid the overpowering allure of Tokyo.As much as Lost in Translation elevated Coppola's career and reminded us how much talent Murray has, it also established Johansson as one of the brightest young stars in Hollywood. So many movies on this list wouldn't have been possible without her pained, soulful performance here, and it remains the highlight of her career.