80. Haley Joel Osment (A.I.: Artificial Intelligence)

80. There are some performances on this list that are funny, some dramatic, some scary, and some utterly romantic. And then there are a few that are so oddly moving, the list would be incomplete without their wonderful presence. This is how I feel about Haley Joel Osment as David in A.I.: Artificial Intelligence.

I remember looking forward to this movie in 2001, possibly more than even Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (anyone who knows me can understand the great sacrifice it was to make that last statement). I couldn't help it though-Spielberg, whom I still love, despite the critical gut instinct to hate his work, always brings out a sense of the child in me (perhaps my adoration also stems from Spielberg usually picking my birthday as a release date for his films). Rarely, though, does his work come across as effectively as the tale of this Pinocchio robot, who crosses far and wide to find a love that will never come to him.

Osment is shocking and real in the role that should have won him as many accolades as his previous work in The Sixth Sense. His quirky chemistry with Gigolo Joe Jude Law is more like two aimless drifters (Huckleberry Friends, for any Breakfast at Tiffany's fans) than anything else. Yes, the mother-complex thing is a little disturbing, but so is the whole movie. Osment is unflinching in his approach to the character-never appearing false. On occasion, there is some child in the role, but, hey, he's playing a child. And the individual scenes should be watched by every aspiring teeny bopper child actor: the abandonment at the car, the wayward glances at the Blue Fairy, the interaction with Dr. No; if you can't pull off this sort of magnetism, don't expect me to take your thespian ambitions seriously recent Disney Channel reject. As for Osment, if you ever decide to finish your trio of masterworks, I'm eternally yours.

A film festival? Hmm, why don't you pair A.I.: Artificial Intelligence with its original tale, Pinocchio, my all-time favorite classic Disney tale. Study how both are weaves of lost, but ultimately found dreams.