SPOTLIGHT: THE BEST OF THE CENTURY

So I've finally created for myself a little amazon Listmania! list with the rather ambitious name of "Best Movies of the 21st Century."

Yes, it's only been five years. And probably only one of these will actually--- in one hundred years, when I'm long gone--- end up on anyone's ultimate list of the century. But there've been some remarkable achievements in our little corner of the millenium--- from the thriller's embrace of an epic sort of new-age sentiment (The Ring, Mulholland Drive, Donnie Darko) to the startling new visual language being conjured up for the comedy and the romance (The Royal Tenenbaums, Punch-Drunk Love). We've seen a fine bunch of "genre films" that paid homage to their anscestors while adding a quirk or two of their own (The Man Who Wasn't There, Gosford Park, 25th Hour). To round it out, we have seen the most compelling documentary in a generation (Capturing The Friedmans), a bracing psychological thriller (In the Bedroom), a devilish Hollywood satire (State and Main), a carnival-like visual feast (Big Fish), a fresh and colorful exploration of teenage angst (Ghost World), and a delicate, understated romance (Sideways).

Who knows what it all adds up to? For now, it's a Listmania! List on Amazon.