The end of the first decade of the 21st century is rapidly approaching and I’ve been thinking lately about my list of the best movies of the 00s. This final year has proved to be a stunner already, with Inglousious Basterds, Up , Where the Wild Things Are and A Serious Man in the mix for that decade list and a host of potential candidates left to see.

One thing I know for sure is that Fernando Meirelles’ City of God will show up very high on the list. In the seven years since I first saw it, it hasn’t diminished a bit in my estimation — on the contrary, it’s only grown in stature. I remember waiting months for the film to come out on DVD and then being pleasantly surprised when major Oscar buzz pushed it back into theaters. That was probably the only time I drove 45 minutes to an art theater to see a film for the second time.

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