Noah's comments on Curtis Hanson (which, I think, are a bit unfair, since there's something fascinating about Hanson's ongoing refusal to be pigeonholed) got me to thinking about a tough question, namely: who is the world's best living director? My personal list of the ten best movies of all time contains films by four living directors: Wong Kar-Wai, David Lynch, Curtis Hanson, and Martin Scorsese. Yet I sometimes worry that their best work is behind them. Wong's recent films have been gorgeous and interesting, but a long way removed from the messy, spontaneous, unpredictable, and brilliant stuff that he was doing ten years ago. Lynch's best movie (Blue Velvet) was made almost twenty years ago. Since L.A. Confidential, Hanson seems committed to doing finely observed, lively, but ultimately very minor work. And Scorsese, while still the greatest genius in American film, hasn't been the same since his mentor, Michael Powell, died in 1990. (My pet theory is that it was Michael Powell's hidden influence that made Scorsese's glorious run from Taxi Driver to Goodfellas so unmatchable, even by Scorsese himself.)

The real question, then, is which director is the most reliable and dependable producer of masterpieces now, the one filmmaker whose name is still a guarantee that his (or her) latest movie will be extraordinary. (Solo directors only, please; Pixar doesn't count.) I've thought about this for a while, but I've finally come up with a nominee, and it's this guy.