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• If I had to guess I would say this will be their best-of-the-decade.

A decade ago, I had never written a movie review, though I was preparing to step into the leadership position at my high school’s film club, so the best-of-the-00s lists that are starting to circulate are histories not just of the decade in film, but of my own personal cinephiliac development. And, more to the point, not just mine: most of the critics I read, and almost everyone you read at the L, got their start in this millennium.

Since about late 2004, shortly after I started at the L (and even more so following the New Times-ification of the Village Voice), perhaps the most influential outlet in shaping my sensibility has been Reverse Shot—itself a publication that started reviewing films in the early years of this decade. From them, I gained, among other things, an upgraded bullshit detector and several new favorite filmmakers; a greater appreciation for the art of the long-form critical conversation (with others, or just with yourself); and the knowledge that passion and skepticism are two sides of the same coin.

All these decade-best lists function as triggers to our own memories, tagged to a decade of moviegoing. So for me, as RS unveils its Top 20 of the 00s, the chance to reengage with old RS debates and writers (the L’s Nicolas Rapold and Michael Joshua Rowin are both Reverse Shotters from way back, and I eagerly await their contributions, as well as those of alums, like in some getting-the-band-back-together montage) is as much of the draw as the list itself. But you, too, would get a lot from their enviably cool/defiantly unfashionable picks, and the terrific write-ups—the most deeply engaged writing you’re likely to find on any such countdown. Mostly we’re just content to blurb, or quote ourselves; Revere Shot’s trying to make new, meaningful contributions to the dialogue around each film on their list.

So far, from 20-17: The House of Mirth, Children of Men, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, No Country for Old Men.