The Morning: Making lists
Good morning. We've been marinating in lists of the best movies of the 21st century. What purpose does a list serve, anyway?
Hit listWhat did you rank as your top movies of the 21st century? Did you include "La La Land," which landed at No. 16 on our list of readers' picks, despite not appearing at all on the list by actors and directors? I struggled to determine how I would rank a movie as one of "the best." Was it one that left me astonished when I saw it? One that stayed with me long after watching? Or should I choose films that somehow felt important in the history of cinema? And what does "important" mean anyway? In 2000, I loved "High Fidelity" and "Best in Show" — but of course I hadn't seen "Moonlight" or "The Royal Tenenbaums" or "Tár" yet. What did it mean if my list diverged wildly from The Times's lists? From those of my friends? I found myself inanely worrying that my picks weren't serious enough, that they didn't adequately convey my tastes or aesthetic. What is the purpose of a list ranking "the best" of something, anyway? Is it to establish a canon, a definitive record, etched in stone? Is it to inspire questions and conversations and arguments about what makes something good? The very fact that we are stopping to consider the movies we love and debating their relative merits, interrogating what our picks say about us and the culture, is glorious. If we bemoan how the majesty of moviegoing has been diminished and replaced by slack-jawed streaming of algorithm-designed "content," then a project that lifts us out of the endless scroll and helps us remember why we love movies in the first place is a welcome tonic. I love the way a big list forces me to question and define my tastes, to consider what I like and don't and why, to sharpen my critical takes against those of others. But the best part of engaging with the films of the 21st century is how the list prompted a cascade of memories of the past 25 years. I remember the exact theater in which I saw "Y Tu Mamá También" in 2002, the friends I was with, where we ate afterward. That restaurant is definitely not there anymore. I remember seeing "Melancholia" in 2011, talking about it over drinks in a weird bar in Midtown. What was my drink order in those days? The objective quality of a film is fun to debate, but it's a lovely sort of ecstasy to think back over one's quarter-century of movie-watching experiences, to use those movies to populate a memory palace. The film is just the catalyst for a million other reminiscences. Making a list of the movies you loved over the past 25 years is a way of organizing those years, a kind of post-factum diary. If you were to riff on each of your top 10 movies, what long-forgotten details from your history might be dislodged? You might remember how "The Hurt Locker" floored you in 2009, but you might also remember the rainy day on which you saw it, your raincoat — what happened to that raincoat? — the car you drove to the theater, the job you had then or the person you were dating. We're forever cramming our brains with more information. Take these 10 movies and use them to sift through some of the accumulated sediment, to make order out of the chaos. If I can rouse myself from reverie, I'll commit myself this weekend to some of the 11 movies on the main list that I haven't seen and want to. (How is it possible that I've never seen "Spirited Away"?) Or maybe not — "F1" and "Sorry, Baby" are in theaters, and it might be more satisfying to get a jump on 2050's list.
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📺 "Dexter: Resurrection" (Friday): The Showtime series "Dexter: New Blood" ended with Michael C. Hall's Dexter Morgan supine in the snow, his blood unfurling beneath him. But Dexter, a serial killer who preys on other serial killers, isn't the kind of guy to take death lying down. This new series, created by Clyde Phillips for Paramount+ with Showtime, finds Dexter miraculously recovered. After arriving in New York City, he finds work as a taxi driver, alongside his dark passenger (the part of his psyche that needs to kill). What will obsess him more, murder or congestion pricing? Uma Thurman and Peter Dinklage co-star.
Puttanesca Chickpea-Tomato SaladIf your grill is working overtime this long Fourth of July weekend, consider breaking up the smoke and char with Ali Slagle's puttanesca chickpea-tomato salad. It's a brilliant 15-minunte recipe in which juicy tomatoes and canned beans are boldly seasoned with olives, capers and garlic and plenty of lemon juice. Versatile and tangy, you can serve it with pretty much anything grilled, or all by itself for a light and meatless main course. Leftovers last for days in the fridge and get better as they sit, which means lunch next week is sorted, too. A perfect lazy summer move.
The Hunt: After renting a one-bedroom on the Upper West Side for years, a couple with a baby decided to search for a house outside the city. Which did they choose? Play our game. What you get for $500,000: A farmhouse in Sedgwick, Maine; a 1922 Foursquare house in St. Paul, Minn.; or a Craftsman house in Norfolk, Va.
New York: Nicolas Nuvan is a rarity among social media's many street interviewers: The people he approaches don't hate to see him coming. Onboard: Some airlines are banning portable chargers on flights because of fire risks. Read what to know before you fly. The hottest restaurants: An A.I.-powered website rates establishments on how attractive their customers are. Barbecue trail: On a road trip in rural North Carolina, a writer explored the food and culture of an old-school tradition. Protein and the "least bad" alcohol: See 10 nutrition lessons from 2025. Oysterland: Maine is known for its lobsters, but its oysters are worth the slurp.
A do-it-all barbecue sauceDoes a wrapped present need a bow? Does a porch need beautifully ringing wind chimes? Does an ice cream sundae need a cherry on top? No, no and no, but life is too short to deny ourselves what makes us happy. And if that means adding barbecue sauce to brisket, then I say slap it on there and let it rip. If you're looking for an easy way to zhuzh up whatever you've got on the grill this weekend, our favorite barbecue sauce is a good bet. After taste-testing 18 options, it stood out as a pantry whiz, able to spruce up chicken, pulled pork and even the humble chicken nugget. — Abigail Bailey
United States vs. Mexico, Concacaf Gold Cup final: Dozens of national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean vie to win this tournament, but these two are the only real contenders. Since the Gold Cup began in the 1990s, Mexico has won nine times and the U.S. has won seven. (Canada is the only other team to win; it has done so just once.) Midfielder Diego Luna has breathed life into an American squad that was missing many of it biggest stars, and in the semifinal he scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the match. Now, as the U.S. faces its biggest rival, the team will need him to step one more time. Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern on Fox
Here is today's Spelling Bee. Yesterday's pangrams were coefficient, confection, confetti and infection. Take the news quiz to see how well you followed this week's headlines. And here are today's Mini Crossword, Wordle, Sudoku, Connections and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your weekend with The Times. — Melissa Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com.
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