Fight Club: This gutsy, dazzling piece of filmmaking is as intoxicating as Tyler Durden himself. It features bravura art direction, cinematography, sound, editing, score, and acting. Fincher really goes for it on this one, diving headlong into a violent, darkly funny, and disconcertingly joyous ride. It is one of the most effective twist endings I’ve ever seen; it is one of the most successful literary adaptations I’ve ever seen; and it’s one of the best examples of forward motion (Fincher is a master of the montage) I’ve ever seen. The film attacks capitalistic, materialistic society, even as it subversively casts shadows on the extreme impulses of anarchy. Fincher somehow makes terroristic activity (not to mention incredibly bloody combat) fun to watch and simultaneously stomach-churning, all while avoiding glorification of the violence with which he has become well-known and refusing to create a sequence that’s not entertaining. Rather than walking a tightrope of tone, Fight Club sort of abolishes tone altogether, pummeling you into submission. This film is a shining diamond in one of the best years in cinema (1999), capturing the spirit of a generation about to embark on a new century full of question marks. For that, and for its ambivalence toward its own message or importance, Fight Club stands as a definite masterpiece.