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The run up to the Oscars is dominated by best-of lists, and - with few exceptions (including the Women Film Critics Circle Awards) - most of those lists end up looking just about the same: dominated by men, featuring only a small handful of female performers. Which is why it was so exciting this past weekend to see The New York Times list of the year's best. While not quite chock full of women, the list does draw attention to some fine filmmaking and performances by women that are not likely to draw attention at the major awards ceremonies this year. If you missed any of these in the theaters last year, you'll want to make sure to add them to your DVD queues this year.  Highlights after the jump...

Looks like I got a little too excited on Friday about the current state of affairs for female directors... By now you've probably heard that Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has been fired from the blockbuster teen vamp franchise and will not be directing Twilight's sequel New Moon. There's also bad news for Lexi Alexander and Darnell Martin, who had lackluster opening weekends at the box office.

The breakdown after the jump, along with my call for more crappy female directors.

Every Friday, The Female Gaze will feature a round up of news and updates related to women in film.

This week: what do Cadillac Records and Punisher: War Zone have in common? And what is Hilary Swank up to? Find out after the jump...