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...

A lot has been said (including on this blog) about the sort of affable empowerment that is ubiquitous in Beyonce's chart-busting hits, especially on her latest record, I Am... Sasha Fierce, but the third single, "Diva" is more "fierce" than what you might expect.   More after the jump.