Now that the glory days of directors like Kubrick, Polanski, Scorsese, and Coppola have passed, I pose this question to you: who is the best of the newest batch of directors?

It's a bit of a toss-up for me. I'd say it's between three of them:
-Joel & Ethan Coen: I think they struck one of the greatest streaks of cinematic gold of all time with Blood Simple-Intolerable Cruelty, but they really tarnished their legacy with The Ladykillers. But films like Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? are such remarkable masterpieces that I think they probably hold the throne for me.
-Quentin Tarantino: I suppose this one is the obvious. Sure, he's a plagiarist, but he does it with such impeccable flair and style that I cannot help but love his films. And it's pretty undeniable that the guy is a magnificent writer.
-Paul Thomas Anderson: What a brilliant, brilliant man. I think I prefer him to Tarantino (BARELY), but I can never decide if I like him or the Coen bros. more. P.T., like Tarantino, is something of a plagiarist, but he also makes his films so blazingly unique and masterful that I don't see how they can be called anything but his own. I think he does a lot of what Tarantino does, but oftentimes, a lot better and more subtle. Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and Punch-Drunk Love showcase, in my opinion, some of the most exciting filmmaking in ages, and are three of the finest masterpieces not only of this era, but of all time.

I really cannot decide. I think Wes Anderson and Hayao Miyazaki warrant mention as well, but I prefer the first three I mentioned. And I'm not really sure if Miyazaki could count as being part of this group (started in the '80s).

Thoughts? Opinions?

I'd say Joe Carnahan, but he seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

It's hard to compare anyone to the directors you've mentioned, but here are some of the decent ones currently working:

Bryan Singer
Matthew Vaughn
Coen Brothers
Wachowskis
Tarantino
Robert Rodriguez
James Cameron (when he works)

Good choices. Tarantino, I dunno. The verdict is out on him. I'm skeptical of directors who only make 1 film every-so-often, but whatever. I'm going with:

Steven Soderberg: I prefer the way he straddles between mainstream and arthouse filmmaking. I wouldn't say he's one of the greats or will ever be one of the greats, but makes really solid films that manage to be both entertaining and thought-provoking.

David Lynch: Lynch is an easy choice for me, mostly because he's the most unorthodox director working today. This is how art gets made folks. Lynch typically throws the rules out the window and his films manage to be real and surreal, icy cold and warm, and twisted and truthful and like a thousand other things at once. What's brilliant about Lynch is that his philosophy is to have no philosophy. He makes the ordinary seem significant and divine even. True original.

Gaspar Noe: So he's only made a few films but they are terrific explorations in human primalism. The topics of his films are so stark that the only thing that negates them is the technical mastery of the director himself. I look forward to his future work.

Wes Anderson: Anderson will always be magnificent in my book, no matter how sappy or emo or watered-down his films become. They're pop-culture treasures troves that appeal to a generation of apathetic filmgoers.

That's a rough list. I'd also include Spike Jones (much of his films owe credit to Charlie Kaufman, however), Michel Haneke, and Lars Von Trier.

Von Trier gets props for essentially redifining the artform but failed to actually apply the new guidelines to have any relevence. Dogville is a terrifc film though (despite not being Dogma).

Oliver Stone did great work up until the last 7 or 8 years or so. I'm also tempted to mention Peter Jackson, Todd Solondz, and Todd Haynes.

I really don't think he counts. He made his first film in '84. Lynch is sort of pushing it too.

Lynch was questionable until I remembered that he's now more popular than he's ever been

I really don't know what to think about Lynch.

-I hated Dune so much I stopped watching after an hour. I just couldn't get through any more. I was bored out of my mind. I hardly ever stop watching a movie before the end.
-I loathed Blue Velvet.
-I really, really liked Lost Highway. In fact, I almost loved it.

I really don't know what to think. I guess I'll be able to form a better opinion after I see Eraserhead, The Straight Story, and Mulholland Drive, all of which I plan to watch very soon.

And fuck - how did I forget to mention Takashi Miike?! And David Fincher! And Danny Boyle!

Dune is horrible.

And I'm just about sick of the Japanese slasher/exploitation/super-violent genre. Doesn't matter what director, Battle Royale, Audition, etc. They appeal to the teenage male crowd and that's about all they're good for.

Nothing personal on that last one, Loathed

Are you trying to suggest that that's all Miike makes? If so, that seems like a pretty uneducated claim to me.

Have you seen Gozu? That was pretty Lynch-esque, only a hell of a lot more interesting than Blue Velvet. It certainly wasn't super-violent or an exploitation film.

Not to mention, I really don't think anything he's done could be considered a slasher film.

I've seen Ichi, Visitor Q, Audition, and then end of Dead or Alive. They certainly aren't bad film but I really have no desire to explore him any further.

What didn't you like about Blue Velvet

David Lynch
Chan-wook Park
Wong Kar-wai
Fernando Meirelles
Joel & Ethan Coen
Takeshi Kitano
Wes Anderson
Jean-Pierre Jeunet (if we forget Alien 4)

PTA and Rodriguez are my two choices. I'd have to give the edge to Rodriguez though, if only for how he's changed the process of making movies. He is one of the few visionaries out there.

after that film you'll love him

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I agree with Jean Pierre Jeunet. I personally love his films, and the amazing cinematography within them. City of Lost children is an excellent film, as is Delicatessen. Amelie and A Very Long Engagement have interesting storys, with quirky scenes and characters. I also agree with Chan Woo Park, I love his movies. Also I really enjoyed the director of Tale of Two Sisters. i can't recall his name but I loved that movie as well. Also I love David Cronenburgs films. I believe he is an excellent director as well.

Don't forget Fincher! Alien3 is underrated.

Lynch, PTA, and the Coens are kinda hit and miss. They have certainly had their share of brilliant films though.

Number one in my book.

He hasn't made up for Alien Resurrection yet. And by "made up", I mean him personally coming to my house and apologizing for making that crime against humanity.

I agree with statement one.

I disagree with statement two as far as the Coens and PTA are concerned.

Coens:
Blood Simple - B+
Raising Arizona - B+
Miller's Crossing - A
Barton Fink - B+
The Hudsucker Proxy - B+
Fargo - A
The Big Lebowski - A-
O Brother, Where Art Thou? - A-
Intolerable Cruelty - B+
The Ladykillers - B-

They're 13 for 14. I'd hardly call that hit and miss.

PTA
Hard Eight - C
Boogie Nights - A
Magnolia - A
Punch-Drunk Love - A

Three As out of four films. Again, I'd hardly call that hit and miss.

And glorified, as for what I didn't like about Blue Velvet...well...pretty much everything. The horrid acting (thanks to Lynch's idiotic direction) - yeah, I know, it's supposed to be "dreamlike"...pffft. Sorry, but I've never had a dream with acting that shitty. The ridiculous dialogue (Laura Dern and her bird dream speech is one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I've ever seen), the contrived "weird and disturbing" plot devices that were there simply for the sake of being "weird and disturbing", that unbelievably fake-looking bird at the end, and on and on and on.

The only good thing it had going for it was Dennis Hopper.

I think you've mixed up the ratings for Hard Eight and Punch-Drunk Love. Please correct the mistake and allow the discussion to continue.

Pfffft. He hadn't come into his own yet with Hard Eight. He was finding his footing as a filmmaker. Needless to say, he found it with Boogie Nights. PDL, on the other hand, was a spectacular, hilarious, beautiful, and original portrait of a painfully awkward person finding shelter in the embrace of another.

tarantino and coens win for me