Precious few filmmakers would dare attempt it; fewer still could execute it. Leave it to Paul Thomas Anderson, compulsive daredevil and artistic genius of the first order, to once again venture into uncharted territory and emerge unscathed.

Fans across the globe were shocked and dismayed on Sunday afternoon when news broke that Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman had passed away at age 46. Hoffman had a long and fruitful career as a film actor, stage actor and director and was known for his roles in movies like “Capote,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Almost Famous.

Ladies and gentlemen, if I say Paul Thomas Anderson is the best filmmaker of the last 15 years, you will agree. This is the director who slapped a thirteen-inch prosthetic penis between the thighs of Mark Wahlberg and made it art. The director behind “There Will Be Blood,” which The Times magazine recently heralded as the second greatest movie of all time.