creating lists of nodes in a list is there currently a module that allows a user to bookmark a bunch of nodes and name them? E.g. create a bookmark of each movie and name the list, "comedy". 

I'm guessing using the flag module would be the best bet but i'm not sure how to store attributes to flags and how to create separate flags.
You might want to look at the Flag Page module which expands on the Flag API, or the Bookmark module.

For the Flag API, look at the Flag Lists module which will allow your user to create multiple private lists of nodes.