Thursday, January 24, 2008

There Will Be Blood


What a pleasure it is that there are still directors like Paul Thomas Anderson making film today.  He is the kind of director that does not settles for the norm and boldly goes for something new.  This film is a prime example of his visionary and exciting talent.  There Will Be Blood is a sprawling and daring film that pushes the limits of film and Anderson makes a very striking film.
The story of the film hovers around the oil industry in the American west around the early twentieth century.  The film centers around the fascinating character Daniel Plainview, a ruthless and cold oil man.  The film itself is not so much standard plot.  It is not driven by just one main conflict but instead several different conflict, both internal and external.  There Will Be Blood is also a film that does not rely on a intricate plotting.  The film is more an observation of its main characters and their world, then a strong plot driven film.  There Will Be Blood appears to focus more on ideas and themes then plot really.  The film focuses on the price of greed, religion, and the possible negatives of capitalism.  These themes are what drive the film.
What is really remarkable in this film is just how breathtaking and mesmerizing Daniel Day-Lewis is in this film.  He plays the lead, Daniel Plainview, and makes a character that is like few others.  Day-Lewis sucks the air out of every scene he is in and has a kind of power that few actors can reach.  As Plainview he is a truly exciting as there was never a moment when I knew what he would do.  The role is not a realistic one but Day-Lewis plays him in hyperrealistic way.  It is the kind of performance that maybe only a few actors can play as it is so intense and charismatic. 
Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the finest actors of all time.  He usually gives a great performance and then disappears for a few years.  So every performance he does give should be cherished, and I know that I always look forward to him in a film.  In There Will Be Blood he gives one of his best performances and once again reminds me of his talent.  When watching him in this film I could not look away.  If he does not win the Oscar this year for this film as best actor then there is no justice.
There Will Be Blood is a film that is also lucky enough to have a great soundtrack.  The soundtrack of the film was created by Radiohead band member Johny Greenwood.  It is a little different from most film scores but it is very effective.  The score of the film elevates the mood of the film considerably and is more effective then most.  It has an eerie sound to it and is very memorable.
Paul Thomas Anderson is the real genius behind this film.  Anderson makes a film that dares to be different and extends the norms of film.   The film has a very different pacing and plot outline then the common film, and also has a weird side to it.  There Will Be Blood has strange touches all over it and it is refreshing to see something so fresh.  Visually Anderson creates some great images and uses some effecting shots.  The looks of this film is really gorgeous.  
This film may not be for a casual film viewer but I think if you love film, then you will enjoy this film.  It is a strange masterpiece and a film that I think will be hard to forget.  This bold epic is bound to evoke something from the viewer.  A please all the way.
4/4 Stars


*Side Note*
This film was in very limited release until recently and so I was not able to see it.  Because of this I did not put it on my best of the year list and now that I have seen it, I would put it on my ten best list for sure.  It would easily make it in the top three films of the year for me.  

Friday, January 4, 2008

Best of 2007

It is just simply amazing how many damn good films have come out this year.  It has been some time since there has been so many film of such a high standard all in the same year. During the last year I have had a great time at the movies and I found myself going to the movies this year more then ever.  Some weeks I found that there were too many good films to see at once.  Some weekends had me wanting to see three or four films in a week and rarely was I disappointed. While watching so many great films I felt almost spoiled, because almost everything I watched was enjoyable.  Sometimes it just didn't seem real.  This year ranks up there with great years in film like 1939, 1976, or 1994.  

 

         In particular American films seem to have had a great year.  In the last few years’ lots of terrible American films have been made, with remakes and sequels flooding the market.  This year though there were some worthy films all year long.  From the beginning of the year all the way to the end America was pouring out quality films at a steady pace.  Both indie films and studio films have been rather good this year, and a nice mix of films were provided by Hollywood.

10. Diggers

Starting off my ten best list is a little indie film that was looked over by almost everyone.  It was in a very limited release in the spring of 2007 and then went straight to DVD a couple weeks after that.  Diggers is a smart and funny film set in the 1970's that fallows the lives of some clam diggers in Long Island.  The film is a sharp examination of its characters lives and their relationships with each other.  The film is also one of the best examinations of how men interact with one another.  It reminds me of something along the lines of Diner or I, Vitelloni.

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9. Knocked Up

This film is one of the best comedies in some time and shows again just how talented Judd Apatow is.  This film along with his last film, The 40 Year Old Virgin, made Apatow the best comedy director in film.  Apatow's films are as good as they are because he can make you laugh and cringe at his outrageous humor, but at the same time he can add some real emotion to his films.  Though his comedy can be crude it also can be very smart and well observed.  The laughs keep coming in this film and never really stop; it is one joke after the other.  It is also a film that stays funny on more than one viewing.  It is a very quotable and very funny.

 

8. Grindhouse

This film is easily the most fun experience I had this year at the movies.  It is a gloriously silly and violent homage to the sleazy horror films of the 1970's and 1980's.  Grindhouse is a towering double feature packed wall to wall with guilty pleasures and lots of laughs.  Now some people may be turned off by the violence or the three-hour run time but I found it to be an extremely fun love letter to a genre.  I also loved it because it featured the talents of both Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, two of the most exciting and stylish directors around.  A big, loud, and completely entertaining film.  Lots of fun to be had here.

 

7. The Lookout

Another highly over looked film of this year is this slick and exciting crime thriller with plenty of twists.  The film revolves around a young man who has suffers from temporary memory lose and is pulled into a plot to rob the bank that he works in.  Soon the plot thickens and the last half hour or so it utterly pulse pounding and has some terrific tension.  The film is an excellent crime film but it works well too as a character study of the main characters struggles with his illness.  Jason Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels both give good performances here and have some memorable scenes together.  This film is writer, director Scott Frank's first time directing and he shows lots of promise.

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6. American Gangster

Ridley Scott once again has proven himself here in this giant sized crime epic.  American Gangster is two and a half hours long, but is so well paced that it does not seem like it.  Scott can direct action as well as anyone, as he shows here, but he also handles the quieter scenes well in this film. Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are both really interesting here as counter points to each other’s characters.  Washington is the flashier of two roles but Crowe is nearly as good.  A big crime film that I think will be compared with the likes of Heat or Scareface in the coming years.

 

5. Sweeney Todd

This is easily the darkest and grimmest musical known to man.  It is a film that will shake you up with its ghoulish story and it will have you humming to its songs.  The film also features a slyly dark sense of humor that takes you by surprise.  It also has solid performances all around from Alan Rickman to Helen Bonham Carter.  Johnny Depp though steels the show with intense presence and surprised me with his singing voice.  Tim Burton has created a more than memorable opera that I will not soon forget.  The more I think about this film the more I like it. 

4. Juno

Juno is just purely and simply the smartest and sharpest comedy of the year.  It just is so charming that I really don't see how anyone could not fall under its spell.  At first the dialogue of this film bothered me as it seemed unreal but it soon grew on me.  The sharp verbal exchanges in the film become very fun to listen to.  Diablo Cody's script is one of the more memorable ones in the last few years.  Ellen Page delivers a wonderful performance and I hope she does get an Oscar nomination.  Jason Reitman once again does a fine job directing this smart little film, like he did in Thank You For Smoking.

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3. Michael Clayton

For my money this film is the most polished and welled rounded film of the year.  It runs so smoothly from beginning to end and it builds lots of momentum.  By the end of the film everything comes together so perfectly and the payoff is the best I've seen in some time.  It just feels like a complete film.  It is a very smart political thriller that plays around with its audience and comes through ten fold.  George Clooney in this film gives the best performance of his career here as he plays a man over his head both his professional and private life.  He really shows his range here in the film.  A film that is so well constructed I was captivated almost every moment.  Very smart film.

 

2. No Country For Old Men

Now this film is by far the most visceral and exciting film of the year.  It is a true work of art and just seems right on so many levels.  Everything about this film is so captivating and haunting.  It is a masterful thriller that has moments of tension that make other films look completely feeble in comparison.  The film also can boast one of the best villains in film history in the form of Javier Bardem.  He is so great here it is just unreal.  Bardem's character is a force of nature and steels the air out of every scene he is in.  He is a completely frightening and larger than life character that is sure to go down as one of film histories most interesting characters.  The Coen Brothers out do themselves here and make maybe their best film next to perhaps Fargo or Blood Simple.  They perfectly craft this haunting and intense film that examines the nature of violence.  It is a film a can not wait to see once again.  A film that will easily become a classic.

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1. Zodiac

This film perhaps may be the most looked over film of the year. It opened to less then great box office returns and though many critics liked it they seem to have forgotten the film shortly after.  I though have not forgotten the film, and doubt I will any time soon.  As I watched this film it washed over me and captivated me from beginning to end.  I became hypnotized by the film and found myself hardly looking away.  The film worked for me so much because it drew me into the mystery that the film revolves around.  As the characters tried to solve the mystery of whom the Zodiac killer was I felt like I was solving the case with them.  As every clue unfolded my attention grew more and more. I rarely get this involved with a film and this one captured me entirely.  Aside from the great mystery the film also has three strong leads with impressive performance from Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo, and Jake Gyllenhaal.  The three men all are obsessed with the Zodiac case and their obsession makes for a fascinating character study.  The film is a slower moving film but the build up is masterful and the pay offs work well.  There are some really scary and suspenseful moments in this film sprinkled through out.  David Fincher does a marvelous job here to as he creates a world that seems so vivid.  Fincher also employs some amazing visuals and camera angles that please the senses.  This film has excited me and entertained me like few films have.  It had captured my imagination and it is a film that I intend to watch multiply times.  If you have not seen this film then go out and rent the DVD, and enjoy this masterpiece.

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Now it is nearly impossible to make a list of the best films because films are great for many different reasons and on many different levels.  This list is more of a rough list and is by no means set in stone.  There are several films that I could put on this list.  I also truly enjoyed Eastern Promises, Hairspray, The Bourne Ultimatum, Ratatouille, Darjeeling Limited and Super bad to just name a few in a long list.  I could easily make a top twenty list and still have some films left over.  All I can say is, if you have not seen the films I have listed above, then do yourself a favor and watch them.