There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay by Paul Thomas Anderson

Based on the novel, "Oil!" by Upton Sinclair

Currently #176 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Dillon Freasier, Ciarán Hinds, Sydney McCallister, David Willis, Kevin J. O'Connor, David Warshofsky, Hans Howes and Russell Harvard

One of the greatest omissions of all time is that I have never seen P.T. Anderson's epic, There Will Be Blood. Okay, backpedaling. I saw maybe the first ten minutes of the movie and stopped, because the silence. After seeing and loving 127 Hours, it had long silences. I thought it was high time that I see this movie again. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won two for Best Cinematography and Best Actor for Daniel Day-Lewis. I enjoyed the movie, but it's not flawless.

During the height of the Gold Rush and Oil Boom in the turn of 20th century, Daniel Plainview (Day-Lewis) hit the big time by striking oil. He turns into a oil mogul that is buying up land to build oil derricks to pump out the oil. One day, Daniel is approached by a boy, Paul Sunday (Dano) about a possible place where oil is found near the family ranch. Daniel goes to where the oil source might be and tries to buy the land from the father, Abel (Willis) with a stipend to donate a large sum of money to church where son, Eli (Dano) is a minister at.

Sometime when I movie comes around, I would think that it is clear Oscar bait. I have that perception about a lot of movies. This movie feels like that to me. You have Day-Lewis who gives a grandiose performance. Has he ever given a bad performance? If you name one, I will eat crow. I understood why Plainview did some of the things that he did. He did some monstrous things, because I understood the motivations behind them. It was not like that in Match Point where similar actions happened. Daniel did deserve his Oscar.

The movie feels very epic in scope, but I felt that the movie was too long. One strike against the movie would be the pacing. There are some superfluous scenes that needed to be cut out.

The another strike against the film is Paul Dano. I have to say that I didn't understand why P.T. Anderson decided to make Dano play Paul and Eli where you see that Daniel was not surprised to see Eli looked like Paul. Paul was never mentioned again until the end of the movie. Dano was not in the same league as Lewis. It was a David vs Goliath situation and Goliath bitch slapped David. Dano was wooden in the movie. I didn't understand he let the person that was going to be Eli, Kel O'Neill go. I thought it was a big mistake.

My Rating

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta (2006)

Directed by James McTeigue

Screenplay by Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski

Based on the comic book series by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Currently #166 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry, John Hurt, Tim Pigott-Smith, Rupert Graves, Ben Miles, Eddie Marsan and Roger Allam

I have no idea why it took me so long to watch V for Vendetta. It was a LAMB Movie of the Month as far as I know. It had to me take this blog-a-thon to make me finally see it. After the credits rolled, it made me feel I should be a martyr.

Set in a future Britain, where the government had taken over the daily lives of the citizens. Being more of a dictatorship than anything else. Chancellor Adam Sutler (Hurt) does not want subversiveness under his rule. There is one person that seeks to bring him down. It is shadowy figure with Guy Fawkes mask on known as V (Weaving). V rescues a woman, Evey (Portman) from being taken in by the secret police known as the Fingermen. After the rescue, V lets Evey watch as he bombs a building called the Old Bailey which set off a chain of events to shape the future of the colony.

I knew going into the movie that the film will obvious allegories to the Third Reich, concentration camps, Communism, etc. That's all fine and good. I didn't know that there was another aspect to V's plan that came into light. It sucked me into the story more. I wanted to standing beside V as the dictatorship crumbles from within.

I completely forgot to it was around the time that the group, Anonymous came into being as they declared war on Scientology. This movie has ignited a movement of protests and activism that made governments falls. They say that we are free, but we are not free. I don't want to spout off my opinions about society, because it might get me in trouble. I will stop it right there.

My Rating

Match Point

Match Point (2005)

Written and directed by Woody Allen

Stars:  Jonathan Rhys Meyers,  Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode, Penelope Wilton and Brian Cox

The number of Woody Allen films I have seen can be counted on one hand. I know! I know. I wanted to at least one of his most popular films on the list, Match Point. Being known for silly comedies and light dramas, this is a serious departure for him. The film was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Academy Award. I must say that I have to call fault with this film.

Chris Wilton (Rhys Meyers) is a former tennis pro that looking to something to fill his time. He decides to teach learns at the local country club. There he meets Tom Hewett (Goode) that is one of his students. The two men quickly bond over their shared love for opera. Out and about, Chris becomes involved with Tom's sister, Chloe (Mortimer). Just as their relationship becomes serious, Chris instantly falls for an American actress named Nola Rice (Johansson). The problem is that Nola is engaged to Tom and things become very... complicated.

People were making a big deal that this was Allen's first thriller. Seeing the trailers for the film at the time of its release, I thought it was going to be like Fatal Attraction. It's not that much. I was enjoying the film when the last thirty minutes of the film had me scratching my head. Really? I thought that it was ludicrous and defies logic. I can't go into details without spoiling the movie for you.

I enjoyed the cast. Something about Johnathon Rhys Meyers have a slightly fey vibe off that I can't shake. I can understand why Chris wanted to be with the Nola character. She is an alluring woman that gives off those signals to take me right here and now. At first, I thought the movie was going to a love rectangle as I call it, but it wasn't. I couldn't understand the motivations of the Chris where he had opportunities served on a silver platter and he didn't take it. I was hard to believe.

My Rating

Der Untergang

Downfall (2004)

Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel

Screenplay by Bernd Eichinger

Based on the books, "Der Untergang: Hitler und das Ende des Dritten Reiches" by Joachim Fest and "Bis zur letzten Stunde" by Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller

Currently #105 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel and Thomas Kretschmann

This movie has been in the national consciousness ever since the numerous Downfall parodies popped up on YouTube over the past couple of years. I thought that the movie Black Book was this movie for some reason. The movie was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I fully expected to love this movie, but I felt like I was sucker punched.

The events of the movie take place during the last moments of World War II when the Russians are advancing into Berlin. Adolf Hitler (Ganz) is stuck with the decision to either leave Berlin for his safety or stay and die at the bitter end. The story was supposed to be the perspective of Hitler's secretary, Traudl Junge (Lara). If you say so.

I wanted to enjoy this movie very much. The thing is that the secretary is barely in the movie. She pops up every now and then to talk to some random person and leaves for twenty minutes. There were too many unnecessary subplots that could have been taken out. There was the kid soldiers. The doctors trying to give medicine. Blah, blah, blah.

There are times with the movie that different characters would tell Hitler, Junge or Eva Braun (Köhler) to leave Berlin. It gets really annoying to see, hear and read it repeatedly. It gets on my nerves. Stay or die, you assholes. I'm done.

My Rating

Big Fish

Big Fish (2003)

Directed by Tim Burton

Screenplay by John August

Based on the novel, "Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions" by Daniel Wallace

Currently #238 of the Top 250 Films of All Time on IMDb (as of this posting)

Stars: Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Marion Cotillard, Ewan McGregor, Alison Loman, Helena Bonham Carter, Matthew McGrory, David Denman, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi and Danny DeVito

I have been hesitant in seeing Big Fish. Tim Burton has been delivering the same type of movie for over twenty years. The spooky, goth movies are getting on my nerves. This movie is different. It is more fantastical film that usher his hyper colorful films Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or Alice in Wonderland. The movie was nominated for the delightful score by Danny Elfman. At first, I didn't like the movie, but by the end I loved it. Who woulda thunk?

Will Bloom (Crudup) has a strained relationship with his father, Edward (Finney) ever since he was born. His father would tell elaborate stories about the day his son was born, the day Edward meet his wife, Sandra (Lange), etc. Things take a turn for the worst when Edward is dying of cancer. Will and his pregnant wife, Josephine (Cotillard) travel back home to be at his side. Will tries to pry the truth his father. Edward talks about when he was a young Edward (McGregor) meeting a cast of people that he has impacted in some form of fashion.

In the beginning of the movie, I thought I was going to hate this movie, because Edward was telling these outlandish stories. I was in the camp of the Will character. He wanted to get to know the real Edward, not the one from the stories that he tells. As the movie went on, I began to fall in love with the movie. I don't know. The last thirty minutes of the movie, I was a mess. The ending caught me completely off guard. I knew what was going to happen, but something triggered inside me.

This movie showed that an ordinary person can lead an extraordinary life. It doesn't have to fantastical as the stories Edward tells, but you could affect all the people that you have come to know.

My Rating

Secretary

Secretary (2002)

Directed by Steven Shainberg

Story by  Steven Shainberg and Erin Cressida Wilson

Screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson

Based on the short story by Mary Gaitskill

Stars: Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Spader, Jeremy Davies, Stephen McHattie and Leslie Ann Warren

I had a very long and hectic day that took me out of the house for most of the day. I had no time to watch a movie. Now, that I am rested I watched Secretary. This movie is like the prequel to that Fifty Shades of Grey movie that is sweeping the country for some reason. This movie is very disturbing love story.

Lee Holloway (Gyllenhaal) is mentally disturbed woman that is released for the looney bin when she accidentally tries to kill herself. Coming back home she feels isolated from her family. She tries to develop her secretarial skills. Lee finds a want ad about an enigmatic lawyer simply named Mr. Grey (Spader) hires her. Things around the office turn to the S&M side when Mr. Grey falls for Lee after he sees that Lee is a cutter.

The dominant/submissive relationship is an interesting topic to put in a movie. When I heard about the movie when it came out, I thought why would a woman be humiliated by her boss? Knowing that Lee is not right in the head, it kinda makes sense. She is a self-harmer and the pain from spankings replaces her need to cut herself. She trades in one addiction for another. That aspect of the film is fascinating to watch.

I'm not saying that this is a great movie. It seems like everybody is the movie have a couple of screws loose. You have Lee's alcoholic father, Burt (McHattie) becoming physical towards her mother, Joan (Warren). Joan has a weird attachment to Lee that seems stalkerish. There is also Lee's love interest, Peter (Davies) that seems not right.

My Rating

The Royal Tenenbaums

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

Directed by Wes Anderson

Screenplay by Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson

Stars: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston,  Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Bill Murray, Danny Glover and Alec Baldwin

Let's get this out of the way. I am not the biggest fan of Wes Anderson's films to say the least. I did not have that many options so I tried to sit through this movie. Even though this movie was nominated for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, I was over the movie when it started.

Alec Baldwin narrates the tale of the Tenenbaum family where Etheline (Huston) asks her husband Royal (Hackman) to leave. He checks into a hotel for 22 years and he is being kicked out. So he tries to get sympathy by insinuating that he is dying. His grown kids, the business mogul Chas (Stiller), genius playwright adopted daughter Margot (Paltrow) and tennis champ Richie (L. Wilson) are in a slump. Some other stuff happened. Who cares!

The quirkiness of Anderson's movies really bother me to no end. The only anomaly was Fantastic Mr. Fox. This is why I cannot watch Moonrise Kingdom. I want to have something different from Mr. Anderson. I watched this movie to get something written on here. I could not care less about this film. Everybody being so emo and all that shit. Whatever.

My Rating