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Lucien21 · 02-17-2008, 12:12 PM

There will be blood

An epic movie from one of my favourite Directors. Paul Thomas Anderson has been quiet for 4 years since Punch Drunk Love (At least on the movie front), but he's back to his best with a look at the early days of the oil business.

It's not the easiest film in the world to watch, the first 20 minutes there is no dialogue as it shows Daniel Plainview (the superb Daniel Day-Lewis) a solo Silver miner risking his life down a hole and using the money to start up a small team to drill for oil.

An accident leaves him with a small boy to look after and the film jumps a few years to him and his son pitching for leasing rights to drill for oil. Pitching himself as a family man. After a lead he heads to California where the oil is bubbling through the ground he soon buys up all the land round about and starts drilling for oil. His local nemesis is an evangelical preacher and the clash between the pair (Between greed and faith or religion and capitalism) is the backbone of the movie.

Daniel Day-Lewis is superb as the greedy oil man, who is borderline sociapathic with a hatred for people that he hides pretty well. He will do anything to succeed. Paul Dano is pretty good as the preacher trying to hold onto the minds of the locals.

As a parable of the American dream or American soul (Capitalism at any cost vs Religion) it is a pretty bleak picture as both of the men are pretty corrupt. (actually between this and the Coen Brothers American cinema is amazingly negative towards their own country at the moment) The final showdown between the pair is difficult to watch.

A superb haunting film.

5/5

Jumper

A sci-fi film from the director of the Bourne Identity sees Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader) face off against the white haired Sam L Jackson.

15 year old Hayden falls into a river under the ice about to die and before he knows it he is suddenly in the local library. He discovers he is a Jumper, a person with the ability to create wormholes with their mind and "Jump" to anywhere on the planet as long as they can see a picture or have been there before.

He runs away from his abusive father and "jumps" inot banks and robs them. Soon he is living a playboy lifestyle jumping all over the world taking whatever he wants, dating beautiful women and acting as wodden as a plank.

He soon attracts the attention of the Paladins, Religious nutjobs who believe only god should have the power to go where he wants and are trained to kill Jumpers.

He teams up with another Jumper (Jaime Bell) and so begins the action with chases taking place all over the world.

It was a decent premise and a cool power to have (I wish I could do it) and the action sequences were ok. Jamie Bell out acts the plank through the whole film and it never really resolves anything at the end.

Pleasently distracting.

2.5/5

02-17-2008, 12:12 PM	#3132
Lucien21 Psychonaut Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 5,114	There will be blood An epic movie from one of my favourite Directors. Paul Thomas Anderson has been quiet for 4 years since Punch Drunk Love (At least on the movie front), but he's back to his best with a look at the early days of the oil business. It's not the easiest film in the world to watch, the first 20 minutes there is no dialogue as it shows Daniel Plainview (the superb Daniel Day-Lewis) a solo Silver miner risking his life down a hole and using the money to start up a small team to drill for oil. An accident leaves him with a small boy to look after and the film jumps a few years to him and his son pitching for leasing rights to drill for oil. Pitching himself as a family man. After a lead he heads to California where the oil is bubbling through the ground he soon buys up all the land round about and starts drilling for oil. His local nemesis is an evangelical preacher and the clash between the pair (Between greed and faith or religion and capitalism) is the backbone of the movie. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb as the greedy oil man, who is borderline sociapathic with a hatred for people that he hides pretty well. He will do anything to succeed. Paul Dano is pretty good as the preacher trying to hold onto the minds of the locals. As a parable of the American dream or American soul (Capitalism at any cost vs Religion) it is a pretty bleak picture as both of the men are pretty corrupt. (actually between this and the Coen Brothers American cinema is amazingly negative towards their own country at the moment) The final showdown between the pair is difficult to watch. A superb haunting film. 5/5 Jumper A sci-fi film from the director of the Bourne Identity sees Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader) face off against the white haired Sam L Jackson. 15 year old Hayden falls into a river under the ice about to die and before he knows it he is suddenly in the local library. He discovers he is a Jumper, a person with the ability to create wormholes with their mind and "Jump" to anywhere on the planet as long as they can see a picture or have been there before. He runs away from his abusive father and "jumps" inot banks and robs them. Soon he is living a playboy lifestyle jumping all over the world taking whatever he wants, dating beautiful women and acting as wodden as a plank. He soon attracts the attention of the Paladins, Religious nutjobs who believe only god should have the power to go where he wants and are trained to kill Jumpers. He teams up with another Jumper (Jaime Bell) and so begins the action with chases taking place all over the world. It was a decent premise and a cool power to have (I wish I could do it) and the action sequences were ok. Jamie Bell out acts the plank through the whole film and it never really resolves anything at the end. Pleasently distracting. 2.5/5 __________________ I'm not insane, my mother had me tested!