| DGT ranks THE 10 BEST FILMS OF THE PAST DECADE!; DONE! #1 on p. 28, full list in 1st post | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 8 2010, 07:02 PM (7,933 Views) | |
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 22 2010, 02:52 PM Post #421 |
BOOM! CROASTED.
  ![]](http://z5.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
|
You're missing the point. It's more than just "she's a star, give her second billing even though she's only in the first half hour". It's marketing, sure. But it's also about dramatic effect. And seeing Julianne Moore on advertising billed as a second lead set me up perfectly for The Car Scene. It shocked me and made me all the more convinced of the danger and fragility in the world I was being shown. |
| |
 |
 
|
| <span style=Snoopy | Nov 22 2010, 03:47 PM Post #422 |
ORG GOD
|
I remember being in denial that after the car scene, since I was pretty sure they wouldn't do that to Juilianne Moore since she was a top bill. 
|
| [img]http://i.imgur.com/l26it.gif[img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/l26it.gif[img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/l26it.gif[img] | |
|
|
|
| <span style=midnight problay | Nov 22 2010, 05:22 PM Post #423 |
Disgruntled Vet
|
I mean you're right, it was a huge event that affected the rest of the film, but idk something tells me that's NOT the reason she's undeservingly billed second. Yeah Snoopy, I was so shocked that she died so early. I convinced myself she was gonna come back as a zombie or we'd have flashbacks or something 
|
|
|
|
| Thailandsurvivor | Nov 22 2010, 06:17 PM Post #424 |
|
Unregistered
|
Will a movie I've seen appear?
|
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 22 2010, 06:19 PM Post #425 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Umm... possibly? |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 25 2010, 09:59 PM Post #426 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Let's get #4 on the road, shall we? Again, this one will be by necessity brief -- #3, #2 and #1 will have longer entries. #4. THERE WILL BE BLOOD  2007 written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson based on Oil! by Upton Sinclair starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor and Ciaran Hinds Daniel Day-Lewis is god. But that's not the only reason why THERE WILL BE BLOOD is a quintessentially American film of the utmost quality. It's the level of superlative craft on display from writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson, cinematographer Robert Elswit and especially composer Johnny Greenwood, who creates one of the most unusual and perfect scores for a film in recent history. Combine everything that's great about this production (namely, everything) and you have a near-perfect film that chronicles the painful disintegration of a man who wants to be a good man and a good father, but success never loses its spot as the top priority. Daniel Plainview wants to be a success. He wants power. He wants wealth. And he will do what he has to go achieve both. But if there's one thing to be said about him, it's definitely not that he's a weak man. He doesn't ride the backs of others to achieve his goals. He works his ass off. He works himself literally to the point where his body breaks (shown in the wonderful, dialogue-free opening sequence). Whatever he has to do to build his empire up one derrick at a time, one dollar at a time, he does it, and he does it on his own shoulders. Before long, he is the lord and master of his own private oil company and has adopted the young child of a worker of his that died in an accident. The child, H.W., only knows Daniel as his father. Daniel markets the two of them together as a family running a family-oriented business, looking to keep families like them safe and comfortable while he drains their lands dry, drop by drop.  It's then that a windfall comes to Daniel. A young man named Paul Sunday clues Daniel into the bounty of oil under the surface of the Sunday farm and around Little Boston, California. Daniel pays Paul off for the information and sets off to take over Little Boston unassumingly and with as sweet a smile and old-fashioned friendly disposition as he can. Though hesitant and even suspicious, Mr. Sunday and the rest of the town lease over their properties to Daniel and the massive draining of Little Boston's oil begins. Everyone except Mr. Bandy, that is, who doesn't lease his property and instead asks for Daniel to come speak to him personally about the plans. Daniel never does. But in Daniel's way is Eli Sunday, Paul's twin brother, a charismatic preacher with his own town church, who hounds Daniel like a persistent shadow about the promises that he's not keeping. Donating money to the church as part of the drilling deal, taking care of the children of the town, etc… Eli sees through Daniel in every way, and Daniel knows it. And it becomes what turns into a battle of wills between two men who are, in many ways, cut from the same cloth -- though Eli would cringe at such a suggestion. Daniel's control over the world he has created is just about absolute, but the one thing he doesn't plan for is what ends up being his undoing. He doesn't plan for life. An accident at the town derrick results in H.W. losing his hearing. Daniel is distraught over this, but doesn't know how to deal with the situation. He's an oil man, not a family man. He's a business man, not a father. When H.W. becomes what he sees as a burden, he abandons his child to a school for the deaf, but does so by dumping H.W. on a train and hopping off. H.W. doesn't know what's happening -- he only knows that his father has left him behind. Willingly. When Daniel's brother appears at his home and tries to reinsert himself into Daniel's life, Daniel is untrusting at first but grows to accept his brother's presence in his life again. That is, until Daniel learns that it's not really his brother, but an impostor. The very thin and fragile layers of trust that Daniel has built for himself slowly begin to unravel, leaving a man who can only see life as a threat to him that he must fight and overthrow at every opportunity. No matter who he must destroy in the process.  To me, there is no question that this film does not work nearly as well without Daniel Day-Lewis. The script is strong and tragic and wonderful. Paul Thomas Anderson is an accomplished and skilled director. The crew and supporting cast of this film are first rate, without question. And yet the true power of this film comes from Day-Lewis. The man is a force beyond recognition. He is a notorious Method actor and is meticulous to the point of insanity in any piece of work he does. We're talking about a man who, while shooting THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, never let his flintlock rifle out of his sight -- on set or off. It's a level of intense devotion and power to his work that is unmatched by any other actor working today, and it's only a sliver of the talent that he brings to THERE WILL BE BLOOD. This film is about what is essentially the birth of American capitalism as we know it today. Greed. Corruption. The loss of soul. The willingness to discard family for the sake of a bottom line. The ability to be willing to let others die in the name of your progress. Watching it transpire with the grit of the unpolished California landscape at the turn of the century lets us see a human drama unfold with no frills. This is a film of meat and potatoes -- no additives and desserts welcome. There is no fantasy that unfolds before us. This is a portrait of life in its most ugly and aggressive form. And it's so fucking difficult to watch -- and therein lies the proof that everything it sets out to do is successfully delivered.  So much can be said about the filmmaking brilliance that has been delivered in THERE WILL BE BLOOD, but it's just as easy to comment on what many people find to be insufferable faults. It's criticized for being a 150 minute movie with the plot of a 90 minute movie. It's condemned for being slow and plodding. Blasted for its seemingly irrelevant story points (such as the arrival and narrative of Henry). Those criticisms, to put simply, are made by people who aren't seeing what the film is truly setting out to accomplish. The story is first and foremost that of Daniel Plainview, and nothing we see or hear or experience in the film deviates from that focus. THERE WILL BE BLOOD does not set out to tell Daniel's story with heavy-hitting plot points and quick cuts to advance from revelation to revelation. This is a film about the devolution of a man, piece by piece. Piece by piece. That means it's about details. Minutiae. The emotional and mental death of Daniel Plainview takes place just like that of any person -- it's a slow burn, and you can't deliver that like a tidal wave. And if you don't have the patience to see such a slow burn unfold, then this is not a movie you should watch. You won't like it. You will want to run away from it. But for those of you that can watch a film that takes its time in delivering an enormous character and his descent into the kind of madness that only a paranoid tycoon can succumb to, this is a film beyond measure. It's meant to be savored, even as you feel the urge to cringe. That, and it has one of the greatest lines ever spoken:  "I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!!!" And I am not kidding. So why THIS movie? I don't have the life experience of Daniel Plainview and I don't understand the true mental trials and stress that come with a business like his in the time he lived. But can I relate to the eternal fight inside me, one that we all as people share, of humanity vs. greed? Oh hell yes. We all have our own moral and ethical guidelines and boundaries. There are always lines that we approach in life and refuse to cross, depending on the situation. Would you dump your child for the sake of your profits? Would you put a bullet in the head of someone that has committed the sin of lying to you? Would you be willing to murder someone out of pure, boasting spite? Most people would answer "sweet dear Jesus, of course not, that's insane". Daniel Plainview felt the same way in minute one of THERE WILL BE BLOOD. That man was not capable of such atrocities. Such horrific personal choices for the sake of his career, his business, his bottom line, his reputation. And yet that's the man, slowly, bit by bit, he turns into. That terrifies the absolute shit out of me. Yet what terrifies me more is that it's possible in any one of us. Lines are meant to be crossed. Rules are meant to be broken. And morals are meant to be violated. It's just a matter of what takes us beyond the wire and to what degree. And watching the exploration of that kind of descent into the deepest depths of what a person is capable of, when done well, is one of the most captivating themes a film can tackle. And THERE WILL BE BLOOD, in its journey into this theme, is almost unmatched in cinema. SCORE SAMPLE: "There Will Be Blood" SCORE SAMPLE: "Proven Lands" |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=UD | Nov 25 2010, 10:08 PM Post #427 |
Refined Southern Gentleman
|
I'm not reading all of that but I LOVE There Will Be Blood. That is all. |
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=CatLurvesDorothy | Nov 25 2010, 10:10 PM Post #428 |
Hungry. ;_;
|
|
Meow. Overall Statistics (that badly need an update) | |
|
|
|
| <span style=CO | Nov 25 2010, 10:14 PM Post #429 |
A stunning physical specimen
|
You call that brief? |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 25 2010, 11:10 PM Post #430 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Yes. 
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=Kyle | Nov 25 2010, 11:40 PM Post #431 |
ORG Legend
|
I loved the movie as well but I can understand why some people wouldn't. |
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=Mister Plum | Nov 26 2010, 12:09 AM Post #432 |
SurviBoy
|
I haven't watched There Will Be Blood. Questions: 1. Why is the film entitled There Will Be Blood? 2. Is blood used as the metaphor of family since blood and oil are similar and the main character is more focused to his business (oil) than to his (blood) family? Explain. |
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 26 2010, 01:18 AM Post #433 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
1 - Simply put, there are a few different ways to look at it, all of which are perfectly viable reasons. You really should just watch it and make your own conclusion. 2 - There are a lot of metaphors in the movie. 
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 26 2010, 01:19 AM Post #434 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Only two more sets of Honorable Mentions left before we get to #1! THE HOURS  DOUBT  THE NEW WORLD  CASINO ROYALE  THE PIANIST  SHAUN OF THE DEAD  CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY  FROST/NIXON  IN THE LOOP  MULHOLLAND DRIVE  #3 might come as quickly as tonight. It's by far the hardest of the entries for me to write for reasons that will become very clear. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=UD | Nov 26 2010, 01:22 AM Post #435 |
|
Refined Southern Gentleman
|
omg The Hours AND Doubt I have a Meryl and Nicole Kidman erection 24/7 |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=Mister Plum | Nov 26 2010, 01:26 AM Post #436 |
|
SurviBoy
|
I like Doubt. I thought it'd be a boring watch but it's actually good. Meryl Streep never fails to entertain me with her flawless acting. The only thing I love bout The Hours is the musical score. It's boring as fuck. New World  The Pianist is one of my least fave Holocaust film. Don't really like Adrian Grenier or whatever his name. I'm sensing a Before Sunset win! 
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=Cassidy666 | Nov 26 2010, 01:26 AM Post #437 |
ORG Legend
|
I loved TWBB. It's a character piece. And the pacing was perfect. I can't see how anyone could argue that it could be shorter and have the same impact. "I DRINK IT UP!" |
ILBBS ROCKS!! Stranded in Aruba: http://www.immunityidol.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=23 Stranded All Stars: http://stranded.immunityidol.net | |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 26 2010, 02:04 AM Post #438 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Just a few of the billions of reasons why Meryl Streep is God incarnate: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhEK3mEofPo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW8XJnIrovk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJBulQilYGQ And why Viola Davis is right there next to her in perfection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Iy23LVFG1w |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=Mister Plum | Nov 26 2010, 02:52 AM Post #439 |
|
SurviBoy
|
Adaptation rawks so much. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| <span style=recyclehumans | Nov 26 2010, 05:54 AM Post #440 |
|
BOOM! CROASTED.
|
Yes. Yes it does. <3 |
|
| |
|
|
|
That is my one random pet peeve about movies though, the idea that nobody will see it if you don't have a star with top billing (which is kinda true but so dumb).
 |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Off-Topic REALLY Sucks · Next Topic » |
11:46 AM Jul 13