The TV Addict 

THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Not only the best film of last year, but I suspect with further time and consideration it may prove to be one of the better films I’ve seen, well, ever. Without any shred of understatement, I feel it is nothing less than a cinematic masterpiece. It’s not just the sheer audacity of the filmmaking – score, cinematography, script – or the performances of Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Mano (who has gone horribly unrecognized for his work here). It’s also not just the fact that film signals an almost unbelievable tonal shift and leap in accomplishment from Paul Thomas Anderson’s previous work (which was already really good). It’s the incredible depth that slowly emerges from the deceptively simple narrative as the film beings to work you over while watching but especially later when it still haunts you and you begin to gain the benefit of hindsight. Those who have complained that the story is cliché, bare or even non-existent, I feel are missing the point. Watching THERE WILL BE BLOOD for the story is kind of like reading “Hamlet” or “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” for its narrative. The film – like those works – is about greater artistic ambitions and ideas, not plot. It’s a film that, much like the works of Fellini, Truffaut, or Bergman, requires you to engage in an intellectual conversation with it, to be completely mentally alert and receptive (in other words a film student’s absolute dream). With multiplexes being flooded with films that require you to turn off your brain, finding a film that actually challenges your brain a little should be more than a welcome change for most. Unless you’ve had a long, tiring week. Then you might be just better off with a milkshake.

Grade: A+

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY
With the onslaught of bad spoof movies, WALK HARD is a reassuring reminder that parody films can actually be smart, well-done, and – most importantly – hilarious. It helps that screenwriter Judd Apatow and Jake Kasdan not only accurately and successfully make fun of musical biopics like WALK THE LINE and RAY, but that they possess enough musical knowledge to throw in numerous loving pokes at famous musicians and styles. Really, can you go wrong with this hilarious Bob Dylan bit, or Jack Black, Paul Rudd, Jason Schwartzman, and Justin Long impersonating the Beatles? Those aren’t the only cameos though, as the film features an outstanding array of cameos from some of the best comedic actors in the biz. John C. Reilly also finally gets his chance to step into the limelight, as is to be expected, he doesn’t fail us. Sure, inevitably not every bit in the film ends up being funny (when will people get that eating or smelling poo is never funny?), but I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much watching a movie. Though this film did poorly at the box office, it more than deserves a rich, long, life on DVD, and I certainly hope it gets it.

Grade: A-