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December 13, 2007
OIL!
If I were a fan of movies like I am of football, PTA's THERE WILL BE BLOOD would be cause for me to paint my chest (I'd need someone to be the P and the A, and I could be the T). A PTA movie is a big announcement for "youres truly;" I'm a zealous fan of his career - even in his wildest excesses (the last forty-five minutes of BOOGIE NIGHTS) or his most irritatingly vague (several sub-plots in MAGNOLIA), his movies offer a kind of filmmaking magic that most directors are embarrassed to engage in. No director captures the way life can be so messy and yet so wonderful, so exhilarating yet so frustrating. I'm particularly indebted to him for turning me on to Aimee Mann, whose soundtrack for the MAGNOLIA film became the soundtrack to my life during my Senior year of college.
If THERE WILL BE BLOOD were being critical hailed as the kind of glorious, sprawling mess (emphasis on mess) that PTA usually makes, I would still be excited. But reviews like this from David Denby and this blurb from AV Club has me as excited about a movie as I have possibly ever been. And, other than the upcoming Liberty Bowl and UM/Georgetown game, perhaps nothing else.
Check out the trailer.
I'm tempted to read the Upton Sinclair novel. Having read NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN before seeing the movie helped me appreciate it more (more on this later); yet based on Denby's review, I'm not going to. Apparently, PTA has adapted this loosely, taking "Sinclair’s bluff, genial oilman and turned him into a demonic character who bears more than a passing resemblance to Melville’s Ahab."
Sadly, we probably won't get it in Memphis until mid-January. But I will be there the day it opens.
I'm back, guys. Keep reading.
| By Andytown | 12:58 PM
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Comments
Agreed, the trailer makes TWBB look damn good. BTW did you ever see Joyeax Noel? That may be my pick for best Christmas drama ever. I think it won something or other at Cannes in 2005, and there's enough dialogue in English to put your fear of subtitles to rest.
Posted by: Ben at December 13, 2007 01:23 PM