dibot Blog

I am in love with There Will Be Blood. Though director P.T. Anderson ("Punch Drunk Love") clocks in another super long movie, I was entranced almost every single minute of the film. Daniel Day-Lewis ("The Ballad of Jack and Rose") stars as oil man Daniel Plainview and the film follows his life as he digs his first well until he's an old man. The story doesn't feel that it needs to cover every little detail of this time, we're given what's important and allowed to fill in the gaps ourselves. As Plainview builds his empire, he meets a young preacher, Paul Dano ("Little Miss Sunshine"), and the interaction between the two of them is some of the best in the film. I loved this power struggle. I also loved Day-Lewis' acting. Amazing. Also, the score was fabulous. Almost like another character. I felt that, if I weren't unable to take my eyes from the screen, I could close them and still know what was happening, just from the music. Scenery is gorgeous and Anderson just lets it all flow out. I've thought about this movie constantly for the last two days. I want to see it again. And though I've heard criticisms of it's last third, it didn't bother me. There is a slowing down and I fell out of the magic for a minute, but it pulled me right back in. Best movie I've seen this year.

Atonement is also quite good. Director Joe Wright ("Pride and Prejudice") creates a beautiful world and switches deftly between three points of view to give us a tragic love story. Kiera Knightley ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End") is beautiful. James McAvoy ("Becoming Jane") is heartbreaking (I don't understand why he didn't get an Oscar nod). Saoirse Ronan, who plays the young Briony, is good. I got caught up in the love story, even though, having read the book, I knew what happened. This is a good one.

Juno is everything you've heard and more. Ellen Page ("Hard Candy") just gets into this character and runs with it. The story, though funny, is often moving and thought-provoking. There are no easy answers. The relationships are full and believable. Plus, the soundtrack rocks. Can't wait to see it again.

Joshua really creeped me out. Joshua's parents bring home his new baby sister, and then things start getting weird. It's not really a horror movie, more of a thriller, but i found it so unsettling, that I couldn't go to sleep right after. The music is very eerie and dissonant, adding to the discomfort the story is already building. Sam Rockwell ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford") plays the father, and he is solid, but Vera Farmiga ("The Departed") as the mother gives crazy a new face. This is one to check out. But not if you're afraid of little kids.

Sweeney Todd is just further proof that Tim Burton ("Corpse Bride") doesn't make bad movies. London is dark and gloomy. Johnny Depp ("Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End") is singing his pants off. (This is a musical, people. I went with my sister-in-law and after a few minutes, she leans over and says, "They sure sing a lot.") It's glorious. Not only does the music really compel you, there are lots of bloody deaths as well. (Please note the subhead: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. My sister-in-law also commented on how grisly some of the deaths were.) Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I, of course, have a couple of complaints which may or may not have any bearing on the actual film. The young guy who falls in love, Jamie Campbell Bower in his big screen debut, made me giggle. Almost every time he came on screen. I don't know why. Also, they didn't do my favorite song from the stage version of the play where they sing, "The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" really high.

And then, this isn't really a complaint, just some food for thought. Johnny Depp and Helena Bohnam Carter ("Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix"), who also captures her character magnificently, share so much screen time, with their faces very close together, that I began to notice just how much they look alike. If Depp were a woman, he would be Bohnam Carter. And if she were a man, she would be Depp. Which got me thinking...maybe, Tim Burton had directed Depp for so long that he just fell in love with his face. Then he met Bohnam Carter and realized the similarities. So he married her.

Duel is the first feature by director Steven Spielberg ("Munich"), though it is a made-for-TV-movie, which upset my husband. And is only rated PG. Also upsetting to my husband. Anyway, none of that really matters because the movie manages to be very, very tense while only having two real characters. One of whom we don't even see. The landscape is desolate and Speilberg shows a real eye for shots that keep us (mostly) interested during this battle between a man in a sporty car and a tractor-trailer truck. Truthfully, I got a little annoyed with the main character and wished him harm. But this is an enjoyable watch.

I'm not really sure what I thought Charlie Wilson's War would be like when I went into the theater. Yes, it's a comedy, but there's a message as well. And not a hit-you-over-your-head message, but a hey-we-should-probably-be-thinking-about-this sort of message. Tom Hanks ("The Da inci Code") and Julia Roberts ("Charlotte's Web") have amazing chemistry. They just feed off of each other. It's beautiful. And it's been awhile since I've seen the two of them having that kind of fun. But the real magic is Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Before the Devil Knows Your Dead"). He just swoops in and takes over every scene he's in. I really had a good time watching this film.