You Haven't Seen That Yet? - There Will Be Blood

Plot: The story chronicles the life and times of one Daniel Plainview, who transforms himself form a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon. When Plainvew gets a mysterious tip-off that there's a little town out West where an ocean of oil is oozing out of the ground, he heads with this son, H.W., to take their chances in the dust-worn Little Boston. In this hardscrabble town, where the main excitement centers around the holy roller church of charismatic preacher Eli Sunday. Plainview and H.W. make their lucky strike. But even as the well raises all of their fortunes, nothing will remain the same as conflicts escalate and every human value - love, hope, community, belief, ambition and even the bond between father and son - is imperiled by corruption, deception and the flow of oil. (via)

Matt's Rating: A

Why He's Appalled Nicole Hasn't Seen It: Two reasons - 1) Paul Thomas Anderson and 2) Daniel Day Lewis. Nicole LOVES Magnolia and so I always assumed she was a big fan of P.T. Anderson. All his movies have a distinct feel and There Will Be Blood holds true to that.  Daniel Day Lewis won the Oscar for this role and it is a performance any movie fan should watch. Some argue that it's the same character from Gangs of New York but I think if you go back and watch each film you will see the subtle differences in each one. Anderson's mastery can be seen as each scene and every shot serves an important purpose to the story and characters (plus it's beautifully shot). I'm not usually a big fan of character driven films (I'm much more of a traditional plot/theme driven guy) but the characters, actors, and the way the film was crafted has always stuck with me. Its one of the few movies I remember thinking as I watched it "This is not a movie, it's a film." It is the complete package. Also, since 2007 I can't remember a drama coming out that had people quoting it. I. Drink. Your. Milkshake.

Nicole's Rating: A+

Nicole's Review: This was one of those films where - I feel like I cheated myself in waiting so long to see it. I was truly missing out. It was amazing in all aspects - story, dialogue, cinematography, acting. Tension threads throughout the film, building from the accident which makes Plainview a father in the very beginning, through Plainview's "redemption" as forced by the zealot, Eli Sunday, and eventually to the shocking final scene:

Here, if you have a milkshake, and I have a milkshake, and I have a straw. There it is, that's the straw, you see? You watching? And my straw reaches across the room, and starts to drink your milkshake. I. Drink. Your. Milkshake! I drink it up! 

Also, we all know Daniel Day-Lewis is probably one of the most, if not THE most, talented actors out there today. He's turns films to gold. I even like Gangs of New York, even though Matt hates it. But, I was also really pleased with Paul Dano's performance in this movie. I loved him in Little Miss Sunshine and was happy to see what a great actor he is. I know he's done some indie flicks since this - I think I need to catch up on some Dano.