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Posted: Jul 21 2009 10:02 pm

I thought of this when Cam mentioned it in the other thread...

I saw this movie when it came out in the theatre, and thought it sucked. Royally. The characterization made no sense, and really, neither did the plot. However, I think there must be something I'm missing, because everyone else seems to think its a masterpiece. For the life of me I can't understand why.

So, if you liked There Will Be Blood, can you please explain this movie to me? Or if you hated it, can you please tell me I'm not the only one who did?

Joined: Aug 26 2007 Posts: 2752

I haven't seen it either but i've seen enough of Snark Spoonyones reviews to see the poster for it on his walls. They guy has many posters of both good movies and 'so bad it's good' movies. So maybe thats the case for this one although this is one of those movies that critics have praised.

Posted: Jul 21 2009 11:44 pm

I disliked it too SH, my dad is a fan of Daniel Day Lewis from Gangs of New York and I thought he would like it because it got glowing reviews. He watched it and didn't like it.

I went and watched it and I realized it was trying so hard to be a good movie when really all it was a crapfest full of violence and characters I didn't give two shits about. When he shot the guy who pretended to be his brother it just turned sadistic for the worse because of the way it was carried out. Some would call his character a Nietzschean Superman.

This movie like The Gran Torrino got great reviews because the leading actors are both such great actors that it turns a mediocre movie into a good one that is based off the actors performance alone.

Posted: Jul 22 2009 12:05 am

Oh my god, its so funny you mention Grand Torino. I just watched it last night, and thought it was literally the worst movie I have ever seen. At least Daniel Day Lewis was good in his movie--Clint Eastwood's acting was *terrible*. Now, he has an excuse because he directed himself, and trying to judge your own performance (not to mention keep track of everyone else and the rest of the production) has got to be insanely difficult. But that doesn't change the fact that it did, indeed, suck horribly. The editing was awful, the character arcs were fucked up as all hell (probably due to aforementioned editing), and it was just terrible. Ugh.

Btw, your take on Blood is exactly mine. I really thought it was good during the flashback of his finding oil, and it went downhill from there, but I was willing to go with the movie and say it had potential until he killed that guy/put his kid on the train (I can't remember exactly at what point I stopped giving a shit.) By the time it got to him killing the preacher at the end, I was just laughing because it was so completely gratuitous and wtf.

Joined: May 22 2008 Location: Goshen, VA Posts: 6544

I thought the movie was OK. Nothing I would ever watch again. Acting never impresses me. If someone says "Oh the acting in this movie was fabulous" it equates to me that the movie lacks good development or plot and usually bores the fuck out of me.

And I have been waiting for a long time to say..............I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE!!!

Title: Negotiator Joined: Aug 04 2009 Posts: 55

It's hard to explain "There Will Be Blood." I must agree that the movie wasn't clear on most anything. I think the general dislike for it was caused by the movie's erratic pacing, that's all.

Posted: Aug 05 2009 07:55 pm

Okay. The reason that There Will Be Blood is supposed to be a masterpiece is for cinemetographal reasons, which is a word that I have just created.

For example, if you look at the way Plainview and Eli are shot, you'll notice a few things. Whenever they're onscreen, they're divided. Literally, there is something, a pole in the background, the light, something, dividing them. There's a lot of stuff that movie 'artists' go nuts over like this.

There's a lot of deep literary-style analysis that you can do on Plainview and Eli as well. Look at the concept of The Double. Etc.

If you do a bit of digging on these topics you'll find plenty. I don't feel like writing an English paper.

Also, if you're into acting or theatre, Daniel Day-Louis did a fantastic job.

I enjoyed the movie.

Posted: Aug 05 2009 08:27 pm

I love Gran Torino. It's basic story, and a story Clint Eastwood has done many times before, but somehow it's awesome.

Posted: Aug 05 2009 08:28 pm

^ That was the one thing about the movie that made it worthwhile to me, DDL was very, very good indeed (theatre/acting geek Cheers!

). However, at least to me, the rest of it was too jumbled and unclear to effectively get across the point that the movie was trying to make. Therefore in my eyes, it still failed.

However, as I noted before, this seems to be a minority opinion as most people love the movie, so maybe its just over my head or I didn't pay close enough attention.

Posted: Aug 10 2009 10:13 am

There Will Be Blood isnt a sure fire classic like the Shawshank Redemption or Schindlers List.

In other news Terminator 2 has aged better than Fight Club, time for a recount

Posted: Aug 10 2009 11:21 am

Ermac wrote:

There Will Be Blood

That's what she said.

BUT SHE FUCKING LIED. Crying

Posted: Aug 10 2009 12:21 pm

I saw it on a bus, and I thought it was pretty good for a bus movie, but maybe is a little too long for a theatre. I don't know, I liked it!

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

I watched this movie again for the third time last night. One of my favorites...it should've been "Best Picture" over "No Country For Old Men" which I also liked.

When I originally saw this movie, I didn't know what to think about it. I left the theater elaborating on the characters and thinking about what they represented. The more I thought about it, the more I understood it.

Plainview represents the corruption of success. The entire movie he is driven by the fact that he sees the evil in everyone, yet feeds off their feeble simple carictures, in a sense being the the one thing he truly loathes. The first half of the movie paints him as a simple man who is driven by success, you soon see this change after his son is injured, his thoughts weren't with H.W. and if he was ok, it was with his oil, his precious oil which caused a firestorm due to an accident which was also the cause of his son's deafness. Plainview is also very aware of how terrible a person he is, whenever someone mentions his family, flat out threatens them. And although he is driven by success in oil, he's also got a competitive drive to prove others wrong. Nowhere else is this more present than with Eli Sunday, who is more times than not at odds with Plainview.

Both characters have this cult-like grip over everyone they encounter. They are continually trying to show their dominence over one another, Plainview by humilating Eli physically and constantly overshadowing his church. Eli on the other hand, uses his congregation to almost create a mafiaesque presense and in turn allows him to humiliate Plainview for the sake of the pipeline. There's also other little things like how both Eli and Plainview intimidate others, such as Plainview with just an icy stare towards Abel after he tells his daughter, "No more hitting". Gripping stuff.

The ending is classic, much like how Eli tried to break Plainview earlier, he turns the tables and finally breaks Eli for good. I still don't really understand why he murdered him, but I guess I'm still missing something.

This movie makes you think on a grander scale. If you are confused by what you watch...that is a GOOD thing. Any time a movie makes you think, is good. So so many movies nowadays do the thinking for you and just throw things that cater to the lowest scum of the Earth, it's just great when a movie like this comes along. It's full of harsh characters, harsh environments and even harsher consequences. There's no good vs. bad, no happy ending...just a flat out gritty truth at what people are willing to do in order to achieve what they want.

This movie is also incredibly funny, if you have a dark sense of humor. The scene where Eli is able to break Plainview is sick, sad and humorous in the same sense. Day-Lewis is absolutely incredible throughout the film, but he definately stands out in this particular scene.

Overall, I think this is definately one of my top favorite 50 movies. It might not be for everyone, but quite honestly I really don't think you do the movie justice by just watching it once.

Joined: May 22 2008 Location: Goshen, VA Posts: 6544

I think the ending was done more for shock value than anything. Seemed kind of lazy, but oh well. I enjoyed the movie but no where near as much as No Country for Old Men.

Posted: Feb 05 2010 11:15 pm

Syd Lexia wrote:

I love Gran Torino. It's basic story, and a story Clint Eastwood has done many times before, but somehow it's awesome.

I agree, Clint Eastwood kicking ass on the text-messaging pussies of today's youth, whats not to love? I also loved There Will Be Blood, if only for the ending.

Posted: Feb 16 2010 09:49 pm

I got this movie as a gift not too long ago, but I haven't had the time to watch it yet. Every time I have a few hours open I end up watching or playing something else.

Two and a half hours ain't really too bad - went and saw Inglourious Basterds in theatres twice, and Avatar didn't wear my patience either - but I dunno, maybe I'll save it for when some friends want to watch something new.

Going off the reviews here, though, that might not be a good idea. I'll still have to try it, though.

On Gran Torino, I thought it was an excellent movie, but I agree that the plot was pretty basic. I liked a lot of the angry-old-fogey humor from Eastwood, and he definitely has some funny quotes.

Joined: Oct 01 2009 Posts: 5316

Yeah, my old ass dad loved Gran Torino. He busted a gut when he called the asian girl a "dragon lady".