There Will be Blood (2007)

Daniel Day Lewis deservedly earns his Oscar nod in the dark There Will be Blood, based on the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. The movie is quite an exploration of human greed and ambition.

Lewis's character, Daniel Plainview is the epitome of these base human traits, and from the beginning of the movie he has no qualms about treading heavily upon all who stand in his way. What makes this movie even more interesting, is that his character is juxtaposed with another ambitious figure, the local preacher. The two spar and dance around each other grasping for power and influence. There are moments in the movie when you think Plainview might just have an inkling of humanity as he cares for his son - but it becomes evident that even if he did, his son is not as important as his ambition.

There are two scenes in particular that really stand out (see two embedded videos below). One in which Plainview must be baptized in the local church in order to get the lease on a piece of property owned by one of the church parishioners. The confession of his sins is quite moving, and is one of those moments that you wonder if Plainview might just be a good man at heart. The second is the final scene in the movie, in which the preacher and Plainview square off, and Plainview revels in his triumph over his rival by mercilessly berating him after the preacher begs him for money.

The ideas portrayed here about religion, capitalism, the affluent, the poor, ambition, humility, and ultimately egoism and selflessness are sublime. Although there is some impressive scenery, the movie is subtle in its message, and very insightful. It is a movie that will make you think for many days and weeks afterwards about what it all means. And it is one of my favorite movies of the year.

The first scene:


The second scene:

In Bruges (2008)

In Bruges is a dark comedy reminiscent of Pulp Fiction to a degree, albeit with a European setting. It is violent, quite disturbing in parts, equally as hilarious in parts, and in the final moments rather pensive and philosophical. That having been said - I loved the movie.

The movie follows two hit men that are hiding out in the town of Bruges after a hit went awry and an innocent child was killed. Collin Farrell's character is tortured by guilt after inadvertently killing the child. One of my favorite actors, Ralph Fiennes plays the mob boss, and Brendan Gleeson plays Farrell's mentor. The plot is endlessly surprising, and is filled with supremely ironic moments which are really great, so I won't ruin it for you.

The interplay between the characters is quite funny - and the dialog shows the humanity of the characters even though they are in the end, hired killers - which makes for the same kind of cognitive dissonance in the audience that you get watching Pulp Fiction. How can a hit man be a moral person? Do immoral people who do immoral things actually have a conscience? These are the things you will be asking yourself as you watch this movie.

I was very entertained, and give this a hearty recommend. The sensitive should beware though - like Pulp Fiction it is very violent and disturbing.

Made of Honor (2008)

Finally got to my first movie made in 2008. My wife and I went to see Made of Honor in the theater. The movie is a fun little RomCom starring Patrick Dempsey, in which, he plays an affluent New York playboy averse to commitment. His best friend is Michelle Monaghan, a girl he once tried to seduce, but resisted his advances in college. She runs off to Scotland on a business trip, meets the perfect man, gets engaged, and asks him to be his "Maid of Honor". The rest of the movie is Dempsey realizing he has been in love with her all along and trying to break up the wedding from the inside out and get her back.

As I said, it is a fun little movie to see with your spouse or significant other. There aren't any scenes that jump out at me as noteworthy, just your run of the mill Romantic Comedy. I am not a huge fan of RomComs in general so this gets a mild recommend at best for me.