We first witness Sonia Bechis (Kseniya Rappoport) at work as a chambermaid cleaning a hotel room of a young woman. She announces to the person she will start first on the bathroom. It is only a few minutes later that Sonia hears a thud from the other room. Upon checking out the noise, she discovers that the woman has jumped to her death out the window.

Sonia seeks companionship through the means of speed dating. Her luck does not seem to be going her way, she has not found an interesting guy yet and she is on her last round. That is when she meets Guido (Filippo Timi), a seemingly polite gentleman who you can tell is not like the others. Unfortunately, time runs out before they really get a chance to talk much.

But coincidence takes over when the two run into each other as they are leaving. Guido is very forward with her by inviting her over to his place but she must turn it down as she works early tomorrow. After glancing at his watch, he notices it is 23:23, a double hour from which the title of the film comes from. He explains a double hour is much like a shooting star, you are granted a wish on it. The wish must have come true because it then cuts to the two of them having sex together.

As a romantic relationship forms we start to find out more about Guido. Like the fact he is an ex-cop. However, when asked what happened that that career he is short and vague by replying, “Nothing.” Perhaps he has something to hide? Or maybe the somewhat recent death of his wife has something to do with it?

Guido ends up taking Sonia to the large estate he currently looks after as a watchman/security guard. Behind the property is a vast forest in which he takes her out on a walk to. On their hike together he seems very paranoid and suspicious, he is constantly looking around him. As the two find a place to rest, they lean in to kiss when a man in a ski mask suddenly appears with a gun.

The two get tied up as a small gang steal artwork and other expensive valuables from the house. Once the criminals have everything they wanted, one of them goes back in to make sexual advances toward Sonia. That is when Guido lunges at the man with the gun but ends up getting shot and killed.

Just as the tagline of the movie states, “Nothing is what it seems”, the film weaves you back and forth between what happens and what you think happens. Describing any details beyond this point would be a disservice. It is precisely what makes this film so entertaining.

Both characters find happiness when together, a much needed break from depression that filled their lives before. Both characters have a sketchy past and damaged souls, a perfect match for each other. They are both as innocent looking as they are passionate.

Both the leads, Rappoport and Timi, were tremendous in their roles. You are led to believe that they both have something to hide, the actors did a great job of selling it. Their chemistry together seemed to be exactly what the director was going for, a strong connection but something is slightly off. Rappoport and Timi were rewarded with Best Actress and Best Actor awards respectfully at the Venice Film Festival in 2009.

The Double Hour is filled with enough twists that a few holes arise but not enough for it to ruin the point of the film. Director Giuseppe Capotondi mixes in a little bit of everything in the film, a romance, crime mystery, and even some haunting scenes. By far the neatest part of the film happens 1 hour 1 minute in when a huge twist is shown, right on a double hour. An amazing and thoughtful touch.

Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar) is a famous director who was fantasized being another person. He created an alter ego of Henry Caine when he became blind and transformed into being a writer. Caine relies on Judit (Blanca Portillo) and her son Diego (Tamar Novas) to take care of him at his home. Judit has always been by Caine’s side, even before he became blind as she was a production manager for him on his films.

At the very beginning we learn that a wealthy man named Ernesto Martel has died but have no clue as to who that person is. The film then jumps around from past and present to learn about Ernesto Martel and why his death is so important to Caine. During all the flashbacks we are introduced to a host of side characters and the different sides of Mateo Blanco/Henry Caine.

One day a young name named Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano) makes an appointment to talk to Caine about making a screenplay for him. Ray X insists that Caine should do the screenplay but Caine was not sold on the story and tells him that he is not the right person to write it. After he leaves he has Diego look at old production photos because he has a hunch that he has met Ray X before. Sure enough, there is a photo of the two together on a set.

Back when Caine went by Mateo Blanco, he was beginning his work on what would be his final film Girls and Suitcases. This is when he was introduced to Ernesto’s mistress, Lena (Penelope Cruz). Lena has been living with the wealthy Ernesto Martel for the past two years but wanted to get back into the working environment. Mateo fell in love with Lena at first sight.

Martel is nervous that he is losing Lena so he hires his son to follow Lena around on the set of the film. Armored with a video camera himself, the son is follows orders by filming Lena becoming an actress. Although the reason for this is so that Martel can keep an eye on Lena, the son makes a documentary out of it.

His suspicions turned out to be accurate as Lena falls for Mateo. The footage his son captured of the two proved that. Being that Martel is the producer of the film, makes the whole situation very messy. Martel’s passion for Lena does not go unnoticed.

Almodovar deliberately uses the color red virtually everywhere throughout the film. It is found in obvious places such as lipstick but also in more carefully selected places such as the paintings, furniture and a lot of the clothing. The liberal use of the color red is no doubt in effort to show how much love and passion all the characters possess.

I have started backwards in viewing Pedro Almodovar’s work, the first film I saw of his was his most recent film The Skin I Live In which ended up being my favorite film of 2011. He has incredible talent in filmmaking and storytelling that makes it easy to see why he is one of the most acclaimed Spanish directors of all time. He is becoming one of my favorite foreign directors. I eagerly wait to see Vovler, Bad Education and Talk To Her which are the next three films in the reverse order I am viewing them in.

The first 90 minutes of Broken Embraces was brilliant, character development heavy with a great thriller plotline. In the last 30 minutes of the film the story arc was mostly completed thus the rushed ending failed to be climatic. It was a little disappointing that the last part of the film did not finish as strong as it began. The film still was impressive to watch thanks to Almodovar’s magnificent style.

Doug (Cris Lankenau) dropped out of a forensic science program in college but still hopes to one day become a detective. After interning in a kitchen for two months without pay he settles on a job in an ice making factory. He has recently moved from Chicago into a small apartment with his sister, Gail (Trieste Kelly Dunn), in Portland.

Oddly enough Doug’s ex-girlfriend Rachel (Robyn Rikoon) is in town for a potential job opening so the two hang out together again. It must have not been too bad of a break up because the two seem more like close friends than ex-lovers. She tells him she wants to check out his place and he casually invites her over for board games.

Joining them for a night of board games is Doug’s new friend from the ice making factory, Carlos (Raul Castillo). The group hit it off rather well and hangs out together on a couple different occasions. Carlos brings up the fact he is looking for someone to attend a Star Trek convention with him but Doug has no interest. However, come to find out that Rachel is a Star Trek fan so Carlos asks Doug if it is okay to invite her to go with. Since their relationship is strictly friends at this point he responds, “I’m totally fine with it. And you guys are dorks.”

Carlos and Rachel attend the convention and supposedly had a great time there. Carlos becomes very paranoid when she does not end up showing up for their second “date”. He is so worried he frantically calls Doug five times while he is sleeping and eventually stops over. Doug thinks Carlos has been taking the Sherlock Holmes books he had recently lent him far too seriously.

This dream of being a detective finally comes true when Carlos presents enough evidence to get Doug to side with him. The two get to act out their fantasy playing Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson as they try to find clues to Rachel’s disappearance. Although, Carlos is not as willing to skip work as Doug is, so he eventually brings Gail in to be his side-kick.

Cris Lankenau plays the part of Doug perfectly as if the role was written for him. Which could very well be the case considering Katz was one of the writers of Cold Weather and Lankenau worked with Katz before in his last film Quiet City. It would be hard not to like his character and it does not take long to believe in him because of how realistic and how down-to-earth he portrays the character. The best part of it all is that you forget that he is acting.

There are at least two different parts of the film that are seat grabbing worthy. The fact Katz was able to evoke such feelings from such a low-key tempo, which it greatly benefits from, is one of the best qualities of the film. The thing I liked least about the film though was how Carlos and Rachel’s involvement to seemed to fade out even though they were initially very important to the story.

Cold Weather does not have the kind of pace that your typical detective thriller has. In fact, although the focal point of film is the thriller, it is more about the brother-sister relationship Doug and Gail have. He finds out more about her personal life while sitting in a car on a stake out than he probably ever would have otherwise. The ending may not sit well for most people, I am split on it, but it achieves the outcome it feels is important. Whether you do or not is beside the point.

Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) is a brilliant plastic surgeon according to his colleagues. His specialty is facial and skin transplants. Brilliant he may be but we soon find out that his work closely resembles that of Frankenstein. The goal of Robert’s experiment is to create the perfect female body, he calls her Vera.

Vera Cruz (Elena Anaya) is locked up in a room in Doctor Robert Ledgard’s large mansion but we do not know why. She receives her food and reading material via a dumbwaiter. Surveillance cameras watch her every move and he handles her with tremendous care. She tries to commit suicide but again we do not know why. We must wait for Almodóvar’s masterfully crafted narrative to unfold for answers to such questions.

The new artificial skin Robert has created is resistant to every insect bite thus it can prevent diseases such as malaria. This is because it smells different from normal human skin so it repels mosquitoes from wanting to bite it. Also it cannot be burned easily due to using some pig cells to strengthen it. After he reveals his secret of using pig cells, the president of the institute of biotechnology informs him of how the bioethics of doing such a thing is forbidden then threatens to report him if he continues with this experiment.

While Robert is pondering what to do with Vera as her skin has been successfully healed from his transgenic therapy experiment, another part of the storyline develops. The primary servant of Robert, Marilia (Marisa Paredes), is reunited with her son Zeca (Roberto Álamo) who is trying to hide from local police for stealing jewelry. Zeca’s plan is to have Robert operate on his face so that he will not be recognizable by the police but Marilia quickly scolds him saying that Robert would never do the operation.

You get a sense that Marilia is afraid of her son just by their conversation which is then confirmed when she pulls a gun on him and instructs him to leave. She says to him, “You’re not my son. I just gave birth to you.” Zeca grabs the gun from her and notices Vera on the surveillance screen. Somehow she looks familiar to him. This is one of many plot thicken scenes that keep you engaged until the credits roll.

The difficult part of doing this review is not to give away any big clues. As with any good thriller/mystery, figuring out what happens is what makes it so entertaining. Almodóvar tells the story in a beautiful yet crafty way methodically giving you clues here and there. The thriller at times treads close to the line of horror but never quite crosses the line.

Almodóvar’s previous work has proven him as a cinematic artist whose eye for beauty is rarely surpassed. The Skin I Live In is no exception to that. It would be hard to walk away from the film without vivid images burned into your head, the styling is top notch (the perverse nature of the film adds to this as well).

The Skin I Live In would have ended better if it did not explain itself in the very last scene. I did not think it was needed, unless you were not paying attention during the film as it was alluded to on multiple occasions. That is really is my old compliant, and a small one at that, it ended about a minute too long. The film is an amazing yet bizarre thriller that involves a mad scientist creating perfect beauty as a way of filling a void in this life that results in a disturbing vengeance.

A man slowly regains consciousness covered in blood and what appears to be a car wreck that somehow resulted in being in the woods. A quick glance around the car and he sees a man in the backseat who does not seem to be moving. We have no idea who it is, but neither does he. He makes no real attempt to talk to said person nor does he seem to have any real emotional connection with this person.

To make matters worse, he is stuck between the smashed front end of the vehicle against his legs and the seat. Not helping his situation is the door is jammed tight and will not budge. Only things in reach are available to him, searching around the front seat he finds a pistol.

It is confirmed that the main character does not know the deceased man in the car when he manages to stretch back and remove the man’s wallet. He discovers the man is George and rhetorically asks if the two are friends. He does not remember anything, including this own name which is apparent when he etches “Hello my name is” and stops there. He must not carry a wallet himself.

After beating on the door for several days he finally is able to un-jam the door. His weak body falls straight to the ground but most importantly, he is free. His leg is severally wounded which currently makes standing or even walking an impossible task.

As he does his best to bandage his leg, he hears of the car’s radio that George, Raymond and Eric are wanted for a robbery of a bank and that they are considered armed and extremely dangerous. The car’s description matches perfect. He finds that the truck is filled with cash. Suddenly, he is starting to find out what is going on, but there are many questions still left unknown.

He befriends a stray dog that serves as his only companion. He asked the dog if it is a good dog or a bad dog. Interestingly, that is precisely the main point of the film, to find out if the main character is a good guy or a bad guy. He makes a tough decision when a small amount of food becomes available and he must decide to keep the little amount to himself or share with the dog. Sharing the food with the dog perhaps proves he does have a good side to him even though he is a fugitive on the run.

Adrien Brody does a pretty good job staying on screen for the entire film by himself much like James Franco in 127 Hours and Ryan Reynolds in Buried. Not only does he not have any human supporting actors but he must crawl through the woods because he cannot stand. He also did all of this own stunts including being swept down a river.

Director Michael Greenspan shows that he is able to create a fair amount of suspense from little dialog or actors and from a story that is not all that unique. Wrecked was shot in order in just 18 days. Improvements could have been made but ones that could be overlooked for a first time director. This film showed potential for a very promising start of a career.

Wrecked definitely felt like a short film that turned into a full-length feature film. The beginning and the end were enjoyable but the middle lacked enough content to fully achieve a high arch of a story. Still, you find yourself waiting to see what the outcome is and it may not be what you expected. The biggest downfall is that the film is mostly watching him survive out in the woods instead of building more of a storyline.

The film jumps right in with Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) waking up on a train, clearly confused by his surroundings. The woman (Michelle Monaghan) sitting across from him is in mid conversation with him. Adding to the confusion she insists that she knows him and repeatedly calls him Sean. In a desperate move to figure out what is going on, he goes to the bathroom only to find a face in the mirror that is not his, but rather Sean’s.

The opening 8 minutes of the film is one of the most intriguing first 8 minutes of recent film memory. The viewer is in the same boat, or in this case train, as the main character. We have no clue who Sean is, why he is all of a sudden on a train or who the women sitting across from him is. Well played.

As soon as Colter’s time on the train hits 8 minutes, the bomb goes off and the train explodes into flames. He awakes strapped inside some kind of metal capsule in a secret U.S. military experiment. In front of him are computer screens with a women named Colleen Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) instruction him what to do.

Goodwin expresses how time is not on their side for this experiment but she does finally explain what exactly is going on. The commuter train explosion was caused by a bomb placed by someone on the train. Goodwin’s team was able to gain access into the brain of one of the passengers and able to re-create the last 8 minutes of his life before the bomb went off. From that they were able to build a simulation world that consists of those 8 minutes, they call it Source Code. It has The Matrix similarities abound, the most obvious is the alternate-simulation-world but also Goodwin basically being “the operator”.

His mission is to go back for the 8 minutes to try to locate the bomb and figure out who planted it. With this information they can capture the bomber to prevent an even larger attack that could destroy Chicago. Colter can go back multiple times but still only has the same time limit of 8 minutes. So needs to learn from each visit, Groundhog Day style, piecing the puzzle together.

A human element of emotions comes into play as Colter begins to form a relationship with some of the other passengers, most notably Christina, who we meet at the beginning of each new initialization of Source Code. Which means his mission just got expanded.

Just like in his first film, Moon, Duncan Jones relies heavily on one central character to do most of the heavy lifting. But to be fair, Gyllenhaal had a little more help than Sam Rockwell did. Gyllenhaal was a fantastic choice, he was solid in his role. Monaghan was maybe a little more replaceable, but that was more because of her role than her performance. Farmiga made a role that would normally be overlooked and played it very well.

The first two acts of Source Code far surpassed the relatively weak third act. The ending was safe and too Hollywood friendly, which is a bit of a shame because I do not think it needed to be. For the most part, the film remains a fast paced thriller with at least one bone-chilling turn-of-event scene. It is not as mind blowing as Inception, but that does not mean it is not worth a watch or two.

Let Me In had a lot going against it from the start. First of all, any time you do a remake you already have an unfair disadvantage, a classic damned if you do damned if you don’t scenario. If you do not change enough from the original, people will argue that the film is too similar. If you change too much, people will think you destroyed the original vision. Most of the time you cannot win and the original is almost always better.

The second thing Let Me In had going against it, is that not only is it a remake, it is an American made remake. Modern day American horror cinema is not exactly looked highly upon by horror film buffs. Lastly, the vampire genre has hit mainstream audiences with cheesy teenage romance films like Twilight, making vampire based films hard to take serious.

Even with all of the above setbacks, Let Me In overcomes each one with relative ease. It proves that Hollywood can produce a solid horror film. Although, some might not even call it a horror film but rather a thriller or even a romance film. In reality, it is a combination of all of those.

Let Me In takes place in Los Alamos, New Mexico in the winter of 1983. 12-year-old Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is raised by his divorcee mother, does not have any friends, enjoys playing with his Rubik’s Cube and eating Now ‘n’ Laters. His school life is not much better, he is constantly bullied for not fitting in. So when a girl named Abby (Chloe Moretz) moves in to the apartment next door, it is his first chance at making a friend.

Although, his luck does not seem to be getting any better as she tells him right away, “I can never be your friend.” Owen is quick to notice that Abby is not a normal girl. Even though it is winter and there is snow on the ground, she is shoeless. Also she has never heard of nor played with a Rubik’s Cube. When he asks her how old she is, she replies, “12 –years-old more or less.”

Owen does not know it yet, but Abby is a vampire. Like any vampire she needs blood in order to survive and she relies on her so-called father (Richard Jenkins) to get it for her. Validating what Owen suspects that she is not normal and also alluding that she is a vampire, she tells Owen, “I’m not a girl. I’m nothing.”

There was not a lot of CGI in Let Me In, which is a good thing. Because most of the CGI in the film was over-the-top, which hurt it more than it helped it. However, the area that it excelled most in was the cinematography. It was magnificently done. The chilly tone was captured perfectly as we often saw with frosted breath and pale faces.

Dramatic irony, showing the audience the killer before the character sees him, is a technique many older horror films used to create fear and suspense. Many modern day horror films often opt for “cheap scares” by turning down the score and all of a sudden have something jump into the screen. Thankfully, this film went with the former. I also found it interesting that we never see Owen’s mother’s face, she is almost never shown on the screen even if she is in the scene.

Let Me In deserves to be in the list of Top Horror Films of 2010. You must go into it knowing that it is not necessarily scary as it is eerie. Also, it is not very fast paced so be prepared to give it some patience. Being that it is a remake and still quite delightful to watch makes me all the more anxious to watch the original.

Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq who awakes in pitch darkness for nearly a minute before finding a lighter and realizes that he is buried inside a wooden coffin. As he slowly regains his consciousness, he vaguely remembers being attacked by a group of Iraqis. Searching around the coffin with his lighter in hand, he discovers something very important, a cell phone.

The cell phone discovery is crucial as it allows him to get in contact with the outside world. Like anyone would instinctively do, the first thing Paul does is try calling 911 for help. He becomes even more frantic when he gets the run-around and put on hold over and over, something we have all experienced. The signal strength is not great and frequently disconnects.

Suddenly, the phone rings and he hears the voice of his captors on the other end. They demand a $5 million dollar ransom from Paul and give him only a couple hours to do so. He begins to think who he can call to help rescue him by paying the ransom only to realistically decide that getting that ransom money is highly unlikely.

Not only is getting the money a big concern for Paul but also is the lack of oxygen. Between both him and the lighter using oxygen, it is only a matter of time before it runs out. Still, he knows time is of the essence so he uses the phone to call his wife, his employer, the FBI. Luckily, the captors left a pen with him as well, so when he calls 411 for information, he is able to write numbers down.

The most ingenious attribute of Buried is the entire film takes place in the coffin. Not a single shot from the outside, whether it be loved ones, 911 operators or captors on the other end of the phone call, are ever shown. We see nothing from flashbacks of how he got in the coffin. Nor do we see cutaways of what his captors are up to, aside from a video text he receives from them. I say ingenious because the fact that we see nothing from the outside means that we are also trapped inside the coffin.

Making a 95 minute film that takes place solely in one very small space interesting and engaging is a challenge. Buried accomplished this by providing enough action and suspense to keep you entertained throughout its entirety. The camera work in such a restrictive space and limited lighting would be challenge for any great filmmaker.

It is hard not to compare Buried to the film 127 Hours as they came out around the same time (Buried first) and share a lot of the same characteristics. In both films, you have a main character that is alone nearly the whole time in a confined area seeking to survive and get escape. Both even feature the main character forced to cut off a part of their body.

Shot in just 17 days with a relatively low-budget of 3 million dollars, Buried accomplished a lot. Considering the lack of space, lack of cast and lack of special effects it sure is loaded with suspense, thrills and solid film making. If you were unsure if Ryan Reynolds could be taken seriously as an actor, after watching this film will likely answer that question for you. Buried may not have a lot of rewatchability but the first time will leave you exhausted from the tension and suspense it creates. Look past a few minor flaws (cell phone battery life, or lack thereof) and embrace the film few could do right.

Nearly the first 15 minutes of the film, aside from a few cries and moans, is without dialog. All you hear is the eerie soundtrack which was done by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood. A soundtrack that would earn him a Grammy nomination. Greenwood creates a soundtrack that works so well with the film, it would not have been the same without it. Mixing up classical sounds and making them haunting. Something that would rival what Stanley Kubrick would have chosen.

Essentially, There Will Be Blood is about a ruthless oil man named Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). He learns that there is a small town which has plenty of oil resources. He convinces the town to let him set up operation there and begin drilling. He promises the town to build schools and cultivate their land to make the town boom. However, one person in particular is reluctant, the local preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano).

Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday’s relationship begins early in the film. Having being tipped off from Eli’s twin brother, Plainview arrives at the family’s ranch in search of oil. However, Plainview being the kind of man he is he tries to get a bargain for the land by claiming he wants the land for quail hunting. Thus giving the family prices for quail land and not land with oil. Eli knows that there is oil on the land, something his father doesn’t seem to know. While Plainview is trying to pull a fast one on the family’s father, Eli steps in during negotiation.

After buying the Sunday ranch Plainview soon realizes that Eli is going to be a nuisance. Eli is constantly making sure that this oil venture that has quickly taking over the entire town is in the best interest of his church. Eli approaches Plainview asking if he can bless the first drilling, which Plainview abides to without hesitation. But as the time approaches for the blessing, Plainview does not call Eli up to speak. Instead he does his own blessing but doing so in a way that makes him and his business look like they there are doing a charitable thing for this town.

Which one could argue either side for. On one hand he is providing the town new opportunities for irrigation which in return would provide food easier. He is also building a road for the town and a new school. Part of the agreement was that he would also contribute money to the church that Eli wants so desperately. On the other hand, Plainview’s drilling does bring death to one of the man, via an accident on the dangerous job. It even leads his child to lose his hearing and be permanently deaf.

Shortly after the incident is really the first time you get an intimate look into Plainview’s personality when he says, “I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” Also in the same conversation, “There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.” It is a very important scene because for the first time you see that he is self-aware that he has evil tendencies. He verbally admits of his hatred of people and that he has no room for compassion.

Plainview and his son are on a train when Plainview tells his son to stay put. He leaves the train with his son still on it. It was pre-arranged that another man takes the child. Plainview does this without any emotional tie with his boy. This becomes even more apparent in the next scene when he is in a meeting with a company looking to buy out his land. They tell him they will make him a millionaire if he chooses to sell. Plainview asks them, “What would I do then.” As if he does not know that there is anything else in life then work. They reply he could spend time when his boy, a reply that does not sit well with Plainview.

It is brought to his attention that there is one piece of land that has held out from the initial buying. This land is crucial to Plainview because it stands in the way of the pipeline he wants so that he can transport the oil. If he does not get this land, it’s a 50 mile detour that his pipeline would have to endure. That is just not feasible.

The land owner says he must wash in the blood of Jesus Christ and that’s the only way to salvation and the only way for him to get the land. Plainview tries to buy his way out offering him more and more money but the land owner wants him to be baptized. It is obvious Plainview does not care much for religion and even less for Eli Sunday, so this is no easy task for him.

The scene where Plainview attends Eli’s church is simply amazing. Eli knows exactly what Plainview is doing there and you can tell by the little smirk on his face that he is awaiting his chance for revenge and humiliation. Eli demands him to get down on his knees and scream out “I am a sinner” over and over. If that was not enough, he makes Plainview admit that he has abandoned his own child.

There Will Be Blood makes you question your own morality in the most chilling scene in the entire film towards the end when Plainview asks Eli Sunday to admit that he is a false prophet and that God is a superstition. Eli must choose between falsifying what he firmly believes in order to receive money for the church from Plainview. The film then comes full circle as Eli Sunday made a fool of Plainview earlier in the film when he makes Plainview scream “I am a sinner” many times in front of his congregation.

The irony in this is quite interesting, because Eli is in a catch-22, either way he loses, whether that will be money or faith. If he chooses not to falsify his belief then he won’t receive the money he wants to build a new church. On the contrary, saying so even though you may not mean what you say, brings self-guilt and shame. It begs the question, how much are you willing to sell your soul for? Or so to speak.

If you have seen the film, you know that ultimately it doesn’t matter what his choice is. This further perhaps expands the irony that there is no right answer. Plainview really has nothing to gain from this situation other than to get back at Eli and to humiliate him. Which for him is the only thing he cares about and nothing would bring him more satisfaction.

Paul Thomas Anderson typically uses two or more of the same actors in his films, however, There Will Be Blood is his first film that doesn’t include a member of the cast from a previous film. However, an element that is signature to PT Anderson that is present is his long takes of scenes. The film was shot beautifully which eventually earned an Oscar for Best Cinematography.

Daniel Day Lewis is fierce and relentless. Determined to be wealthy he will let nothing stop him. The first evidence of this is at the very beginning of the film where he falls down a mine shaft and breaks his leg. With determination on his side, he hauls himself back up from the mine. Once you see There Will Be Blood it should come to no surprise that Daniel Day Lewis won an Oscar for Best Leading Actor for his performance.

Paul Dano’s character Eli is marvelously haunting and extremely passionate. I got goose bumps when he preached to his congregation. He is just as determined and fierce as Plainview is but in his own way. He is not fueled by greed but instead it’s his religion which drives him.

There Will Be Blood combines superior acting, directing and storyline into a masterpiece. In my opinion a film that was robbed of it’s much deserved Academy Award for Best Picture. It should be considered an important American film that everyone should see, you would only be doing yourself a favor in doing so.

As you would guess from the name of the film, it is about a bad lieutenant named Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage). Situations he gets into as a cop he uses to his advantage for drugs. When he busts a drug dealer, he will score some of the drugs from himself. He prefers to do a lot of his work off the record especially when it comes to collecting evidence.

He has a lover named Frankie (Eva Mendes) who is a prostitute and together they work as a team for money and drugs. But drugs aren’t the only thing Terence has gotten himself into, gambling is also a big part of his life. He begins to dig himself deeper and deeper with drug dealers and bookies that eventually make Frankie’s life in danger.

The Bad Lieutenant is riddled with twists and new sequence of events, the two hour run time seems to end in no time at all. It is gripping and keeps you wanting more and more until the very end. Without divulging too much of the film way, the film does come full circle at the end in way you almost can’t help but applaud to show your appreciation at the conclusion.

Nicolas Cage played the character superbly. You almost couldn’t imagine anyone else playing the part. You can see him physically and mentally deteriorating and heading into a downward spiral as his character was. He really played the character with full conviction. I have always respected the work Cage has done and this performance validates my respect. He rightfully won the Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor.

Many times throughout the film, whether it was a hallucination shot from the drugs or what would seem a normal shot seemed to be captured in an unorthodox way. It really portrays New Orleans beautifully. Untraditional angles and great use of the camera would earn a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2010 Independent Spirit Awards.

The Bad Lieutenant is an indie film that I think everyone can enjoy. The plot seems to grow with every scene and there doesn’t seem to be a dull spot in it. The storyline is captivating and the cinematography is excellent. It’s truly a thriller that you must see.