there has been blood (and now QT's review of CMBB)

Started by pete, November 06, 2007, 01:06:10 AM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RegularKarate

Thanks, JB, for sparking my brain on this one again.

Some (perhaps obvious) things I've been thinking about:

- Daniel is so upset that HW needs an interpreter during their final scene.  Eli is supposed to be an interpreter for God, but clearly is a false one... this is why he's so upset to find out that what the interpreter is saying is the same as what HW is saying (from his own mouth).

- Daniel's separation from HW begins when HW becomes deaf.  His silver tongue will no longer work on him... his son can see through to his real self now and he can't stand being caught in a lie (which is part of why he hates Eli).

More on the bowling alley:
-Here is an article that talks about the restoration of the bowling alley... interesting (also funny that they shot Lebowski there and there was a bowling alley... wonder if the dude knew that).

- Notice there are two lanes... Daniel loathed other people... there's no way he had those installed because he loved to bowl with other people... if we assume he continued to do some business with others, he would need a place to entertain them... a place for him to tell them lies and make them think he enjoyed their company.

Alexandro

i feel like the semi poor kid in the classroom whose father didnt't get him the same cool expensive toy everyone already has.  :yabbse-sad:

saludos to everyone from guatemala...in fucking april or some shit, when they release there will be blood in mexico, we'll talk motherfuckers.

Gold Trumpet

Quote from: Alexandro on January 07, 2008, 03:31:32 PM
i feel like the semi poor kid in the classroom whose father didnt't get him the same cool expensive toy everyone already has.  :yabbse-sad:

You and me both. I think it's absurd the film doesn't immediately go to my city and it's 19,000 people strong. I hope when you do see it you give it a strong review because then a discussion can commence.

polkablues

Quote from: The Gold Trumpet on January 07, 2008, 04:14:12 PM
I hope when you do see it you give it a strong review because then a discussion can commence.

Discussion's commenced.  We couldn't wait around for you guys forever.   :yabbse-smiley:
My house, my rules, my coffee

The Red Vine

BIG BLOODY SPOILERS!

"There Will Be Blood" has been my most anticipated film for the last couple of years. After driving 6 hours to Dallas, I was able to see it twice. It was a shock seeing Anderson reinvent his style for his relentlessly bleak portrait of Daniel Plainview. As good and interesting as the film is, I'm not convinced it's a masterpiece.

Daniel Day Lewis does give an award worthy performance as Plainview. But I felt I was watching only a side of the character instead of other elements which could've been explored further. Anderson focuses on his descent into insanity so closely that I wanted a little more of his behavior before going into Little Boston. Is there more humanity to Plainview than his bitterness and determination? I'm not sure.

The film is unique in balancing scenes of terror, sadness, and confusion. Despite it's incredible intensity, I found there to be a slight comical edge to the final scene of Plainview's madness. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. It's difficult to keep a straight face at lines such as "I told you I would eat you!", "I'm the Messiah!", "I drink your MILKSHAKE!", etc... It's over the top to the point of the film losing some of it's power on me. Particularly with the heartbreaking scene with the son taking place just before it.

Although I've seen it twice, I feel I need to see it again (when it comes to my town). It's an odd and challenging movie, but there's no denying it has power and originality.  
"No, really. Just do it. You have some kind of weird reasons that are okay.">

Stefen

Quote from: The Red Vine on January 07, 2008, 05:58:46 PMI found there to be a slight comical edge to the final scene of Plainview's madness. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. It's difficult to keep a straight face at lines such as "I told you I would eat you!", "I'm the Messiah!", "I drink your MILKSHAKE!", etc... It's over the top to the point of the film losing some of it's power on me.

Ugh. This is what I was afraid of when I heard that the ending is funny in an unintentional way. I drink your milkshake? Please tell me you're kidding.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Pozer

Quote from: Stefen on January 07, 2008, 10:47:40 AM
Sounds like PTA has left alot to the imagination in this film. Without seeing it, I can't say whether it's lazy or brilliant filmmaking. I'm learning towards the latter.

I NEED TO SEE THIS.

oh youve seen the movie.

©brad

Quote from: Stefen on January 07, 2008, 06:38:02 PM
Quote from: The Red Vine on January 07, 2008, 05:58:46 PMI found there to be a slight comical edge to the final scene of Plainview's madness. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. It's difficult to keep a straight face at lines such as "I told you I would eat you!", "I'm the Messiah!", "I drink your MILKSHAKE!", etc... It's over the top to the point of the film losing some of it's power on me.

Ugh. This is what I was afraid of when I heard that the ending is funny in an unintentional way. I drink your milkshake? Please tell me you're kidding.

dude honestly what are you doing here?

Stefen

Quote from: ©MBBrad on January 07, 2008, 07:16:41 PM
Quote from: Stefen on January 07, 2008, 06:38:02 PM
Quote from: The Red Vine on January 07, 2008, 05:58:46 PMI found there to be a slight comical edge to the final scene of Plainview's madness. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. It's difficult to keep a straight face at lines such as "I told you I would eat you!", "I'm the Messiah!", "I drink your MILKSHAKE!", etc... It's over the top to the point of the film losing some of it's power on me.

Ugh. This is what I was afraid of when I heard that the ending is funny in an unintentional way. I drink your milkshake? Please tell me you're kidding.

dude honestly what are you doing here?

You mean on this site or in this particular spoiler forum? I got a smart ass response for both.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

©brad

Quote from: Stefen on January 07, 2008, 08:20:22 PMYou mean on this site or in this particular spoiler forum? I got a smart ass response for both.

hah, the latter. but please, give me both. 

Stefen

Quote from: ©MBBrad on January 07, 2008, 08:36:30 PM
Quote from: Stefen on January 07, 2008, 08:20:22 PMYou mean on this site or in this particular spoiler forum? I got a smart ass response for both.

hah, the latter. but please, give me both. 

Because I'm a pussy. And because I have no will power. And because I got the rules to the forums mixed up and kept reading this one and eventually unfortunately read spoilers about the ending. No use peaking with one eye covered. I just opened them both. Might as well.

I won't be able to see this for awhile anyways and my expectations aren't as high as they were before and that'll probably help me enjoy the movie more.
Falling in love is the greatest joy in life. Followed closely by sneaking into a gated community late at night and firing a gun into the air.

Jeremy Blackman

The milkshake bit was absolute genius. It's a lot like the Boogie Nights firecracker scene.

modage

still looking for the brahms track but someone at work kindly passed along this bit of score that ISNT jonny and IS amazing.

It's by an Estonian contemporary classical composer named Arvo Pärt. The piece is called "Fratres"
http://www.mikearauz.com/2008/01/mp3-from-there-will-be-blood-that-you.html

edit:

the Brahms track also courtesy of guy from work...

http://www.mediafire.com/?dydrtjtxxpt

and Convergence from Bodysong courtesy of me...

http://www.mediafire.com/?emjmgthlpdj

Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

Pozer

Quote from: modage on January 06, 2008, 03:17:48 PM
also its funny at the end when eli offers daniel a drink but comes back with 3 glasses.  was the third for himself?  or did he expect daniel to take 2?  either way, he's holding the 3 glasses hilariously. 

the two were for himself.  or they ENDED UP being for himself at least.  after daniel declines, he sets one down and keeps the two.  all of a sudden it cuts back to him and there are two glasses behind him - one of them is empty.

picolas

when i left the screening i still felt like i hadn't seen it.

parts of it were undeniably incredible, but part of me was shocked and unable to process elements of it.. i figured this came from how different it was from what i thought i was going into. having the trailers and interviews and clips and spoilers swimming in my mind for the last long while i had committed the inevitable sin of having a kind of movie made in my head. it was totally unintentional. and i consciously tried not to because i remembered feeling that way a tiny bit after the first pdl view, taking a while for me to understand what it really was. i felt like that part of me was just grasping it.. and i would full-on love it in the viewings and days to come, when i had washed the old idea of it from my mind. i thought of the incredible parts for a while, trying to replay every detail from the final scene in my head, read a lot i couldn't read before, and went to sleep.

i thought about it a lot this morning, and felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. part of me began to feel it was actually a misfire.. i felt a lack of satisfaction from the story itself. from the writing. the writing! this shook me.. had pt written a weak screenplay? i couldn't settle the idea that there was something off about the whole thing.. i read some bad reviews. and i agreed with the recurring argument that this isn't a good movie: daniel and eli don't change. not really. that's the central problem. they just get bigger, and more free to express their evil.

the idea that this was a bad movie really threw me. i downloaded the available 12% of the screener and watched the seconds i could... and thought about the context of it.. and its relationship to pdl. and i realized i was watching it the wrong way.

pdl was the beginning of this idea of a movie for him.. like pdl, twbb's 'story' isn't entirely literal. it's deeply symbolic/metaphorical. moreso than i thought going in. and not just in the obvious church vs. business way. twbb takes the pdl ball and runs with it by not even really attempting to develop a story. sure, things happen. but they only really serve to look deeper into the souls of these two men. the men don't learn anything about themselves, the audience learns about them. it develops the notion of these two evils. expands them. paints them. this is a dense painting. it's not an epic in the way you think of an epic.. it's like a very long zoom. and that's revolutionary to pt as a storyteller. sydney, boogie, maggie, were all for the most part movies about things that were actually happening. pdl is about a change in a person, and it's still a fair degree of literal. its essence is fable, mythic, image-based... it's a painting, but it's a moving painting. twbb is just a painting. an enormous painting that you walk into from a mile away, all the way up so you can make out the enormous, towering smears. this is not a bad thing. this is a tantalizing, incredible thing. and now i cannot wait to walk into it again.