There Will Be More Blood
December 12th, 2007
Between the noontime press conference at the Waldorf and the Ziegfeld premiere, Monday completely belonged to There Will Be Blood. If celebrity sightings are your thing, I’ve got a few stories for you — but I’d hate to namedrop Maggie Gyllenhaal, Liam Neeson, John Leguziamo, and the kid who played H.W. just for the sake of baldfaced bragging. Still, Marcy successfully handed copies of Twins to Peter Saarsgard (who high-fived her) and Amy Poehler (who stole her seat) — no doubt, both have already fallen madly in love with the book and are setting the machinery of Hollywood in gear to make us rich and famous, too.
Oh, and the movie? Minute for minute, There Will Be Blood still thrills more than anything else I’ve seen this year, and that’s even more true for the second viewing. I won’t apologize for taking a few more days to fine-tune my review — but I am glad we had already handed the film a slew of awards before Paramount fed us steak and martinis. Previously.
There Will Be Blood. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007. *****
Batman Begins
April 18th, 2007
Pompous & bloated. When was it decided that superhero comics were now to be treated like Shakespearean tragedies? Oh, the agony of being Bruce Wayne, playboy millionaire with a bat complex! The guilt, the fear, the fateful choice between vigilantism and revenge! Even Ang Lee’s Hulk had some jokes (and primary colors.)
Perhaps the thudding seriousness would be acceptable if the movie wouldn’t keep asking us to believe more and more outrageous conceits: first there’s the bat thing, then there’s a secret clan of ninja criminals, a stolen superweapon, a mad doctor who uses bummer hallucinogens to attack a city that only exists in a comic book universe… and most ludicrous of all, we’re supposed to buy that Katie Holmes is a D.A.? Come on. Stiff pseudo noir does not suit a pop hero franchise. Tim Burton’s 1989 version was far superior because it embraced its silliness and had some fun with it. In the immortal words of Joker Jack: “What this town needs is an enema!” So does Nolan’s Batman.
Batman Begins. Christopher Nolan, 2005. *
- Batman Begins on RT: 84%
- Watch the parade from Tim Burton’s Batman (with Prince’s “Trust”) and Jack at the museum (with “Partyman.”)
