There Will Be Blood (Two-Disc Special Collector's Edition)

Reviewed by:
Gene Newman

The Skinny: A really long movie about a tightly wound oil tycoon who loves black gold but hates people.

Reminded Us Of… Deadwood, Gangs of New York, The Beverly Hillbillies

The Good: Daniel Day-Lewis deserved all the awards he got for his role as Daniel Plainview. He's powerful, frightening, and the only reason worth watching the movie. There's also a lot of great scenery and man-slaps to the face.

The Bad: It doesn't really have a good story, or any story for that matter. Like all Paul Thomas Anderson movies (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) it has great moments, but overall it could have been much shorter and to the point. For a two-and-a-half-hour movie, there's a lot of wasted time where nothing happens. He got lucky with Lewis, because without him there is no movie.

His Milk Shake Brings All the Boys to the Yard… The best line of the movie, "I drink your milk shake!" is loosely based on a senator in the '20s explaining the complicated method of oil drainage to congress. Anderson thought it sounded so cool he had to fit it in somewhere. Good call, Paul!

Best Extra: "The Story of Petroleum," a half-hour-long segment on silent film made in the '20s, offers more insight into the oil industry than the entire movie. It should be noted that the extras are incredibly minimal and weak for a two-disc "special collector's edition." We suppose they'll make amends with a three-disc version at some point.

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