There Will Be Oscars.

A wonderful way to start the new year, "There Will Be Blood" is a film for those that appreciate substance in a film and not for those who will be attending(out of natural desire as opposed to being dragged along) the recently opened and soon to be closing, "Meet The Spartans". The dramatic story-line portrays one, Daniel Plainview, doing none other than manifesting his destiny. If the American Dream equates hard work with success, then Plainview is a perfect example of someone who finds himself warped by the grittier aspects of the American Dream's extremes; greed and over-competitiveness.

But, take from this film what you will. It's easy to see how TYBB, which takes place around 100 years ago, relates to current events. It is easy to remark how the film's title and Plainview's ambitious attempt at profiting from oil and his descent into madness is tantamount to the Iraq war. But I dare a movie-goer to sit through this film without being blown away by Day-Lewis's Oscar-WINNING performance(if he didn't win a single award for his performance it can only mean the apocalypse is coming and the world's gone mad). Every scene is meticulously cut and every bit of dialogue is professionally crafted. I would very well expect to see this masterpiece near the top, if not the top, of many best film list's this year, as this will be a hard act to follow.

Walk Hard Will Be Hard To Walk Away From

There are reasons to pass this film that will reasonably excuse any movie-goer from shelling out a pretty penny to sit in theaters and take in this unconventional comedy(come on spoofs are harder to watch than most comedies seeing that you can't relate to them). But if the absurd immaturity(positively speaking) of "Anchorman" meeting the foul-mouthed humor of "Superbad" and then doused with the professionally crafted spoof mastery of any Leslie Nielsen movie sounds like an intriguing spectacle, then by all means, don't let the price of admission to your standard everyday theater deter you from laughing your pants off.

There is much to enjoy in this film if you can manage to take a standard break from life and indulge in the silliness of the film. The writer's knew just what they were doing when creating each scene and every spec of dialogue. Additionally, John C. Reilly did a spectacular and very funny job as the main character, Dewey Cox. Admittedly, I've never seen John C. Reilly in a lead role and never much cared for him in his supporting roles, although I think he carried his roles well. What this film does do though is allow John C. Reilly to show himself to be a force to be reckoned within the Apatow world of comedy, who might I add, rules in all senses of the word. Tarantino might be able to slap his name on an Asian martial arts flick in order to reel in enough hype to make it worth seeing in America, but you slap Apatow's name on a film and it's instantly the funniest movie of the year, no question to it.

On a less side-tracked note, the film's music, all of which are sung with John C. Reilly's impressive vocal's with the exception of a few which are done as duet's with Jenna Fisher, are equally as wonderful as the film's laughable moments. The soundtrack is humorous at times, but many tracks are also serious and easy to listen to and definitely worth buying if you enjoyed the film.

Finally, Jenna Fisher, whose performance is also very much worth seeing and whose character is very much in contrast to her usual face as Pam Beesley in the TV series 'The Office', is very funny, very, very beautiful and sings her tracks with a pristine, yet rugged country voice, easily bringing to mind the likes of Loretta Lynn.

All in all, 'Walk Hard' is a film worth seeing - if at the least you are liberal with potty-mouthed humor.

No Surprise From Old Hands

The Cohen Brother's are famous for the production values, so it goes without saying that they've put out another movie worth a moment's discussion. In No Country For Old Men, Josh Brolin stars as the main protagonist, Llewelyn Moss, that stumbles upon two million dollars while scavenging the end result of a drug deal gone awry. What ensues is a sociopathic madman on the hunt for what is "rightfully" his, the two million dollars.

The movie itself contains relatively little dialogue although the story-line is, while slightly predictable, carried on the back's of each actor's performance which is enough to make a predictable movie one that is worth watching again and again. NCFOM is by no means the greatest movie in movie history, there are far better movies to be had. But with that being said, whether or not a movie riddled with suspense is the genre for you, there are things in this movie to enjoy. The movie was one unquestionably enjoyable, but if the price of admission to a movie theater is one that keeps you tossing and turning at night, then I just might have to recommend a pass on this one, there are far better better movies to be had.

Revenge Is a Dish Best Served With a Meat Pie and a Clean Shave

Tim Burton's latest film adaptation, "Sweeney Todd", is a dark comic-musical about a barber bent on vengeance after being falsely imprisoned for a number of years and returns to find that his only daughter is in the clutches of the judge who imprisoned him, and although it is a movie that was not made for the faint of heart(that is if musicals make you just as queasy as a meat pie made out of a priest), there is more than enough charm in this movie to make this film one of this year's best. Despite the fact that most of Sweeney Todd is scripted in song, Tim Burton's unique portrayal of Gothic elements are second to none and are always enjoyable to see. The performances were fantastic as expected from the likes of Depp and Bonham-Carter, and the visual scenery was, as expected from Burton - exceptional in it's Gothic visage. All in all, Sweeney Todd is a must-see movie, that is as long as you can withstand an hour and a half of singing in the place of dialogue or if your stomach can stand the gruesome display of a maniac barber whose best friends are as sharp as the movie's wit.

Attention Amateur Script-Writers With No Talent - THERE IS STILL HOPE FOR SUCCESS

I have never so badly wanted to go deaf, dumb and blind before undergoing the massive torture that anxiously awaited me 2 minutes into this horribly written disaster of a film. Evidently, you can't always rely on a good cast to relieve the burden of a horrible script and a scatterbrained, amateur story-line, but such was the hope of stripper-turned-journalist-turned-wannabe "Zach Braff" - Diablo Cody. I can't even believe the high ratings and positive reviews(by credible sources) that this movie has received, nor can I believe the script and dialogue's comparison's to Gilmore Girl's, a television show truly landmarking of professional script-writing and exceptional mastery in story-line construction. Above all and oddly enough, the dialogue in this film embarrassed me. I guess I must have felt impossibly ashamed that another human being would write line after line of amateur dialogue that did nothing but expose the simpleton mind of Diablo Cody, who apparently thinks people say things like "This is one doodle you can't undid, homeskillet". And by the way, if you include lines like that in a movie, don't try and make it sound cool, expose it for what it truly is - LAME. Oh, and don't forget the forced scenes that either A.) were obviously attempts at eliciting cheer or ovation and nothing else, or B.) were too under-thought and absurd, pointless and unnecessary and whose sole existence within the film was made to arrive at a desired endpoint to further the storyline and could have easily been left out or at revised(i.e., were Juno and that future-foster dad supposed to get it on or what?). Amateur rubbish at it's worst is all that Juno equates to.

Superbad: A Title That Forewarns The Nature of The Language Used, Not To The Quality of The Film Itself, Which Is...

All hail the inauguration of verbal pornography! Hear Hear! August presented us with Judd Apatow's latest midas-touched movie, Superbad. A movie filled with a plot as overused as ever, but still always as awkwardly and outrageously hilarious as expected from a movie within this genre. As foul-mouthed as this movie is, it is easy to place it in the top with the greats, as long as you can tolerate the stomach-wrenching dialog(just don't go see this with your mother).

What's so good about a movie where every word out of the protagonist's mouth is one involving creative detailing of sexual and inappropriate acts that in all actuality never really happen but could easily be invented by the overly sexual imaginations of mid-pubescent teens on the verge of high school graduation, anyway? Well, there's something comical to be found in the creative exchange of dialog between the two main characters, Seth, who is played by the foul-mouthed Jonah Hill, and the more respectable yet slightly less comical of the two, Evan, who is played by Michael Cera. There is something daring by taking things farther than predecessors such as American Pie, that make this a movie filled with laughs.

Bottom-line, American Pie was an instant classic within this genre that pushed the limits at the time it was presented. A movie of this genre calls for pushing the limits and testing boundaries of what the audience will find acceptable from a "teen" comedy involving high school students. Why does it call for this? Because the real audience tends to be 17 and above and includes adults who have long-since denied the existing nature of the verbal content and going-ons between teens, which are ever-so liberal and ever-so sexual. Superbad is to the portrayal of 17 year old virgin teen boys as Saving Private Ryan was to the portrayal of World War II, as close as movie-going audiences have yet to see, and as stomach-wrenchingly honest as movie-going audiences would not like to see, although the truth can be a pleasant discomfort at times.

These days it costs a pretty penny to see a movie, whether at theatres, to rent, or to purchase on DVD, but if you can tolerate a movie that is verbal pornography and is most likely the funniest movie ever written, then you can afford to see this movie.