Best Movie of the Decade

Rating: 10/10 (1 April 2010)

I know, I know, many will disagree with me on my title, but I stand by it. In my humble opinion there was not a better made, acted, written, or scored movie from 00' to 09'. I was stunned when No Country for Old Men beat this movie as best picture. The movie is slow, but the story requires a pace of that nature. If Paul Thomas Anderson did not show the viewers the paintstakingly, slow, struggles it took for an independent oil man making his way in the blossoming world of "big oil" than this movie would have never worked. That, coupled with quite possibly one of the best acting performances of all-time by Daniel Day Lewis, and you have, again, the best movie of the decade. Lewis scored with this film not only because he nailed the determined, driven, and often-times, nasty character of Daniel Plainview, but in the scenes where there was no dialouge, his expressions, gestures, and physical acting took over. The score, by Jonny Greenwood (who was snubbed an Oscar nomination because of ridiculous Academy rules), works on every level in every scene. Without it, this movie may not have had half the emotion it did. P.T. Anderson is the best American director out there, I have LOVED every film of his, and may be biased as a result of my appreciation of his style. But regardless, if you have not seen this movie, give it a try, and definitely wait through the slow moving first hour or so, as it picks up pace, and eventually ends with knock-out punch that I did not anticipate.