Okay, let’s just call the Oscars now and give “There Will Be Blood” the Best Actor (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography awards–and give “No Country For Old Men” Best Picture of the year.

Why? Not because Javier Bardem is so cute with his Beatle bob–NCFOM is a better picture. Because it’s about people.

NCFOM is the lesser of the two stories–the birth of the oil industry vs.
some dude who goes around killing people–but with so few genuinely knowable, likeable characters, TWBB leaves you wanting more story somehow. Their story. At least that’s what happened to me.

Both movies are about crazy guys–and they’re both ciphers–but with Tommy Lee Jones and Woody Harrelson doing the ’splaining, their crazy guy becomes knowable and sympathetic.

The closest we get to sympathetic in TWBB is marveling at how Daniel Day-Lewis can sleep in a bowling alley with his head on the ball rail. (Hint: try the vodka sauce.)

Also: NCFOM has a great performance by Josh Brolin–and a great ensemble cast.

Kelly MacDonald is amazing as Brolin’s wife; so is Beth Grant as her mother. So is Harrelson. And Garret Dillahunt as Tommy Lee Jones’ green deputy.

And Jones? He’s so natural he seems to be playing himself. Hard to win an Oscar for that, even though he deserves one.

That’s it. If the Academy decides it likes epic struggles–Day-Lewis discovering oil with his left foot–then TWBB will get Best Picture.

If, on the other hand, it decides it likes smaller stories based on character who say things like “Anything happens to Loretta’s horse, I can tell ya I don’t want to be the party that was on board,” well, then NCFOM will get it.

Or–SPOILER ALERT: alternate ending–if the Academy members come out of The Ivy and see their shadows, we’ll get six more weeks of the strike and no Oscar waiver.

So there.

Tags: Academy Awards, Beth Grant, California, daniel day-lewis, Garret Dillahunt, hollywood, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Kelly MacDonald, Kodak Theatre, Long Beach, No Country For Old Men, Oscar waiver, Oscars, Southern California, The District Weekly, Theo Douglas, there will be blood, Tommy Lee Jones, Woody Harrelson, writer's strike

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Miles Clements 7 months ago 1 point
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DRAAAIIIINNNNAAAAGGGEEEE

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wswaim 7 months ago 1 point
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I don't think it ruins "There Will be Blood" to say that the whole thing feels like Kafka's "The Hunger Artist"--heavy-duty thoughtful, with a punchline from a Catskill Mountain Resort routine. Daniel Day-Lewis performs well enough here to revive a career he nearly shot in the fucking head with "The Last of the Mohicans."

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1 /people/wswaim/ /people/wswaim/following/

Theo Douglas 7 months ago 1 point
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I concur, which is really something I need to do more often. I've talked to people who thought the ending to "There Will Be Blood" was totally wrong and tacked-on, but I don't agree. I think it's a fine ending to a fine movie. I just can't resist the Coen brothers' take on Cormac McCarthy.

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Chris Ziegler 7 months ago 1 point
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cloverfield sux

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malt 7 months ago 1 point
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Jeff Weiss sucks!

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Dave Wielenga 7 months ago 1 point
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I never saw Kafka's "The Hunger Artist." I'm going to move it to the front of my Netflix queue. And you're right, Theo -- concurring is fun!

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