There Was Blood, and It Was on the Wall

Alright, so I finally saw There Will be Blood a couple nights ago, and it was probably the most compelling and thought-provoking film I saw in the past year. I didn't walk out of the theater with my jaw on the floor; I walked out with my jaw resting in the palm of my hand, "Thinker" style. There are so many themes and concepts throughout this picture that I've been piecing it all all together since I saw it. That's not to say that it's some kind of Daron Aronofsky mind-fuck or anything; it's just that the story is so perfectly told and its themes are so shockingly overt that the film can be applied to so many aspects of modern American society. Let's look at it from the basic film perspectives.

Direction: PT Anderson has always shown himself to be a fantastic director, sometimes showing signs of absolute genius. There Will be Blood solidifies that reputation and puts him at the vanguard of modern cinema. In addition to brilliant pacing, tones, and staging, Anderson's film is so filled with shots that make your jaw drop that by around minute 48, the viewer begins to expect sheer brilliance with every angle. The script and concept may not be as original as Boogie Nights or Magnolia, but Blood is the most visually stunning film of the twenty-first century.

Score: Johnny Greenwood officially surpassed Noah Lennox for the role of "Most Badass Year in Music" with the unfair tag-team of In Rainbows and the There Will be Blood soundtrack. With a combination of classical-style compositions and post-rock percussion pieces, Greenwood puts together a crushingly epic score which accompanies the film perfectly. While some of the work may come of as a bit too modern for the the period piece, Anderson and Greenwood come together to make it work.

Acting: Daniel Day Lewis. I feel like I'm not even qualified to try to talk about him as an actor or this performance. Pure genius. Also, Paul Dano is excellent in this breakthrough performance as twin brothers Paul and Eli Sunday, the latter of which, rumor has it, Dano only had days to prepare for, making his troubled performance that much greater.

I'd rather not get into plot or themes (cop out?) because I want all of you to see it for yourselves and get from it what you will. Point is, the film is incredible, and it just gets better the more you think about it in the following days.

In other blood-related news, Blood on the Wall just came out with a new album, Liferz. They're an indie-punk band that bites more people from the nineties than Hannibal, but they actually sound pretty fresh in today's uber-hip alternative landscape. The chick bassist sounds pretty much exactly like Kim Gordon, the drumming sounds like Superchunk's Jon Wurster is pounding the skins, and the male vocals and guitar playing are like when Stevie Malkmus forgets to take his Ritalin. The redeeming result of all this carnivorous biting? It fucking rocks. It's one of the only albums I've bought in a while that required a second listening immediately after the last song ended. The only other band I can think of out right now who can capture that great '90's underground sound is the Ponys, but the advantage of Blood on the Wall is that dude can scream and yell as well as anyone, and he's also capable of finding that perfect note of feedback to elevate a song from "decent punk tune" to "public headphone headbanging anthem." If you're a fan of bands like Superchunk, Pavement, Jawbox, and Sonic Youth (which, if you're reading this site, you probably are), then you should check out Liferz to remind yourself that you're not the only one who remembers how people used to rock out before synthesizers and drum machines took over.

Also in blood-related news, former Blood Brothers (RIP) Cody Votolato (guitars) and Johnny Whitney (vocals, keyboards) have finally emerged from the rubble of their brilliant former band to create Jaguar Love, a project with former Pretty Girls Make Graves drummer Jay Clark. From the looks of the two songs on their MySpace, the band is radically different from the hardcore Blood Bros. sound, but still retains Whitney's apocalyptic lyrics and melodies which we've all come to know and love. What's even more exciting is that the two demos on the site (which sound better than most bands' singles) were recorded just two weeks after the band formed, meaning that they essentially have no ceiling. They did a brief tour with Queens of the Stone Age, meaning that they're already playing with bigger boys than the Blood Bros ever did. Excitement.