[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ1O1vb9AUU[/youtube]
Saw Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master over the weekend. Fantastic film.
If you saw any of his other films, such as There Will Be Blood, you should know that he is able to get some amazing performances out of his actors. Hoffman and Phoenix are amazing every second they are on screen, and since they are on screen for nearly the entire film, it is impossible to take your eyes away from the screen.
The cinematography is great, the soundtrack is excellent.
The plot, I will not give away. I will say, however, that this is a movie that does not hold your hand. You will not leave the theater thinking "golly gosh, it was sure nice of the director to spell everything out for me!". No, you'll have to (brace yourself) think for yourself and interpret the movie how you see it. When I left the theater, I passed a group of old people and they were talking shit left, right and center. "I didn't get it! I want my money back!". Well fuck you, old people. The movie was awesome and as for what it was all about:
[spoiler]The movie is about two men, one a complete train wreck and one who is seemingly in control of his life and the lives of others. However, they both have something in common: they are just making it up as they go along. This is very clear with Phoenix's character Freddie, who just drifts from place to place. Hoffman's character, Lancaster Dodd (aka The Master), is making up his own religion. When the two meet, Freddie sees a man who is seemingly very smart and could help him sort his life out, even if Freddie doesn't want to admit that he is fucked up. Meanwhile, Lancaster sees Freddie as a guinea pig who could prove that his ideas aren't all bullshit and that he could very well change somebody's life for the better with his made up religion.[/spoiler]
I highly recommend this one. There are some scenes that are just amazing in terms of acting.
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Coming this October:
[youtube]http://youtu.be/Wp2h1cLug-M[/youtube]
