Fridae

The other must-see Oscar-nominated movie is There Will Be Blood, an intensely raw, harrowing and overwhelming period film about man's greed and ambition.

Nominated for numerous Oscars including Best Picture, it stars Daniel Day-Lewis as an oil man who will stop at nothing to become rich. When he finds a town in central California that sits on top of an undiscovered oil well, he quickly buys over the land and starts drilling. But he comes head to head with the young local preacher (Paul Dano) who is convinced that with money comes great evil. The two men's instant hatred for each other spirals into an endless game of one-upmanship.

Unapologetically bleak and cruel, this film is certainly not for everyone. Daniel's role as a monstrously mean and mesmerizing man will certainly be disliked by ordinary movie-goers. In fact, at the end of a recent press screening, we heard several audiences complaining about the fact that they neither liked the film nor understood why it received so many Oscar nominations.

But for true connoisseurs of cinema who appreciate raw uninhibited acting as much as gritty unadorned cinematography, you will know why this film has amassed almost universal acclaim among critics. You will understand why some call this film by Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) the best film of 2007. And you will be tempted to join this chorus.