Although by now many of you cinephiles have had the opportunity to catch what possibly may be the Best Picture and quite easily the Best Actor performance of '07, we at HIT (that being LC & me) were privy to an advance screening last year (OK so it was New Year's Eve and it was only "advance" insofar as it was the  one theatre in L.A. showing it last week). We made the hike to the Mecca of multiplexes, the Arclight in Hollywood, and shelled out 14 clams a piece for a matinee screening of Paul Thomas Anderson's latest and greatest work.

There Will Be Blood is a churning, screeching locomotive trek of a film, which is fueled of course by yet another Daniel Day-Lewis tour de force. Do you think DDL ever sits around and thinks to himself: "I've been kickin ass for a while now so maybe I'll just go ahead and mail the next one in"? The man is the Tom Brady of acting- he makes flawless decisions and scores every time.

One of Daniel Day-Lewis' greatest skills has got to be his ability to brood. In fact he's on my all-time list of brooders alongside the likes of Bogart and Dean. One wonders what lies beneath the surface of a man who seems to have so much bubblin up. What's amazing, though, is that while he's a big-time star, unlike the Clooneys, Pitts, and DiCaprios of the world, you never feel like you're watching Daniel Day-Lewis, but Christy Brown, Gerry Conlan, Bill the Butcher, or the indomitable oilman Daniel Plainview instead.

In the case of Plainview, in particular, I was swallowed up in his world, a world engendered painstakingly by Paul Thomas Anderson and  most notable Production Designer Jack Fisk, Art Director David Crank, Set Decorator Jim Erickson, and Costume Designer Mark Bridges Yeah, There Will Be Blood is ostensibly a "period piece" set in turn of the century Texas and California, but unlike many a stuffy "piece", this one is alive, teeming with desire.

There is a looming ominousness that pervades in the film. Though somewhat derivative of The Shining score, Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead guitarist by day) infuses a visceral, heart-accelerating collection of music that only adds to the mood. To some it may seem a little forced, but I see it as an attempt to convey that roiling emotion of not  only Plainview, but his son and Paul Dano's Eli Sunday as well.

The relationship between Plainview and Sunday who spar and compromise and antagonize each other is screen magic. They turn on a dime, keeping the viewer guessing throughout the film. Dano is one of the most capable actors of his generation (I guess that would Y) and he more than holds his own with one of the greats. Their characters' clash of capitalism vs. religion is one for the ages.

I don't want to get into too many particulars with There Will Be Blood. You can go to a myriad of other sites for that. Is it my favorite film of the year? If it isn't it's in the top 3 (I have to admit I'm partial to Into the Wild- brilliant work in my mind). But There Will Be Blood affects you in a way that few films do. It breathes you in, immerses you in its foul belly, and spits you out in pool of saliva and blood (I had to) in the end.