Film Review; Kind of

Often, my film choices are limited to movies that have won, or have been nominated for, Academy Awards. This is because my girlfriend really only likes to watch films that have won, or have been nominated for, Academy Awards. With the exception of Spanish language films, it's really all we watch.

There have been a few exceptions. These are usually films that she really wants to see but that suck. A few from recent history are 27 Dresses, Enchanted, Date Movie, Epic Movie, Scary Movie 4, The Water Horse, and Mrs. Potter. So, we really don't only watch Oscar winners. But, you get the idea I suppose. There is great excitement whenever I can produce a DVD that has "8 Academy Award Nominations" emblazoned on the cover. I do sometimes get to pick some of my own films. These choices usually result in me making a comment about the events of the film only to find out that she has fallen asleep. She then immediately wakes up, pretends that she was not asleep, and asks what has happened in the past 1.5 - 2 hours.

One such incident occurred last weekend as we watched There Will be Blood. I realize that this film fits the Academy Award criteria, but I really wanted to see it as well. I found out after it was over that Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead composed the soundtrack. Very cool. I really liked the film, but I think what most blew me away was Daniel Day Lewis' portrayal of Daniel Plainview. The film was good, but the Plainview character study was spectacular. I'm not sure how Daniel Day Lewis contorts his face into some of the expressions he gave to Plainview. He was almost cartoonish.

The best part of Daniel Plainview was definitely his moustache. I'm a bit taken by 'staches. this year I organized and participated in Movember; a moustache growing competition that spans the duration of the month of November. I won said competition as a result of the other participants dropping out in fear and awe of my own moustache. Which by the 16th had taken over my upper lip and presented itself in a bright red that was disturbing given my dark brown hair.

Anyways, Plainview's moustache is a classic. It is a 'stache for the ages. It is thick, but not burly. It is groomed, but not manicured. It is grizzled, but it is not without refinement. I saw a man at the Towson Town Festival on Sunday that had a similar moustache. He was in Old West period costume and was working a mini-forge that he used to make crap out of scrap iron. It was probably 85 degrees that day and he was standing next to a forge in long pants and sleeves, with a leather apron and a bandanna and a friggin' huge moustache. It was almost too big. My girlfriend and I stood and watched and pretended to care about whatever crap he was making for a few minutes. Then we returned to the Beer Garden.