Phantom Thread (2017)

*** SPOILER WARNING ***

As with many of Paul Thomas Anderson's movies, we are introduced to a world so immaculately and painstakingly presented and with such exquisite attention to detail that we start to wonder if the movie isn't based on historical fact - perhaps the fashion house of dressmaker Reynolds Woodcock really existed in 1950s London and really was rocked by the arrival of a lover and muse, Alma, who not only really was but was able to tolerate, unlike those before her, Woodcock's ego and control - and then, at the point Anderson's world-building gives way to narrative development, the wheels of his elegant sportscar fall off and we are left wondering why an isolated case of Munchausen's Syndrome requires such elegant, elaborate treatment, truly a beauty to behold.

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

There Will Be Blood (2007)

As with his more recent The Master, Director Paul Thomas Anderson has gone to a lot of trouble creating an elaborate world full of intricate detail, costumes and characters, and then confounds with a slight plot conjured up as if at random, driven by inconsistent characterisation, in this case telling the story of a poor miner who becomes an oil tycoon and then a caricature.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Punch Drunk Love (2002)

Adam Sandler's novelty goods factory floor manager grapples with his temper, his overbearing sisters, his new romance with Emily Watson, and a flawed coupon competition that sees him stockpiling crazy amounts of pudding, in this oddball but deeply affecting comedy drama, director Paul Thomas Anderson's - and Sandler's - best movie to date.

★★★★☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

The Master (2012)

A peculiar little slip of a story about a traumatised drunkard's encounter with a guru, given grand treatment by Director Paul Thomas Anderson who, for no obvious reason, has steeped the movie with references to Scientology.

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS