[Cinema] Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’

Partially filmed at my office.

 

I'll be the dissenting voice. The movie was good. The acting top notch. I thought it was funny at times. I even agree that even with the long run it feels like a 90 minute movie...yet, I didn't love it. It was alright. Definitely wouldn't watch it again. Don't hate that I watched it, just didn't personally love it.

 

What’s your PTA ranks?

 

PTA?

 

Smh. Doesn’t know ball.

 

Ball don't lie.

 

I'm assuming you meant Paul Thomas Anderson but was just trying to confirm. Only watched Boogie Nights, another movie that wasn't quite my cup of tea. Honestly, not impressed with his filmography, although it seems others really love his stuff. I personally don't waste my time watching stuff others love if it doesn't pique my interest. Both Boogie Nights and One Battle After Another are films I wouldn't rewatch.

 

Boogie Nights
There Will Be Blood
Liccorice Pizza
Punch Drunk Love
Inherent Vice
Magnolia
The Master
Hard Eight
...
Phantom Thread

 

I enjoyed it a lot, great fun, and went well with an Alamo rocks margarita. Loved Del Toro and, TBH, this is the first time I've loved Leo in a long time. He owns the main role, as does the daughter character. Did not enjoy Penn as much -- he was just ridiculous and was clearly directed to be ridiculous.

It was not as funny as I expected after reading comments from others, but when it's funny, it's definitely out-loud funny. I felt it drag a tiny bit in parts; in that way, it does have a more 1970's or 1980's editing aesthetic. PTA lets some of the sequences unfold relatively slowly.

One amazing aspect is that, if PTA is writing this adaptation like, five or six years ago, he sure anticipated the current moment amazingly well. There's not that much of Pynchon's Vineland left in this narrative, and this movie nails (in partial parody) our current societal threads in all their absurdity.

Like @clos4life though, not sure I need to see it again.