I’ve seen quite a few movies this year – more so than in previous years, at least – and quite a few of the movies I saw were lucky enough to earn an Oscar nomination last week. Of all of the films I’ve viewed, however, there are only two that really matter: There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men.

I saw the latter with my uncle on the eve of Thanksgiving. Both of us are huge fan’s of the brothers Coen and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sneak out and catch a showing. I’ll make this post quick by stating it as simply as I can: No Country was absolutely brilliant.

I do not want to go into too much detail, but the cinematography, the screenplay, and the performances were all top-notch. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as a tired sheriff in a world that’s passed him by, while Javier Bardem was down right terrifying a s a ruthless killer with twisted view of fate. I know there are many people who did not like this film – who were disappointed in the end. To those people: the film is not about the crime, or the money, or even the cowboy. It’s about a sheriff at the end of the line – no more, no less.

I saw There Will Be Blood last night.

Wow.

When the movie reviewers said this film hits you like a punch in the gut, they weren’t lying. Paul Thomas Anderson’s created his masterpiece. At it’s core, the film is a character study – the story of the rise and fall of an oil tycoon in the early 1900’s that parallels Citizen Kane in more ways than one. Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel Plainview, a cut-throat businessman with no faith in humanity. His performance is stunning. To call it a tour de force would be an understatement – it is easily one of the top five performances I’ve ever seen on film.

Anyway, I know there have been a lot of other great movies this year.  I haven’t yet seen Juno, but it’s on my list.  American Gangster was good, but it pales in comparison to this year’s Oscar nominees.  Yeah, there have been a few worth mentioning… but a year, five years, ten years from now?  No Country For Old Men and There Will Be Blood will be the only films we still talk about.