I always get strange looks when I tell people this is my favourite Paul Thomas Anderson film.

“But what about There Will Be Blood?”
“Have you not seen Boogie Nights?”

These are both sensible questions and brilliant films but it doesn’t change the fact Punch-Drunk Love is still his true masterpiece. It is his best film for numerous reasons - it is his best because it has a creative freedom rarely seen in his work, before or since. Anderson has become famous for making epic movies be they convoluted and complex ensemble dramas or films on a vast canvas. Punch-Drunk Love, on the other hand, is a small movie in every conceivable way be it cast size, narrative complexity and…

When I was 17 or 18 I was eating lunch at this place called New York Subs (now closed) and I ordered my sandwich and sat down in front of this man (who I later learned was my parents' dentist, incidentally) who was by himself waiting on his food. When the waitress came by to bring him his order, I heard her ask him about the crossword puzzle he was doing. "Yeah, I find it's a lot easier to do the longer words first, then you can kind of work your way out from there. But sometimes I just can't solve the longer ones, and the shorter ones can help with those." There was something about this exchange that was…

"SHUT UP, SHUT UP! SHUT, SHUT, SHUT, SHUT, SHUT UP… SHUT UP!"
#3 on Berken's Favorite Movies Of All Time

Everyone involved in the making of Silver Linings Playbook should look on this movie and despair. This is how you make an offbeat indie rom-com with a bipolar protagonist, David O. Russell. You can, for that matter, give your audience a happy, uplifting ending without resorting to Hollywood cliches and ending everything with a "you had me at hello" style rom-com one-liner, you just have to put a little bit more effort into it.

It's sort of incredible how Paul Thomas Anderson reinvented his whole toolkit to fit the protagonist and universe he was working with here. My favorite touch…

Anxiety. Sadness. Anger. Loneliness. Longing. Rage. Whimsy. Exuberance. Love. In the space of 90 or so minutes, Paul Thomas Anderson's serio-comic drama observes all of these moods, emotions, and movements. Like an allegory of the mind and heart, Anderson's put-upon everyman communicates these shades while the film captures life's mental, emotional journey though the narrative lens of a single character and the stylistic canvas of a remarkable film.

On the surface, "Punch-Drunk Love" is about a business man whose life and career do not have much traction. Under the surface, however, surges a high-energy meditation on the mental makeup of a human being who might as well stand for every human being. Odd symbols, strange plot points, and interesting characters…

Believe it or not, ive never seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, I know I know im ashamed, hes a great filmmaker, and i thought it was time to get into his filmography. Hes more well known for Boogie Nights, and There Will Be Blood, but i first decided to check out one with a certain lead in the role, Adam Sandler. Hes had a rough time as of late, with his new movies on netflix, and everyone shitting on him, i decided to check out a movie that people regarded as his best performance, and it is, he is so great as Barry, a bothered man, he is picked on all the time by his seven sisters, and has…

”Didn't I warn you?”

Barry Egan (a never better Adam Sandler) has been ridiculed and pushed around ever since he can remember. His achievements are undermined and every step he takes is promptly judged by his family. He never stands up for himself. He accepts the bullying he suffers as a sort of tax that he has to pay just because he exists. It has gotten to the point where nearly every interaction he has ends up with him being driven to a corner. With that in mind, it is only natural that Barry isn’t exactly the sharpest person concerning social skills. He cannot express his feelings or make strong attachments with anyone.

Somehow what thrusts Barry into leaving his…