“One Battle After Another”, in theaters September 26th, is the 10th narrative directorial feature film from 11-time Academy Award nominee Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s kinda crazy that Anderson has yet to win an Oscar considering he’s regarded by many as one of the great filmmakers of our time. A year after his first movie “Hard Eight” (1996) came the acclaimed “Boogie Nights” (1997), followed by “Magnolia” (1999). Both earned Golden Globes Best Supporting Actor awards for Burt Reynolds and Tom Cruise, respectively.
2002’s “Punch-Drunk Love” was a step in the dramatic direction for star Adam Sandler. 2007’s “There Will Be Blood” won Daniel Day-Lewis his second Best Actor Academy Award. Anderson then collaborated with Joaquin Phoenix for “The Master” (2012) and “Inherent Vice” (2014) before reuniting with Day-Lewis for 2017’s deliciously devious “Phantom Thread” (the actor’s original on-screen swan song; he has come out of retirement for next month’s “Anemone”). 2015’s “Junjun” was Anderson’s venture into documentary filmmaking.
I love 2021’s “Licorice Pizza”, which won PTA the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. But will “One Battle” be the movie that finally gets him on the Oscars stage? It stars Academy Award winners Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro, so members will surely be interested in screening it. However, based on the so-so trailers and reported 2-hour, 40-minute runtime, will the dramedy thriller tone work, and will the story be able to sustain that length? We’ll find out soon!