REEL CRITICS:

Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, “There Will Be Blood,” is sure to generate a lot of dialogue — is it brilliant, baffling or somewhere in between?

A much-ballyhooed tale of corruption, hypocrisy and broken relationships, this movie is unlike anything you’ve seen before.

Mud, blood and oil have never looked so ominous and yet so beautiful.

The music (by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood) is unique and lends an even creepier tone to an already bleak story.

Daniel Day-Lewis, channeling a John Huston accent, gives a shattering performance as Daniel Plainview, a flinty, cold-hearted prospector who brings himself up literally by his bootstraps to become a successful oilman in the early 20th century.

Together with his sweet-faced little son H.W. (Dillon Freasier), he insinuates his way through California, grabbing up drilling leases from dollar-hungry families.

Among these prospects is the Sunday family, and young Eli Sunday (an excellent Paul Dano) and Daniel form an immediate contempt for each other that’s palpable.

Perhaps it’s because they are so much alike. Eli, a charismatic preacher, is as eager to find lost souls as Daniel is to discover their oil.

“There Will Be Blood” is slow and more a series of episodes than an epic. There is much to admire about it, but while many have dubbed it the year’s best film, I think that’s an overstatement.

A few suggestions to help you through strike

Several awards shows may be canceled due to the writers’ strike.

For those of you looking for quality movies suitable for grown ups, let’s take at look at some of the best R-rated films of 2007 now available to see or rent while the writers close down new production.

In the realm of hard-charging spy thrillers, Matt Damon’s excellent third turn in “The Bourne Ultimatum” is a compelling effort.

Viggo Mortensen earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actor as the ice-cold Russian hit man in the gritty “Eastern Promises.”

For a pure crime story with quirky Coen-Brothers overtones, you can’t beat Philip Seymour Hoffman’s job in “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.”

There are several pictures with great acting and high drama in the political and legal arenas.

Chris Cooper as a real-life FBI turncoat in “Breach” deserves honorable mention in this category. But George Clooney as “Michael Clayton” and Tom Hanks in “Charlie Wilson’s War” belong at the top of the list.

Both of these films have very intelligent screenplays with thought-provoking situations that reflect the realities of the headlines in today’s newspapers.

SUSANNE PEREZ lives in Costa Mesa and is an executive assistant for a financial services company. JOHN DEPKO is a Costa Mesa resident and a senior investigator for the Orange County public defender’s office.