The first Paul Thomas Anderson’s film I saw was his take on addiction and gambling called Hard Eight. It featured John C. rilley, Gwyneth Paltrow and the awesome Philip Baker Hall. It was filled with despicable characters who were selfish and hurt others to get what they wanted. I liked it very much and thought Anderson was definitely a filmmaker to watch.

His next piece of work was Boogie Nights, which further solidified his status as one of the best directors working today. Then, he released another seminal work of great distinction in Magnolia. This film, yet another pian to selfishness and the darker aspects of humanity, takes place in a single day in Los Angeles, focusing on a number of interconnected people whose lives are forever changed as they search for love and meaning in a chaotic world.

The film chronicles such diverse occurrences as a suicide turned homicide by a quirk of timing; a motivational speaker motivated by rage; and a quiz kid rendered stupid by a lightning strike and features Tom Cruise in what could arguably be called his best performance to date. Besides Cruise, look for more great acting from Philip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Jason Robards, Philip Baker Hall and Julianne Moore.

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A Single Man is the single biggest surprise I have had at the movies all year. It is brilliant, beautiful, superbly acted, and emotionally devastating. It is one of those movies that will haunt you for days and weeks to come after viewing it.

*Minor spoilers in this review* The opening credits are set to an underwater scene depicting a man gently lolling about in the waves in slow motion.  A voice-over by George (Colin Firth) states that it has been 8 months since he lost his male partner in a car crash, and yet everyday “Waking up hurts.”

George is starting to believe that life will never really return to normal, and the day we witness in the film  is actually the day that George has decided to kill himself.  Fastidious to a fault, he meticulously lays out the outfit he wishes to be buried in, going so far as to leave instructions on how he wants his necktie to be knotted (Windsor-style.)

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Our friends at The Weinstein Company have sent us this first look, in the form of a trailer and a poster, at designer Tom Ford’s feature directing debut A Single Man. The film, which features Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode, was also written and produced by the prolific Ford as well.

In case you’re not familiar with the story, it is based on the novel by Christopher Isherwood and set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis. It centers on a British college professor (Firth) who is struggling to find meaning in life after the death of his long time partner.

Along the way he questions love, isolation and through a series of new relationships, both romantic and otherwise, he begins to discover the importance of smaller moments in life. The film recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival to very positive reviews and with star Firth winning for best actor. It opens in theaters December 11th.

Until then, check out a larger version of the poster, and the first trailer, after the jump.

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Though we try to keep things fresh here at the site, especially with our features like Fan Film Friday, sometimes it’s hard to skip over things that are quite well done, even when they aren’t really topical anymore. Though G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is already week-old news, we felt that this week’s fan film needed to be a little musical number from our friends at Funny or Die called The Ballad of G.I. Joe.

Continuing the trend of filling their skits with a who’s who of Hollywood, the Ballad includes names that will pretty much blow your socks off. Names like Alexis Bledel as Lady Jaye, Billy Crudup as Zartan, Zach Galifiankais as Snow Job, Tony Hale as Dr. Mindbender, Vinnie Jones as Destro, Chuck Liddell as Gung Ho, Julianne Moore as Scarlett, Henry Rollins as Duke, Alan Tudyk as Shipwreck, Olivia Wilde as The Baroness, and even a little Sgt. Slaughter thrown in as well.

There are a few other names thrown in, so be sure to keep an eye out. Check out the Ballad of G.I. Joe after the jump.

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