The films of Paul Thomas Anderson, ranked

Inherent Vice is Paul Thomas Anderson's only bad film, and we can't recommend you watch it. The script is dense with plot, weed, whimsy, and noir, but it doesn't go anywhere interesting. Despite an all-star cast (Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon) and some hazy detours (hippie communes, open deserts), Inherent Vice is nothing more than a bump in the road. 

No, this is not a hot take. Remember that we said PTA only has one bad film, and that the rest are masterpieces. The Master is a sumptuous character study about the leader of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), and those who follow him to the ends of the earth (Joaquin Phoenix). Those who make the voyage will be rewarded with timeless imagery, like Phoenix sprawled across the canon of an HMS, along with some relatable questions about what it means to be religious.

This is Anderson's first film, but not his breakout film. That would come a couple of years later. Hard Eight is about a gambler who makes a bet on a person. Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) sees a man (John C. Reilly) down on his luck and tries to rig the deck in his favor, and the bet pays off. In one of the strangest, most realistic gambling movies ever made, we watch as two broken men find salvation in the unlikeliest of places. 

A lot of people found Phantom Thread a somewhat dull sendoff for Daniel Day-Lewis. We found it intoxicating. Lewis' final performance is definitely on the quieter side, but his facial expressions speak volumes. Vicky Kreips also does great work as Alma, Reynolds Woodcock's (Lewis) muse. If you like messed-up love stories, then this one's for you. 

This one's for the masses. Licorice Pizza is more hangout than movie, a golden haze of nostalgia that wafts off the screen, and overwhelms you with a sense of joy and discovery. Set in 1973 San Fernando Valley, there isn't much of a plot. A 15-year-old boy and a 25-year-old girl fall in love. They fight, makeup, fight, makeup, fight, start a waterbed business. It's deceptively simple. 

In modern times, people complain about the length of movies like Magnolia. We understand why some moviegoers will see "three hours" next to Magnolia and think, "screw that!", but we also want to establish that it's three hours well spent. It's a film about love, death, aging, and loneliness that interweaves 9 characters (played by Tom Cruise, Julian Moore, John C. Reilly, and Philip Seymour Hoffman) and fleshes them out in deeply human, deeply resonating ways. 

Did Punch Drunk Love change how we think of Adam Sandler? Possibly. Did it change how we think of Paul Thomas Anderson? Maybe. Did it change how we think of genre? Absolutely. This game-changing romance is one of the most influential films of the 21st century, going on to inspire everything from Kajillionare to The Shape of Water. No Punch Drunk Love, no Palm Springs. It's that simple. 

Leave it to Anderson to make a porn movie with scale. Everything in the film is big: the ideas, the emotions, the performances, the final shot. Size matters in this Oscar-winning epic, which follows an adult film star (Mark Wahlberg) in the 1970s as he rises the ranks, thanks to his casting director, Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). You won't find a grander collection of performances anywhere. Wahlberg delivers one of the 10 best performances OF ALL TIME, while Hoffman, Julian Moore, and Don Cheadle deliver career-best work. 

Yes, it's quite common for people to consider There Will Be Blood one of their favorite films. We're not going against the grain here. This is a great movie; maybe the best of the 21st century. It's an Apex Mountain for Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, and milkshakes. Truly, an all-timer.