Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” screened tonight in San Francisco and in Philadelphia. PTA and wife Maya Rudolph of “Saturday Night Live” fame (also daughter of the late great singer Minnie Riperton) were in attendance at the former. “The Master” also screened this morning in New York, after having screened three or four times in NYC already. PTA is taking it to any 70 MM theatres he can find, with good reason: the movie is visually stunning.
And while official reviews are being embargoed until next week, I can tell you this: “The Master” is a stunner. And while it doesn’t address Scientology head on–it is, after all, a work of fiction that ultimately has to address its own issues–Tom Cruise, John Travolta and the like will not be jumping for joy on couches. Meanwhile, “The Master” shows at Venice and Toronto, then opens the fall Oscar season with a bang on September 14th. More on this unusual movie as developments warrant.
