Paramount Vantage, Miramax Films

Producers: Paul Thomas Anderson, JoAnne Sellar, Daniel Lupi

WHY - Anderson’s latest opus, probably his best film to date, is an epic study of the foundations of corporate America, which features one of the year’s great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis. A critical darling and a big winner at the Los Angeles and New York film critics’ end-of-year awards.

CHANCES - Anderson’s style is not to everyone’s taste and this long, challenging film, which ends with one of the most intense and shocking scenes on screen this year, might turn off older voters who like their movies upbeat and life-affirming. Still, a film this accomplished is hard to ignore.