The latest from Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights) wants to bruise and batter you before you stumble out of the theater, your faith in humanity damaged but good. Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's Oil!, it features a menacing performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as an unscrupulous turn-of-the-century oilman whose rise to obscene wealth fulfills the title's promise. Holiday cheer it ain't—the best American film in years it definitely is. (See movie times for details.)