Rating: 
Summary: In a word. Wow.
Review: Magnolia is ground-breaking film-making at it's finest. Full of revelations, this movie is a complex study of the human psyche. Paul Thomas Anderson gives you a variety of characters whom, from all logical standpoints, you should despise. A self proclaimed womanizer, a gold-digging cheating wife, a drug addict etc. But you don't hate the characters you would think you would. Instead you see into their innermost souls. You can understand and empathize with their lives. It allows you to understand what compels people to make the choices they do. It gives you a behind the facade look at characters that film rarely portrays. Movies so rarely focus on characters from within. It is intensely smart. PTA juggles these seemingly unrelated characters flawlessly, and not in an "in your face" manner either. PTA does not insult his audiences intelligence. He lets you make your own associations at your own pace. Three times in the movie he links all of the characters together. He does this so simply. 1) Through watching a popular television show. 2) Through singing a popular song. 3) Through an unexplainable act of nature. If you think about it, all of us are connected through such things. On a deeper level it reminds us that we are all connected just by being humans on the earth. Many did not understand the meaning of the frogs. Here it is folks: All of these characters were so absorbed in their own lives, their own problems. They could not see outside of their issues into the real world. Then you have this freak of nature in which frogs start to fall from the sky, thereby putting all of these peoples "huge problems" into perspective comparatively. It brings them back into reality, reminds them we live in an unsure world and you don't always know what is going to happen next. It also bonds the people for having witnessed this "act of god". You can watch this movie time and time again each time taking away a new meaning and a new level of understanding. At three hours it is not for the thrill seeking movie goer. Rather it's for those who enjoy thought provoking, ground-breaking and intriguing movie making.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is great
Review: I have to say that P.T. Anderson is my favorite director. This is one of his best (it's tied with Hard Eight though). Great acting, script, and direction. Buy this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Magnolia is a well-produced mockery of entertainment.
Review: This film centers around a number of seemingly-unrelated characters in seemingly-unrelated situations, yet every one of these characters' situations has something in common-- none of this film's characters are portrayed as containing any sort of redeeming value. The director and screenwriter would not have you believe that the characters here are evil, but Magnolia's perspective on humanity is very negative. Throughout this ungodly long film you will see these characters in pain, in misery, in desparation, crying out but not being heard, needing help but not receiving it; and all the while, no rationality is given as to why we, the audience, might want to see so many miserable people in pain, suffering, even dying. The dialogue here, and the direction, is reminiscent of other films that have previously been hailed as thought-provoking films, and so many may mistake this as a thought-provoking film, speaking of its powerful message about society. But this film has no message. This film has no point. If this film has any point whatsoever, it is that one man can write a meaningless, dry, miserable story, and make it look intelligent through intelligent presentation; and for this he will receive critical acclaim, even Golden Globe awards, all because today's audiences are too stupid to realize when they're being mocked. For Magnolia is a mockery. It mocks its characters, it mocks its audience, and it mocks other films that manage to entertain by providing a pleasant and/or complete resolution. I commend this film on its success, for it has managed to prove its point: film audiences and critics alike know nothing about storytelling, only about what they are expected to appreciate. But in the end, this is a miserable film, one that I cannot recommend to anyone. For fans of the film, though, this DVD is an excellent package. Considering the film's length and the inclusion of more than one audio track, the quality of the transfer is very good, if not excellent (there is some artifacting at times). More importantly, though, a second disc is included which contains a number of interesting extras, including a seminar done by Tom Cruise while in character.
Rating:
Summary: A Stupendous Work of Art
Review: I cracked up reading the comments of the folks who gave this outstanding movie 1 star. I suppose they aren't happy with a movie unless there is a car chase, and a few explosions, and a thousand bullets.
Forget the naysayers, forget the people who couldn't keep more than one plot line in their heads at a time. They're happier watching reruns of South Park.
If you want to see cinema as a work of art, this is your movie. It is not to be taken literally. It is a work of allegory. For instance, quiz shows are not live, and they don't have shows pitting children against adults, with the children besting the adults. There obviously wouldn't be a 'Seduce and Destroy' infomercial. It is all over the top to make a point. And that point is....relationships, love, and loss. What a powerful film. Yep, it's long, but well worth it. This is a must-have DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Only worth it if someone else pays and you get a free dinner
Review: On the positive side: 1) Tom Cruise is very good, and if you want proof that he can act this movie is worthwhile. 2) The movie provides an insight into cults such as Landmark Forum and, more importantly, Sterling Institute of Relationships. On the negative side: 2) The movie is bombastic, hammering out its messages without any subtlty. 3) There is no variation in the characters' voices. Every single charcater mouths the exact same obscenities and has the exact same speech patterns. After a while, you realize that you are hearing a chorus of the screenwriter's didactic shouts, with no variation in tone, vocabulary or message. 4) The magic realist ending (the frogs) were a cute devise, but they really pointed to the fact that the screenwriter did not know how to resolve the film.
Rating:
Summary: Lots to like, but ........
Review: I had a great feeling about this film when it started. The opening scenes concerning coincidence were great, and the sharply edited introductions to the characters had me expecting something truly exceptional. So from the outset I had this feeling I was really going to enjoy this film .... about two hours into it the objectivity set in. I usually tend to love or hate films, but with this one it's both at the same time. When it comes to acting, I'd be hard pushed to think of anything better. There are some truly outstanding performanes here, and there are moments of genuine brilliance in terms of direction, script, camera work etc. which made me feel I was watching something truly special. My difficulties with the film started to emerge after the first 90 minutes or so. The story about the child genius pissing himself, the ex-child genius feeling stupid and fancying the bartender .... all of a sudden, my feelings of 'this is an incredible film', started to be replaced by 'I'm being preached to'. There's nothing wrong with a film having a message - but this started feeling like a stale, old message .. and it was being forced down my throat. Perhaps the following musical interlude might have worked if it wasn't for that, but as it was I found it kinda irritating. After that, the whole thing seemed to drag. To loose it's way. I was wishing it was over for what seemed like hours - attention was grabbed back by the frogs - but lost again by the end. To conclude, it's a brilliant idea, marvelously acted - but with some tired themes which are dragged out to excessive lengths. I'd recommend that people see this film to make up their own minds, and I'm glad I saw it myself - it has classic moments, but it's not a classic in itself.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretentious Swill
Review: Rarely have I seen a film so thoroughly awful. Characters, dialogue, and multiple story lines combine to create a symphony of false notes. Some very fine actors are forced to say and do some painfully ridiculous things all under the pretense of creating something "meaningful", when in fact the only message here is that student films should never have multi-million dollar budgets. This abomination makes the director's wonderfully under-stated earlier film "Hard Eight" look like a four-alarm fluke. Save your money and watch out for the falling frogs. (don't ask)
Rating:
Summary: Mildly entertaining.
Review: I was fascinated at first with how intriguing Magnolia seemed to pretend to be. As the story went on, you could readily see that the highly mysterious beginning had absolutely nothing to do with the actual film. Nor are the individual characters in the movie intermingled at all, as the film purports they are. There isn't any cohesiveness. Great performances by he actors...all did a charming job...but the stories were mostly boring and had almost no depth at all. And way too much music. Half the movie was a music video for Aimee Mann's great songs.
Rating:
Summary: A Thought-Provoking Film
Review: Fans of Hollywood endings and/or happy flicks probably would not be a fan of this beautiful movie. Many critics comment on the length of the film (3hours) but I believe every moment is vital. The mood of the story is somber but there are many funny moments throughout Magnolia. Tom Cruise is amazing and provides much of the comic relief in the beginning of the film. Anyone that has lived with regret would relate to this film. And when the credits roll, there will be many questions in the viewer's head. I watched this film numerous times (a sign of a good movie) and it gets better each time. Fans of intelligent cinema will enjoy this gem.
Rating:
Summary: great great movie that will leave you wide-eyed
Review: I was told about this movie and figured "what the heck" but am I glad to have seen this movie. The movie start out with characters living their own lives and cleverly weaves them all together eventually leading to this weird ending. It's a movie that tries to show the inner emotions of people and how they deal with it. BUT!! - This is the kind of movie that you'll either LIKE or HATE. If you're not into the profound, weird movies, I don't think you'll like this movie. I personally think it's a great movie.
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