Rating: 
Summary: Rather hard going, but also curiously satisfying
Review: It's not as smoothly told a story as "Hard Eight" and not as funny and poignant as "Boogie Nights", and it's also just too damned long. But p.t.a. is a real talent as a director, no question. It's to his credit that he somehow keeps the viewer's interest in all the different plots and characters even when you're beginning to wonder when they will ever be threaded together. Yes, there are lots of concealed meanings and messages that no doubt require a second or third viewing to be fully appreciated. Ultimately, though, you don't need to understand all the biblical and other allusions to see that it's a movie about forgiveness, reaching a state of grace, and the role that chance plays in permitting these things. Some very powerful acting performances keep it going, but three hours and three million frogs are too much.
Rating: 
Summary: The DVD set is a bit lacking...
Review: I would LOVE if they re-released this movie with a commentary track by the director and possibly the cast. I feel the movie could certainly use a little more explaining and the DVD feels very empty without the said feature. And, as long as the movie was, I'm sure there were more deleted scenes/outakes than those provided in both the "color bars" section (on disc 1) and disc 2. I just enjoyed the movie so much, I wish there was more material to dig into... Fincher has spoiled me with his excellent Fight Club and Se7en DVD sets.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: I'm going to keep this review short and sweet. This is one the greatest movies ever made. Period. If you have yet to see it, see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero stars - a wasteland
Review: I finally rented this for the weekend and what a BIG disappointment. I dozed off after the first hour and by the 2 1/2 hour point gave up. No interesting people, except the poor little boy who peed his pants at the quiz show. They ranted, they raved, they gazed (meaningfully?)into the camera, they used the *F* word every other sentence, and the STORY? Oh I forgot there wasn't one. If this is supposed to be good film making, I will go back to my collection of old films. Very bad, no matter what the natering nabobs say.
Rating:
Summary: This is amazing, more than one magnum opus from 1 director.
Review: As if Boogie Nights wasn't great enough, PT Anderson comes back with a film on the same scale with as much impact but touching on more facets of the human condition.This film comes in the tradition of films like "Short Cuts". It is the same formula but this film has a pulse of its own. I feel sorry comparing the two, the formula is in both. The emotion is only in Magnolia. This is a film about love, dysfunction and worlds colliding. Fathers collide with thier shortcomings in missing the opportunity to spread love to their children who in turn are empty and angst ridden. People collide with their emptiness and thier shallowness and wonder... And all these people's lives collide and then frogs collide with everyone. This tapestry is so tightly woven it floats. Like Jesus walking on water. This film lights your heart afire, it drowns you, it saves you. It takes you everywhere. The shots are amazing. Like the people colliding, the cameras directly collide with the people via zoom close ups. This film has the perfect ensemble cast. The PT Anderson acting troupe is my favorite. All the actors we are familiar with are great as usual. The guest actor, Tom Cruise, does his best work to date. He breaks the mold of his type-cast nice guy here. This film encompasses so much, thus having too many excellent aspects to rave about. My sole advice is to just see the film. This is one of my favorite films ever. It is a magnum opus, operatic masterpiece. SEE IT and you'll know what I'm talking about.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievably Terrible
Review: Upon reading the wonderful reviews of many critics, I decided that this was a "must see" movie. The story line with the branching plots seemed to be an original and inventive way to create a movie. Those who have read Faulkner's "A Light in August" appreciate the stream of consiousness effect, an almost circular pattern of telling a story, with the work starting with one character, moving to others, and finally back to the beginning character to finish. Unfortunately, the attempt to produce this effect in a motion picture failed horribly. The movie starts out going at a good pace, with each character being displayed and examined, giving the movie-goer a good background. The acting in the movie was also well done, especially with Tom Cruise, which, for him, was notable. After these two good areas of the film (which is the only reason I did not rate this as a one star video), the movie breaks down into something of a joke. The plot of the movie was incredibly boring, slow (after the first couple of scenes), and for lack of a better word, stupid. The final scene of the movie will prove my point, but I won't add any spoilers here, you'll just have to see it for yourself :) In order to actually draw anything out of this movie in the way of deeper meanings, one would simply have to be dilusional or in need of medication; it was simply that bad. I have never before experienced a movie this incredibly boring or pointless. After viewing it, I felt as if my IQ had dropped about 50 points and I would begin drooling because my mouth was hanging open due to the shock that three hours of my life were wasted and could never be returned to me.
Rating:
Summary: Magnolia is a Masonic Allegory
Review: http://www.im-ur.com/site/readopinion.asp?id=66370&CatID=504&CatTree=5;504&Opinion=1&forward=1&userid=0 Another parents-in Saturday Blockbuster night. After hustling the kids to bed my hubby and I stretched out on the overstuffed living-room furniture, prepared to zone through another hit "new release". Magnolia opened up at about 300 mph, rocketing scenes across the set, linking the lives of parents and children in destructive relationships, intelligent, fast-paced, and--as my hubby choked into his drink-- chock full of Masonic symbolism and secrets. My hubby is a Mason. For those of you not familiar with Masonry, the Masons are a fraternal organization of men of diffent faiths who believe in a close encounter with God and who do good works and help each other out and have all sorts of secret handshakes and sayings and their own translation of the Bible. Masonry is international and a very very old organization whose members have been persecuted for their secrecy, which is always suspect to people who are afraid of things that are different. They also exclude women, although they try to claim defense that their sisterhood "Eastern Star" was created to pacify the wives of the Masons. I still think they're somewhat misogynistic (and there's a bit of that in the movie, too). Of course I know very little about the details of Masonry myself (although it is said you can find out most of it from the public library), but hubby cued in that including certain lines in the movie that were things said in Masonry, the whole movie was about principles of Masonry, both in critique and in defense. From the Solomon & Solomon company (which represents the temple of Solomon, and which is a big deal to Masons--the Ark of the Covenant, etc.) and a character stealing from "Solomon" only to return the moneys in order to get God's forgiveness (the only ones who can be forgiven are the children who are cursed by the sins of their fathers), to the plague of frogs, plus Biblical chapter references, Guinevere who takes down Tom Cruise's character just like she betrayed Arthur, and the fact that the Magnolia lodge is a Masonic lodge in the San Fernando valley... This movie is one giant Masonic riddle. This intrigued hubby so much, he went out on the Internet to see who else has made note or asked questions about the Masonic link, and hardly anyone even noticed (or maybe they just shut their mouths about it). I guess that's the big joke of the writer/producer. They have been deliberately evasive. Of course most of the deeper meaning of the story would only make sense to a Mason (since apparently there are tons of secret Masonic references that only a Mason would know), but the story is told in layers so that the rest of us common folks could at least work up our intellect to try to figure out a little of WHAT was going on at least in the general plot and WHAT made those characters so wierd and damned interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Renewed faith in movie makers
Review: For a long time, I had lost all faith in movie-makers. Movies lacked originality, message, and art. Magnolia is one of the new breed of movies that tells a story with thought, grace, beauty, and sincerity. Along with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Traffic, I am proud to be a movie-goer again. Rent this, buy it, give it as a gift - tell the movie industry that the public will reward them for a brilliant, creative product.
Rating:
Summary: Unusual and amazing
Review: The movie is not what you are used to. The unusual narrative, which jumps from one storyline to the other, adds a lot to make magnolia a very special movie, certainly unlike any you've seen. Another very interesting point is that it doesn't have a "main story" or even a "main actor/actress". Innovative and far from being deceptive. The mix of the stories is very well conducted, not rendering your mind useless if you blink, like other I've seen experiences on this area. It'll stay on your mind, keeping you thinking, and soon you'll watch it again. And you'll find it even more pleasant. The DVD is great. Top video and audio, the extras are worth it, specially non included scenes of Mr. Frank T. J. Mackey Seduce and Destroy seminar. The movie is long, but will keep your mind's attention.
Rating:
Summary: To the point
Review: Other reviewers will tell you of the plot. The plot is not the meaning nor the impact this movie imparts. I will get to the point and simply say that this movie is a powerful portrayal of life. What is important about this movie is that if you cannot relate to it now there will come a day in your life when you will. Hopefully you will not be as one of the characters in this movie who's day came when he was on his death bed.
| 
