Rating: 
Summary: This movie has deeper meaning than you think.....
Review: I loved this movie the first time I saw it, but I knew there was something more to it. The way the director pulls you into each of the nine characters is amazing, and the climax was hilarious, awesome, and disgusting at the same time. I love dramatic movies like this, but the day after I saw it I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I knew there had to more to this movie than meets the eye. Then I watched it again, and I noticed that one of the audience members on the set of "What Do Kids Know?" holds a sign that reads "Exodus 8:2" and the quote refers to one of the great plagues from the Bible, where God threatens a plague of frogs if His will is not fulfilled. Interesting? Well, the nine characters also symbolize all types of sin in every walk of life, and therefore God's reaction to their sin was a downpour of frogs. There is also some symbolic play with the colors used. There are many blues-the uniform of the nurse, the backdrop of the gameshow, the clothes of the new quiz kid, there are reds-Donnie the Quiz Kid's glasses and the scarf he wears when he is robbing the store, and browns-the shirt that Frank Mackey wears, and the outfit that his interviewer wears. Also, I think that the green of the frogs may symbolize envy and jealousy. These colors correspond to the different sins and struggles that are going on. I'm not sure exactly how they correspond, but there is a connection. If you have any insights into this I would love to hear them! I absolutely love this movie, and keep learning more and more about it every time I see it, which is only two times. And if you missed some of these things, try watching it again, and maybe you'll see something deeper.
Rating:
Summary: Cannot watch just once
Review: I have viewed Magnolia at least five times now and every time it surpasses that last time. This is one most magnificent movies ever made. Each and every character stands out. If you only watch it once and don't understand what it's all about and never try to see it again, you have missed a movie that will be as powerful 50 years from now as it is today.
Rating:
Summary: This movie is not for entertainment seekers...
Review: Generally, there are two types of movies: movies that entertain and movies that make you think. This movie is NOT for the person who wants to be entertained. It is not your average Hollywood film brimming over with sex and violence, thank God. Rather, Magnolia is a deep and thought-provoking movie about people coming to terms with the past and forgiveness. Tom Cruise is excellent and deserved an Oscar for his performance. His character is amazing, disgusting and heartbreaking all at once. This movie is one of the best I've ever seen. I highly recommend Magnolia to those who seek out movies for meaning and not for entertainment.
Rating:
Summary: Best Movie of the Year
Review: This is a fantastic movie, on every level. It manages to capture perfectly the mood and themes of America at the end of the 20th century. To name just a few, the quest for redemption (the biblical plague of frogs leads to that); the adversarial relationship between adults and children, captured in the "adults against kids" game show and the relationship between the host and his daughter; how isolated and desperate for connection people are; men feeling emasculated and manipulated by women, turning to Tom Cruise's character for help . . . so much there. The acting is superb -- Julianne Moore should have been nominated for an Academy Award for this movie, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Tom Cruise were also terrific. This movie, largely overlooked by the prediotable Motion Picture Academy, will withstand the test of time better than "American Beauty," which, though good, had largely been done before. See it more than once!
Rating: 
Summary: Is it really possible to enjoy this mess?
Review: When I read the...s Editorial Review of Magnolia, all I could think was..."Oh, pleeeese!"Ever since the "critical acclaim" of Altman's tedious Nashville, attempts have been made to make weave-their-stories-together films. Sometimes they work (e.g., Ragtime); this time it didn't - despite all the awards this jumble received. Here's the line-up: (a) a divorced, lonely cop, (b) a 10-year-old punk thief, (c) a greasy misogynist who runs seduction seminars, (d) a dying child molester, (e) a quiz show kid with an oppresive dad, (f) a fired ne'er-do-well homosexual, (g) a cocaine-snorting, junkie bimbo, and (h) a terminally ill patient, (i) his male nurse, and (j) his hysterical, strug out 30-years-younger wife. All but (a) and (e) have something in common: every third word they utter is "F***." It's long, stupid, dark, and vulgar. Writer/Director Anderson must have a pretty awful view of this world of ours. There ARE, you should know, a ton of goodies and extras, plus the best packaging job ever for a DVD -- then again, you can sprinkle perfume on a goat, and it doesn't change the essence of things....
Rating: 
Summary: THE Worst film....
Review: I know I've given it one star, but only because I could not give it a negative 10. .... It's just the "F" word strung together over and over for three plus hours. In fact, if you took out all the times the "F" word was spoken, then you'd have a twenty minute movie.... I ran out to see this picture immediately upon its release because I was so impressed with Anderson's Boogie Nights. Now, I use Magnolia as my rating for the worst film ever made....
Rating:
Summary: Hurts so Bad!
Review: This movie was everything I feared it would be--bleak, pretentious, and confusing. The one sin I haven't heard enumerated yet by other disappointed reviewers is that PT Anderson demonstrated so little storytelling ability! Two main complaints: first, the dialogue was on the nose. Every character yelled about how awful their lives were and how much they hated each other. Second, Anderson repeated characters and scenes so literally that they weren't thematic, they were redundant. Two old men dying of cancer who lament the fact they cheated on their wives? The repetition diluted the impact that either scene would have had on its own. The only saving grace of the film was Aimee Mann's aural presence. Spare yourself three hours of film agony and go buy her latest album instead.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, watch the color bars special feature!
Review: When I saw this film in the theatres, I was tempted to get up and leave about half-way through. One of the characters was so unlikeable and a mess that it was almost annoying. Then everything changed. When it was over I thought it was good. The next day I thought it was great. Such a tricky movie to pull off, I think PT Anderson succeeds wonderfully. The DVD set is good too. Don't be fooled by the color bars "special feature." Watch this for a bit and then it will segue into a bloopers reel, pretty entertaining. Great Movie.
Rating:
Summary: Where do I begin?
Review: This film is simply amazing. Everything about it is craftsmanship. The screenplay is mind boggling if you think about it. I mean it's hard enough for an audience to care about one character for an hour and a half, but P.T. Anderson gets us to care about 9 characters for 3 hours. The only way I could place this film in a catagory is to say it's an everyday epic with heart. The cinematography of this film is simply beautiful. Every scene is lit in a way that adds to the feeling of film. The performances are amazing too. John C. Reilly makes me laugh so hard no matter what he's doing, and him playing COPS is so great. And if you have the DVD check out the outtakes in the color bars section, it's worth it. THAT'S IT, I'M DONE!
Rating:
Summary: Indefinably magical.
Review: Esoteric films like Magnolia are often judged largely on a basis of stylistic merit; the "how" over the "what." I'm very much a "what" person, as in I generally care for *what* is being said more than *how* it is being said (with exceptions, like the mesmerizing 2001). For that reason, I'm honestly confused by why it is I loved this movie so much. In a way, to me, Magnolia says nothing, but at the same time it says something beautifully. Don't get me wrong...there's some interesting stuff here. I recognize evident commentary regarding the social and family dysfunction, and especially the intuitive and corrosive "sins of the fathers" theme. However, when watching the movie it went right over my head. I nary gave a thought regarding style during the films entire length, but obviously something was done to make this Magnolia great, because my attention was fixed on the intricate weaves of emotion that sluice the film. The movie is runs for something like three and a half hours, which is LONG, but I didn't want the movie to end. The movie has a quiet layer of psychological and emotional intensity that is powerful, yet it remains indefinable to me. I attribute this film's greatness to the sterling performances of the talented coterie of actors formed around the singular vision of Paul Thomas Anderson. The characters aren't likable people, but wow, they are presented with remarkable acuity. Tom Cruise's performance is especially powerful. Cruise is not a favorite of mine, but when he's good, he's very good. The film's plot doesn't really go anywhere, and one would expect the sundry character threads to come together in a logical, satisfying way. It doesn't. Yet this is one of the movie's greatest merits, as it underscores the elusive theme of subtle determinism and random correspondence. Although it might seem pointless and dumb, the movie has an operatic flair and grandiosity that eludes so many others. There is an ineffable magic to this film. I don't know what 'it' is, but 'it' was definitely exercised here. This is not for everyone; but for those who enjoy it, it is a meticulously crafted film of equivocal yet striking brilliance. Finally, the sound Magnolia is incredible. It may sound like a moronic comment for this kind of movie, but I've seen few of Magnolia's contemporaries take advantage of audio technology like this. I was awed by the astonishing clarity of the bullet tearing through the foliage during the "action" scene. Neat stuff.
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