Rating: 
Summary: amazing
Review: Magnolia is a delicately woven, beautiful film. The basis of the script on Aimee Mann's music only serves to make it more insightful and poetic. Lines stuck with me for days. Some still do, a year later. "It is not a dangerous thing to confuse children with angels."
Rating:
Summary: about the frogs
Review: I agree that this film was the best film of 1999. I'm only writing this to try to explain the significance of the frogs for the reviewer who asked for help. the frogs are there because, like the Hebrews in Exodus, each of the characters in the film is led, in one way or another, out of a life of sin, slavery, etc., into something more like the "promised land". The clearest example is Tom Cruise's character, who clearly has been leading a life filled with anger, guilt and denial, and who has an experience with his long lost father which may help him get beyond that to a more fulfilling life. All of the other main characters experience similar transforming experiences.
Rating:
Summary: Movie / DVD -- 5 Stars: This is about the frogs [spoiler]
Review: here's a spoiler alert........................from my interpratation, the frog-raining represented part of life. You all know how in life, good things are only temporary. Each character in Magnolia was going through tough times ("one hell of a day"). Towards the end of the movie, you can notice that things are starting to get better for everybody; then, it suddenly rains frogs. So what's this mean? In life, bad things happen all the time, we all have bad days, and then when things start to look up, they may crash down on again.. Happiness is only temporary.. This is my analysis (also there's the whole biblical reference). Magnolia is a brilliant film which I think in 10-20 years will be regarded as one of the top films of all time, and then will be truly appreciated. The ensemble is great, the score is done to perfection, and directing; wow, great directing. PT Anderson should have won awards for this movie.. The DVD is packed, and I give the audio and picture both 5 out of 5's. It's a truly great DVD for a truly great film.. (I especially enjoyed watching the supplements). My favorite part of the film is probably when Tom Cruise is being interviewed, that gave into his character very much.. I hope some people appreciate my analysis.
Rating:
Summary: Magnolia DVD
Review: Well, this movie is chock full of not only falling frogs (I think the other 400 reviews have already let that cat out of the bag), but of stunning performances. John C. Reilly's cop is amazing when he is on the disturbance call, about to find out what is in the closet. Jeremy Blackman is terrific as a game-show prodigy who WILL NOT go through the motions one more time (& for good reason). Julliane Moore is tremendous as the gold-digging wife, who discovers she loves her dying husband (Jason Robards) more than the gold that got them together. And Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise puts in an over-the-top bravura performance as Seduce and Destroy self-help guru Frank Mackey. We see him teaching a course in totally devious manipulation of women (this is how to find happiness??). We see him lie to an interviewer and then totally disrespect her. We see him cursing his dying father, and then we see him bare his soul. A totally jaw-dropping performance, that shows us that Tom Cruise is more than just some action hero. This film is about people who have been to their own hells, and back. It is cathartic and revealatory. The biblical rain of frogs only dots the exclamation point, and begins the healing process. This film is about life, in all of its gritty glory. This is a must-have-for-your-collection DVD. (and by the way, the DVD quality is excellent!)
Rating:
Summary: Pleasure Costs Pain.........Can you feel it?
Review: An exhilerating journey into the tangled wrecks of these beautifully deep, traumatised characters. (Aren't we all?) I was left with the feeling that either 'you get it', or you don't...... I was entranced for the duration; swept into the mood of the moment. The beautiful soundtrack, acting as the distraction that we all have in our minds, when events take over our thoughts. The performance of each character was as soul-searching as possible, and each character found themselves in the unpredictable situations that life can present, given one small change to the fragile formula of our lives. Unpredictability? You bet....., life is full of it. If you are a thinker, it is imperitive that you watch this film. If you are an action hero, in need of the screeming obvious - you will miss the point, and rate it one star. A magic and unforgettable all time favorite. An absolute masterpiece, which will provide you with hours of thoughts, long after the credits have rolled. Enjoy! Janet. S/East England. April 2001.
Rating: 
Summary: Confused
Review: I am not unintelligent, but I do not get the frogs. I understand the Biblical reference to Exodus 8:2. I understand that the frogs were one of the ten plagues. But I do not understand what they have to do with this movie. I have read through many of the 4 and 5 star reviews and I saw a lot of people who liked the film and thought it was the wrok of genuis, but no one gave any evidence that they actually understood the frogs. So am I missing something here guys? Ifso help me please! The movie was interesting at parts, and notso interesting in other areas, but it was very long and the ending was very unsatisfying to me.
Rating:
Summary: Was Magnolia Based on Short Cuts?
Review: Does this movie remind anyone else of Robert Altman's Short Cuts? If not, watch it and you'll immediately notice several paralells that seem more than a little suspicious. (For example, Short Cuts is ALSO an extremely LONG film about a large group of disparate, unhappy people who live in California and who all end up connecting somehow, one of whom spends the majority of the movie dying in a hospital bed, and another whom winds up finding his "long lost" father, starring Julianne Moore, and featuring a great natural disaster at the end.)
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't stop watching
Review: I multi-task - I watch movies, read a book, look @ webpages, and do my homework @ the same time. Usually. But w/Magnolia, P.T. Anderson's masterpiece, I could not take my eyes away from the screen for a second. My mother even tried to have a conversation with me - I just couldn't stop watching. The begining is incredible. Aimee Mann's soundtrack is incredible. When 'One is the Lonliest Number' was playing, and all the characters were being introduced, I was just amazed. I got goosebumps and shivers up my spine. It was such an incredible moment in the film, probably one of my favorite moments in film-making itself. I liked the extras on the DVD, too. You get the full 'T.J. Mackey' infomercial as well as tons of diferrent trailers and lots of information. But the movie speaks for itself. It's simply a masterpiece. For added fun, try to count all of the references to the numbers '8' and '2'. They're everywhere. For even more fun, try and figure out what they mean. Wow.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb & Pretentious
Review: I'm glad I waited until it came out on DVD to see this movie. .Why? Because the movie was so boring (over three hours of pure snoozing pleasure!) that every time I nodded off during this yawner I was able to go back start watching again from where I dozed off. After all, this was such a highly acclaimed film that I owed it to myself to give it every change possible. The fact is, it didn't matter. This movie didn't work on *ANY* level. In fact, I honestly do not think that there is a point to this movie aside from Anderson's exercise is self-importance and film-making exhibitionism. And the lack of a director's/writer's (both Anderson) commentary track on the DVD is a dead give away in confirming this His "symbolism" wouldn't hold up under deep scrutiny, make that ANY scrutiny. I mean what would he have said when the frogs come? "Here's where I really show people how awesome of a director/writer I am. People will be so confused and taken aback by this, that they will mistake me for genius and think that there's actually some deep and profound meaning to this movie; when in actuality, I've just fleeced them for...... bucks/person at the theater and ..... bucks a pop on DVD or home video." .......................As Nietzsche wrote about the difference between "being deep" and "appearing deep" .................. "Whoever knows he is deep, strives for clarity; whoever would like to appear deep to the crowd, strives for obscurity." Pretty much says it all!! Because this movie opted for the latter in the worst way I've ever seen make it to the big screen. This movie was dumb and pretentious.
Rating:
Summary: OVER RATED, EVEN AT ONE STAR
Review: I CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO DO JUSTICE TO EXPRESSING HOW BAD THIS MOVIE WAS!! IT WAS *THE WORST FILM* I HAVE EVER SEEN!! Don't get me wrong . . . a lot of "B" movies and homemade/local public access cable movies are probably worse than this in many ways. But they don't have "big name" professional actors and actresses to take part in their productions. But "Magnolia" did, and it still stunk so BADLY!!! Over 3 hours of the worse possible dialogue and characters and satire imaginable. This movie stunk.
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