Rating: 
Summary: ...
Review: ...The start of the movie is enticing enough for you to sitthrough it. When the stars started the karaoke and everyone in the movie begins to reveal themselves that when the mess begins. One reviewer commented about lack of closure, I think he's right. The story could have been told in less than two hours. By the first hour, an average viewer would already have an idea of the characters. PT Anderson thinks the viewers are dumb enough not to understand the characterization hence the long movie...waste of time!
Rating:
Summary: This is a horrible pretentious movie
Review: Hollywood makes such rubbish these days that an offbeat movie like Magnolia garners praise from critics and moviegoers. I did not relate to, nor did I like any of the characters, except the young boy who was scared on the game show. The characters got on my nerves. The highlight of the movie is Tom Cruise's narcisstic/antisocial character. Other than that I was waiting for the movie to eventually make sense, but it's just a 3 hour- long mess. So what if all of these characters are screwed up? As a viewer I did not really care about these characters.
Rating:
Summary: The Emperor Has No Clothes
Review: Read all of the five star reviews if you don't believe me. None of the reviewers get this film, so they default to the "brilliant" rating. This really is a film student's wet dream and that's about it. This flick reminds me of many of the songs from the late sixties, all fluff and no substance. Write about flying purple elephants and all the nomads need to attach some absurd, satirical existentialist meaning to it. I have lived in the SF Valley my whole life and yes I've known people like those in this film. So what, they are not worth knowing long. Whine, whine, whine, everyone has a sad story. I was hoping for them all to kill themselves by hour two. By hour three I was searching for a gun. Use the three hours you would waste on this film productively. Read a great book instead. Want something with real depth about the scum in LA? I recommend "Day of The Locust" by Nathanael West.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this if you haven't seen this yet!!!
Review: There is a lot of love-hate speak of this movie. I will try to limit this as my 5-star rating speaks to how I feel about it. Several things come to mind: 1. It is three-hours long, and it feels like it, although it does not get boring, or at least it doesn't feel like it when all is said and done. 2. For people who watch movies and wish that the characters "just die," this is probably not for you. Instead, I hope that people will look at these situations and apply them to their own lives. Every character in this, even though they are all "well-off WASPs," all deal with situations that happen to all of us. I would guess that if there is anyone who has had a loved/hated one pass away, you will probably learn a lot from this. The emotions are real, even if the roles or performers are not. As for references that these characters are whiny, well, for certain they probably are. This just should bring you back to the age old belief that rich people are something more than they really are: humans. So, if you hate the rich and can't apply their experiences to your own, so be it. 3. Of the unexpected, which you may find out if you read other reviews, well, my opinion is that it was an important part. Aside from biblical references, I think that one of the major twist's points was that: it didn't really matter what the hell happened, or what crazy event happened, it would and still did happen. Think about the movie Speed, where that bus flew over a 80 foot hole in an overpass...totally unbelievable...this movie basically says...so what, it did happen. Think of how you met your partner, friend, job, etc., there is probably something that happened to you due to just "pure luck." (much like the intro scenes). This is just a Hollywood OVERdramatization that represents the same thing. But I could be wrong...email me at mlysne@u.washington.edu if you disagree after watching the movie. 4. Watch this with an open mind, at home, with a friend or two. 5. The acting and editing is raw, and that I think is another attempt at "keeping it real." Hopefully this works for you when you watch it. 6. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: 82 reasons why this is MY FAVORITE FILM EVER
Review: ...and the book says... I am ALL ABOUT this flick. If i had to give up all of the best movies i've seen except for ONE, they could all dwell in hell save this over-three-hour modern masterpiece. I loved every minute of it. I regret only going to see it twice in the theatre, but it was just such a heavy revelation to digest. When I recommended over the tele that my brother in New York should go see it, he said after the first viewing he was so stunned that he went again the very next day. There are so many neat subliminal nuances in this film, so much ultra-phenomenal acting, and such a dynamic music score as well as the best damned real-life feeling you're likely to ever experience within a scripted motion picture show...Julianne Moore is immaculate, John C. Reilly is Thee Mann, Jeremy Blackman makes that Sixth Sense kid Osment seem average, Philip Baker Hall;would someone please stand up and give me an AMEN that this old fart kicks some major acting a*s! I can't wait to see his next gig, alongside Gary Oldman (the only thing this film lacks)in Oct.13th's THE CONTENDER. Philip Seymour Hoffman-another extraordinary Phil-up. Tom Cruise made a fan of me because of his Oscar-hailed performance here, whereas before I never much cared for him. Now I'm watching all his films. William H. Macy, what a great character performer. I loved him in Fargo as well, as Jerry. And Melora "Cocainathon" Walters...gosh...actually, EVERY individual star in this movie gets 5 stars from me. This is THE best ever ensemble movie. The list of awards this emoproject recieved/qualified for on the back of the digipack was pleasantly startling-yet unsurprising, since this is 1998/99's most all-out astounding piece of work. Makes American Beauty's aims at realism seem almost like hack in comparison. I was all over this dvd the morning it came out--seemed like forever waiting for it to. Its extra features were quite satisfying.The d-leted scene with Tom Cruise tricking the girl-I would've been overjoyed had they left it in. The lengthy "Magnolia Diary" follows the awesome crew along their labor of love. It is raw and impactful. P.T. Anderson is just a wirey, wiley, wunderkind. I have gone back and watched his "Boogie Nights" several times since seeing this. His first film "Hard Eight" (Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam L. Jackson) I will have to give another viewing to soon on dvd. May I also say that I have nearly worn out my Magnolia Soundtrack cd. Tomorrow I'm going to go out and get Aimee Mann's screenplay-inspiring "Bachelor #2" cd, as well. What can I say, I'm hooked on this sh**. The herb magnolia is actually a lung-clearing remedy that I used during a severe "cold" recently and it also aided in my kicking tobacco. Whoa. This tight double-discer also has a delightful slew of cool trailers and a hilarious infomercial amongst its many treats. Impeccably tasty. I was working at a theatre when this movie was released last year. People walked out of it a lot and even demanded their money back, citing its "profanity" and "nudity" and "stupidity". I cite their mediocrity. Do something different and you are certain to have opposition every time; I'm so thankful that P.T. Anderson pressed ahead with his innovations. Now I work at a video store, and Magnolia still being a fresh release plucked from our shelves, I hear feedback on it most every day. Most of it sans-approval. "More cursing than dialogue". "Tries to make one movie out of three". "I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy". One gentlelady even had the audacity to say she shut it off 20 minutes in due to..."no plot". What is with these plastic people. The filmscene these days is so stormstruck by formula. Like Aimee Mann sings, as the magnolia's petals mirror our innately flawed condition as humans so graciously... "...can't admit that maybe the past was bad... even when it's approaching torture, I've got my routine..." If anyone would like to open more dialogue with me about this film, or Andersonism, send e-mail to mickey@ilovethemovies.com.
Rating: 
Summary: Near-perfect film, but the DVD could offer more
Review: There is very little wrong with this film. It's remarkable. But everyone else has already written about the film: I'm reviewing the DVD treatment. I give this product 4 stars instead of 5 because there is no commentary track on this DVD... I know there's a Making-Of documentary, but this just isn't the same. I would really have liked to have the commentary. The documentary is kind of shoddy looking and jumpy, and doesn't really give all that much insight into the film. It's got some nice behind-the-scenes footage and all, but it's just not a good stand-in for a commentary track or two. There's really only one cut scene, and it's just an extension of Cruise's seminar. The informercial for Seduce & Destroy is also on here, about 1 or 2 minutes long, from the beginning of the film when it appears on the TV set. One thing I found very helpful about the DVD was the subtitling option, which let me transcribe Dixon's rap (the little black kid who tells John C. Reilly who commit the murder), although I don't really understand it much better now than I did then: Presence With a double-@$$ meaning gifts I bestow With my riff and my flow, But you don't hear me, though Think fast, catch me, yo Because I throw what I know with a resonance For your trouble-@$$ fiend in weening yourself Off the back of the shelf Jack@$$, crackers, bodystackers Dick-tooting ni**as masturbating your triggas Living to get older with a chip on your shoulder Except you think you got a grip Because your hip got a holster Ain't no confessor, so busta, You better just shut the f**k up, Try to listen and learn, check that ego Come off it, I'm the prophet The professor, I'm gonna teach you about the worm Who eventually turned to catch wreck With the neck of a long-time oppressor And he's running from the devil, But the debt is always gaining And if he's worth being hurt He's worth brining pain in When the sunshine don't work, The good Lord bring the rain in! Now that sh!t will help you solve the case.
Rating: 
Summary: Good film, Bad DVD
Review: I liked Magnolia in the theatre. I even like how frustrated I was when I got out of the theatre. But I hate this DVD. PT Anderson's DVD of Boogie Nights came with a running commentary and deleted scenes. I learned so much more about what this film is about. This DVD comes with NO commentary, just a TERRIBLE hour-long documentary that's nothing more than patches of video tape footage spliced together. You can't learn anything. If I could, I'd return the DVD and buy the VHS at the lower price. Or better, rent the VHS a few times, and then wait for the "real" collectors edition to come out (Anderson just released a 2-disc set of Boogie Nights that's even better than the original, oh well there goes another $25).
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: kind of similar to "short cuts" but with an amazing climax!
Rating:
Summary: A Sentimental and Epic Masterpiece
Review: P.T. Anderson has created in Magnolia a modern masterpiece. The ensemble cast is amazing; it's hard to single out outstanding performances. Even Tom Cruise demonstrates for the first time in ages that he can act. My favorite performances, though, are carry-overs from Anderson's last film, Boogie Nights. The pathos and humanity that William H. Macy and Julianne Moore bring to their respective roles are astonishing. While coming in at over three hours, their is never a dull moment and the slow, studied pace suits the somber, funny, and sometimes depressing subject matter. Chance and relationships connect all the characters lives. They are each uniquely, touchingly, humanly, even beautifully flawed (some more so than others). While some have found the storm near the end ridiculous or even pretentious, I thought it was brilliant and somehow fitting. While not the feel-good movie of the year, it is nonetheless among the best of the year. P.T. Anderson continues to demonstrate unique and honest talent, if not near-genius.
Rating:
Summary: often brilliant, occasionally forced film
Review: "Magnolia" seems to divide audiences as much as it bewilders them. Some there are who see it as a brilliant exercise in creative, thought-provoking moviemaking, a film that challenges the notion that modern American cinema is comprised exclusively of formulaic retreads of earlier films or slick, mechanical displays of technical virtuosity, devoid of meaning and feeling. Others view "Magnolia" as the nom plus ultra of pretentiousness and self-satisfied smugness. Which of the two assessments is the correct one - or does the truth lie somewhere in between? Actually, there is much to admire and cherish in "Magnolia." Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson has done a commendable job in putting on the screen a relatively unique vision - a qualification I feel forced to make because it does seem patently derived from much of the trailblazing work of director Robert Altman. Like Altman, Anderson creates a vast canvas of barely-related and briefly overlapping storylines and characters that come together under the umbrella of a single major theme and a few minor ones as well. Anderson's concern is to explore the concept of forgiveness and to examine the part it plays in the redemption we all seek through the course of our lifetimes. In this film, dying characters struggle to make amends with the loved ones they will soon leave behind, while estranged characters grope tentatively to establish or reestablish the bonds that must link them to other members of the human race. Anderson presents a tremendously wide range of characters, though for a film set in the northern areas of Los Angeles, "Magnolia" provides a surprisingly non-diverse sea of Caucasian faces. However, in terms of the ages of the characters, Anderson's crew seems more comprehensive, running the gamut from a preteen wiz kid to a terminally ill man in his mid-60's. Many of these characters seem to have created any number of facades to help them cope with the miseries and disappointments of life - and much of the redemption occurs only after those masks are stripped away revealing the emptiness and hurt that, in many cases, lurks so close to the surface. Thematically, then, Anderson's film is a compelling one. Dramatically, however, it suffers from some serious flaws. Many viewers and critics have called "Magnolia" an advance, in both depth and scope, for Anderson, whose previous film was the similarly dense, moderately freeform "Boogie Nights." I tend to disagree. If anything, "Boogie Nights," by limiting itself to a much more narrowly restricted milieu - the 1970's porn industry - and focusing intently on a single main character, managed to connect more directly with the emotions of the audience. "Magnolia," by being more expansive, paradoxically, seems more contracted. The pacing is often languid and the screenplay, running a bit over three hours, often seems bloated given the single-mindedness of its basic theme. Certainly, a few of these characters and storylines could have been dispensed with at no great cost to the film as a whole. By lining up all his characters to fit into the same general theme, the author allows his message to become a bit heavy-handed and overemphatic. Anderson seems to want to capture the whole range of human experience on his enormous (and enormously long) movie canvas, yet because the characters seem to all be tending in the same direction - and despite the fact that the details of their experiences are different - the net effect is thematically claustrophobic. The controversial ending, in which an event of literally biblical proportions occurs, feels generally right in the context of this film, though with some reservations. It seems perfectly in tune with the quality of heightened realism that Anderson establishes and sustains throughout the picture. On the other hand, the ending does pinpoint one of the failures of the film as a whole. Given that the screenplay has a strong Judeo-Christian subtext running all the way through it, one wonders why Anderson felt obliged to approach the religious issues in such strictly oblique terms. None of the characters - not even those who are dying - seem to turn to God for their forgiveness and redemption. In an industry such as filmmaking, in which specific references to God or religion are scarce indeed, Anderson has muffed a fine opportunity to correct that glaring failure. In fact, one wonders what purpose that quirky ending serves since the characters are well on their way to making amends by the time it happens. Anderson has marshaled an array of first-rate performances from a talented, well-known cast. Tom Cruise provides a wrenching case study of a shallow, charismatic shyster, who has parleyed his misogyny into a lucrative self-help industry. Yet, like many of the characters, he uses this façade as a shield to hide the hurt caused by a father who abandoned him and a mother whose slow, painful death he was forced to witness alone. The other actors, too numerous to mention, turn in equally worthy performances. Particularly interesting is the young boy who, in counterpoint to one of the other characters in the story, manages to save himself at an early age from the crippling effect of identity usurpation that it has taken so many others in this film a lifetime to overcome. In many ways, "Magnolia" is the kind of film that could easily serve as the basis for a lengthy doctoral dissertation for a student majoring in either filmmaking or sociology. The density of its vision would surely yield up many riches of character, symbolism and theme that a first time viewer of the film would undoubtedly miss. Thus, in many ways, "Magnolia" is that rare film that seems to demand repeat exposure even for those audience members who may not "get it" the first time. As a viewing experience, "Magnolia" often seems rambling and purposeless, but it does manage to get under one's skin, and, unlike so many other, less ambitious works, this one grows in retrospect.
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