Rating: 
Summary: Dreary, Self-Congratulatory Time-Waster
Review: I honestly believe dreadful movies like "Magnolia" cause more damage to the indie scene than a thousand "Armageddon"'s. What we have here is a dreary, self-indulgent three-hour romp of little to no consequence. The only reason it gets high scores is that it gives movie fetishists something to yak about when they get out of the theater and go back to their boring lives. Let's be serious: this movie is terrible. Frogs fall from the sky. A black kid raps about a crime he saw (if any other filmmaker had done this, cries of 'racism!!!' would be raining like ... well, frogs). A bunch of other people whine about how hard life is. Julianne Moore is her usual terrible self, particularly in her big scene (in the drug store) where you can see the wheels turning right beneath the surface, as if she's screaming to herself "Make this scene as bad as you possibly can! Chew scenery if you have to!". How does this woman continue to find work? And, in the most cringe-inducing montage of all time, everyone looks at the camera and sings along with a song on the soundtrack. This movie is not beautiful, it is not graceful, it is not art. It is self-indulgence. Before Hollywood became a cesspool they had the ability to blend art with practicality. Much like Lennon and McCartney did for pop music, Hollywood could play intelligence and invention off of what was necessary to make a movie watchable. By eschewing this approach, "art" movies have become tiresome, lengthy plods through the writer's ego, while mass-market movies aren't even worth the paper napkin on which they're sketched. Let me make my point clear: you are no better for making an arty unwatchable movie than you are for making a mass-market movie that is unwatchable. The purpose of being an entertainer is to entertain. Anderson utterly fails to do this. I could not care less which paradigms he subverts, what he flies in the face of, or what conventions he defies. He doesn't entertain. To applaud his every move as if it were a masterpiece only encourages him to continue to release disorganized, overlong indulgence pieces. Frankly I'd rather see him try to make something good. Everyone can see that the talent is there. Perhaps if P.T. Anderson could swallow some pride and hire a decent editor, he could make a movie worthy of his reputation. Until then he just goes in my big pile of "artsy" movie-makers to avoid, along with Terrence Malick and Jim "Ghost Dog" Jarmusch.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful and Dreamy...
Review: I can't believe it's taken me soooooooooooo long to finally see this film. AND I can't believe that no one spoiled it for me! I didn't have any idea what was going to happen...I didn't even know who was staring in it! For the entire 3+ hours I was literally on the EDGE OF MY SEAT, Wide Eyed, and in AWE! I don't want to give any of it away...so I'll just say this: YOU WILL BE AMAZED! DO NOT MISS THIS FILM!! =^..^=
Rating:
Summary: Very sorry
Review: But "people who hate this film (and are willing to voice their disdain for it) should shampoo my crotch" It's very poignant, VERY LONG and his third of four opi; prior to Punch Drunk and Subsequent to Boogie Nights. By the way he is better than Altman to a degree cause he writes his own stuff, and would never make popeye.
Rating:
Summary: Astounding!
Review: First, as a DVD the video and audio trasfer are excellent and the film diary is interesting and informative. In general good but not exceptional features. As for the film, simply astonishing. I am not one to sit through a three hour, ten minute film easily yet was transfixed from the first frame. The plot is a series of orbiting stories that come together in a themeatic way that is satisfying. The score is excellent as are Amiee Mann's songs. Of particular interest was the section where the film breaks the third wall (theater talk for intentionally connecting to the audience by looking or interacting with them) by singing along to the soundtrack. It sounds hoaky but was dramatically effective and touching. The complexity of the plot may cause some desire to see Magnolia a few times which is the best reason I can give to purchase the DVD. Jason Robards, Tom Cruise...actually the entire ensemble act their hearts out with Cruise playing against type as a video infomercial jerk. Each story is bittersweet yet intertwine into a logic specific to the film. Most important, the characters are three dimensional. You feel the sadness and are able to extrapolate the humor and irony within Magnolia. The general atmosphere is moderately dark and framed well to set the styles of each story within the superstructure of the main film. This is a excellent film that may require some effort on some people's part. Some friends won't bother when they hear the running time but it's really their loss as this is a film of powerful emotions and resolutions sometimes not happy. If you enjoy stylish films - stylish, not slick Hollywood - this should appeal to you.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Strange....just art.`
Review: OK...many people have said that this movie is weird or confusing. I say it is movies like Magnolia that seperate movie fans into two categories: those who are willing to think during a movie and those who just want to sit back and be entertained. I think that Magnolia was a brilliant movie full of symbolism and art. If you want a light, easy-to-watch movie, this is not the one for you. If, on the other hand, you don't mind to think and take in the symbolism, sit back and relax...you're gonna love it.
Rating:
Summary: Ignore the bad reviews
Review: Ignore the people who just want entertainment and don't want to "think" while viewing this great movie. Yes it is almost 3 hours long, but I watched it on 2 consecutive days, and twice more since I bought the DVD. This is a great cast with a great story (or should I say stories) to tell. If your not a Tom Cruise fan, don't worry; Cruise plays a character like he never has before. This is a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: pretentious - steer clear of magnlia
Review: Towards the end, this movie gets bizarre - believe it or not - it rains large frogs. Wierd is not equal to deep and artistic. A few great scenes and performances are unfortunately wasted in this movie. Do yourself a favor - watch something else.
Rating:
Summary: Terrible
Review: Stay away from this movie. The whole movie was pointless and boring. Reading some of these reviews you might get the idea that the movie has a deep plot. It doesn't, it is about as deep as a van damne movie. Ohhh and the ending is terrible. Please don't waste three hours of your life.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: THe third release from director Paul Thomas anderson ( Boogie Night, Punch Drunk Love) is a classic as his other works. 13 people in the San Fernando Valley are having a hell of a day; and this book follows them all. This is a movie you have to watch when your REALLY awake it clocks in at over 3 hours; but its worth every minute. For fans of the genre, P.T. Anderson fans, or hell anybody I highly reccomend this. Buy Magnolia, sit down, and be prepared for one of the best treats in cinematic histroy.
Rating:
Summary: Oh my GOOOOOOOOOSH! The best film I've seen in years!!
Review: I'm not naive. I'm not unrealistic. I'm tedious and overly critical when I watch films, looking and searching for flaws and agendas. This film, this Magnolia, was a piece of heavenly humanity on film. We see a number of seemingly all-together folks who need SOMETHING in all their lives to fill their various voids, their pains, their yearnings. This something comes together in many realistic ways but under the umbrella of a miraculous event at the end of the film. Each character has demons to answer to in this movie. For one man, his grievances come in the form of pushy parents who took his boyhood by making him focus singularly on winning a boy genius competion. Years later, when he is grown, another young boy must grow through the process of a selfishly pushy father who is always makes sure to say, "I love you" whenever talking to his son, even if his actions say otherwise. There is a woman who's married a man for his money but later falls in love with him as he dies of cancer in his living room. The man's son, Tom Cruise, is living with his own pitfalls and attempts harboring his pain by playing the daily role of a extremely confident sex guru. "Tame her" is his theme and his following involves thousands of men with voids themselves. There is a Christian cop who has the heart of a lamb but the insecurities of a psych patient. He falls for a crack-head who has ancient scars of her own to deal with. It is their relationship, in my opinion, that steals the show. There are others, of course; a talk show host who has three months to live; a compassionate male nurse who attempts the reuniting of two bitterly astranged family members; a young black boy who - for the briefest of moments - manages to steal our hearts in a handsome display of well-being for his fellow man. Despite their confident smiles and tones, each person in this film is deeply frail. Each wanders aimlessly through stormy torments but, luckily for all of them, hope and resolution rises firmly on the horizon. A stirring film with raw emotion and deep compassion. This film has plenty of vulgarities so be warned; however, without some of it, the truly humanistic style would fail to be portrayed. WATCH THIS FILM!! Engrossing, intriguing, thought-provoking and beautifully graceful, Magnolia is an emotional powerful film if there ever was one. The acting in this film is TOP NOTCH and so if the music. If you have three hours to spare, give this film a chance! TWO THUMBS WAY UP!
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