Magnolia

Pros: Great Acting, Great Story, and GREAT ENDING
Cons: Sort of drags...

I went with some friends to see "Magnolia" recently and I have to say that I was very pleased. I had heard good and bad things but in the end I have to say I truly enjoyed it.

After sitting in the theatre for around three hours my...

Pros: Tom Cruise
Cons: The script...

Frankly, I wish I'd seen Pokemon instead. I would have rather consumed a heaping plate of plain corrugated cardboard than
sit through Magnolia. But I did, and I'm here to warn you: don't do it!

A short synopsis for all of you who saw...

Pros: exceptional acting, compelling storylines
Cons: just doesn't connect into a real story, fails to move you

If you've heard the critics raving about how excellent a film Magnolia is and you want to see it for yourself, go ahead, but you might wish you had your money back at the end of the movie. Magnolia is a complex film (and it is a film, not a movie) which...

Pros: Bizarre, enchanting, and oddly poetic.
Cons: The speeches last too long.

Magnolia (1999, R)

As Reviewed by James Brundage

In the Spring of 1999, a whale beached itself on the shores of sunny California. The whale was dead as a doornail… there was nothing anyone could do about that. The question became...

Pros: artistically ambitious, great acting
Cons: a little long

PT Anderson's "Magnolia" is a daring movie, yet at the same time, so interesting and rich with character development, that even if it doesn't "work" for you plot-wise, it'll make for an entertaining time. Speaking of time, it does...

Pros: An incredible work of art
Cons: Long and intense (but these could be good things too)

When I first went to see Magnolia, I expected it to be about a family coming to terms with a dying family member. The trailers and promos that I had seen had looked interesting, and I was hoping for moving experience. What I got certainly moved me, but...

Pros: Great cast of actors - Excellent DVD version
Cons: sad and bizarre stories

Right from the start of this film I was confused. What do any of these guinness book of weird records have to do with the movie? With one of the best ensemble cast's of the year it plodded along more like six or seven movies in one, never quite melding...

Pros: Tom Cruise, soundtrack
Cons: Unrestrained, overdone

Writer/director/producer Paul Thomas Anderson pours it on thick in his third film outing, Magnolia, a film that spares nothing and, by doing so, loses everything. Clocking in it at over three hours, Anderson finds himself in the company of talented...

Pros: After this movie you will discuss until the cows come home
Cons: The cows may come home before the movie ends, but you won't realize it

I can't stop thinking about this movie. A wonderful pastiche of characters, weaving their way through a rainy day around Magnolia Blvd. (it could be anywhere) to a complex ending.

The Movie
The most important thing that can be...

Pros: A wonderful script, great actors, in short everything!
Cons: I tried but couldn't think of a darn thing!

I must say that it has taken me a little while to write a review on this movie simply because I didn't want to do it an injustice by in any way belittling the power of this movie.

All I can say about Magnolia is wow! This is a movie I went...

Pros: Award-level acting, casting, screenplay, editing, and soundtrack
Cons: length (if you're not prepared)

Wow, I really missed the boat on this movie. I rented this movie over a year after it's release, almost as an afterthought, and can't believe that this epic didn't reach me during it's release. Maybe because of the ambiguous title, and the difficulty...

Pros: FROGS FROGS FROGS, and Cruise
Cons: the kid who has to pee, foul-mouthed old people, a who cares? story

Ok, first of all, I've got to spoil it for you: THERE ARE FALLING FROGS IN THIS MOVIE. Out of nowhere in fact. The movie plugs along, and we are learning about a bunch of characters (who shout a lot), and then FROGS! FROM THE SKY! EVERYWHERE!...

Pros: Great cast
Cons: Great cast wasted by pretentious movie-making

I was encouraged to see Magnolia because of some of the reviews I had read and also, I really liked Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights, the best film ever about adult movie-making. That one was daring, deep and interesting, all the things Magnolia...

Pros: Great cast, especially Cruise
Cons: heavy use of aimee mann songs, which can get annoying

Before I even walked into the theatre, I already had some high hopes regarding Magnolia. It's been well hyped by the critics, and many of my friends who have seen it have touted it as the best movie of the year. Most importantly, everyone's advice was,...

Pros: a sumptuous meal for interpretation
Cons: very allegorical, emotionally heavy

We follow a day in the life of several
fascinating Angelinos, all of whose lives intersect, more or less directly. Anderson manages to create a sense of dramatic
momentum that keeps the audience on the edge of its seats for no less than three...