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I keep coming back to Magnolia. What writing! What film making! Paul Thomas Anderson. If he was ever a true film genius this would be my pick of film to illustrate what film genius is. It's not just the dollied camera movements and long shots following people throughout the television studio, or pan whipping one scene to another, and it's not just the amazing score or tasteful use of classic rock music, it's the characters and what they bring to the table, how they springboard from the writing.
Tom Cruise plays Tom Cruise, Mr. Scientology, except now it's "respect the cock". He's a misogynist of the highest order, on a mission to dominate the female species, but he's being tested, and his past is coming back to haunt him, and remind him, of the pain he endured to end up where he is now.
I'm not gonna run down the entire cast here. This movie is over three hours long, and it's worth every minute of it. I see people recoil or treat this film with a lukewarm comment, not giving it its due. This is one of those movies that is so good...it's probably too good for a lot of people to even comprehend. It blows hair back on so many levels. Critics might get caught up with the unrealistic moments, or the songs, or the musical number..all of that is superficial, and it's part of the craft of the film. I'll never understand how someone can expect a movie to be "only one way". It's very close minded thinking, especially when faced with a film like this. I have been guilty of thinking this, too. I am back and forth with Magnolia. Is it super pretentious and gooey? Not really. It's an expertly made film that reaches back to the 60's, 70's and 80's into the 90's as very much its own thing, reinventing cinema, much like Boogie Nights did, except the writing here is much more human.
PTA knows how to turn the drama volume up to full blast while still making it funny. He pulls out every stop he can. Ever wanted to make the world's best mixtape to someone you had a crush on, and tell her the most heart wrenching story to win her love? Paul Thomas Anderson made one.
Magnolia (1999)
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
I keep coming back to Magnolia. What writing! What film making! Paul Thomas Anderson. If he was ever a true film genius this would be my pick of film to illustrate what film genius is. It's not just the dollied camera movements and long shots following people throughout the television studio, or pan whipping one scene to another, and it's not just the amazing score or tasteful use of classic rock music, it's the characters and what they bring to the table, how they springboard from the writing.
Tom Cruise plays Tom Cruise, Mr. Scientology, except now it's "respect the cock". He's a misogynist of the highest order, on a mission to dominate the female species, but he's being tested, and his past is coming back to haunt him, and remind him, of the pain he endured to end up where he is now.
I'm not gonna run down the entire cast here. This movie is over three hours long, and it's worth every minute of it. I see people recoil or treat this film with a lukewarm comment, not giving it its due. This is one of those movies that is so good...it's probably too good for a lot of people to even comprehend. It blows hair back on so many levels. Critics might get caught up with the unrealistic moments, or the songs, or the musical number..all of that is superficial, and it's part of the craft of the film. I'll never understand how someone can expect a movie to be "only one way". It's very close minded thinking, especially when faced with a film like this. I have been guilty of thinking this, too. I am back and forth with Magnolia. Is it super pretentious and gooey? Not really. It's an expertly made film that reaches back to the 60's, 70's and 80's into the 90's as very much its own thing, reinventing cinema, much like Boogie Nights did, except the writing here is much more human.
PTA knows how to turn the drama volume up to full blast while still making it funny. He pulls out every stop he can. Ever wanted to make the world's best mixtape to someone you had a crush on, and tell her the most heart wrenching story to win her love? Paul Thomas Anderson made one.
How much do you want to bet there won't be another like Magnolia?