Magnolia ~ Lets talk *****Possible Spoilers*****

[I65]

Hi SW25 and any other Magnolia fans. Let's talk about this great movie here! I would start, but I'm off to work, so I'll pass off the ball into the crowd and see who catches it.

[sw25]

Alright, I get to have the first post here.

Magnolia had a similar effect as LiT on me. I, unfortunately, didn't get to say Magnolia in the theaters, seeing as I was 10 or so at the time!

But when I did see it, I thought it was magnificent. I had seen "ensemble" pieces before, but never before had I seen one so well-crafted, so beautiful, and so generous to its characters. I was interested in every person and every story in there, a rarity even in smaller movies.

I had seen all three of P.T. Anderson's other movies beforehand, so I knew I was gonna like this, but not as much as I did.

I loved every bit of it. There was a powerful scene almost every five minutes, and eevery time I thought the movie would slow down, it just kept on chugging.

The use of the old Quiz Kid Donnie Smith and the new one Stanley Spector was beyond brilliant. Sad, funny, poignant, all apply.

Some of my favorite scenes and lines:

-Tom Cruise falling apart in the interview chair. This was absolutely stunning. To see this machismo, sexist powerhound dissolve into a stone-face after just a question or two was jaw-dropping. "What am I doing? I'm quietly judging you." Great job by Cruise.

-William H. Macy's long rants in the bar. Just heartbreaking.

-John C. Reilly and Melora Walters on their date at the restaurant. "...would you object to never seeing me again?"

-Philip Seymour Hoffman administering the liquid morphine to Earl, crying all the way.

-Cruise's bedside scene, of course. If you can watch that entire scene without getting a knot in your throat or stomach, then I'm impressed.

-William H. Macy's line near the end: "I really do have love to give. I just don't where to put it."

-Melora Walters falling into the arms of her mother as the frogs are falling.

And my very favorite part of the movie is the last second of it.

No matter how many times I see it, Melora Walter's smiling at the camera still melts my heart. It's so beautiful, I almost fell in love with the character right there.

God, I think I listed the entire movie.

So enough of my babbling. I'd love to hear someone else's opinions on the movie.

[You Make it Easy]

One of my fav films. I love the transitions bewteen the characters and scenes. Subtle background music throughout the whole movie sets the mood right. Unbelievable performances by all the actors. I think im going to go watch it now. I'll talk about it more later.

[silvermoon]

a brilliant film, for pure ambition it rivals anything made in 10-20 yrs (maybe more, but i'll restrain myself anyway). the best ensemble cast since glengarry glen ross / pulp fiction. and the world's biggest star puts in the best performance of his career and STILL doesnt steal the film. the 'magnolia sweep' over the characters has been borrowed by donnie darko to scrubs, the threading together of strands awe inspiring, but my personal favourite scene atm (havnt seen the film in ages) is the tracking shot following the quiz kid and his father through the studio. dazzling film, at times the operatic intensity is actually overwhelming

[You Make it Easy]

yah that whole scene following behind each person til it ends up at Jimmy's office has a very nice flow to it with the music. When I first saw it I had no idea what the movie was about but after the intro I knew I had to focus on the film. Needless to say 3 hours later I was stuck in my chair thinking for about 45-60 mins about the film and impact it had on me.

Also if you didnt know, that when "What do Kids Know" show starts you see in the stands a guy holding up a sign "Exodus 8:2"
For those who dont know Exodus 8:2 is
"If you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs."


Things fall down. People look up. And when it rains, it pours

[Guest]

just watched crash, in many ways its like magnolia in that it depicts a disparate group of individuals all just out of reach of each other, but bringing racial issues to the forefront. very good movie, its like a mix between magnolia (superficially because of the number of story strands spun together) and lost in translation for the mood of isolation

[Just Like Honey...]

I didn't read any of this thread yet, for the sole chance of running into a spoiler, but I have to say that I have been trying to see this movie for about a week now but I simply cannot find it.. anywhere!

It's not that uncommon, is it?

[sw25]

Just Like Honey, make sure not to read my post, as I do spoil a good deal of it.

Yeah, it's pretty common. You can rent it at any Blockbuster or other chain, and I would even suggest a blind-buy of the double-disc DVD.

[You Make it Easy]

Best Buy is where I got the DVD.

[lemoncupcake]

-Melora Walters falling into the arms of her mother as the frogs are falling.

I love Melora! I think she's one of the most under rated actresses ever.