Magnolia is a fantastic ensemble film by wunderkind Paul Thomas Anderson. Featuring a host of actors- all somehow interconnected in the vast brawl of Los Angeles . Featuring a top notch cast and an inspiration directly lifted from Robert Altman's many movies (especially perhaps shortcuts) Magnolia is an art film masquerading as a mainstream feature courtesy Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, William H Macy and a few others. This is a must watch for any cinema lover.

Well, good morning. Music is tremendous, camera-movement is tremendous, the acting is tremendous and the plot itself is tremendous. But, it just dosen't work out. Really, for me it was one of the most cruel, psychotic, sad and arrogant movies i've ever watched.But was keeps me alive and emotional, is Tom Cruise or Frank Mackey, sitting by his fathers bed, and acting the living hell out of the movie. He saved it from letting me give it a 3 star rating.Then, there was John Reilly or Officer Jim Kurring crying while it's raining, because he can't find his gun. He lost the gun. It hurt him. He acted with heart throughout that scene, that us, the viewers, couldn't stop caring for him, and that performance alone, made me give the movie a 5-star rating.

For all its in-the-moment emotional impact and bursts of odd, intercut-driven tension, 'Magnolia (1999)' ultimately amounts to very little, even within its own individual stories. It avoids the usual narrative satisfactions under the guise of them being clichés - as opposed to tried-and-tested storytelling techniques - and tries its best to utilise coincidence in an apparently true-to-life way it's determined has not been done before - despite the fact that such coincidences are still clearly crafted to fit a preconceived plot and, therefore, should provide at least some narrative catharsis. As such, the flick almost feels like a waste of the enormous and, as Anderson himself puts it, unmerciful three-hours and eight minutes of your time it takes up. Yet, it does take up those minutes rather amicably, in the sense that the time sort of flies (to an extent) and you do become quite invested in some of the the intertwining tales you're being told, despite the fact that it's all so melodramatic and essentially one-note that it can be hard to take seriously even when it should be at its best - something which isn't helped by the in-your-face and often out-of-place music. The picture also constantly builds to a climax that never really comes, despite the big and all-encompassing event that tail-ends its third act. If it didn't seem like it was telling you how to feel all the time, it would have worked much better. 7/10

"Be kind. For everyone you encounter is fighting a hard battle." - SocratesThis movie was an excellent reminder of how everyone can become so self-centered that individuals do not realize wars that are consistently being fought by other individuals. It's not a war between two or more individuals, it's a war with the individual's own nervous system. Anyone who needs a good dose of reality should watch this movie.