![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Movie Review--Magnolia
Jun. 7th, 2006 08:17 pmIt fucking rains frogs!!
Like--it's--like a fucking downpour! Of FROGS! Frog rain! Like, shitloads of them! Raining frogs! Completely randomly!!! And they just fucking pour down! It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen!!
*ahem*
Alright, so this was another movie on my list that I don't know why it was there. I randomly put it there somewhere along the line and forgot about why.
In any case, this movie is about a whole bunch of different people whose lives are intertwined by chance and circumstance. It follows the day of each of these people, shows their troubles and what their lives are like, and how they're all connected, though most of them don't even know each other.
There's a lonely police officer, a young woman who's a coke addict who he meets, an older guy, her father, who is a game show host and is dying of cancer and the two have been estranged for a long time. Then there's a boy who is on the game show--it's called "What Kids Know," and another guy who was at one time on the same show. Then there's a self-help guru for guys and preaches that men have to take charge and not be controlled by women; meanwhile, his father is also dying of cancer and is bedridden, his younger wife is seriously messed up and depressed, and his live-in nurse (a guy) is trying to fulfill the man's last wish, to meet his estranged son again.
If you followed that whole thing, you're doing pretty well.
The movie opens with some narrator examining three cases of chance and coincidence and how it can't all be chance and coincidence. You watch the three cases and it's like, what the hell is going on? But at the same time it's one of the greatest openings to a movie ever.
In any case, despite there being so many characters, the movie does a perfect job of jumping back and forth between them all, and each character comes out well-rounded. As the movie progresses it gets easier to figure out who's who, what's going on and how everyone is connected.
It's kind of a hard movie to explain without going into detail about each of the characters, which would take up a lot of space. But it's a very existential film, and handles all these different storylines perfectly. There's this really awesome scene where each character is singing the same song at the same time. And their paths cross from time to time and it all just works so well. Plus the soundtrack is great.
But honestly. With just that, it would have been simply a great movie. If it had just been about these people, it would have been awesome, but not liek woah, you know? But then, suddenly--
It starts raining frogs.
The cop is driving home and suddenly two large somethings hit his windshield. He stops and looks out and you realize they're frogs. A few more drop down out of the sky, so the cop sticks his head out the window and looks up. And he sees frogs suddenly come pouring out of the sky. I mean pouring. Like think of the worst downpour you've ever seen, except frogs. Each character notices the fact that it's fucking raining frogs, and the rain of frogs serves as kind of a climax to the movie, when things come out, things are resolved, and last paths finally cross.
But--but--but--I mean--it's raining frogs!!!!
Okay, honestly. Even without the rain of frogs, this is a really awesome movie. But with the rain of frogs--honestly, this movie just made my top twenty list. Seriously. How can you not like a movie where it freaking rains frogs?!?!
9 out of 10.
Like--it's--like a fucking downpour! Of FROGS! Frog rain! Like, shitloads of them! Raining frogs! Completely randomly!!! And they just fucking pour down! It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen!!
*ahem*
Alright, so this was another movie on my list that I don't know why it was there. I randomly put it there somewhere along the line and forgot about why.
In any case, this movie is about a whole bunch of different people whose lives are intertwined by chance and circumstance. It follows the day of each of these people, shows their troubles and what their lives are like, and how they're all connected, though most of them don't even know each other.
There's a lonely police officer, a young woman who's a coke addict who he meets, an older guy, her father, who is a game show host and is dying of cancer and the two have been estranged for a long time. Then there's a boy who is on the game show--it's called "What Kids Know," and another guy who was at one time on the same show. Then there's a self-help guru for guys and preaches that men have to take charge and not be controlled by women; meanwhile, his father is also dying of cancer and is bedridden, his younger wife is seriously messed up and depressed, and his live-in nurse (a guy) is trying to fulfill the man's last wish, to meet his estranged son again.
If you followed that whole thing, you're doing pretty well.
The movie opens with some narrator examining three cases of chance and coincidence and how it can't all be chance and coincidence. You watch the three cases and it's like, what the hell is going on? But at the same time it's one of the greatest openings to a movie ever.
In any case, despite there being so many characters, the movie does a perfect job of jumping back and forth between them all, and each character comes out well-rounded. As the movie progresses it gets easier to figure out who's who, what's going on and how everyone is connected.
It's kind of a hard movie to explain without going into detail about each of the characters, which would take up a lot of space. But it's a very existential film, and handles all these different storylines perfectly. There's this really awesome scene where each character is singing the same song at the same time. And their paths cross from time to time and it all just works so well. Plus the soundtrack is great.
But honestly. With just that, it would have been simply a great movie. If it had just been about these people, it would have been awesome, but not liek woah, you know? But then, suddenly--
It starts raining frogs.
The cop is driving home and suddenly two large somethings hit his windshield. He stops and looks out and you realize they're frogs. A few more drop down out of the sky, so the cop sticks his head out the window and looks up. And he sees frogs suddenly come pouring out of the sky. I mean pouring. Like think of the worst downpour you've ever seen, except frogs. Each character notices the fact that it's fucking raining frogs, and the rain of frogs serves as kind of a climax to the movie, when things come out, things are resolved, and last paths finally cross.
But--but--but--I mean--it's raining frogs!!!!
Okay, honestly. Even without the rain of frogs, this is a really awesome movie. But with the rain of frogs--honestly, this movie just made my top twenty list. Seriously. How can you not like a movie where it freaking rains frogs?!?!
9 out of 10.
