by pinback » Sun Jul 31, 2005 6:56 pm
I was sick all weekend, so I had a choice: Expand my cinematic horizons, or watch every non-Magnolia PTA movie all in a row.
Naturally, I chose the latter.
Here now are my feelings about the non-Magnolia PTA films:
Hard Eight/Sydney: Here is a movie where pretty much nothing happens except people smoking Camel Lights and drinking coffee, but you absolutely cannot turn away. Specifically, the first 30-45 minutes have such a tight screenplay, and such a brilliant actor in Philip Baker Hall running the show, that it never occurs to you that other things are happening in the universe. One the "plot" starts up, you almost wish it would stop, so we could watch the actors get back to work smoking, drinking coffee, and watching Hall kick ass at 35mm. PTA's first movie, and probably his "worst", but this is a laughable concept. Entertaining from start to finish, and an important debut for the greatest director of his generation. ****
Boogie Nights: I saw this movie when it first came out on videotape, and when I still thought that Paul Thomas Anderson was the porn actor "Paul Thomas" trying to branch out into legitimate cinema, and had this reaction: "This is a fucking amazing movie." I've seen it now four or five times, and every time, I have the same reaction. I know Magnolia is 3+ hours and I say it just flies by, but this one's over 2.5 hours, and it WARPS by. There is not a moment in this movie that isn't crackling with energy, and it's an energy so well harnessed that you just have to shake your head in wonderment and say "holy shit". The role all of the main characters should be most fondly remembered for -- Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, Marky Mark, Nina Hartley... And I will tell you this -- the "long way down" scene at Rahad Jackson's place, with the dude setting off firecrackers in the background, is one of the singularly most tension-filled, brilliantly conceived scenes in movie history. Like you'll always remember where you were when you first heard the Jaws theme, you'll always remember Night Ranger singin' "You're motorin'..." ****1/2
Punch-Drunk Love: Nobody agrees with me on this, but I think this is PTA's most flawless movie. It's only 80-some-odd minutes, so there's less time to screw up, but I think this is just pure fantasy, without a misstep, and with several quiet, lovely brilliances, from start to finish. I love this movie a lot. Nobody else does, but that's because you're stupid and wrong. This is movie magic. This is art. This is awesome. Only problem I may have with it is that the Emily Watsons of the world never actually go out with the Adam Sandlers of the world. But like I said, it's fantasy. *****
BONUS FUN PTA FAX: DID YOU KNOW?
...in Sydney/Hard Eight, Jimmy mentions to Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) that he knows his old buddies, "Floyd Gondolli and Jimmy Gator". Philip Baker Hall went on to play Floyd Gondolli in Boogie Nights, and Jimmy Gator in Magnolia?
...Ernie Anderson, PTA's late father, gained fame as an ABC announcer for his pronunciation of "The Looooooove Boat!"?
...Though many actors were involved in three PTA films (John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Philip Baker Hall, Luis Guzman), only Philip Seymour Hoffman found a place in all four?
...PTA's next movie (titled either "Oil!" or "There Will Be Blood") will be his first adapted from other source material?
...You don't like PTA movies, and therefore you suck?
I was sick all weekend, so I had a choice: Expand my cinematic horizons, or watch every non-Magnolia PTA movie all in a row.
Naturally, I chose the latter.
Here now are my feelings about the non-Magnolia PTA films:
Hard Eight/Sydney: Here is a movie where pretty much nothing happens except people smoking Camel Lights and drinking coffee, but you absolutely cannot turn away. Specifically, the first 30-45 minutes have such a tight screenplay, and such a brilliant actor in Philip Baker Hall running the show, that it never occurs to you that other things are happening in the universe. One the "plot" starts up, you almost wish it would stop, so we could watch the actors get back to work smoking, drinking coffee, and watching Hall kick ass at 35mm. PTA's first movie, and probably his "worst", but this is a laughable concept. Entertaining from start to finish, and an important debut for the greatest director of his generation. ****
Boogie Nights: I saw this movie when it first came out on videotape, and when I still thought that Paul Thomas Anderson was the porn actor "Paul Thomas" trying to branch out into legitimate cinema, and had this reaction: "This is a fucking amazing movie." I've seen it now four or five times, and every time, I have the same reaction. I know Magnolia is 3+ hours and I say it just flies by, but this one's over 2.5 hours, and it WARPS by. There is not a moment in this movie that isn't [i]crackling[/i] with energy, and it's an energy so well harnessed that you just have to shake your head in wonderment and say "holy shit". The role all of the main characters should be most fondly remembered for -- Burt Reynolds, Heather Graham, Marky Mark, Nina Hartley... And I will tell you this -- the "long way down" scene at Rahad Jackson's place, with the dude setting off firecrackers in the background, is one of the singularly most tension-filled, brilliantly conceived scenes in movie history. Like you'll always remember where you were when you first heard the Jaws theme, you'll always remember Night Ranger singin' "You're motorin'..." ****1/2
Punch-Drunk Love: Nobody agrees with me on this, but I think this is PTA's most [i]flawless[/i] movie. It's only 80-some-odd minutes, so there's less time to screw up, but I think this is just pure fantasy, without a misstep, and with several quiet, lovely brilliances, from start to finish. I love this movie a lot. Nobody else does, but that's because you're stupid and wrong. This is movie magic. This is art. This is awesome. Only problem I may have with it is that the Emily Watsons of the world never actually go out with the Adam Sandlers of the world. But like I said, it's fantasy. *****
[b]BONUS FUN PTA FAX[/b]: [i]DID YOU KNOW?[/i]
...in Sydney/Hard Eight, Jimmy mentions to Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) that he knows his old buddies, "Floyd Gondolli and Jimmy Gator". Philip Baker Hall went on to play Floyd Gondolli in [i]Boogie Nights[/i], and Jimmy Gator in [i]Magnolia[/i]?
...Ernie Anderson, PTA's late father, gained fame as an ABC announcer for his pronunciation of "The Looooooove Boat!"?
...Though many actors were involved in three PTA films (John C. Reilly, Melora Walters, Philip Baker Hall, Luis Guzman), only Philip Seymour Hoffman found a place in all four?
...PTA's next movie (titled either "Oil!" or "There Will Be Blood") will be his first adapted from other source material?
...You don't like PTA movies, and therefore you suck?