stdP
One Swiss dinosaur in Polly Gosling's anorak hood
Very much not crap; Paul Thomas Anderson's probably my favourite director but, much like this film, I can never quite put my finger on why I like him so much. He really does seem to have a special talent for teasing incredible performances out of almost anyone whilst (to me at least) never seeming too po-faced or taking himself too seriously. Clearly lots of people in the thread disagree 
He certainly seems very content to make films that don't make a strong point, or really go anywhere, or where the protagonists don't really learn any lessons, yet manages to expose the - often unlikeable - characters and their dreams and their flaws down to the marrow in the process. I find this all very beautiful.
Magonlia's a bit too much of a gut-punch for it to be a regular watch for me when I want something to unwind to but I've watched it four or five times over the year. By most of what I'll laughingly call my standards it should come across to me as manipulative saccharine schmaltz in a similar manner to some of Spielberg's more serious output, but for whatever reason, it doesn't. It's a bit like a Children's Film Foundation as directed by Haneke.
He certainly seems very content to make films that don't make a strong point, or really go anywhere, or where the protagonists don't really learn any lessons, yet manages to expose the - often unlikeable - characters and their dreams and their flaws down to the marrow in the process. I find this all very beautiful.Magonlia's a bit too much of a gut-punch for it to be a regular watch for me when I want something to unwind to but I've watched it four or five times over the year. By most of what I'll laughingly call my standards it should come across to me as manipulative saccharine schmaltz in a similar manner to some of Spielberg's more serious output, but for whatever reason, it doesn't. It's a bit like a Children's Film Foundation as directed by Haneke.
