All the thunderous music, slow-motion camera work and exploding lights get a little tiresome. Taken as a whole, this a pretty petty complaint when put up against all that is good in The Green Mile . Even though the Oscar-baiting gets incredibly tiring, this is one mile worth walking. If this movie wasn't such a rip-off of Robert Altman's superior Short Cuts , it would probably go down as one of my favorites of 1999. I really did savor most of the film, although it started dragging heavily in the third hour.
Magnolia is a slice of everyday life, with a small miracle or two, thrown in.
There is a scene right near the end of the movie that you will either love or hate, but will never forget. Paul Thomas Anderson doesn't quite match the greatness of his last film, Boogie Nights , but he comes damn close, and that's good enough. Unfortunately, Dumb and Dumber , this ain't. The jokes are recycled from past Farrelly movies, the plot is convoluted, uninteresting and completely unbelievable, and there are more intriguing romances happening right now behind the bleachers of your local high school. Gross can be funny, but only if there's something behind the crudity to make it work.