
Tom Cruise is the man who sprints full speed in every movie. He clings to planes, jumps off cliffs, and does things most action stars wouldn’t dream of. For years, he’s been Hollywood’s adrenaline junkie, the human embodiment of ‘go big or go home.’
But before he became the action star, he was actually chasing something else: serious acting cred. And honestly? The actor nailed it. Back in the late ’90s, Cruise wasn’t just doing blockbuster stunts. He was taking real, emotional risks. And in Magnolia (1999), he gave a performance so raw, so gut-wrenching, that it should’ve guaranteed him an Oscar.
Instead, he got nominated, clapped politely when someone else won, and walked away without that golden statue. A crime, honestly. Now, Magnolia isn’t your typical Tom Cruise flick with a run-chase, explosions, and saving the world. It’s a chaotic, messy, and weirdly...
But before he became the action star, he was actually chasing something else: serious acting cred. And honestly? The actor nailed it. Back in the late ’90s, Cruise wasn’t just doing blockbuster stunts. He was taking real, emotional risks. And in Magnolia (1999), he gave a performance so raw, so gut-wrenching, that it should’ve guaranteed him an Oscar.
Instead, he got nominated, clapped politely when someone else won, and walked away without that golden statue. A crime, honestly. Now, Magnolia isn’t your typical Tom Cruise flick with a run-chase, explosions, and saving the world. It’s a chaotic, messy, and weirdly...
- 1/31/2025
- by Shreya Jha
- FandomWire

Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost share a connection through actors appearing in both iconic shows. Both series feature characters navigating strange occurrences and mysterious phenomena in their respective universes. From renowned guest stars to memorable roles, these actors brought their talent to both Tng and Lost.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost may not seem to have much in common beyond being science fiction television shows, but several actors appeared in both shows. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-d, Tng picked up about a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Although Tng got off to a bit of a rocky start in its first two seasons, it would go on to produce some of the best science fiction television of all time. Over the course of seven seasons, the Enterprise-d explored the galaxy, encountering numerous strange aliens and unexplainable anomalies.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and Lost may not seem to have much in common beyond being science fiction television shows, but several actors appeared in both shows. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-d, Tng picked up about a century after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. Although Tng got off to a bit of a rocky start in its first two seasons, it would go on to produce some of the best science fiction television of all time. Over the course of seven seasons, the Enterprise-d explored the galaxy, encountering numerous strange aliens and unexplainable anomalies.
- 3/15/2024
- by Rachel Hulshult
- ScreenRant

Francis Lawrence is giving an update on the development of Constantine 2 with Keanu Reeves and things are seemingly moving along.
The sequel to the 2005 superhero horror film was stalled due to the writers strike but with writers back at work, Lawrence has been in meetings with Reeves to continue the saga.
“So Constantine 2 got obviously held up by the writers strike,” Lawrence told Gamespot. “And we had to jump through a bunch of hurdles to get control of the character again, because other people had control of the Vertigo stuff. We have control.”
Lawrence continued, “Keanu and Akiva Goldsman and I have been in meetings and have been hashing out what we think the story is going to be, and there’s more meetings of those that have to happen–the script has to be written–but really hoping that we get to do Constantine 2, and make...
The sequel to the 2005 superhero horror film was stalled due to the writers strike but with writers back at work, Lawrence has been in meetings with Reeves to continue the saga.
“So Constantine 2 got obviously held up by the writers strike,” Lawrence told Gamespot. “And we had to jump through a bunch of hurdles to get control of the character again, because other people had control of the Vertigo stuff. We have control.”
Lawrence continued, “Keanu and Akiva Goldsman and I have been in meetings and have been hashing out what we think the story is going to be, and there’s more meetings of those that have to happen–the script has to be written–but really hoping that we get to do Constantine 2, and make...
- 10/31/2023
- by Armando Tinoco
- Deadline Film + TV

In 2008's "The Dark Knight," Heath Ledger's Joker preached that the people in charge of Gotham City shouldn't be afraid to "introduce a little anarchy" into their world. The citizens didn't that time around, but it's a sentiment that Joaquin Phoenix's sad-sack villain seemed to take to heart for the next iteration of the character, in Todd Phillips' polarizing 2019 film "Joker." Phoenix's take on the Clown Prince of Crime is a far cry from anything DC fans had seen on screen before, as Phillips made the movie by pulling as much from the works of Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese as he did from the superhero comics oeuvre.
With an R-rating, a Venice Film Festival release, and the promise of a standalone story, "Joker" arrived on the scene with a veneer of unusual prestige for a comic book movie. It also immediately divided fans and audiences, thanks in...
With an R-rating, a Venice Film Festival release, and the promise of a standalone story, "Joker" arrived on the scene with a veneer of unusual prestige for a comic book movie. It also immediately divided fans and audiences, thanks in...
- 9/19/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film


Shaun seeks advice from his colleagues on handling marital problems on ABC’s The Good Doctor season six episode three. Directed by Rebecca Moline from a script by Liz Friedman and Jessica Grasl, episode three – “A Big Sign” – will air on Monday, October 17, 2022 at 10pm Et/Pt.
Season six stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Hill Harper plays Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff is Dr. Aaron Glassman, and Will Yun Lee is Dr. Alex Park. Paige Spara stars as Lea Dilallo, Christina Chang is Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann plays Dr. Morgan Reznick, Bria Henderson is Dr. Jordan Allen, and Noah Galvin is Dr. Asher Wolke.
“A Big Sign” Plot: The team treats a famous marriage counselor after she injures her ankle from falling, but when she offers relationship advice to them, Dr. Morgan Reznick quickly spots that their patient might be experiencing something far more serious. Meanwhile, Dr.
Season six stars Freddie Highmore as Dr. Shaun Murphy, Hill Harper plays Dr. Marcus Andrews, Richard Schiff is Dr. Aaron Glassman, and Will Yun Lee is Dr. Alex Park. Paige Spara stars as Lea Dilallo, Christina Chang is Dr. Audrey Lim, Fiona Gubelmann plays Dr. Morgan Reznick, Bria Henderson is Dr. Jordan Allen, and Noah Galvin is Dr. Asher Wolke.
“A Big Sign” Plot: The team treats a famous marriage counselor after she injures her ankle from falling, but when she offers relationship advice to them, Dr. Morgan Reznick quickly spots that their patient might be experiencing something far more serious. Meanwhile, Dr.
- 10/11/2022
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies


Click here to read the full article.
Singer-songwriter Eric Nam will make his acting debut in Transplant, the new feature from Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi’s Significant Productions (Fruitvale Station, Sorry to Bother You).
Nam, an Atlanta native who built a successful career in the Korean entertainment industry as a solo artist and host before returning stateside in recent years, stars as Jonah Yoon, a top surgical resident at an elite hospital with a punishing drive to succeed under the training of Dr. Edward Harmon, a renowned heart transplant surgeon obsessed with maintaining his reputation of perfection. SAG nominee Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit) plays Harmon, and Michelle Okkyung Lee, April Grace and Adam Arkin co-star.
Whitaker and Bongiovi are producing alongside Jason Park, making his directorial debut on a screenplay he co-wrote with David J. Lee. Transplant, which recently wrapped production in Los Angeles, is co-financed by...
Singer-songwriter Eric Nam will make his acting debut in Transplant, the new feature from Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi’s Significant Productions (Fruitvale Station, Sorry to Bother You).
Nam, an Atlanta native who built a successful career in the Korean entertainment industry as a solo artist and host before returning stateside in recent years, stars as Jonah Yoon, a top surgical resident at an elite hospital with a punishing drive to succeed under the training of Dr. Edward Harmon, a renowned heart transplant surgeon obsessed with maintaining his reputation of perfection. SAG nominee Bill Camp (The Queen’s Gambit) plays Harmon, and Michelle Okkyung Lee, April Grace and Adam Arkin co-star.
Whitaker and Bongiovi are producing alongside Jason Park, making his directorial debut on a screenplay he co-wrote with David J. Lee. Transplant, which recently wrapped production in Los Angeles, is co-financed by...
- 8/16/2022
- by Rebecca Sun
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News

Todd Phillips has talked a lot about the controversies surrounding “Joker” — whether the movie condones or condemns its anti-hero, if it could actually inspire real-life violence — but has yet to address the movie’s complex racial connotations, especially when it comes to the way black women are portrayed in relation to Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck.
In Hollywood, women still lag behind men in terms of on-screen visibility, and it’s significantly worse for women of color, as the most recent USC Annenberg diversity and inclusion study shows. Only 33.1% of roles in the 100 top movies of 2018 went to female characters; of those, just 11% went to underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, of which black women are included.
“Joker” at least deserves some credit on this front: It bucks that trend. Most women who interact with the white male lead happen to be black, and none are stereotypes or historically stock characters.
In Hollywood, women still lag behind men in terms of on-screen visibility, and it’s significantly worse for women of color, as the most recent USC Annenberg diversity and inclusion study shows. Only 33.1% of roles in the 100 top movies of 2018 went to female characters; of those, just 11% went to underrepresented racial or ethnic groups, of which black women are included.
“Joker” at least deserves some credit on this front: It bucks that trend. Most women who interact with the white male lead happen to be black, and none are stereotypes or historically stock characters.
- 10/19/2019
- by Tambay Obenson
- Indiewire
"You cannot, you will not, deny our children their right to learn." Vertical Entertainment has unveiled an official trailer for a drama titled Miss Virginia, which is hitting theaters in October this year. The film is based on a true story, about a struggling inner-city mother named Miss Virginia who sacrifices everything to give her son a good education. Unwilling to allow her son to stay in a dangerous school, so she decides to launch a grassroots political movement that could save his future - and thousands like him - by helping him get access to private schools. Uzo Aduba (from "Orange Is the New Black") stars, with Matthew Modine, Vanessa Williams, Adina Porter, Aunjanue Ellis, Amirah Vann, Samantha Sloyan, Nadji Jeter, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, and April Grace. This looks incredibly powerful, which is totally the point. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for R.J. Daniel Hanna's Miss Virginia, direct...
- 8/31/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net


When Jacob Aaron Estes’ latest film — and his first since the unmitigated disaster that was the Tobey Maguire-starring “The Details,” from 2011 — debuted at Sundance this past January, it was under the slightly video-game-esque title “Relive,” a wink at the unexpected nature of its time-traveling drama. Now the film, starring David Oyelowo and “Wrinkle in Time” breakout Storm Reid, has a new title and a chilling first trailer to help sell it.
The film is now known as “Don’t Let Go,” which speaks to another facet of its drama, a canny riff on time travel tropes. Per the film’s official synopsis, it follows “detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo) [who] gets a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen.” The film also stars Mykelti Williamson, Brian Tyree Henry, Shinelle Azoroh, Byron Mann, April Grace, and Alfred Molina.
The film is now known as “Don’t Let Go,” which speaks to another facet of its drama, a canny riff on time travel tropes. Per the film’s official synopsis, it follows “detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo) [who] gets a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen.” The film also stars Mykelti Williamson, Brian Tyree Henry, Shinelle Azoroh, Byron Mann, April Grace, and Alfred Molina.
- 7/16/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire


In the new thriller “Don’t Let Go,” David Oyelowo plays a cop who gets a second chance to save his murdered niece, played by Storm Reid — when she calls him on the phone.
And in a brand new trailer for the film, which originally premiered at Sundance under the title “Relive,” we see how the two of them must work together from the present and the past to save her life — and her family.
“Believe it or not, I’m sitting right here, two weeks in the future,” Oyelowo says. “But as long as you’re alive, you can change things.”
Also Read: Storm Reid Eyed to Play Idris Elba's Daughter in 'Suicide Squad' Sequel (Exclusive)
From Blumhouse Tilt, Universal Otl Releasing and Briarcliff Entertainment, the film hits theaters Aug. 30. Jacob Estes wrote and directed “Don’t Let Go,” and Estes developed the story with Drew Daywalt.
And in a brand new trailer for the film, which originally premiered at Sundance under the title “Relive,” we see how the two of them must work together from the present and the past to save her life — and her family.
“Believe it or not, I’m sitting right here, two weeks in the future,” Oyelowo says. “But as long as you’re alive, you can change things.”
Also Read: Storm Reid Eyed to Play Idris Elba's Daughter in 'Suicide Squad' Sequel (Exclusive)
From Blumhouse Tilt, Universal Otl Releasing and Briarcliff Entertainment, the film hits theaters Aug. 30. Jacob Estes wrote and directed “Don’t Let Go,” and Estes developed the story with Drew Daywalt.
- 7/16/2019
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Don't Let Go, the new, supernatural thriller, which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival under the title Relive , will be released theatrically by Blumhouse Tilt and Universal's Otl Releasing and Briarcliff Entertainment, on August 30, 2019.
Directed by Jacob Aaron Estes (Mean Creek), with the screenplay by Estes and story by Estes and Drew Daywalt, the film stars David Oyelowo, Storm Reid , Mykelti Williamson, Brian Tyree Henry, Shinelle Azoroh (Code Black), Byron Mann (The Expanse) , April Grace (Sneaky Pete) and Alfred Molina .
In Don't Let Go, detective Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo) gets a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Storm Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen. Said Jason Blum.
"We have been so passionate about Don't Let Go and the work that Jacob Estes, David Oyelowo and the incredible cast have guided on-screen, and through Blumhouse Tilt we are able...
Directed by Jacob Aaron Estes (Mean Creek), with the screenplay by Estes and story by Estes and Drew Daywalt, the film stars David Oyelowo, Storm Reid , Mykelti Williamson, Brian Tyree Henry, Shinelle Azoroh (Code Black), Byron Mann (The Expanse) , April Grace (Sneaky Pete) and Alfred Molina .
In Don't Let Go, detective Jack Radcliff (David Oyelowo) gets a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Storm Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen. Said Jason Blum.
"We have been so passionate about Don't Let Go and the work that Jacob Estes, David Oyelowo and the incredible cast have guided on-screen, and through Blumhouse Tilt we are able...
- 7/10/2019
- by B. Alan Orange
- MovieWeb
Exclusive: Jacob Aaron Estes’ supernatural thriller Don’t Let Go will be released theatrically by Blumhouse Tilt, Universal’s Otl Releasing and Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment on August 30.
The pic, which stars David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Mykelti Williamson and Brian Tyree Henry, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January under the title Relive. In Don’t Let Go, detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo) receives a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen. Estes, who made his feature directorial debut with 2004’s Mean Creek, wrote the screenplay off a story he co-penned with Drew Daywalt. Shinelle Azoroh, Byron Mann, April Grace and Alfred Molina also star.
“Don’t Let Go is a gripping supernatural thriller and we are happy to be partnering on its release with our friends at Universal and Blumhouse. Jacob Estes...
The pic, which stars David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Mykelti Williamson and Brian Tyree Henry, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January under the title Relive. In Don’t Let Go, detective Jack Radcliff (Oyelowo) receives a shocking phone call from his recently-murdered niece Ashley (Reid). Working together across time, they race to solve her murder before it can happen. Estes, who made his feature directorial debut with 2004’s Mean Creek, wrote the screenplay off a story he co-penned with Drew Daywalt. Shinelle Azoroh, Byron Mann, April Grace and Alfred Molina also star.
“Don’t Let Go is a gripping supernatural thriller and we are happy to be partnering on its release with our friends at Universal and Blumhouse. Jacob Estes...
- 7/10/2019
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV


There’s a case to be made that Tom Cruise is a compelling screen presence when he looks desperate. Much evidence for this claim was gathered in his millennial run – 1999’s “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Magnolia,” 2001’s “Vanilla Sky” – in which varyingly forceful writer-directors did their level best to chip away at their star’s glib toothpaste-salesman confidence and expose the very human doubts and frailties behind it. After those box-office failures, Cruise retreated to the surety of known properties and franchises; though we got glimpses of other Cruises – notably the Comic Cruise of “Tropic Thunder” – this was his fall-back position up until the disastrous “The Mummy.” It’s possible that audiences had grown tired of watching a performer playing it so consistently safe: as Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson had twigged, it’s always more revealing watching a control freak losing control.
“American Made” isn’t a major breakthrough,...
“American Made” isn’t a major breakthrough,...
- 8/17/2017
- by Mike McCahill
- Indiewire
April Grace has joined the ensemble cast of Epix’s Berlin Station, the 10-episode contemporary spy tale that is premium service's first drama series. It centers on a newly anointed case officer (Richard Armitage) who has arrived at the CIA foreign station in Berlin. He has a clandestine mission: to uncover the source of a leak who has supplied information to a now-famous whistleblower named "Thomas Shaw." Grace will play Jemma Moore, the sharp-elbowed Deputy Director of…...
- 11/19/2015
- Deadline TV
Even though (Spoiler Alert) both Will Smith and his dog died during the epic climax of I Am Legend, Warner Bros. was desperate to get a sequel off the ground due to the movie's overwhelming success. And they went to some pretty insane lengths to justify a story. Sadly, I Am Legend 2 never got off the ground and languished in development Hell for a long period before all involved walked away empty handed. Now, writer/producer Akiva Goldsman has revealed what some of those crazy ideas were.
Akiva Goldsman is out promoting his directorial feature Winter's Tale, which is in theaters this week just in time for Valentine's Day, and he was happy to share some of his failed script ideas for I Am Legend 2 with io9.
Here, he explains how they wrote both a prequel, which involves the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a sequel. He also mentions a Dark Seeker Elephant,...
Akiva Goldsman is out promoting his directorial feature Winter's Tale, which is in theaters this week just in time for Valentine's Day, and he was happy to share some of his failed script ideas for I Am Legend 2 with io9.
Here, he explains how they wrote both a prequel, which involves the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a sequel. He also mentions a Dark Seeker Elephant,...
- 2/12/2014
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
Us soldiers ambush some enemy fighters in Afghanistan and one surrenders claiming to be American. Emily (Hayley McFarland) buys a Christmas tree for the Christmas party Cal (Tim Roth) will throw his staff and Gillian (Kelli Williams) agrees. Emily then introduces Cal to Rick (Carter Jenkins). Cal and Gillian meet with Lennox (April Grace) who works for the President regarding the detainee. Cal via satellite link asks the prisoner, Franco, (Michael Goorjian) some questions. He claims to know the location of two missing marines. He was an aid worker and his life was saved by the Taliban so he became one too. Cal can't have Franco brought here - he's needed to ensure the rescue of the missing two but Cal must go to him, which appeared to be his worst nightmare. Emily gets him to pick his Secret Santa and the expression on his face shows it's Eli (Brendan Hines...
- 2/24/2012
- by mhasan@corp.popstar.com (Mila Hasan)
- PopStar


Neal H. Moritz, founder of Original Film and producer of such high-profile forthcoming motion pictures as Battle: Los Angeles and Fast Five, has extended his first-look development and production pact with Columbia Pictures for three more years, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures. The extension of Neal H. Moritz's deal comes 18 months before his current deal was set to expire and continues a successful partnership and collaboration with Sony, the studio that has been his home since he produced I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997.
"We have been working together with Neal H. Moritz for nearly 15 years and over that time, we have partnered with him and his team on more than 20 films, most recently with The Green Hornet and Battle: Los Angeles," Doug Belgrad said. "He is simply one of the best and most prolific producers in the business. He knows...
"We have been working together with Neal H. Moritz for nearly 15 years and over that time, we have partnered with him and his team on more than 20 films, most recently with The Green Hornet and Battle: Los Angeles," Doug Belgrad said. "He is simply one of the best and most prolific producers in the business. He knows...
- 3/9/2011
- by MovieWeb
- MovieWeb
Paul Thomas Anderson created a thing of beauty with Magnolia. Stringing together the lives of many individuals into a portrait of loneliness, Magnolia uses multiple narratives to expose that empty space inside each and every one of us. It doesn’t matter if you’re speaking to an auditorium filled with chauvinistic men eager to learn secrets to scoring more sex or working a solitary beat as a California police officer, you can still feel alone. Having both written and directed this requiem for the human condition, Anderson takes aim at different personalities and how they intentionally or accidentally alienate themselves to nights spent alone. Whatever the angle of a unique character, chances are they mirror at least one or two others in the film. Chances are. With loneliness, chance is perhaps the greatest theme to be found in Magnolia.
Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise) teaches men to dominate women. Phil...
Frank Mackey (Tom Cruise) teaches men to dominate women. Phil...
- 1/18/2010
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net

Film review: 'Magnolia'

A masterful work of the cinematic arts or a self-indulgent day-in-our-lives concept movie?
Sharply dividing critics, Oscar hopeful "Magnolia" starts promisingly and continues to surprise throughout an inexcusably long running time, but it's a noble endeavor undone by the glaring shortcomings in filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson's ambitious vision of the here and now.
The New Line release has a strong Tom Cruise performance to fuel interest, along with the freaky climactic storm sequence, but too many other factors indicate a tepid boxoffice performance. Draining, but not in the unforgettably relevant and moving way intended, "Magnolia" asks a lot of an audience -- to witness the pain and frustration of dying parents, shattered children and other universally recognizable unfortunates.
For three hours, Anderson ("Boogie Nights") and an elephantine cast furiously -- almost belligerently -- tear apart a dozen major characters during one odd day and night in the baleful San Fernando Valley. Anderson's often potent skills as a filmmaker -- how he composes sequences and always seems firmly in control of the roving camera -- are undermined by his uneven accomplishments as a dramatist.
The film is strongest in the first half, before the various story lines all reach the crisis point seemingly at the same time, with Anderson unleashing the performers in an admittedly unique crescendo of communal misery and climatic redemption. The ending's a heck of a thing to behold, for sure. Similarly, "Magnolia"'s memorable prologue sets up the theme of weird coincidence in everyday life that helps explain the one-of-a-kind climax with its incredible deluge of frogs.
But before the bittersweetly upbeat closing song -- the film's most daring moment, with the diverse characters all joining in -- there is much drama to work through, starting with dying Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), his devastated young wife, Linda (Julianne Moore) and sloppy male nurse Phil Philip Seymour Hoffman). Earl's fervent wish is to see his estranged son one last time. Frank Mackey (Cruise), a burningly macho giver of seminars on how to seduce women, is that son. It becomes Phil's self-appointed mission to track him down, while Linda suffers a self-imposed living damnation when she realizes she truly loves Earl.
Successful game show producer and host Jimmy Gator Philip Baker Hall) is another bad father whose days are numbered, and his past misdeeds come back to almost destroy him. His wife, Rose (Melinda Dillon), is committed to standing by him, but their daughter Claudia (Melora Walters) is a wispy coke addict who screams at Jimmy when he confronts her with the news of his terminal illness. A lost soul if there ever was one, Rose is later gently approached romantically by upright policeman Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) when he's summoned by neighbors because her stereo is playing too loud.
Jimmy Gator's long-running hit show is called "What Do Kids Know?" and another major plot line follows the taping of what could be his last appearance. Pitting brainy kids against adults in teams, the star performer this day is young Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), whose actor father Rick (Michael Bowen) has pushed him hard. Headed for an unusually cruel form of public humiliation, which not even his father comforts him over, Stanley is in danger of becoming another Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), a former quiz show star who steadily unravels over the course of the movie.
Using several original songs by Aimee Mann, Anderson weaves a complex group portrait that becomes so singularly downbeat that only a magical-but-real plot device like the earthquake in "Short Cuts" can jar things back into place, emotionally as well as intellectually. Meanwhile, practically every character is carried to the edge of the proverbial waterfall and then goes over, resulting in a mosaic of actors trying to bare their souls in confessional monologues and hair-raising epiphanies of many varieties.
Not all the characters or situations are believable, but Anderson's biggest misstep is the redundant approach of the material. Just The Partridge Family story would have made a dandy movie. Viewers who get into the film's groove do have many showstopping scenes by Cruise, Robards, newcomer Blackman and Moore to savor. April Grace, as a polite but persistent news reporter, is an excellent foil for Cruise in their many charged scenes together.
MAGNOLIA
New Line Cinema
A Joanne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Co. production
Writer-director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Joanne Sellar
Executive producers: Michael De Luca, Lynn Harris
Director of photography: Robert Elswit
Production designers: William Arnold, Mark Bridges
Editor: Dylan Tichenor
Costume designer: Mark Bridges
Music: Jon Brion
Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Earl Partridge: Jason Robards
Linda Partridge: Julianne Moore
Frank Mackey: Tom Cruise
Stanley Spector: Jeremy Blackman
Rick Spector: Michael Bowen
Donnie Smith: William.H. Macy
Jimmy Gator: Philip Baker Hall
Rose Gator: Melinda Dillon
Claudia Wilson Gator: Melora Walters
Officer Jim Kurring: John C. Reilly
Phil Parma: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Gwenovier: April Grace
Running time -- 188 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Sharply dividing critics, Oscar hopeful "Magnolia" starts promisingly and continues to surprise throughout an inexcusably long running time, but it's a noble endeavor undone by the glaring shortcomings in filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson's ambitious vision of the here and now.
The New Line release has a strong Tom Cruise performance to fuel interest, along with the freaky climactic storm sequence, but too many other factors indicate a tepid boxoffice performance. Draining, but not in the unforgettably relevant and moving way intended, "Magnolia" asks a lot of an audience -- to witness the pain and frustration of dying parents, shattered children and other universally recognizable unfortunates.
For three hours, Anderson ("Boogie Nights") and an elephantine cast furiously -- almost belligerently -- tear apart a dozen major characters during one odd day and night in the baleful San Fernando Valley. Anderson's often potent skills as a filmmaker -- how he composes sequences and always seems firmly in control of the roving camera -- are undermined by his uneven accomplishments as a dramatist.
The film is strongest in the first half, before the various story lines all reach the crisis point seemingly at the same time, with Anderson unleashing the performers in an admittedly unique crescendo of communal misery and climatic redemption. The ending's a heck of a thing to behold, for sure. Similarly, "Magnolia"'s memorable prologue sets up the theme of weird coincidence in everyday life that helps explain the one-of-a-kind climax with its incredible deluge of frogs.
But before the bittersweetly upbeat closing song -- the film's most daring moment, with the diverse characters all joining in -- there is much drama to work through, starting with dying Earl Partridge (Jason Robards), his devastated young wife, Linda (Julianne Moore) and sloppy male nurse Phil Philip Seymour Hoffman). Earl's fervent wish is to see his estranged son one last time. Frank Mackey (Cruise), a burningly macho giver of seminars on how to seduce women, is that son. It becomes Phil's self-appointed mission to track him down, while Linda suffers a self-imposed living damnation when she realizes she truly loves Earl.
Successful game show producer and host Jimmy Gator Philip Baker Hall) is another bad father whose days are numbered, and his past misdeeds come back to almost destroy him. His wife, Rose (Melinda Dillon), is committed to standing by him, but their daughter Claudia (Melora Walters) is a wispy coke addict who screams at Jimmy when he confronts her with the news of his terminal illness. A lost soul if there ever was one, Rose is later gently approached romantically by upright policeman Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly) when he's summoned by neighbors because her stereo is playing too loud.
Jimmy Gator's long-running hit show is called "What Do Kids Know?" and another major plot line follows the taping of what could be his last appearance. Pitting brainy kids against adults in teams, the star performer this day is young Stanley Spector (Jeremy Blackman), whose actor father Rick (Michael Bowen) has pushed him hard. Headed for an unusually cruel form of public humiliation, which not even his father comforts him over, Stanley is in danger of becoming another Donnie Smith (William H. Macy), a former quiz show star who steadily unravels over the course of the movie.
Using several original songs by Aimee Mann, Anderson weaves a complex group portrait that becomes so singularly downbeat that only a magical-but-real plot device like the earthquake in "Short Cuts" can jar things back into place, emotionally as well as intellectually. Meanwhile, practically every character is carried to the edge of the proverbial waterfall and then goes over, resulting in a mosaic of actors trying to bare their souls in confessional monologues and hair-raising epiphanies of many varieties.
Not all the characters or situations are believable, but Anderson's biggest misstep is the redundant approach of the material. Just The Partridge Family story would have made a dandy movie. Viewers who get into the film's groove do have many showstopping scenes by Cruise, Robards, newcomer Blackman and Moore to savor. April Grace, as a polite but persistent news reporter, is an excellent foil for Cruise in their many charged scenes together.
MAGNOLIA
New Line Cinema
A Joanne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Co. production
Writer-director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Joanne Sellar
Executive producers: Michael De Luca, Lynn Harris
Director of photography: Robert Elswit
Production designers: William Arnold, Mark Bridges
Editor: Dylan Tichenor
Costume designer: Mark Bridges
Music: Jon Brion
Casting: Cassandra Kulukundis
Color/stereo
Cast:
Earl Partridge: Jason Robards
Linda Partridge: Julianne Moore
Frank Mackey: Tom Cruise
Stanley Spector: Jeremy Blackman
Rick Spector: Michael Bowen
Donnie Smith: William.H. Macy
Jimmy Gator: Philip Baker Hall
Rose Gator: Melinda Dillon
Claudia Wilson Gator: Melora Walters
Officer Jim Kurring: John C. Reilly
Phil Parma: Philip Seymour Hoffman
Gwenovier: April Grace
Running time -- 188 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 12/10/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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