Category Archives: Thomas Jane

#8 Favorite Film, 1997 Films, Alfred Molina, Anne Fletcher, Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Heather Graham, Independent, Independent Drama, Joanna Gleason, John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Luis Guzman, Mark Wahlberg, Melora Walters, Nicole Ari Parker, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Ridgely, Thomas Jane, Top 10 Films, Top 100 Films, Top 25 Films, Top 250 Films, Top 50 Films, William H. Macy

Boogie Nights-1997

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Boogie Nights-1997

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds

Top 250 Films #8

Scott’s Review #312

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Reviewed December 31, 2015

Grade: A

Boogie Nights (1997) is a fantastic film about the pornography industry (The Golden Age of Porn) of the 1970s and 1980s, and does an excellent job of portraying the characters as human beings with feelings and emotions, rather than as nymphomaniacs or perverts.

They bond with one another as a family- a group of misfits striving to survive. This, and many other reasons, are why Boogie Nights is one of my all-time favorite films.

Written, produced, and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, 1999; There Will Be Blood, 2007; Inherent Vice, 2014), he is a master at exploring the underbelly of society and the flawed, desperate characters who inhabit it.

Boogie Nights is no different.

The dysfunctional family is the film’s central theme. Most of his characters are unhappy, but they are survivors who desperately seek a piece of happiness.

Many of the Boogie Nights cast also appear in Magnolia.

Mark Wahlberg (Eddie/Dirk Diggler), Burt Reynolds (Jack Horner), Julianne Moore (Maggie), Don Cheadle (Buck), William H. Macy (Little Bill), John C. Reilly (Reed Rothchild), Heather Graham (Rollergirl), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Scotty), Malora Walters (Jessie), and Alfred Molina (Rahad Jackson), round out the large cast.

The film is set in Los Angeles and spans the period from 1977 to 1984. Although only seven years pass, much happens to most of the characters, and we experience their trials and tribulations.

The unique thing about Boogie Nights is that I care about every character, thanks to excellent writing and fantastic acting. They succeeded in earning my empathy. Boogie Nights is a highly character-driven film, which is an enormous part of its brilliance.

The cast is an ensemble, but the main character is Eddie Adams, a high school dropout whom we meet working as a dishwasher at a nightclub. He has an abusive mother who kicks him out of the house, leading him to audition for and move in with Jack Horner.

Jack is a patriarchal figure who shares a house with Maggie, the matriarch of the household, and Roller Girl, a fellow high school dropout who is always seen wearing roller skates. Eddie’s talent is his large “manhood”.

We watch Eddie, at first shy and polite, rise to superstardom in the porn industry, becoming rich and living a lavish, drug-fueled lifestyle, where his ego gets the best of him. He, like many of the characters, hit rough times as the early 1980s shift to videotape was the death of many 1970s porn actors’ careers.

The musical soundtrack plays a crucial role in the success of Boogie Nights. Many scenes contain songs that were hits of the time or prior, including “Sister Christian”, “Jessie’s Girl”, “God Only Knows”, “Got to Give it Up”, “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”, and countless others- so much so that the soundtrack is almost a character of the film.

We look forward to hearing what song might be featured next.

Later in the film, circa 1983, as things begin to spiral out of control for many of the characters, the musical score turns ominous, with low bass and a nighttime setting, and the lighting grows darker. Several stories begin to intersect on a late L.A. night on the streets.

Jack, filming a scene in a limousine starring Rollergirl and a young college jock they pick up off the streets, Dirk, forced to prostitute himself for $10 to a young man in a pickup truck, and Buck, who innocently stops to buy doughnuts for his very pregnant wife Jessie.

Each of these stories ends in brutal violence, and the tone is crucial to the scenes’ success. This lengthy scene bears a resemblance to a Quentin Tarantino scene in its macabre tone.

Particular favorite scenes include the heartbreaking scene when Maggie loses custody of her son, the New Year’s Eve party at Jack’s house, and the ill-fated drug sale at Rahad Jackson’s.

Each is heartbreaking, powerful, fraught with tension, or otherwise empathetic toward the characters, making them each quite powerful in different ways.

Induced in the drug sale scene is some black comedy- Rahad’s presumed Chinese houseboy has a fetish for firecrackers, which startle Dirk, Reed, and Todd, as the fear of possible gunshots fills the air. Maggie’s sob scene elicits an emotional response as we cry with her, and the New Year’s Eve turn of events involving Scotty and Little Bill is tragic.

Boogie Nights (1997) is one of my favorite films because it contains brilliant writing, characters who are fleshed out, damaged, and human, a killer soundtrack, and a dark, mysterious industry (porn) that is both misunderstood and categorized.

Thanks to director Anderson, we see the people in this lifestyle as real individuals with their own issues, yet also with full hearts and kindness.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Burt Reynolds, Best Supporting Actress- Julianne Moore, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

#67 Favorite Film, 1999 Films, Alfred Molina, Drama, Favorite Film of the Year, Felicity Huffman, Henry Gibson, Independent, Independent Drama, Jason Robards, Jeremy Blackman, John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Luis Guzman, Melinda Dillon, Melora Walters, Michael Murphy, Patton Oswalt, Paul Thomas Anderson, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Thomas Jane, Tom Cruise, Top 100 Films, Top 250 Films, William H. Macy

Magnolia-1999

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Magnolia-1999

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly

Top 250 Films #67

Scott’s Review #777

Reviewed June 21, 2018

Grade: A

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of my favorite modern directors. In my opinion, his best film is Boogie Nights (1997), but he has also created other dark offerings, such as Phantom Thread (2017) and Inherent Vice (2014).

Arguably, his most distinctive effort might be Magnolia (1999), a cerebral film that explores themes of forgiveness and the meaning of life.

An ambitious effort, featuring a stellar ensemble cast, makes the film a fantastic experience.

Set in the San Fernando Valley (a mountainous area of Los Angeles), the film resembles David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive (2001) in its setting and oddness, as well as its unusual dialogue and offbeat characters.

A narrator explains three situations of extreme coincidence and surmises that chance may not be the only responsible party. Anderson then weaves an intricate tale involving numerous characters, intersecting lives, and a riveting climax on a rainy California day (an oddity in itself!).

The plot begins when we meet Jim Kurring (John C. Reilly), a police officer who is called to investigate a disturbance.

After finding a woman’s body in an apartment closet, events turn bizarre as a children’s game show host (Philip Baker Hall), his estranged daughter (Melora Walters), the show’s former producer, Earl (Jason Robards), who is dying from cancer, his drug-addicted wife Linda (Julianne Moore), Earl’s male caretaker (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a former game show champion (William H. Macy), and finally, an intense motivational speaker (Tom Cruise).

Quite a bevy of talented actors!

As the plot progresses mysteriously, the connections among the characters are revealed, and their peculiar motivations begin to take shape.

For example, Linda, who married Earl for his money, seems to have an epiphany and demands her lawyer change Earl’s will. Later, a character may have a connection to Earl and Linda, but is it all as it seems?

In Magnolia, the film is so wonderfully strange that it leaves the audience guessing for most of its running time.

Bizarre scenes are commonplace throughout the film. My favorite one is a marvelously creative scene. Suddenly, frogs begin to fall out of nowhere from the Los Angeles sky, with numerous consequences for the characters.

The incident causes a ripple effect, of sorts, as many of the characters’ fates are determined. Though one may not be able to make heads or tails of this scene or take complete logic from it, it’s enthralling all the same.

Magnolia has an overall quirky tone- sometimes upbeat, sometimes melancholy- that I adore. Films that are tough to figure out and feature an interesting musical score are so rich in flavor.

Aimee Mann is responsible for composing many of the songs on the musical soundtrack, so much so that she received a title credit on the soundtrack itself. Mann infuses her music with moody, diverse richness and ambient essentials.

Many actors make frequent appearances in Paul Thomas Anderson’s films. Magnolia alone seems almost like a Boogie Nights reunion with Moore, Walters, Macy, Baker Hall, and Philip Seymour-Hoffman to name just a handful.

The amazing aspect is that all of the aforementioned actors play vastly different, and arguably even more complex roles than they did in Boogie Nights.

Similar to Quentin Tarantino’s actors appearing in many of his films, this must be a creative treat for them.

There is no doubt that Magnolia (1999) is a complex, dream-like film. Open to interpretation and reflection, I find it a brilliant movie that I would like to revisit and dive into further with each viewing, hopefully for a better understanding and even deeper appreciation.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Tom Cruise, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen, Best Original Song-“Save Me”