P.T. Anderson

[Kevin Smith fan]

I came about this filmmaker through Adam Sandler (sadly). I'd been watching a lot of things he'd done and picked up Punch Drunk Love and was blown away. I then worked my way backwards into checking out Magnolia and Boogie Nights. Still haven't seen Hard Eight.

Boogie Nights- 68/100
I find it so hard to rate this movie so harshly, but I just found myself so disinterested throughout it. It seemed as if the entire movie was just building up the background and characters of some major event that never really happens. That being said, the characters are great. It's hard to beleive your'e not watching something from the 70s while viewing this. It's a great nostalgic piece with some amazing acting performances stylistic directing. Yet the film moves at such a sluggish pace it never really makes up for the build up that precedes where the action takes off (the 80's). Maybe another viewing will change my opinion.

Magnolia- 73/100
Magnolia seemed to have much of the same problems that Boogie Nights did. With a little clearer of a purpose or drive to the plot this time around, it still doesn't leave you quite satisfied after a single viewing. Another fantastic set of characters, and even more creativity from PT this go around, but it still barely lifts off the ground with all the weight it's piled onto itself.

Punch Drunk Love- 93/100
This movie is where its at for me. His sense of humour works in brilliantly with the story and the pace is almost perfect. Sandler gives a career performance, as do Phill Hoffman and Luiz Guzman. Contrary to his previous films he takes little time to establish the setting of his tale, and yet its established just as well as the other films. Another great soundtrack comes along as well, leaving us with one of the greatest romantic dramedies of the new millenium.

Thoughts? How do you feel about PT?

[APzombie]

PT is my favorite director under 50 today. What a talent, There Will Be Blood should be amazing.

I can't say whats his best, while I think Boogie Nights might be my favorite to rewatch, Magnolia is the most dramatic/tearjerker and Punch Drunk Love is just soo wonderful. I think Hard Eight is a great freshman film.

[JackassFan]

Magnolia

[Cronos]

Magnolia (10/10) is easily his best film, Boogie Nights (8/10) was also very good, i really didnt think much of Punk Drunk Love though (6/10)

[dennisv]

Punk Drunk

[XCoRyX]

easy,easy question for me...

Boogie Nights

10/10

[Shockwave]

Magnolia

[zeppelin]

You have a pretty strange rating system there, Kevin Smith fan. Anyway, I also haven't seen Hard Eight, but of the other 3, I would rank them in the reverse order of what you have. Actually, on first viewings, Magnolia was my favorite, but I think Boogie Nights gets better with time, and it's now one of my favorite movies of the 90's.

1. Boogie Nights- ****
2. Magnolia- *** 1/2
3. Punch-Drunk Love- *** 1/2

[ilovemovies]

1. Magnolia - 9/10 or ****
2. Punch-Drunk Love - 8/10 or *** 1/2
3. Boogie Nights - 8/10 or *** 1/2

[FilmKing2000]

1. Magnolia - 10/10
2. Boogie Nights - 9/10
3. Punch-Drunk Love - 7/10

Certainly one of the most intriguing directors working today. Anderson has already proven himself as an outrageously well-crafted director, a writer of witty and utterly poignant material, and a master of the ensemble cast. Definatley one to watch out for...

[notchreturns]

Magnolia - 10/10
Boogie Nights - 9/10
Punch Drunk Love - 8/10
Hard Eight - 7/10

[Lazy Boy]

1. Magnolia - 9/10
2. Punch Drunk Love - 9/10
3. Boogie Nights - 8/10
4. Hard Eight - 8/10

Even though Hard Eight is last for me, that in no way means I think of it as a poor or even lesser film of P.T.'s -- it's actually his best script if one were to actually get it in printed form, whereas he does go off the rails a bit with each successive film, but as far as outlandish, reach-for-the-heavens cinema of homages goes, he's one of the best.

[Sigur509]

Magnolia.

I doubt he will ever make a better film.

Thats not to say I dont like his others, all 8/10+ but I dont see him making a finer film.

[QUENTIN]

1.) Magnolia -10/10 (my fifth favorite film of all-time, the second best of the 90's, the best of 1999)
2.) Boogie Nights -9/10 (the fifth best of 1997)
3.) Hard Eight -8/10 (the 11th best of 1997)
4.) Punch-Drunk Love -6/10 (well-directed and visually interesting, but has no real script to speak of nor a story nor very interesting characters)

[Kevin Smith fan]

I had no idea there was such resentment towards PDL, and that nearly everyone's list would be the opposite of mine. I suppose I just prefer American Beauty as my epic drama of 99 opposed to Magnolia.

[damien22]

Magnolia, although I haven't seen Boogie Nights. Magnolia is in my top 10 and I honestly think it might be the best movie ever made.

[Hatfield]

Magnolia (9/10)
Boogie Nights (8/10)
Hard Eight (7/10)
Punch-Drunk Love (7/10)

[sarah1980]

Boogie Nights

[Hucksta G]

1. Punch-Drunk Love (10/10)
2. Magnolia (9/10)
3. Boogie Nights (8/10)
4. Hard Eight (8/10)

[Pride]

1. Boogie Nights - 9/10
2. Punch Drunk Love - 9/10
3. Magnolia - 8/10
4. Hard Eight - 7.5/10


I bought Hard Eight on a special the other day without even knowing it was a PTA film, so pretty happy about that. It contains one of the few Sam L Jackson acting roles I enjoyed

[Strider]

01. Punch-Drunk Love - 9/10 or ****1/2/***** stars

02. Magnolia - 8/10 or ****/***** stars

03. Hard Eight - 6/10 or ***/***** stars

04. Boogie Nights - 5/10 or **1/2/***** stars


Strider

[RandalGraves]

Punch-Drunk Love gets my vote...masterpeice imo

[JCPhoenix]

MAGNOLIA is by far my favorite of his works and one of my favorite films ever...

[Hannibal21]

1. Magnolia - 9/10
2. Punch-Drunk Love - 8/10
3. Boogie Nights - 8/10
Hard Eight - n/a

[cocksmokinclerk]

Punch Drunk Love - 10/10
Magnolia - 9/10
Boogie Nights - 9/10
Hard Eight 8/10

[blankpage]

1. Magnolia (9/10)
2. Boogie Nights (9/10)
3. Punch-Drunk Love (8/10)

[urbanlegend23]

Magnolia, my third favourite film.

Boogie Nights would be in the top 20 somewhere, and I gave Punch-Drunk Love a strong 8/10.

[Kevin Smith fan]

Upon rewatching Magnolia (78) and Boogie Nights (75) I raised their score a bit. I think it was that I watched these movies so late at night I just wanted something to happen and have it end so I could go to sleep, but I really didn't get a lot of time to appriciate everything that was going on. Boogie Nights still did seem overly long so I switched between the commentary tracks a few times to discover that the famed ending dialouge with Mark Whalberg gazing at himself in the mirror was fake. Obviously if you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about, and if you'll listen to the commentary track Anderson himself admits it was artificial.

[zeppelin]

Originally posted by Kevin Smith fan
Boogie Nights still did seem overly long so I switched between the commentary tracks a few times to discover that the famed ending dialouge with Mark Whalberg gazing at himself in the mirror was fake. Obviously if you've seen the film you know what I'm talking about, and if you'll listen to the commentary track Anderson himself admits it was artificial.

I'm a little confused as to what you mean by this. The ending dialogue was fake? When he says "I am star"? Do you mean that sounds phoney? Because the dialogue was most certainly not what Anderson was referring to when he said it was artificial. And if you only just then discovered that THAT wasn't real, then I don't really know what to say.