Magnolia

In 1999, Paul Thomas Anderson released Magnolia, his character-driven and less porn-focused follow-up to Boogie Nights. Magnolia follows 9 main storylines that interconnect in ways that become more obvious as this 3+hour epic progresses, and each character struggles with their past, regret, guilt, forgiveness, and meaning in life. An insanely deep and talented ensemble cast shares nearly equal screen time, including: Jeremy Blackman, Tom Cruise, Melinda Dillon, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, Michael Murphy, John C. Reilly, Jason Robards and Melora Walters. Made for $37M, Magnolia brought in a mediocre $48M and received a lot of praise and critical acclaim, including Oscar nominations for best-supporting actor, best original screenplay, and best original song. But does it hold up? Listen as Jon, Colin and Brent discuss the end result when a writer/director gets a blank cheque and final cut to see if Magnolia dies a loooooooooooooooong death, or if it finds redemption despite its flaws.