Ahhh, magnolias. The flower that signifies spring; a symbol of hope, beauty and hundreds of frogs showering down from the heavens. Wait, what? Oh yes. Frogs. Lots and lots of frogs. Because how else would you tie together such divergent stories of; lives gone wrong, kid tv stars who never really grow up, toxic masculinity gurus and cops who lose their guns at crime scenes? No better way, we say! And we say a lot. This week in the continuing saga of “Ancient History: The 90s,” we delve deep into Paul Thomas Anderson’s film of fractured lives. Haven’t heard of it? We’re not surprised but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check it out. The ensemble cast alone is worth a look: William H. Macy, Tom Cruise, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Jason Robards and even a short stint by Patton Oswalt. It’s one of those big, ensemble cast kind of movies and we warn you: it is long. Three hours long. But does it feel like it? Does the movie drag, does it work, does it take out the trash once a week without you having to nag it over and over and over again? That last one, I admit, it does not. But it’s going to if it knows what’s good for it. Regardless of what we think, there is one thing that makes this movie worth watching: proof that, when he really puts his mind to it, when he actually -tries-, Tom Cruise can be a good actor. No, really. This is not Bumpy the Wonder Pony typing this, making things up in hopes of getting a nice, juicy carrot. Oh no, it is the truth. Probably. So, tune in, won’t we and find out about this film with the frogs.
George Floyd Memorial Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd
ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/
Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019
Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/
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