Over the weekend (1/5) my wife Dakota and I watched Boogie Nights (1997). Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, this was his second movie, following up Hard Eight (1996). It’s got an all-around A-listed cast: Burt Reynolds, Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, John C. Riley, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Nicole Ari Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, Philip Baker Hall, and so many other great names! It’s about a particular adult industry back in the late 1970s. And while the subject matter is about that industry, there are maybe 3 total scenes involving their direct works. The rest of the story has to do with everything surrounding that type of life style. It’s very engaging, the story sucks you in and keeps you holding on. It’s hard to describe this movie in a “family friendly” manner, which also alludes to the fact this is not a movie for the family, and maybe not even a movie for you. But if you like movies with a big build up, and intense downward spirals, this might be a great movie for you to check out. The acting is phenomenal, the story is gripping, and I cannnot emphasis enough that this was PTA’s second movie? He knocked it out of the park with this one. I was happy to show my wife this movie for her first time and she said this about the movie: “The movie is a wild ride. You’re having a great time during a good majority of the movie, then at one moment, you take a hard left turn and everything is crashing and burning. It’s fantastic, you’ll want to watch it all the way to the end. It is a very adult movie, so please be aware of that.”
I’d give this movie 4 1/2 out of 5 stars
-Robert Hawk
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