Magnolia (1999) -
7.2/10
Inter-connected sub-plots, introspection of life, guilt, anger, lot of father-child issues - all woven together in a 3 hour long film. At places, I simply loved the movie, but then at other places, I felt Paul Thomas Anderson was simply working the audience. Let's say, just like James Cameron was coaxing viewers with "See! You are supposed to marvel at these lighting footsteps - height of CGI, baby!", I felt at places PTA was saying "So, I am going to force this dialogue/scene on you. Let's see if you emote the way I want" - Just IMO. Some good performances too - be it Jason Robards or understated PS Hoffman. It's a good movie, no doubt, but not something I rate too highly. Aside, I later read about lots of references to Exodus 8:2 - I want to see it again just to see how many I can catch.
In Bruges (2008) -
7.4/10
Funny exchanges between Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson made an enjoyable first half. I never thought Colin Farrell and comedy would mix in any proportion. Rare to see a film that has political incorrectness as much as this one - making fun of Americans, fatties, midgets, blacks and what not! A really good dark comedy. The ending was not really up-to the mark though!