Popular reviews

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  Review by Matthew Christman ★★★★ 10

  Watching this on the heels of Phantom Thread (PTA's eighth film!) highlights how cleanly you can separate his career into equal Early and Later halves. Both films are shining examples of the early and late Anderson. Hard Eight has emotional man-children reaching out for family, swooping camera moves and zooming close-ups, rich, almost lurid colors, and a Jon Brion score. PTA carried those stylistic and thematic elements with him while making Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love. Something happened to PTA between the making of PDL and There Will Be Blood (something that I would like him to open up about at some point), and his last four films contain things that Phantom Thread exemplifies in spades: repressed, emotionally-reticent…

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  Review by nickusen 1

  philip seymour hoffman gives one of the finest & most singular single scene performances ever

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  Review by PTAbro ★★★½ 18

  Let's talk about titles. Hard Eight vs. Sydney. As a lot of people know, Sydney was PTA's chosen title for a film about, well, a guy named Sydney. Fair enough, and admirable in its simplicity. However, this being his first feature, the story goes that, in order for greater control over the final cut, PTA compromised on the title, allowing the film to be released as Hard Eight. I'd certainly not argue that making a film is much like having a baby, and being forced to compromise any aspect of it is akin to having the hospital get naming rights of your child. But, sometimes good things come out of bad situations, and not only did we get a better…

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  Review by LunchEnjoyer ★★★★ 9

  I wish phillip seymour hoffman was still alive

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★★ 2

  This is the start. The start of one of the greatest track-records of any filmmaker. The absolute visionary and master who is Paul Thomas Anderson. Many cite Hard Eight (Sydney) as PTA's weakest film, and I have to disagree. Hard Eight may be more low key, less flashy and solemn in tone; but the layers of dread, mystery and danger make this one of Paul Thomas Anderson's finest achievements.

  The Awesome: Phillip Baker Hall. This is his movie. Sure, he was great in Magnolia; but he is the star of the show here. Cold, calculating and charming; the viewer never knows what this character is up to. Until the very end. Another charm of Hard Eight is that it's the…

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★½

  there's already a real voice here, a richness of idiosyncracy, achy & showy, eager to impress. trying to pull his shit together.

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  Review by Casey Malone ★★★★ 2

  I just learned that Paul Thomas Anderson was 24 when he made this and almost gave it one star out of spite.

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  Review by Ryan Francis ★★★★½ 3

  An exceptional debut from a filmmaker who was clearly a master of the art from the very beginning.

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  Review by Evan ★★★★ 7

  A great first feature film from who is one of the best director's of all-time. Before seeing John C. Reilly in Magnolia, I honestly never knew he could really act. He was damn good in this film too.

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  Review by fran hoepfner ★★★½ 2

  ok now I’ve seen them all. Philip Baker Hall runs away with this, duh. I was gonna write something pithy like “they don’t make movies that are just about, like, a guy anymore,” but then I remembered Mank. I love Gwyneth’s late 90s run!

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  Review by Josh Lewis ★★★★

  never ignore a man's courtesy.

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  Review by san ★★★½

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