I really wasn't planning on watching Hard Eight today, but having watched Boogie Nights last night, I was kinda still in the mood for another Paul Thomas Anderson flick and since I wasn't in the mood for Magnolia, I went with this one. And no, don't let the title Hard Eight fool ya into believing it's another  p o r n - based film. This was actually PTA's directorial debut about.....well about something. Okay, I'm purposely being deceptive here.

If you have never seen Hard Eight before, it's going to seem rather strange to follow a bunch of characters around with no clear objective. The movie starts with a "chance" encounter between Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) and John (John C. Reilly) at a roadside diner. After that, we are pretty much following these two, along with Clementine (Gwyneth Paltrow) as things 'happen' to them. You will be saying to yourself as you watch this "something better happen at the end or I will be p*ssed". Stick with it and you will find out that the 'chance' meeting has a purpose and what Sydney's chosen profession is. But up til then, it's basically a conversation film with lots and lots of dialogue. I don't mind this at all. I actually like the movie and I think the reveal at the end justified the road traveled to get there. But I can see the movie rubbing other people the wrong way if they are more about having clear plot points and motivations.

Definitely give this a Rent if you've never seen this before. Also joining the cast are small roles by Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Ridgely and Melora Walters, with the latter three also joining PTA for Boogie Nights and Magnolia. And if you haven't already seen any of the other movies, you should know that Hall and Reilly join in on the PTA fun as well. Sh*t man, I think I may just have to watch Magnolia after all. Correction, Boogie Nights was Ridgely's last movie as I remember it.