9. Magnolia
Strange ending? Absolutely. Brilliant ending? Yeppers. We've all seen it. (RIGHT!?) Magnolia is PTA's magnum opus. Well, each of his films are his magnum opus but that's beside the point. Magnolia is a three hour climb of dramatic epicness, solid character development, and top notch performances from every single actor and it all builds, and builds, and builds, and just when you think it's going to hit the fan, it rains frogs. Honest to God. And not metaphorical frogs, real frogs. PTA is one of my personal favorites, and from all of his films I get a sense for some kind of resentment for religion, but not a denial of some sort of divine presence at times. That the God he believes in isn't defined by religion, but is still looking out for us. And in this scenario, to save us all from ourselves and our mistakes, he intervenes by showering us with our favorite amphibians in order to prevent certain doom and disaster. It's a strange ending because it comes out of nowhere. And that's what makes it incredible. I know people who dislike it because they think it ruins the rest of the film, that it's all so based in reality, in the real drama we each deal with in the day to day that for the payoff to be frogs is annoying. But poo poo to them, because I think it's the cock of the walk. An ending as strange as this takes guts, and not only was it strange and original, it worked. I'm not usually a fan of the "deus ex machina" moment in movies, but PTA found a way to do it, and do it without dialogue. How? Raining frogs. Hats off to you my friend. And my suit jacket off to you too. Keep making films like you have been and I'll be naked soon.