This movie just flat out pisses me off. In a big BIG way. Oh, and I will be giving the ending of this movie away, and that's just plain old tough shit.

Let's begin...
The premise behind the film is that 9 lives, 9 stories are intertwined and all related, even though the people involved aren't aware of it. Sounds simple and interesting. It got my $3.50. And it's written and directed by the man who brought us Boogie Nights, one of the most impressive dramas of the last decade.

The first three hours of this movie are pure genius. Absolutely stunning! I was totally engrossed, breathlessly awaiting each and every tidbit of information about each and every character. Hoping to find the mosaic pattern that begins to come into focus early in the film take shape, and reach the exclamation point at the end.

I was falling deeply in love with this film, and then, it scorned me... More on that later.

Each and every character is interesting and fresh and original. Every portrayal an oscar worthy performance in it's own right. And we, the audience, are treated to three hours of this absolutely stunning work. Unfortunately, the movie is 3 hours and 15 minutes long.

The more I watched, the more I wanted to watch, and after beginning to feel intimate with each and every character in this movie, and wanting to see the final culmination of all the events that I had been in on. And what do I get? (quit reading now if you don't want the ending spoiled)





Frogs.

Fucking frogs.

A rainstorm of frogs.

Frogs falling from the sky.

Okay, I get the point. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, and the writer/director wanted to abruptly remind us that all of this, that we have become involved with and witness to, is exactly that, a work of fiction. He wanted to slap us in the face with it. It's his own way of saying, "Yeah, but it's just a movie."

This is the most piss poor excuse for a movie ending I have ever had to watch in my life. I hated every second of the last 15 minutes of this movie.

I was ready to run out and buy this. After the last 15 minutes, I wouldn't piss on it if it were on fire...