the audience applauded

Don't listen to the negative reviews

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Hard Eight is a very good film. The films draws you in from the excellent opening scene right to the end, which returns to the location of the first scene. The characters are all very interesting, particularly Sydney. The actors are good, Samuel L Jackson manages to give his character a prescene in almost every scene of the film. The script is humerous and also very interesting. The 'cigarette matches' stands out. All in all, its a very good film and well worth a watch. 8/10

While most people would say that Punch Drunk Love is Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Black Sheep' film of his great filmography, I would argue that Hard Eight is his most underrated. Dare I say that this is one of the most underrated movies of all time. The performances are very good, Phillip Baker Hall is great, Sam Jackson is awesome as always, Gwyneth Paltrow and John C Reilly were really good as well, however, they both had some moments that brought their performances down. The soundtrack is absolutely great, one of my favourites. It has a very sleazy feel and pulls of the casino feel. Overall, while I would say that Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood are better, this is still a strong debut from Paul Thomas Anderson.

How two people meet and end up joining forces. How a cocktail waitress can wreak havoc on a life while presenting herself as a wide-eyed innocent. How an older man, the eye of a hurricane, can face characters who are angry and ready to become violent. How personal history has meaning even if you escape consequences for years. All add up to simple storytelling. The kind that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Where can this go? What happens next? Those questions linger throughout every scene. In the meantime, there are jolts of adrenaline as the viewer is shocked even as the action proceeds at a relatively slow pace. The actors are well-known today. John C. Reilly, Samuel L. Jackson, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman; Then there is the director and writer: Paul Thomas Anderson. Makes you wonder why and how Gwyneth Paltrow ever got through this without a middle initial.

(69%) A precision made crime drama that tells its very neat plot with a fine degree of characterisation and thought. The cast only consists of four different people, each adding an integral part to the movie, and once the main intention of Philip Baker Hall's character is let out there's not a lot else to be told in what is a very low key movie. The cast is pretty faultless, even the sometimes too bland Paltrow gives a good performance, but this is Hall's movie as he is one of the coolest older men ever to feature in a movie. Scriptwise this is watertight, with every section finely crafted, and the movie has aged well in nearly 20 years. Without doubt this is worth tracking down, but it does lack the substance required to make it a true classic.