The MasterMovie Reviews

I was initially excited about this movie...I wanted to see the struggles of a man coping with many issues aaand how society played a part in it....buuuuuut I was not impressed...had to use the restroom in the middle and took my time because I knew I wouldn't miss anything....I could see where the producer/director was trying to go with this movie but it did nothing for the audience....NOTHING

Total waste of time

Dumb from the start!

The Master

I thought this film was very good. The story was interesting, the acting was excellent, especially Joaquin Phoenix in the starring role. Philip Seymour Hoffman also does a good job in his role. Other supporting actors are fine as well, especially Laura Dern. This film is for adults only, due to adult content. For those suffering from an alcohol problem or who have overcome one, The Master is definitely worth seeing.

Great acting, little apparant plot

The Master

At the beginning, and up until the scene where Freddy keeps going back and forth from the wall to the glass, I thought this was the most amazing movie. The dialogue, acting, and tension were all phenomenal. Some of the scenes are just perfect, brilliant. Unbelievably well-acted--Joaquin Phoenix should win an academy award for this one and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is always good. But I thought it got a little long, and then, the ending wasn't strong at all--not supported by the build-up. I also didn't believe that it would end that way given everything else presented in the movie--it was like the director just wanted it to end, and didn't think it through well enough. Definitely not appropriate for kids--actually even a bit overboard on the gratuitous nudity and constant reminders that Freddy is horny all the time--for almost anything/anyone.

Could have been so much more

But it wasn't. I didn't care for The Master. The story lost itself in several places and I think the actors failed to make a real emotional connection of student and teacher and then student becoming master.

The movie was nothing special and worth waiting for on Netflix or Amazon.

Triple Double for The Master

The Master attempts to answer 1 question. Is it better to be insane without a purpose or insane with all the purpose in the world? The movie was well done. It hit home runs on everything from the soundtrack, characters and cinematography. The main character Freddy (Joaquin Phoenix), struggles to find his place and has no issue with uprooting himself at a moments notice. He encounters "The Master" one night in a drunken stupor aboard a ship he stumbled into. The two develop a complex yet functional relationship that is rather entertaining. The Master is the well to do leader of a controversial cult, while Freddy is the alcoholic drifter that seems plagued with problems. While both draw ire and disdain from there community, they find solace in each other's company. This film isn't for the average moviegoer. It does move slow towards the end, and its true brilliance: the vivid depictions of the Master or Freddy's trouble's will be lost on many. For true fans its a must see.

Not For Everyone

The cinematography, music and acting are all stunning. This film, however, is extremely character-driven and heavily lacking in the plot department. There's a lot of ambiguity and it's never very sure of itself. Keep an open mind and enjoy it for what it is. I'd recommend giving it a try.

The Master

Another great Paul Thomas Anderson film. I think the main aspect of the film that got me was its believability. Philip Seymour Hoffman put in another amazing performance, as well as Amy Adams and Laura Dern. But I think Joaquin Phoenix stole the show with one of the most powerful performances I've seen in quite some time. The Master is a film definitely worth another viewing. Its subtleties and nuances seem to grow on the observant viewer for quite some time after watching. I don't know if it is a film for everyone but it definitely leaves its mark.

Hollywood Keep Your Pants On

The acting was great but I am suprised some of these good actors choose such awful parts. This film started and ended in the same fashion, there was no progression. It was terrible, Hollywood please once again make movies that have meaning.

The Master

I only felt inspired to see this flick because who starred in it. The premise (whether or not based on Scientology) stunk! I would say it's only virtue was as an education for those of us who are unaware of the obscenities of this sect!

Self-Indulgent Waste of Time

What a waste of fine actors and a compelling premise. I kept waiting for a point to emerge out of scene after pointless scene, but after more than two hours it never did. It appeared that every second of dialogue and action that was filmed ended up in the movie, with nothing edited out. The result was a ridiculous succession of scenes that neither added to the story nor moved the narrative forward. At the end of the movie Phillip Seymour Hoffman, in some "artful" reverie that has no relation to what came before in the story, is singing "Slow Boat to China" to Joaquin Phoenix, and I'm feeling like I've been on a slow boat to nowhere. And I do mean slow.
That was two and a half hours of my life that I won't get back.....I feel like I was duped by the film makers with great actors and an interesting trailer, and then held hostage by my own need to see if this movie would ever improve or come to some stunning conclusion. Nope. The emperor IS naked, and this movie is lousy.

Awful

Nasty movie with no redeeming features.

Did I miss something?

Look, I know that Anderson is a bit strange, but this movie seriously left me feeling like my synapses had misfired. I felt like I was watching people have a conversation that I should have been a part of, but it was in a language not of this planet. Phoenix was wonderfully creepy. That much is for sure. Beyond that, this movie was uncomfortably bad, lacking cohesion and a point. Not sure it was the worst movie I've ever seen, but I think Bubba Hotep might have been better.

The emperor has no clothes. Don't go just to walk out.

You see the actors and go great. You see the reviews about how you have to watch it several times to really appreciate it and you think maybe. Then you watch the first thirty minutes with people walking out and it is easy to join them. Don't waste those 30 minutes.