844. The Player (1992)

Running Time: 123 minutes

Directed By: Robert Altman

Written By: Michael Tolkin, from his novel

Main Cast: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Gallagher

Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: THE FINAL CHAPTER

Battling a pretty nasty cold, I still manage to drag myself out of bed and to my wheeled computer chair to bring you the final installment in the "Altman Week" festivities. Let's get right into it, shall we...

Tim Robbins is Griffin Mills, a sleazy Hollywood executive who spends his days hearing film pitches and giving the writers hope, while usually shooting their ideas down. He has the perfect parking space, a nice office, a girlfriend who also works for the production company - his life is pretty flawless. That is, until he begins receiving threatening postcards, which are seemingly coming from a disgruntled writer. One day, Griffin, wanting to get to the bottom of the threats and get on with his life, does a little digging and tracks down the man he thinks is responsible for sending the threatening postcards. The man is a writer, David Kahane, whom he tracks down and tries to butter up by telling him that he wants to make the movie that David pitched him. Some words are shared, but the writer is inconsolable and during a shoving match, Griffin, in a fit of rage, murders David. The only problem is that the postcards keep coming the next day and it turns out Griffin killed the wrong man. Now, not only is he still dealing with the death threats, but now he's got the police on his tail, as he's the #1 suspect in the murder of David. Meanwhile, Griffin begins dating David's roommate/girlfriend (Scacchi), all the while battling to try and protect his job from the new hotshot executive in town, Larry Levy (Gallagher).

Bear with me, as I'm hopped up on cold pills and really ready to crawl back into the warm embraces of my bed. Let's see, let's see, "The Player"...Well I liked it, that's for sure. It wasn't your typical movie and really held a special uniqueness. Altman, ever ready to poke fun at something, satirize or expose an industry, puts modern Hollywood in his crosshairs and takes a kill shot. I mean, he doesn't paint Hollywood with a very flattering brush, now does he? Should we be surprised that this one got the awards recognition that it did, seeing as how, in my view, there are more than a couple big "F you's" in there, aimed directly at the (then) modern Hollywood machine? Anyway, forget about all the undertones and the satirizing, the story is pretty great too and this is a perfectly enjoyable film (as are most of Altman's pictures) without reading into the subtleties and little jabs at Hollywood. Robbins is really brilliant here and it's probably the best thing I've ever seen him in - personally, I'm usually not a big fan of the guy. Oh and keep your eyes peeled, because the film is chock full of cameos, from Bruce Willis to John Cusack and basically everybody in between.

The film has a certain sleekness and really zooms in on the movie industry's dirty side, Hollywood's obsession with happy endings (etc.) and somehow seems to really capture the true scumminess of the movie business. I could go on and on, but I need rest and while I didn't really delve as deep as this film deserved, I think I'm going to wrap it up.

RATING: 7.5/10  Seriously, this TOP 20 list is going to be a bitch to make. So many really good to great movies have come down the pike and I still have over forty to go.

RANKING ALTMAN

1. Short Cuts

2. The Player

3. The Long Goodbye

4. McCabe and Mrs. Miller

5. Nashville

6. M*A*S*H

MOVIES WATCHED: 756
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 245 

November 8, 2013  1:37pm

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602. NASHVILLE (1975)

Running Time: 159 minutes
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Joan Tewkesbury
Main Cast: Henry Gibson, Ronee Blakely, Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Ned Beatty
Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: CHAPTER V

Here we go again with the unpredictably Robert Altman. By unpredictable, I mean that I can never quite predict what I'm going to think of his films. Thought I'd hate "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and I was wrong and I thought I'd hate "Nashville", for some reason, and I was wrong again.

The blueprints here are very similar to those of "Short Cuts", in that we're thrown a big handful of characters (with notable actors to boot) and are all set to follow various different plot lines, on our way to the climax. The film is set in Nashville, Tennessee (imagine that) and takes us into the heart of the country music business and all the corruption that comes along with it. Who knew these sweetheart country & western musicians were such scum buckets? Well, they may not be in reality, but Altman doesn't paint a very desirable lifestyle for the boot-scoot-boogie generation. Against the backdrop of the south and the country tunes, there's also a splash of politics, as the whole thing leads to a rally for Replacement Party Presidential candidate, Hal Phillip Walker, where many of the top names in the country music industry will perform, including: Haven Hamilton (Gibson - what a character name, I love it), the veteran of Nashville and perhaps the most dastardly of all the country & western stars, Barbara Jean (Blakely), the just released from the hospital, sweetheart of Nashville and perhaps country music's biggest star and Tom (Carradine), a womanizer who over the course of the film begins to disassociate himself with his musical partners, Bill and Mary of "Bill, Mary and Tom".

Like "Underground", this may have been a film that I enjoyed for the wrong reasons, which again proposes the question: Is there a right and wrong way to enjoy a film? I don't think so, because I'm sure a lot of the subtle winks that Altman was making toward the camera were going right over my head, yet I enjoyed "Nashville" just fine for the overlapping stories, the memorable characters and the songs, my God the songs! Granted, I'm not a big country music fan (a little Garth Brooks here & there and maybe a touch of Zac Brown Band, from time to time) and sure, these weren't the greatest songs ever written or anything like that, but they were damn good! To think that the actors actually wrote and performed their own songs - that's the ultra fascinating part. Here's a small list, with links for the outsiders:

Bluebird by Timothy Brown
Keep A Goin' by Henry Gibson
For the Sake of the Children by Henry Gibson
One, I'll Love You by Ronee Blakely and Henry Gibson

Yeah, I dug the Gibson tunes. This guy swoops in and not only does a fine job in "The Long Goodbye", but totally steals the show for me in "Nashville", proving he can write tunes and bring the acting chops. Perhaps ONE OF (one of hundreds) the most memorable characters that THE BOOK has introduced me to. Add to that fine performances from Ned Beatty, Allen Garfield, Keith Carradine and Keenan Wynn, as well as a somewhat nostalgic (for me personally) atmosphere. See, I grew up with a father who LOVED him some country music and in a community where a lot of the residents (myself NOT included) loved their Nascar, not to mention barbecues and that down home feel. When you mix that with the corruption and unease of the time (Watergate and Vietnam), it made for an ultra unique setting and I dug it. I'm not even going to touch the ending, only to say that it took me by surprise - whether I liked it or not, I honestly can't say.

RATING: 7/10  So yeah, despite a rough start ("MASH"), Altman is definitely pleasing me as a movie goer, while only getting to that very high upper echelon of rating one time. Can "The Player" keep the good Altman streak alive.

MOVIES WATCHED: 755
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 246

November 6, 2013  7:38pm

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565. The Long Goodbye (1973)

Running Time: 112 minutes
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Leigh Brackett, from novel by Raymond Chandler
Main Cast: Elliott Gould, Nina Van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell, Henry Gibson
Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: CHAPTER IV

Kicking off the second half of the "Altman Week" festivities with a film that oozes coolness, features fantastic performances from Elliott Gould and Sterling Hayden and uses the title tune to maximum effect - "The Long Goodbye".

We dealt with Philip Marlowe once in "The Big Sleep", when he was played by Humphrey Bogart and now we're dealing with him a second time, played BETTER (yes, I said it - commence in jumping down my throat) by Elliott Gould. It all starts with a hungry cat and late night trek to the grocery store for private investigator Philip Marlowe. Upon returning from the store, in the middle of the night, Marlowe is surprised by a visit from his long time friend Terry Lennox. Lennox has just had a seemingly nasty spat with his wife and he needs a lift to Tijuana (the film is set in L.A.). Marlowe agrees without asking too many questions and gets back home the next morning, where he's met by a few cops. One thing leads to another and after spending a few days in the cooler, Marlowe becomes privy to the information that Terry has apparently murdered his wife and Terry has killed himself in Mexico. Marlowe, continuing to hold his friend in high regard, refuses to believe that Terry would do such a thing, but before he can soak it all in, he gets hired by Eileen Wade (Van Pallandt). It seems her husband has gone missing and she hires Marlowe to help track him down. It doesn't take long for Marlowe to trace her husband, Roger Wade (Hayden), to a rehab clinic, where Marlowe busts him before he can even pay the bill. Marlowe escorts Roger back home to his wife (and his booze) and over the course of the next few days realizes that the Wade's may have something to do with the Lennox murder/suicide.

Elliott Gould appeared in twenty episodes of the sitcom Friends and I can tell you now that I'll never look at those twenty episodes the same again. Who knew that Mr. Gellar was such a bad ass? Well, a lot of you did, apparently - but I didn't! I have to say, I have to give a lot of credit to the opening hook of Marlowe trying to track down some cat food. I guess it made Marlowe seem more human and therefore, more relateable. I mean, we never saw Bogart going out of his way to try and fool his cat into thinking he bought the right brand of cat chow. Speaking of Bogart, was it just me or did Gould even seem to bear somewhat of a resemblance to Bogey? I think so. Bottom line, any enjoyment I got out of this film began and ended with Elliott Gould and he can kindly make his way to the list of actors that I want to see a lot more of, preferably his early work, as I'm sure now he's just phoning in here and there roles, cameos and what not.

Were there any flaws? Well, two notable ones that I want to talk about, but still, actually pretty minor ones too. First things first, is it just me or is Robert Altman a very horny director. First it was multiple scenes of seemingly unwarranted nudity in "Short Cuts" and now in "The Long Goodbye", I'm sure that the Marlowe's neighbors and the acts of nudity they committed were quite unwarranted and unneeded. It's nothing major and it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the movie, but it was there and I wanted to mention it. The second thing I want to bring up is the screwy plot and how, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't hinge on much. I guess that kind of seems to be the way with these Marlowe stories, how you sort of go down a rabbit hole and by the time you come out the other end, you forget why or how you got there. I guess the plot doesn't matter so much, especially in "The Long Goodbye" as Gould and his version of Marlowe. This, at times, almost reminded me a bit of "Fletch", how it seemed to want to mix comedy and private investigation. All in all, a solid film and a happy movie goer twas I.

RATING: 7/10  Not nearly as good as "Short Cuts", but I'd probably say it's a touch better than "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (having overrated that one, by just a scosche). By the way, don't expect the monthly recap to be posted until something like Thursday or so.

MOVIES WATCHED: 754
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 247

November 4, 2013  5:45pm

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857. Short Cuts (1993)

Running Time: 187 minutes
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Robert Altman, Frank Barhydt, from stories by Raymond Carver
Main Cast: Tim Robbins, Bruce Davison, Andie MacDowell, Julianne Moore, Fred Ward
Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: CHAPTER III

Technically, "Short Cuts" should have been the conclusion to "Altman Week", but it's the only one of the Altman movies I'd seen before and when I was recalling it to my wife, she decided she wanted to see it. Since this is the one night of year where we turn back the hands of time, I figured why not turn a three hour movie into a two hour movie.

To detail the plot is going to be a little rough, but I'll hit you with my best shot and see how it ends up. The film is like "Magnolia" in that it follows many different characters throughout their day to day lives. There's Gene Shepard (Robbins), a cheating husband who hates his children's dog and the wife who doesn't believe his bullshit lies and who knows he must be "stepping out" on her. There's the woman he's stepping out on her with, Betty Weathers (Frances McDormand) and the angry, throwing things type of relationship she has with her ex-husband, Stormy Weathers (Peter Gallagher). There's a small child who runs into the street and gets hit by a car. At first, he seems fine, getting up, brushing himself off and telling the lady that hit him, waitress Doreen (Lily Tomlin) that he's fine and no, he doesn't want a ride because his mommy told him not to get into cars with strangers. As he arrives home, he startles his mother (MacDowell), who expects him to be at school and falls asleep on her bed, only to end up on a hospital, in critical condition. The boy's father is an opinion reporter on the news, Howard Finnigan (Davison), who's estranged father returns to make peace with him and visit the grandson he never met, while he lies motionless in his hospital bed. There's three fishing buddies and their trip to the woods, where they happen upon the body of a dead girl. One of the men, Stuart Kane (Ward), returns home to his wife (Anne Archer) with a fat fish, with plans to go to dinner the next night with their new friends, Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) and his wife Marian (Moore), who are having marital troubles of their own. We also see the stories of Zoe Trainer (Lori Singer), a troubled cellist and her mother, a troubled nightclub singer. There's also Lois Kaiser (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a phone sex operator, who doesn't give her husband (Chris Penn) nearly as much energy as she gives her "clients".

SPOILER ALERT!!

Hell, there's even a few more characters, but I figure you're getting the picture by now. The film is a slice of life picture from the mind of Robert Altman, who doesn't paint Los Angelans to be a very noble people. What was my favorite story? Well, that's a toughie. I truly liked most of the stories equally as well, but if pressed to choose favorites, I'd rather choose favorite scenes. Perhaps my most favorite scene is the one that uses a substantial amount of Jack Lemmon, where he delivers a monologue to his son about the time he cheated on his son's mother. It's so brilliantly played by Lemmon, who manages to make clear the regret contained within his character. Perhaps, despite his cheating ways, Lemmon is the most noble of all the characters in the film, as he at least feels regret and TRIES to make amends for losing his son in the process. Other scenes that really stood out to me include: Chris Penn's character standing over a woman, a rock hoisted above his head, letting out a lifetime's worth of frustration; a character played by Lyle Lovett, a baker, becoming enraged that a customer hasn't come to pick up a cake they ordered, not realizing that the cake customers are the parents of the dying child who was hit by the car or perhaps the moment when you realize that two marriages are seemingly being repaired after a night spent having fun, drinking and letting loose. It's a beautiful film, filled with ugly characters and a world that I wouldn't want to live in, yet also coming with the realization that we all do live in this world.

Speaking of Chris Penn's character, THE BOOK makes note that he's an awful person and I have to disagree. I mean, sure he's a murderer, but this guy was a corked bottle for the entire film and at the end, he just popped. I wouldn't consider him awful, but just finally releasing his emotions at the most inopportune time. Look, I could analyze every single character, in full paragraph from, but I'm not a genuine movie reviewer, just a Joe who loves watching movies and keeping a journal of my progress. It's a sometimes fascinating picture, sometimes frightening, sometimes you laugh a little, sometimes you ache for the characters involved, sometimes you share their pain, sometimes you shudder to think that these are all real people. You become attached to the characters, even the awful ones and you realize that if you only took a minute, that you could meet hundreds, thousands of these types if only you took a minute and paid attention to the characters around you, in your everyday life. At times, the picture feels like an extra long television pilot, as if we're jumping back and forth with the purpose of introducing everyone and everyone's situation. In fact, the movie is quite anti-climactic, which does leave things open. We don't really get closure on every story, so again, we've another Altman film that technically could be adapted for TV. Anyway, I'm getting rambly...

RATING: 9.5/10  Can't go whole hog, just because I wasn't feeling the full '10' aura from this one. But it's definitely up there. We'll probably go back and continue in chronological order from here on out, with Altman's work.

MOVIES WATCHED: 753
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 248

November 2, 2013  11:12pm

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528. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

Running Time: 121 minutes
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Robert Altman, Brian McKay, Edmund Naughton
Main Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane, John Schuck
Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: CHAPTER II

Again, I want to say that I hope everyone enjoyed the FRIGHTFEST stuff as much as I enjoyed watching and reviewing the films. Even the bad ones were a hoot and I'll probably turn FRIGHTFEST into a yearly tradition. I also hope everyone out there had a safe and happy Halloween. I'm really not a Halloween nut myself (you know, besides posting the seven horror movie reviews), but I know some people get into and more power to them. Anyway, "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"...

What a breath of fresh air of a movie this gem was! I'll praise it in a bit, but for now, let me bring you up to speed on the plot. McCabe (Beatty) is a cowardly, yet smart mouthed gambler, who also fancies himself a businessman. Upon the film's opening, McCabe is settling into a cozy saloon, with a fresh deck of cards, ready to win his way into the proverbial penthouse. Skip ahead and we see McCabe dealing with a man for three "chippy's" a.k.a. three women, whom he intends to start a brothel with. He gets the gals and takes them back to his headquarters, which is still in the process of being built. For now, McCabe puts the three ladies into three separate tents and writes their names above the entrance ways. It doesn't take long for McCabe to actually get some real buildings built though and with the guidance of Mrs. Miller (Christie) - a know it all in the prostitute game - he starts to make a few dollars, although nowhere near what he expects to earn. When a couple of big time businessmen come to town and offer to buy all of McCabe's holdings for the meager sum of $5500, he refuses, not realizing that the men work for a man named Shaughnessy, who is known for having men killed who turn down his business offers. So, not wanting to disrepute himself, Shaughnessy dispatches three hitmen, who aim to kill McCabe!

SPOILER ALERT!

When I say that this film is a "breath of fresh air", I don't necessarily mean that it's head & shoulders above other films I've watched this season, but rather, I mean that it was unlike anything I'd seen before. It was kind of western, though had an edge, which made it unlike any western I'd seen before. It's tone was almost defined by the Leonard Cohen score, which seemed to put me in a trance at the opening credits (with "The Stranger Song") and not let up until McCabe was frozen solid, amidst the harsh, wintry winds in the film's finale. It also had a unique, memorable performance by Beatty too. I say uniquely good, because normally I'm just not a Beatty fan, yet I loved him here. And no, it wasn't because he got all the best lines (talking about frogs with wings and turds in peoples pockets), but rather he played it cool, seemingly hiding behind the thick beard of McCabe and plotting his every word, using his vocabulary, body language and acting skills like chess pieces. "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" requires a patient audience, as it does have a tendency to move at a snail's pace, although for this viewer, the leisurely pace was warranted and welcome. It just seemed to be THAT movie that doesn't need to be rushed, that just means to take it's time and let things play out. I mean, the film spends basically the entire last hour establishing the businessmen who propose a deal to McCabe, McCabe's refusal of the deal and his dealings with the hitmen. Of course, the whole thing ends with a fantastic shoot out in the snow, so it more than makes up for the moments of the film that tend to lag a bit.

And seriously, if the networks insisted on turning one of Altman's movies into a television show, why couldn't it have been this one?! I wasn't born yet, but I'd have totally gone back and tracked down syndicated airings of the "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" weekly television show, with Kris Kristofferson as McCabe (he was just starting his acting career in '71) and some very talented actress as Mrs. Miller. GOLD! Anyway, pipe dreams aside, this is one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Sure, it had it's flaws in there too, but I chose, for the most part, to overlook them and the few that were there, were easily able to be ignored.

RATING: 7.5/10  Seriously, I've listened to The Stranger Song more than a couple of times today. Give it a listen and then go watch this movie. Altman redeems himself with "The Long Goodbye" on deck.

MOVIES WATCHED: 752
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 249

October 31, 2013  11:21pm

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517. M*A*S*H (1970)

Running Time: 116 minutes
Directed By: Robert Altman
Written By: Ring Lardner Jr., from novel by Richard Hooker
Main Cast: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall
Click here to view the trailer

ALTMAN WEEK: CHAPTER I

Well FRIGHTFEST 2013 is just about in the bag (actually, all the FRIGHTFEST posts are up and scheduled to post at 8pm, for the next three nights, so for me FRIGHTFEST is kind of over) and it's time to start up a new festivity: "Altman Week". I know I said "Scorsese Week" was going to be the final director tribute week, but after looking THE BOOK over, I realized that there's still a few opportunities with director weeks left, so I figured "why not". Plus, these are great to do when I hit the halfway mark of a season, which is exactly where we are now. It's also worth noting that I'm OFFICIALLY 3/4 of the way finished with THE BOOK! Anyway, "MASH"...

Truth be told, there's really no linear, point A to point B plot here. Of course, we all probably know the story of "MASH", as it was spun-off into a very popular television show. In fact, the MASH finale still stands as the highest rated American television broadcast of all-time, with something like 125 million viewers. Now me, being a sitcom junkie (I bet you didn't know that about me), a guy who will literally give ANY sitcom at least one shot, has never seen one full episode of "MASH" and that's because I've always loathed war stuff and I think readers of the blog already know that. It's not because I'm a "give peace a chance" nut, it's just because war and war life themes have never had ANY interest for me, none whatsoever. So it wasn't a surprise that I didn't really care for this movie either. The plot revolves around a mobile hospital unit, operating during the Korean War. Your main characters are the doctors and nurses that make up the unit and the hijinks they get into. When Major Margaret Houlihan (Kellerman) joins the operation, she's dubbed "Hot Lips" and given rough treatment by the men. Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould (two that I don't mind) make up the rest of the cast, but in my view, their talents are really wasted here.

I don't know, maybe it's because the types of people (men) that probably enjoy this movie, are the same types of people (men) that I don't think I'd get along with. Overly patriotic, war nuts who also enjoy football and giving their female co-workers a hard time. I mean, isn't that the epitome of the American bully? I'm not saying this film's only audience is that type, but I bet it makes up the core, especially in the 70s when the film came out. No, it just wasn't for me, not in the least and as much as I tried to like it, I just couldn't settle into it. I liked the cast, as it was a bunch of guys that I normally enjoy, but I couldn't even, as much as I tried, enjoy that. Sure, there were a few bits that I got lost in: the dentist's wish to commit suicide and the finale football game were decent attention keepers, but that's it and had it not been for THE BOOK, I'd have probably NEVER seen this.

RATING: 4/10  That's about as high as it gets for this one. I do have high hopes for some of Altman's work though and I can tell you now that I've seen "Short Cuts" before and really liked it. Anyway, not a great start, but there's five more...

MOVIES WATCHED: 751
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 250

October 29, 2013  1:18pm

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