BONUS REVIEW: Trois couleurs: Blanc/Three Colors: White (1994)

Running Time: 92 minutes
Directed By: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Written By: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Agnieszka Holland, Edward Zebrowski, Edward Klosinski
Main Cast: Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr, Aleksander Bardini
Click here to view the trailer

RESURGENCE

Still waging war with "Old Man Winter" in the form of a pretty nasty cold (which can't decide whether it wants to reside in my head or in my chest and for now, is content with hanging out in my throat), I pop in the second of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors" trilogy - "White". Remember, "White" is NOT in the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die" book and I'm only reviewing it here for completist purposes and because, why not?

This time around, our lead character changes from a woman to a man, as we zoom in on Karol Karol (Zamachowski), a Polish born hairdresser, who moved to France when he married French citizen Dominique (Delpy). At the film's beginning, the two are waging war in the courtroom - going through divorce proceedings, Dominique arguing that the marriage was never consummated. Long story short, the honeymoon is over and Karol Karol is broke as a joke, with nowhere to go and no money to get there. He lands in a subway terminal, where he wraps a handkerchief around a comb, making an effective kazoo and trying to earn a few coins to get a hot meal or maybe, just maybe, a warm bed. He is approached by a fellow Pole who offers to help him get back to Poland. The two make friends and when all is said and done, Karol decides to stowaway inside of a trunk and pretend to be luggage on a flight from France to Poland. Not without a hitch, Karol makes it back to Poland and to the location where he practices his hairdressing skills. He's still down on his luck, tired and worn out, but he has plans to get back on his feet. And that, my friends, is the movie: Karol Karol's journey from makeshift kazoo player to self made millionaire - all the while, never forgetting his long, lost love Dominique.

SPOILER ALERT!

In my review for "Blue", I said that the film lacked a certain enjoyability, but still managed to win me over with it's artistic integrity and a somber mood that appealed to me. With "White", the tables turn, as the enjoyability factor is cranked up a few notches, with Kieslowski and fellow writing collaborators focusing less on establishing a perfect atmosphere & mood and more on developing a worthwhile plot, while letting the artistry fall to the wayside. That's not to say that the film doesn't play host to more than a handful of beautiful shots, fine performances and a certain vision that Kieslowski surely had, but only to say there is a much more prevalent plot, whereas "Blue" wasn't really plot driven. Anyway (ramble ramble ramble) I totally enjoyed this and I might even say I liked it just a little bit more than "Blue". I totally clung to the Karol character and wanted to see him succeed, at all costs. The story goes that Kieslowski re-shot the ending to make Dominique seem like less of a monster and in my view, that didn't quite work out, as I still left the film not caring much for her character and thinking she got everything she deserved. In fact, speaking of the ending, that's one of the major flaws here, as I didn't care for the whole thing with Karol going to the prison and having a sign language conversation with Dominique. It just didn't work for me.

However, it's not a major gripe and I can totally live with it. Who doesn't love a good underdog story and it's french too, which is just gravy. Coupled with "Blue", I'd have to say that these two films together have me extremely excited to see "Red", the most acclaimed of the "Three Colors" trilogy.

RATING: 8/10  Gonna' go a smidgen higher with "White" and here's hoping "Red" totally knocks my socks off. I should probably lower my expectations a little bit, so as not to be disappointed.

November 10, 2013  5:33pm

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861. Trois couleurs: Bleu/Three Colors: Blue (1993)

Running Time: 98 minutes
Directed By: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Written By: Agnieszka Holland, Slavomir Idziak, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz, Edward Zebrowski
Main Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Regent, Florence Pernel, Guillaume de Tonquedec, Charlotte Very
Click here to view the trailer

HEALING

Probably should have done some sort of "Kieslowski Week" thing or even posted an announcement saying that the "colors movies" were upcoming, but I went for the "spring it on you" option instead. As a bonus, I'll also be writing a full, formal review for "White", which should probably be up tomorrow.

Julie de Courcy (Binoche), her husband Patrice (a famous composer) and their little girl Ana are involved in an automobile accident, at the beginning of the film - an accident which kills Patrice and Ana. In the hospital, Julie dons a neck brace, an arm cast and several bumps & bruises and is inconsolable when it comes to the loss of her family. She tries to kill herself by taking a handful of pills, but can't go through with it and instead, upon her hospital release, decides to distance herself from everyone she knows. She sells the family mansion, throws Patrice's unfinished compositions in the garbage, allows herself to be sexually taken by a family friend whom has always had a crush on her and then moves into a small apartment, where she plans to live as a recluse. During her healing process, Julie meets and befriends her next door neighbor, a stripper named Lucille (Very), whom everyone in the building wants evicted, save for Julie. Julie spends her nights in a local, public swimming pool, exercising herself out, perhaps a way of escaping the tears that won't seem to come for her perished family. As the title suggests, blue is the prevalent color in the picture, with many of the set pieces and props being blue, not to mention the mood of the main character.

I had seen this one once before, but for the life of me, couldn't remember the bulk of it. Therefore, this was really a fresh watch for me and to be honest, this one was a tough nut to crack. By that, I mean I'm still trying to decide whether it was a masterpiece or whether it was just really boring, with a plot that was barely enough to make a short film, let alone a feature. At about the thirty minute mark, I'd decided that "Blue" wasn't doing much for me and I'd ride it out, write up a negative review and be done with it. However, the damn thing just kept sucking me in and I'll be damned if I didn't end up really liking it. What I liked about it, I do not know - perhaps the mood, the atmosphere, the subtleties, the artistry, the somber nature of the whole thing...who knows. All I can tell you is that this is one of those films where the enjoyability of it all is NOT important, but rather the experience and the fact that you just KNOW you're watching something a little more special than all the other tripe being produced.

Keep peeled eyes for the outstanding performance from Binoche, who performs a seminar on how to BECOME heartbreak and depression. There are some other people in there too, but let's be honest - this is a one woman show and that show is named BINOCHE. I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the name Slawomir Idziak, the cinematographer of the picture and a brilliant one at that. You know you're watching the work of someone who knows what they're doing and not just some schmuck that had a degree.

RATING: 7.5/10  It's probably going to be one of those movies that is a "love it or hate it" deal. It could easily be construed as boring, if seen by the right eyes, but it also oozes master filmmaking.

MOVIES WATCHED: 757
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 244

November 9, 2013  5:42pm

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October 2013 Recap

Still sick, let's do this...

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in October 2013
1) Satantango (1994 - Bela Tarr) 5/10 - Still gonna' split it down the middle, as it's boring as heel but looks like a masterpiece.
2) Crumb (1994 - Terry Zwigoff) 8/10 - Great doc, highly recommended.
3) Forrest Gump (1994 - Robert Zemeckis) 9/10 - Went a touch too high originally. Sidenote: They recently parodied this on Family Guy and reiterated what a bitch the Jenny character is.
4) Underground (1995 - Emir Kusturica) 6/10 - Went too high here too, but a rewatch and a history lesson could do this one wonders.
5) Muriel's Wedding (1994 - P.J. Hogan) 7/10
6) The Last Seduction (1994 - John Dahl) 6.5/10 - This one hinges a little too much on the twist ending and as a result, everything pre-ending is a bit flat.
7) Cyclo (1995 - Anh-Hung Tran) 4/10
8) Through the Olive Trees (1994 - Abbas Kiarostami) 6/10 - Good, but good enough? Not quite.
9) Chungking Express (1994 - Wong Kar-Wai) 9/10 - From an '8' to a '9' and I could see it getting the full monty ('10') by TOP 20 time. Maybe the best thing I watched last month.
10) Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994 - Mike Newell) 7/10 - Good stuff here; harmless, fun RomCom.
11) Strictly Ballroom (1992 - Baz Luhrman) 6.5/10 - Just too cliche for me to go higher. You can predict the whole movie within the first five minutes. It looks like a million bucks though.
12) The Wild Reeds (1994 - Andre Techine) 3/10
13) M*A*S*H (1970 - Robert Altman) 4/10 - Stand by everything I said in my review...
14) McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1994 - Robert Altman) 7/10 - Went just a touch too high originally, but I liked this one a lot more than I thought I would. Ditto for most of the Altman movies.

NON-1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die - As seen in October 2013
1) The Omen (1976 - Richard Donner) 6.5/10 - Stand by original opinion. Good, but not quite right for Peck.
2) Day of the Dead (1985 - George A. Romero) 3.5/10
3) The Collector (1965 - William Wyler) 8.5/10 - Wish this had been in THE BOOK and I'd make sure there was a TOP 20 spot for it.
4) Pumpkinhead (1988 - Stan Winston) 2/10 - Stupid, just stupid.
5) Dawn of the Dead (2004 - Zack Snyder) 8/10 - Went too high, but this was still loads of fun and just awesome to boot.
6) Village of the Damned (1960 - Wolf Rilla) 5.5/10
7) Shaun of the Dead (2004 - Edgar Wright) 9/10 - I'm lowering this one one notch, just because I feel like it and it seems like the right thing to do. Don't get me wrong though, it's a bound to be classic comedy.

TOP 20 TRACKER
1) Open Your Eyes (10)
2) Happy Together (20)
3) Winchester '73 (10)
4) Back to the Future (20)
5) Breaking the Waves (10)
6) Taxi Driver (20)
7) Raging Bull (20)
8) Mean Streets (10)
9) The King of Comedy (20)
10) The Usual Suspects (10)
11) Goodfellas (20)
12) Heat (20)
13) Smoke (20)
14) Babe (10)
15) Crumb (20)
16) Forrest Gump (20)
17) Muriel's Wedding (10)
18) Chungking Express (20)
19) Four Weddings and a Funeral (10/20)
20) McCabe and Mrs. Miller (10)

**REMEMBER: (10) MEANS THE FILM IS A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR THE TEN WORTH MENTIONING SECTION OF THE NEXT TOP 20 and (20) MEANS THE FILM IS A STRONG CANDIDATE FOR THE ACTUAL TOP 20 LIST. BOTH MEANS I COULD SEE IT GOING EITHER WAY**

ME vs. TV

Okay, so we're about a month, month and a half into the new fall season, let's see where we stand: SPOILER ALERT!

1) The Blacklist - Still enjoying this one A LOT and James Spader is excellent. They need to spill the beans though and just reveal that Red is Lizzie's father...we all know it!

2) Hostages - Still liking this one quite a bit too, but they're really grasping at straws to turn this into a thirteen episode series. There are whole episodes that just seem to be made up on the fly.

3) Dads - I STILL find this pretty hilarious and am loving Giovanni Ribisi. I'm in for the long haul, I think.

4) Mom - Still not liking this one THAT much, but I've stuck with it and will probably continue to. My wife loves it.

5) The Millers - Will Arnett is making this show. Without him, I'd be out by now. In fact, without him, I probably wouldn't have started it.

END SPOILER ALERT!

**IRONSIDE and WE ARE MEN got canceled and that's no skin off my nose.

Also, I've given up on "Betrayal", "Sean Saves the World", "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", "The Goldbergs", "Trophy Wife", "The Michael J. Fox Show" and "The Crazy Ones". None of these are anything worth writing home about, in my view.

My wife and I are still working our way through Two and a Half Men from the beginning. We're currently in Season Five and both loving it. It's such an easy and hilarious show to watch, that when we have an hour or so to kill and want something that requires zero thought, we pop it in.

Watching Night Court from the beginning too, though I haven't watched it in a couple of weeks. I'm such a sucker for 80s/90s sitcoms. This one is one of the better ones though. Still in the first season.

We've also began watching American Horror Story and binge watched the whole first season in about twenty-four hours. I LOVED it, so much so that we got caught up with AHS: Coven and are now watching that on a weekly basis. Whoever had the idea for a weekly horror show is brilliant.

Also been watching Coupling via Netflix streaming. I've seen the whole thing before, my wife hasn't. I love the show and am enjoying reliving it. Seriously, if you haven't seen it, give it a try. It's a great introduction to Britcoms and it's SO funny!

Started watching The Killing via Netflix streaming too, but we're only on episode two, so more on that next month.

---

Well that about does it for another month. I'm going back to bed. I'll catch ya down the road...

November 8, 2013  5:03pm

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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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