classicsoncall Well if random conversations and the meanderings of dysfunctional characters going nowhere is your thing, this might be the film for you. Just be advised that you'll have to be prepared to devote three hours to a movie that essentially doesn't achieve a resolution for most of it's characters. Which may actually be the point of the film because life is like that to a great degree. Things happen, people make wrong choices, there are regrets and recriminations, and after all that, life goes on. As a venue for a lot of celebrated and accomplished actors the film is OK; they move their angst driven characters through a variety of situations skillfully, but just as in that other esteemed Robert Altman picture "Nashville", I felt no connection to any of them or what was going on with them. Perhaps it's my loss, but the director's filming style just doesn't appeal to me, and his story telling even less.

Tweekums This film, from director Robert Altman, shows us a few days in the intertwined lives of various Los Angeles residents. Some of the characters already know each other, some will get to know each other and others are merely destined to cross paths. We see snapshots into their various lives. A group of fishermen discover a body but decide not to report it straight away. A waitress hits a young boy in her car; he appears to be fine but is later rushed to hospital. A clown, married to one of the anglers, is invited to dinner at the home of an artist who is married to the doctor treating the boy. An adulterous policeman tries to get rid of the family dog and the ex-husband of the woman she is seeing decides to literally take half of what they own. These are just some of the stories and characters we meet along the way.'Short Cuts' isn't an easy film to describe as there isn't a conventional plot; the characters each have their own little story; some have obvious resolutions, others don't. The opening scenes tell us how the city is being sprayed to deal with a medfly infestation but that has almost no bearing on what we see. This might all sound rather confusing but actually when watching I found it made sense and the way the film skipped from one story to another kept me interested; it certainly didn't feel like I was watching a three hour film. The cast is packed with well-known actors; Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Downey Jnr, Madeleine Stowe, Tim Robbins, Francis McDormand and Chris Penn to name just a few; these and the others are on great form making their characters believable even during the more extreme moments. This certainly isn't for younger viewers or the easily offended; as well as such things as Jennifer Jason Leigh performing phone-sex while feeding her young children and Julianne Moore arguing with Matthew Modine while half naked there is a nihilistic feel at times with the fishermen's story and a murder in the closing scenes. If you believe a good film needs a strong plot then this probably won't be for you but if you want a film that is all about characters and how they interact then this is definitely one to watch.

Jackson Booth-Millard From Oscar nominated director Robert Altman (MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville, The Player), this was another film with a big ensemble cast of big stars, featured in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I was looking forward to seeing. Basically a fleet of helicopters spray for medflies, and along the path flight we meet various characters, most not aware of each other, only some that are, but all going through regular day to day things, but all have an element of luck and chance come into play and change things for them, whether based on infidelity or death. Dr. Ralph Wyman (Matthew Modine) is married to wife Marian Wyman (Julianne Moore), but she later admits she has been sleeping with another man, Marian's sister Sherri Shepard (Madeleine Stowe) is married to police officer Gene Shepard (Tim Robbins), he initially plans to leave the family and the irritating barking dog following his affair with Betty Weathers (Frances McDormand), but changes his mind for his children, and Betty herself is divorcing helicopter pilot Stormy Weathers (Peter Gallagher). Waitress Doreen Piggot (Lily Tomlin) is married to alcoholic limousine driver Earl (Tom Waits), she is shocked after hitting Casey Finnigan (Zane Cassidy) with her car, the day before his ninth birthday, the little boy seemed fine for some time, but then his mother Ann Finnigan (Andie MacDowell) finds him in a bad way and he is taken to hospital where he goes unconscious, and Casey shockingly dies all of the sudden, the baker gets a harsh explanation of why Ann or TV commentator husband Howard (Bruce Davison) didn't collect the birthday cake. Tess Trainer (Annie Ross) is a cabaret singer seen singing throughout the film, her daughter who lives with her is cello player Zoe (Lori Singer), she becomes overwhelmed by her mother's alcoholism and isolation, breaking down and committing suicide breathing gas fumes from inside her car, later being found dead by her mother, and Jerry Kaiser (Chris Penn) is a pool cleaner married to wife Lois (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who is a mother at home with children, and often taking care of them at the same time she makes money as a sex phone operator. Stuart Kane (Fred Ward), and his buddies Gordon Johnson (Buck Henry) and Vern Miller (Huey Lewis) are on a three day fishing trip, they find a woman's body in the river near the rocks, but initially considering it they do not report it to the police, they simply tie her to the rocks and continue fishing, and report the death after the trip, Stuart's wife Claire (Anne Archer) is angry that they did nothing all that time, and feeling guilty she attends the funeral of the dead twenty three year old girl. Other characters you see appearing in the film in amongst the other story lines and events include couple Honey Bush (Lili Taylor), Doreen's daughter, and makeup artist Bill Bush (Robert Downey Jr.) who spend most of their time entertaining each other at home, and Howard's father Paul Finnigan (Jack Lemmon) in the hospital who approaches some people being friendly or jokey, and the event that involves all characters is an earthquake in the area. All the stars in the film do their parts very well, whether being funny or serious, especially MacDowell, Robbins and Jason Leigh, obviously none of the stories are really related or connected, but you are compelled by a good number of them, when they are illicit, distressing or emotional, a most watchable and interesting ensemble, interweaving and multi layered drama. It won the Golden Globe for the Special Award for Best Ensemble Cast, and it was nominated for Best Screenplay. Very good!

phd_travel I'm glad I came across this Robert Altman movie set in Los Angeles. This is a long movie and has a lot of characters. Surprisingly if you concentrate it isn't too confusing who is who. It keeps you interested to see how things turned out for the different sets of people and piecing together the jigsaw is quite fun. The story isn't that predictable. Good mix of drama and bizarre comedy, even if some of the eccentric characters are a bit too way off. Liked the fishing trip. The only problem is you don't get enough development of the characters because there isn't enough time. Maybe a few less would have been better. The best part of watching this movie in 2013 is to see the terrific cast and how they have all gone on to so much in their careers. Also a bit poignant how some of them have aged in the 20 years since. Good to see Jack Lemmon in one of his later roles. Madeleine Stowe is lovely. Tim Robbins and Peter Gallagher are quite hilarious. Worth a watch.