The Player (Special Edition) (New Line Platinum Series)
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Movie Reviews of The Player (Special Edition) (New Line Platinum Series)
Movie Review: In 25 words or less:
Summary: 5 Stars
"When was the last time you actually bought a ticket to see a movie, you actually paid your own money to see it?"
"Last night, Pasedena. The Bicycle Thief."
"It's an art movie. It doesn't count. We're talking about movie movies."
Robert Altman is one of my favorite directors, mainly for the way he finds insight in the most inane actions or phrases. This short exchange has many layers when taken out of context and many more when taken in context. With this dialog, The Player reveals exactly why Hollywood movies don't make the money they should. Not because they don't make quality films, but because when a good movie does make money, it doesn't count because it's not a "movie movie." If he stopped to really listen to what was being said, he would've seen that art films have a great drawing power and actually don't cost much to make. But people still wonder why the modern film industry is suffering.
Wait, there's more. The people in the room don't know it, but producer Griffin Mill, in a fit of paranoia, killed an unemployed screenwriter outside the theater that night. He was being stalked by a writer, but he blamed (and murdered) the wrong one. Now he's still being stalked, still in danger of losing his job, and the cops suspect him of murder. Not a good week for Mister Mill.
As the conversation presses on, Mill's potential replacement passes around a newspaper, telling people to read random headlines to be made into scripts. Mill spots the story on his murder which we're already watching play out in a movie.
Yes, it's that type of movie, the self-referential Hollywood movie about Hollywood movies that keeps teasing itself for the viewers' enjoyment. We've seen it about a thousand times before (or since): Get Shorty, Adaptation, Wes Craven's New Nightmare, even certain elements of 8 1/2. There's really nothing too special about it, but this one has much more subtlety and is much more believable. Pay close attention to the ending scene, and think about what words they're using opposed to what they're really saying.
There's really only one word for a film like this: "Clever!"
Movie Review: How can anyone LIKE this pile o shart??? IT SUCKS!!!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
Definatly one of the worst movies ever. The dialog is so boring I had an A.D.D. attack trying to watch it. I usally never turn a movie off in the middle but I had to do it with this one. I tore it out of my laserdisc player and smashed it, so I would never have to suffer through this again. The characters are so lame I did'nt even care about who was threating his life. I wanted the stalker to go ahead and kill them all already. Man this movie is making me enraged just typing about it. IT FU**IN SUCKS!!!!! And it is really dated.Movie Review: An entertaining movie with a plausible ending
Summary: 3 Stars
The movie was about the charming and refreshed studio executive Griffin Mel (Tim Robbins). He was under extreme pressure personally (he was receiving hate mail sent by a mysterious writer he brushed off) and at work (his job was threatened by the incoming and rising Levy (Peter Gallagher)). Griffin was soon involved in a murder which he desperately tried to shake off and kept hanging on to his studio job. Not to mention he found his new love (Greta Scacchi) - the girl of the murder victim. Entered Whoopi Goldberg who played the relaxed but shrewd detective who seemed to know the truth. She lighted up the screen.
Could Griffin Mel succeed both personally and professionally?The best scene was when Griffin Mel was invited to the mug shots. Could he get away with it? That was interesting. And how would the existing studio head, the second-in-command (Tim Robbins), the new comer (Peter Gallagher)shuffle the jobs?
Near the end was the screening of a movie in a movie whose ending, under the instruction of Mel Griffin, changed from a "non-Hollywood and no big star" one to a "happy ending with Bruce Willis". That would guarantee big box office and audience' satisfaction. So I kept wondering about the ending of The Player. Is this the ending the audience like or what the studio think we like? For me, I might have chosen a different ending.
Albeit a bit slow in pace, the movie was fun to watch and packed with cameo appearances of big stars - Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, Bruce Willis, Andy McDowell, John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, Burt Reynolds, Mimi Rogers, to name a few. The movie provided plenty of twists and turns to keep me around the screen. Entertaining indeed!
Movie Review: Robert Altman's best movie
Summary: 5 Stars
From every possible critical viewpoint, The Player is a perfect movie and unquestionably Robert Altman's best effort. He was well aware that he had a fantastic script so he phoned every single successful actor he knew and invited them to appear in cameos. A slew of them did because they trusted Altman and they were also knocked out by the script. Tim Robbins is in top form in the starring role, Robert's direction is brilliant in every frame, and the entire movie never once drops the beat. The ending is a classic which you won't see coming right up until the final moment.
Peter Cross
[...]
Movie Review: Something for everyone...
Summary: 5 Stars
Everyone else here sums up the plot, so I'll try to sum up the appeals...
It's as sophisticated as you could want it to be, but also funny and with plenty of celebrity cameos for casual fun. Granted, though, it IS especially SMART humor, but with its share of laugh-out-loud moments, if you're looking for those. (John Cusack and Burt Reynolds each deliver among the most hilarious cameos, and Whoopi Goldberg has the most hilarious "real" part.)
It'll play well to watch once, or live up to endless repeated viewings, if you like to take in a movie's layers. It can be a great thriller at face value, or self-conscious and aware to a staggering depth of complexity.
It's easy on the eyes and frequently sexy, and yet the filmwork and craftsmanship is virtually flawless. The whole production (and soundtrack) is seamless perfection, living up to both Hollywood's "plastic" standards but also the most critical devote' of film.
All the performances are slickly believable, and Tim Robbins' in particular is downright sublime. Peter Gallagher is also an underrated talent here - the power struggle between their characters and how it plays out is among the most brilliant dimensions of the picture.
As a mystery and murder drama, it'll keep you guessing but satisfy you in the end. Despite Altman's neat trick of never explicitly solving the mystery for you, but giving you the clues to figure it out for yourself. (By the end of the picture, the mystery itself has become secondary to the solution, so he can leave it be for YOU to solve.)
But mostly, this picture pulls off the most rare of film accomplishments, a Hollywood picture through-and-through, with all the niceties we expect from mainstream films (sex, violence, suspense, humor, love, etc.), and yet an undeniable and profound work of art.
Film and series about Hollywood become ever more the rage, but this historic picture really set the bar. The Player will be a wild ride for anyone keen on a good movie for its own sake, but absolutely irreplacable for anyone intrigued with Hollywood and its own market-driven hypocrisy.
So it's a rock-solid movie for an average moviegoer, but as artful, dark, and cynical as a more demanding viewer could hope for.