How is it? I don't know much about Short Cuts (that's the way I like it for movies I haven't seen), but I've heard it compared to Magnolia, which is in my top 10.
chente
11-17-04, 02:37 PM
I don't know but I'm blind buying it based on what little I have read/heard about it.
flmfreakcentral
11-17-04, 03:03 PM
Your appreciation of SHORT CUTS will probably hinge more on your fondness for Robert Altman than for MAGNOLIA, although Altman and PT Anderson are mutually fond of one another's work.
SHORT CUTS doesn't have the aesthetic razzle-dazzle of MAGNOLIA, though I suppose there are structural similarities, and Julianne Moore appears in both. (Full-frontally nude in the former, for what it's worth.)
SHORT CUTS is like NASHVILLE crossed with 3 WOMEN. A bit overrated at that, yet I've probably watched it more often than any other Altman flick. Go figure.
Bill C
filmfreakcentral.net
Richard Malloy
11-17-04, 06:01 PM
I'd say that "Short Cuts" is very definitely the template for "Magnolia", though as ffctrl correctly notes, Altman's style doesn't incorporate the flashy calisthenics of Anderson's. However, you will recognize the overall structure of intersecting stories/lives, the LA setting, the sense of despair that hangs over the lost souls of the story many of whom will remind you just a little of those in "Magnolia" (and at least one of which appears to have inspired a character in "Punch Drunk Love"). There's even a kinda-sorta apocalyptic event and plague, though "reality-based" in nature rather than Anderson's old testament style rain of frogs. Will you like "short cuts" if you like "Magnolia"? Hard to say... but it'll seem awfully familiar in so very many ways.
brianluvdvd
11-18-04, 10:18 AM
I hated Magnolia but I loved Short Cuts. What does that mean?
I would not recommend Short Cuts as a blind buy. Some may find it a little long & dull. I would rent it first if possible.
I usually like movis where several ongoing stories intersect with each other and I always felt that Short Cuts was one of the best examples of this.
Fartface
11-19-04, 09:37 AM
I generally love Altman's work, but I hated this.
rkndkn
11-19-04, 09:06 PM
Originally posted by brianluvdvd
I usually like movis where several ongoing stories intersect with each other and I always felt that Short Cuts was one of the best examples of this.
Me too, and I agree.
Not a big Altman fan, but this is probably my favorite. It includes one heartbreaking scene that has lingered with me since its theatrical release.
Buy: