Reviews by Shaun

This latest movie about Hollywood hypocrisy starts out at a preview of a movie with its producer in attendance played by Robert De Niro. The preview is a disaster and as it also turns out so is its producer's life. We see various aspects and relationships of his life played out which aren't very interesting or moving. One exception is a subplot involving Bruce Willis who refuses to adhere to a studio's wishes for a starring role. But there is just too much going on in the film to keep it consistent. This is a movie about greed in the film business yet it pulls no punches on the people and industry it's satirizing. And also during the movie we frequently get updates on the time of the events that are occurring. But if the movie is fictional and takes place over an extended period of time then what's the point? Robert Altman's The Player (1992) handles the same subject but in a much better way, which continues to be my favorite film about the Hollywood industry.