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Author Topic: 1990s US Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 712705 times)

sdedalus

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #40 on: November 06, 2007, 06:16:06 PM »
Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show and Slacker I'd like to save.

Pulp Fiction and Slacker I would have gone the other way.


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pixote

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #41 on: November 12, 2007, 12:02:19 AM »

Second-half perfection sends 'Dreams' to second round

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hoop Dreams has escaped the upset bug.

After watching Pulp Fiction and Quiz Show lose their first round matchups, many fans of the 1994 Conference were wondering if any of their top-seeded teams would make it to the weekend.

Hoop Dreams calmly put those fears to rest tonight, racking up a season-high 105 points and keeping Gummo's arty and aggressive play-calling in check for most of the contest.

Although the Chicago documentarians never trailed, they exhibited some big game jitters in the first half, letting Harmony Korine's upstart Gummo squad stay closer than expected.

"We didn't play with confidence right out the gate," Hoop Dreams director Steve James said afterwards. "It took us some time to figure out what our subject really even was. And how to film it."

Cinematographer Peter Gilbert also chalked up the slow start to inexperience. "We were learning as we went," he said. "And we had a helluva lot to learn."

The Gummo players did their best to capitalize. While Hoop Dreams was methodically piecing together its ambitious gameplan, Korine's band of misfits countered with an arresting meld of fictional and non-fictional aesthetics. Alternating from an intimate style to one altogether distancing, the tone poem to exurbia staggered its opponent at times. But it was unable to deliver an early knockout blow.

The deciding factor in the first half seemed to be Hoop Dreams's ability to limit Korine's greatest strength: his recruiting. The Gummo team is able to intimidate most opponents with its lineup of rough-hewn outcasts, drawn from areas of rural poverty that coaches and scouts from the major conferences have historically overlooked.

But fourth-seeded Hoop Dreams, a fellow mid-major, matches Gummo strength for strength. Few if any other teams in the tournament can boast of more fortuitous casting. And the depth of the bench is similarly unparalleled.

Asked about the difficulties presented by this pairing, Korine replied, "I could answer that, but that's just boring to me. I'd rather just jump out a window, just shoot myself."

The intricacies of the matchup proved irrelevant once the second half began, when Hoop Dreams just couldn't seem to miss. The filmmakers transformed their gameplan from a small story of two kids playing basketball to the epic unfolding of ordinary lives, encompassing race, poverty, family, friendship, youth, capitalism, and even — it's not overstating things — the American dream.

At that point, the Gummo players stood little chance. As if facing Arthur Agee's infectious smile and Willam Gates' irrepressible kindheartedness weren't enough of a challenge, they now had to account for Arthur's mom graduating from nursing school; Arthur's dad getting high, separating from the family, getting arrested, finding God, returning to the family, and still draining threes over his grown son with confidence ("You want to see it rain? ... Let it rain."); William serving as his brother's one link to the glory of his youth; and on and on.

When the Arthur Agee's Marshall team triumphed in exhilarating and unlikely fashion over national powerhouse King High School, some observers wondered whether Hoop Dream was running up the score on Gummo — perhaps still sore over a perceived Oscar snub twelve years ago.

"We can't concern ourselves with all that stuff," said Gates. "We leave that to you guys in the press. Write what you want."

Gummo fans, while pessimistic about the team's chance to enter the second chance bracket, remain hopeful that Bunny Boy will be named to the All-Tournament Team. Many analysts cite his inspired, impressionistic play as the team's strongest asset throughout the game. Some go further and accuse Korine of underutilizing him.
 
"Meh," said Korine.
 
He refused further comment.

(Reporting by pixote.)
« Last Edit: February 09, 2009, 07:49:16 AM by pixote »
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facedad

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #42 on: November 12, 2007, 12:03:49 AM »
I like you so much right now.
You're just jealous! Nobody loves you because you're tiny and made of meat!

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Junior

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #43 on: November 12, 2007, 12:48:40 AM »
I think you win the bracket.
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sdedalus

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #44 on: November 12, 2007, 01:35:28 AM »
Well done, sir.
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skjerva

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #45 on: November 12, 2007, 09:01:56 AM »
Again, pixote, brilliant.
But I wish the public could, in the midst of its pleasures, see how blatantly it is being spoon-fed, and ask for slightly better dreams. 
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Junior

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #46 on: November 12, 2007, 08:46:38 PM »
I can't be any better than that, so I'll just do what I did last time.
Orlando
VS
Dead Man

Orlando.

Flaws: Billy Zane. He didn't add anything to this at all. His acting was not up to par. I also didn't really like the last shot. It looked too fake and didn't fit with the rest of the movie.

Attributes: Tilda Swinton. She is truly captivating as a man and a woman. I liked the asides to the camera. It was jarring the first time but I loved it. The things they were saying about gender and sex were very interesting and handled well. The Billy Zane character did bring up the idea that maybe he was originally a girl, but that was the only good part of that section. I really liked the visual style of this movie, too. It looked great.

Dead Man.

Flaws: It was a little slow. I'm usually down with slow movies but this one dragged on just a little too much. I also have a really strong dislike for Alfred Molina, so I didn't really like him (but I did like it when he died  ;D)

Attributes: Johnny Depp is the man. I liked his character and they way he played it. This proves that he is a great actor. Other great performances: Gary Farmer, Michael Wincott, Iggy Pop (this part was weird, but I loved it), Lance Henriksen. That scene with the stomping of the head was so unexpected. I yelled out, which was weird for my roommate who wasn't watching it. Then there is the music. I can see how this could be a divisive issue, but I loved it. It was so cool. This movie left me bewildered, but in a good way.

The decision.

I think Tilda Swinton's performance and the style/direction gives the edge slightly to Orlando.
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facedad

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #47 on: November 12, 2007, 08:51:46 PM »
You made the wrong choice. Save Dead Man sdedalus.
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JoshuaOst

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #48 on: November 12, 2007, 08:56:32 PM »
I agree.  Dead Man is a great film that is highly underrated.  Another performance I would mention from that movie is John Hurt.  He only plays a small part at the beginning of the movie but it's a great scene and sets the rest of the movie in motion.
« Last Edit: November 12, 2007, 08:58:27 PM by JoshuaOst »
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facedad

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #49 on: November 12, 2007, 08:58:35 PM »
And Orlando is overrated.
You're just jealous! Nobody loves you because you're tiny and made of meat!

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