Author Topic: 1990s US Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 712320 times)

duder

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1030 on: August 15, 2008, 07:28:46 AM »
I want to hear more about Keyser Soze as metaphor for AIDS, please.

pixote

this didn't occur to me.  and as I finished my commentary, i first wrote that Suspects was going through, but still felt uneasy about it, though knew i'd fall back on it once pressed.  the idea that Soze is an AIDS metaphor gives me hope for its life next round, the idea seems quite interesting - is it your thesis or something otherwise floated?

I don't know what's funnier, pixote's joke or that skjerva chose to take it seriously. Awesome.
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skjerva

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1031 on: August 15, 2008, 12:27:52 PM »
I want to hear more about Keyser Soze as metaphor for AIDS, please.

pixote

this didn't occur to me.  and as I finished my commentary, i first wrote that Suspects was going through, but still felt uneasy about it, though knew i'd fall back on it once pressed.  the idea that Soze is an AIDS metaphor gives me hope for its life next round, the idea seems quite interesting - is it your thesis or something otherwise floated?

I don't know what's funnier, pixote's joke or that skjerva chose to take it seriously. Awesome.

not sure if it was a joke, pix wrote that it was something someone once floated, and i reckon it isn't too hard to make a somewhat interesting case for it.  the film is a homoerotic romp, all of the guys are killed off by this unidentified killer, whose only justification in gathering these guys together is that they fuc3ed him in the past.  not sure if it would be worthwhile to pursue the drag that verbal/soze wears - the disability/disease.  i think the funniest bit is that you thought it was a joke and apparently didn't consider how it might work ;)
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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sdedalus

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1032 on: August 15, 2008, 04:14:27 PM »
Yeah. It is a curse, because many times when I am serious, I still come off sounding sarcastic.

And I do like Big Night quite a bit. However, I cannot ignore the fact that Stanley Tucci co-wrote and co-directed a movie that happens to involve him landing both Minnie Driver and Isabella Rossellini. If I wrote a screenplay about some romantic loner named Turnage landing both Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, then directed it and cast myself as the dude, I am sure some people would cry "unrealistic wish fulfillment." Which is why I believe Javier Bardem should play me.

Meh.  These things are subjective.
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sdedalus

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1033 on: August 15, 2008, 04:17:02 PM »
Six Degrees of Separation
vs.
The Usual Suspects

I started writing this one up last night, and once I started writing I realized the film I was choosing really didn't deserve to move on.  Really, that doesn't say much since neither film should move on, but the only reason I was choosing The Usual Suspects was that it was oozing, nay, throbbing, with gay subtext.

It seems a shame that one of these films could represent our tribe as Top 100 material of the 90s, but I suspect we can chalk that up to the reality that they really can't :)  I'm not sure how legit the complaint is that Degrees feels entirely stagey, but it does, and there begins its problems.  Only during the final 15ish minutes does it seem to drop that vibe, by then the taint is too high to shrug off.  Even Smith's typically endearing persona suffers from stiff dialogue; unfortunately, both Sutherland and Channing embrace theatrical postures to pull Smith out of what might otherwise be an actually compelling story.  It is also disappointing to learn that the source material is derived from an actual story, with details seemingly kept rather true to life, it seems the power of some of the themes is likely kept in check (and in contrast to) a desire to stick to the facts.  In fact, the stated premise of the film - that we are all, yeah, yeah, yeah - while pronounced by Ouisa (Channing) in a rather tedious speech, is really of little importance to anything that otherwise goes on in the play film.  The content is much better served by emphasizing the idea of separation that is a constant throughout, but never really acknowledged in the text.

As I write, I realize it makes little sense to allow Degrees to move forward.  I hereby grant one extra Rule-In to Oneaprilday.  Neither film moves on!

Once again, you have left me speechless.
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duder

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1034 on: August 15, 2008, 04:23:33 PM »
I want to hear more about Keyser Soze as metaphor for AIDS, please.

pixote

this didn't occur to me.  and as I finished my commentary, i first wrote that Suspects was going through, but still felt uneasy about it, though knew i'd fall back on it once pressed.  the idea that Soze is an AIDS metaphor gives me hope for its life next round, the idea seems quite interesting - is it your thesis or something otherwise floated?

I don't know what's funnier, pixote's joke or that skjerva chose to take it seriously. Awesome.

not sure if it was a joke, pix wrote that it was something someone once floated, and i reckon it isn't too hard to make a somewhat interesting case for it.  the film is a homoerotic romp, all of the guys are killed off by this unidentified killer, whose only justification in gathering these guys together is that they fuc3ed him in the past.  not sure if it would be worthwhile to pursue the drag that verbal/soze wears - the disability/disease.  i think the funniest bit is that you thought it was a joke and apparently didn't consider how it might work ;)

Oh I know, it fits perfectly, that's why it's such a good joke :)
...

philip918

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1035 on: August 16, 2008, 02:21:51 PM »
Sydney (1996) vs Swingers (1996)

Sydney...
Is probably the best lensed student film ever made.  Elswit's cinematography is really the only thing that stands above the cliched story, poor dialogue and stunted acting.  Philip Baker Hall plays Sydney, a sort of sinister Jiminey Cricket to John C. Reilly's bumbling-yet-lovable-loser character, John, a character Reilly has played in every film he's been in since 1996.  Sam Jackson (in a surprisingly understated performance) and Gwyneth Paltrow round out the high-powered cast.

The plot revolves around Sydney trying to get the hapless John back on his feet by teaching him the tricks to squeaking by in Vegas while hiding a dark, terrible secret.  Oooooo.  The events that unfold are hilariously melodramatic.  It's just one preposterous scene after the next between bursts of some of the most ham-fisted dialogue I've ever heard.

Anderson's work in Boogie Nights only a year later represents such a quantum leap forward in filmmaking it is frankly mind-boggling.  I was excited to see this, but other than visual panache it disappointed on all fronts.

Swingers...
Tries to be the ultimate buddy film and it damn well comes close.  It's hard to resist the film's relentless exuberance and the cast seems to be having a blast along the way.  Despite some of the over-the-top antics, the film does a remarkably good job of capturing realistic male camaraderie as it follows a group of guys desperately trying to pull a friend out of his post-dumped depression.

Despite the use of the word "baby" at least once per sentence, the dialogue is very sharp, Liman's camerawork gives the film a visual interest that is sadly missing in most comedies and it's hard to resist the cast's charm.  Film has a few big laughs and while I didn't walk away a new person or anything, I did have a big smile on my face.

Thought this would be a lot closer (actually thought it would be the other way around), but in a surprising rout Swingers breezes on, baby!



¡Keith!

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1036 on: August 16, 2008, 02:37:59 PM »
Love PT but that decision is money.

Basil

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1037 on: August 16, 2008, 03:44:23 PM »
Disagree strongly... but good write-up!

EDIT: Also, Philip Baker Hall's performance in Syndey is among my favorites... of all time.

« Last Edit: August 16, 2008, 03:50:19 PM by Basil »
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m_rturnage

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1038 on: August 16, 2008, 04:01:49 PM »
Just got this:

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We have shipped: Starship Troopers (Blu-ray)
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karlwinslow

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1039 on: August 16, 2008, 04:24:09 PM »
We have shipped: Starship Troopers (Blu-ray)

i feel like i was just watching this on tv, shocked by how awful it was and wondering why it was in the bracket.