Author Topic: 1990s US Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 712319 times)

m_rturnage

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1040 on: August 16, 2008, 04:48:33 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.

My matchup is this and Gattica. I have not seen Starship Troopers before. Too much bad word of mouth about it. I may find it to be an underrated gem... with giant space bugs in it.
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philip918

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1041 on: August 16, 2008, 05:14:46 PM »
Starship Troopers is awesome.  That's why it's in the bracket.

edgar00

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1042 on: August 16, 2008, 05:26:12 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!




I'm sorry to read about you disliking towards Sydney. I put that one through in the first round!
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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1043 on: August 16, 2008, 05:28:18 PM »
I haven't seen Starship Troopers, but I hope it totally sucks — yet looks so amazing in high-def that you advance it anyway.  That way, the next time someone says you can't polish a turd, I can be like, "Oh yeah? Have you seen Starship Troopers in Blu-Ray?"  Because that expression really needs to die.

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sdedalus

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1044 on: August 16, 2008, 06:23:44 PM »
Starship Troopers is awesome.  That's why it's in the bracket.

Yup.
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winrit

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1045 on: August 16, 2008, 06:29:02 PM »
Starship Troopers is awesome.  That's why it's in the bracket.

Yup.

Agreed.
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philip918

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1046 on: August 16, 2008, 08:58:39 PM »
Disagree strongly... but good write-up!

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



To each their own.  To me, his performance felt like an extended monologue from the Twilight Zone.  He had no personality whatsoever.  It was really off-putting.

Junior

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1047 on: August 16, 2008, 10:01:12 PM »
Starship Troopers is awesome.  That's why it's in the bracket.

Yup.

Agreed.

Totally. It has Casper Van Dien in it!
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St. Martin the Bald

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1048 on: August 17, 2008, 01:07:08 AM »
Love PT but that decision is money.

It is so money.
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St. Martin the Bald

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Re: 1990s US Bracket commentary
« Reply #1049 on: August 17, 2008, 01:09:48 AM »
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.

My matchup is this and Gattica. I have not seen Starship Troopers before. Too much bad word of mouth about it. I may find it to be an underrated gem... with giant space bugs in it.

It is an under rated gem.

Starship Troopers is awesome.  That's why it's in the bracket.

Yup.

Agreed.

Totally. It has Casper Van Dien in it!

And a naked Dina Meyer.
Hey, nice marmot!