Path: ...!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Dimensional Traveler Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv Subject: Re: A fresh take on the Star Wars films Date: Sun, 12 May 2024 09:56:26 -0700 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 51 Message-ID: References: <20240507112300.00000489@example.com> <1525202440.737210761.510552.anim8rfsk-cox.net@news.easynews.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Sun, 12 May 2024 18:56:25 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="7d3c19043783e6ad9a8ba30204d3d5bc"; logging-data="2983424"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1+mjX4Vka7bCMcTSbCGmhSF" User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Cancel-Lock: sha1:JY4roBz0b1CWea7vpcGzL4S0tTY= Content-Language: en-US In-Reply-To: Bytes: 3586 On 5/12/2024 8:53 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote: > Dimensional Traveler wrote: >> On 5/12/2024 6:44 AM, anim8rfsk wrote: >>> shawn wrote: >>>> Sat, 11 May 2024 22:35:20 -0700, The Horny Goat wrote: >>>>> Fri, 10 May 2024 19:06:45 -0400, moviePig wrote: > >>>>>> Well, *somebody* with wit had to have been behind it. That much >>>>>> tongue-in-cheek can't have been accidental. Fwiw, the Internet seems >>>>>> rather definite that Verhoeven (a dedicated Liberal) was satirizing. > >>>>> Got a cite on that? Sounds like an interesting article or two. > >>>> https://collider.com/starship-troopers-review-satire-at-its-best/ > >>>> The cold hard truth of Starship Troopers, Paul Verhoeven's 1997 >>>> follow-up to his infamous 1995 Showgirls, is painfully obvious from >>>> the start: this is not Oscar bait. The acting is wooden, especially >>> >from lead actor Casper Van Dien. Denise Richards' performance is also >>>> suspect, playing aspiring pilot Carmen Ibanez. The only actors that >>>> stand out are the steady veterans Clancy Brown and Michael Ironside. >>>> What Starship Troopers is, though, is satire at its best, with >>>> Verhoeven masterfully weaving social commentary and potshots >>>> throughout the film. > >>> And here's the thing. He's not. He thought he made a straightforward, >>> action, adventure, film, and any social commentary or potshots escaped his >>> notice. > >> IIRC he has said it was supposed to show how evil Nazis are. > > Verhoeven ain't Mister Subtlety. That's why I said he took so many cheap > shots. Did he have something new to say? Not at all. > > But he wasn't up to the challenge of making a decent adaptation that > entertained without satire. > > I love RoboCop. The social satire works. That is an entertainment movie > and it just had no right to be. It was plagued with so many pre-production > problems it almost didn't get made. Peter Weller creates a fully-drawn > character later in the movie as he starts to remember his former life, > despite the helmut. That's a difficult acting challenge. > > Verhoeven's other good movies are... I forget. ....very few and very far between? -- I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky dirty old man.