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From: Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Re: A fresh take on the Star Wars films
Date: Sun, 12 May 2024 09:56:26 -0700
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On 5/12/2024 8:53 AM, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
>> On 5/12/2024 6:44 AM, anim8rfsk wrote:
>>> shawn <nanoflower@notforg.m.a.i.l.com> wrote:
>>>> Sat, 11 May 2024 22:35:20 -0700, The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>>>>> Fri, 10 May 2024 19:06:45 -0400, moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> 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.