atacta Blog

Under discussion:

Kids  (1995)

Kids

From a narrative and directing standpoint this film rivals the best of documentary filmmaking.  Except, its not a documentary.  Its a disgusting cautionary tale of trash culture.  Its an urban nightmare influenced by the AIDS epidemic.  How in the hell did Larry Clark pull this off?  How in the hell is he not in prison now?  This is a brilliant and sick film.

****out of *****

p.s. the first time I saw this no one knew of Chloe Sevigny - but she is at the core of this film and carries most of its emotional weight

MODIFICATION - I thought about this some more and since the film is truly repellent I gotta knock off 1/2 star

Under discussion:

Starship Troopers  (1997)

Outrageous, entertaining, sexy.  How does Paul Verhoeven get these performances?  Particularly Dina Meyer as Dizzy who bought in 100%.  Good for her.  And what an arresting smile from Denise Richards.  

Anyway, I am impressed in a dumbed down sort of way - *** 1/2 / *****  Far, far, far superior to anything I have seen from the Dutchman, until?......

Under discussion:

Robocop  (1987)

Starship Troopers  (1997)

Black Book  (2007)

Paul Verhoeven - 2006

On the heels of Starship Troopers I ventured through this and it took me three nights to do so because of various distractions.  My feelings are that this is certainly his premier film, his 6th feature after RoboCop (filmed in my home town of Dallas).  It is interesting to see (and perhaps poll?) directors' finest efforts six to seven films in.  Watch the "making of."  Verhoeven has an irresistable love of the medium and the energy of a first time director.

The female leads in the film are outstanding.  Carice van Houten and Halina Reign brilliantly capture the desperate attempt to stay alive using sexuality and male manipulation.  In this sense, Verhoeven gives Camille Paglia a run for her money and solidifies himself as a Dutch feminist.

The production value of the second act is weak and is the only hint at the relatively small budget that Verhoeven had on the picture – it does play like a weak Sunday night television thriller.

This stands among the best of Holocaust films.  It is on par with http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077025/ and better than Schindler’s List.  Its a thiller that stands above all Verhoeven’s previous work.  I think it’s the film that he was meant to make.  Again, watch the "making of."  His lead stars agree with me.

**** / *****

Starship Troopers (1997)

Robocop (1987)