Comments on: Mind Blowing Movies: Groundhog Day (1993), by Ruben Bolling

By: Red Pill Junkie

Red Pill Junkie — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 22:50:00 +0000

YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!

;)

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:16:00 +0000

ST the book didn’t really have a plot or ongoing characters except for the protagonist. You can make a movie about a series of vignettes, but it’s not likely to attractive a wide audience.

By: Gary61

Gary61 — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:45:00 +0000

What I wanted .. what I really really wanted – was to see the powered armor (from the book) in this movie – the fact that it was left out saddened me.

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:57:00 +0000

> I’d be the last person to say so, but I think you’re poisoning the well with that straw-man.

Meh, I have been known to use a logical fallacy from time to time.

But so as not to use anymore…
I guess it was just my take that Star ship troopers, was entertaining and perhaps played with some interesting ideas around war totalitarianism and propaganda, but in my view it never really developed any great point or twist. So IF you were asking me if it could “blow your mind” I would have to say, not mine, not without a rewrite and acting that isn’t a constant distraction.

It doesn’t help that every video game before and after, and most Sci Fi movies use the cliche, “Maybe the good guys are the bad guys and they are lying to you.”

And really ‘Alien’ and ‘Avatar’ did that one a hell of a lot better.

Pandorum was sort of Fight Club in space, with horror, which I enjoyed, but was not so thought provoking as to make me want to watch it again any time soon. That was in part because the supporting cast wasn’t as interesting as Quaid so you were left with the b team when he went back to the dark side.

On the other hand, the acting and writing of Groundhog day leaves you with just countless memorable moments and some intense questions at the end.

By: Robert McCoy

Robert McCoy — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:47:00 +0000

The film is science fiction in that it posits that a man could use “science” to predict future weather events, instead of the tried-and-true method of consulting a prophetic rodent.

By: RedShirt77

RedShirt77 — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Too many people here are defending terrible adaptations because they like the book or the author.

I really look forward to the new total recall, because the first one sucked.

And who knows, maybe we will get 4 boobs!

By: retepslluerb

retepslluerb — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Heinlein can’t hold a candle to Verhoeven. He’s a juvenile author with a limited set of characters, tropes and plots, prone to preaching and severely overestimating he cleverness.

By: OtherMichael

OtherMichael — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 15:01:00 +0000

@boingboing-515e54370d38b4af21bf08cff544d25e:disqus > The only people that said it was good where people that already read the book.

I’d be the last person to say so, but I think you’re poisoning the well with that straw-man.

I never read ST until after I had seen the movie.

As usual, they were two separate beasts that shared some DNA, much like humans and earthworms. This is an interesting fact, but one that has no bearing on the “meaning” of either. They are separate, and are treated as such, above.

By: Auto

Auto — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 13:38:00 +0000

Starship Troopers – brilliant. You all went out and saw perky boobs, bugs, great destroyers…I saw…

Fascism

Modern fascism, wrapped up in propaganda. Remember the part where the talking heads are discussing that possibly they have provoked the bugs…nahhh.

The director envisioned life today, now, in ‘merica.

By: Jellodyne

Jellodyne — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:57:00 +0000

I think Total Recall is similar in a lot of ways to Starship Troopers — I think it is very critical about violent escapist fantasy, while simultaneously being some of the crackingist violent escapist fantasy there is. The key line in the movie, I think it where Arnold kills his wife and quips ‘Consider that a DIVORCE!’ I mean, if you can find a more concise, cutting and brutal critique of form, I’d like to see it. Its like the single worst one-liner in the history of cinema.

By: Shawn H Corey

Shawn H Corey — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:37:00 +0000

If you’re autistic, this is to much like real life to be interesting. If you’re not, this is a glimpse inside.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:28:00 +0000

Isn’t that the one where Xena and Gabrielle keep on getting in to the bath together… or is that just my home made copy?

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:24:00 +0000

”That’ll do, pig, that’ll do.”

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:22:00 +0000

Yeh! Dark City! One of my favourites too. It may be a philosophical light weight, but it does feature Rufus Sewell, Ian Richardson and Richard O’Brien and some nice set design.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:09:00 +0000

A hooker with three boobs – what’s not to like?

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:04:00 +0000

How about Primer?

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:03:00 +0000

Bugs, boobs and bombs! The Mobile Infantry made me the man I am today!

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 09:01:00 +0000

Starship Troopers was not science fiction, it is contemporary fiction…

“Service grantees citizenship”

“Want to know more?”

http://usa-green-card.com/blog/index.php/2010/01/09/us-army-recruitment-program/

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:53:00 +0000

For me it was let down by a central premise that makes no sense (if the machines are using the humans as bio-mass generators, why allow them any kind of fantasy life), sequels that undermined the paranoia of the first film (in the first movie it is not made explicit that our entire world does not exist in the Matrix, while the sequels shrink the Matrix to a single city, a free way and a mountain), appalling cod-philosophy (to numerous to mention) and endless fight scenes in which the outcome had no consequence for the plot or characters.

However, I did like the energy of style of the first film and the quote, “There are levels of survival we are prepared to accept”.

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:40:00 +0000

And now we’ve got your secret stuff and you are thinking the thoughts we want you to think…

By: euansmith

euansmith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:39:00 +0000

Aw – I really enjoyed Inception, but now you’ve taken the shine off it for me… I want to see Inception starring Bill Murray :(

By: Michael Smith

Michael Smith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:35:00 +0000

Proper science fiction should at least try to have good science, and Total Recall didn’t.

By: Michael Smith

Michael Smith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:34:00 +0000

Friday was cyberpunk well done. The story is still fresh and I would love to see it made into a movie.

And while we are on the subject, how about Stranger? It fits with ST as a kind of counterpoint.

By: Michael Smith

Michael Smith — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:30:00 +0000

Well it is the only Heinlein movie (pretty much).

By: Andrew Kane

Andrew Kane — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 08:20:00 +0000

Read some Heinlein (Specifically “Starship Troopers” and tell me that he “can’t hold a candle” to Verhoeven.

By: Cameron Rene Ramirez

Cameron Rene Ramirez — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:56:00 +0000

It was Punxsutawney Phil.

By: Cameron Rene Ramirez

Cameron Rene Ramirez — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:54:00 +0000

Stephen Tobolowsky was also the proxy Sammy Jankis in the reverse Groundhog Day movie Memento.

By: Cameron Rene Ramirez

Cameron Rene Ramirez — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:44:00 +0000

The ultimate deus ex machina.

By: Cameron Rene Ramirez

Cameron Rene Ramirez — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:39:00 +0000

Groundhog day is the secular Christmas Carol. A redemption story that centers on community good rather then romantic conquest.

By: KBert

KBert — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 03:20:00 +0000

I’d like to know more!