Starship Troopers is stealth anti-fascism and it's hilarious

@@BlessedAreTheCheesemakers Starship Troopers was a movie about how bad fascism is, by a man who does not understand what fascism is, theoretically based on a book that was not about fascism. But you probably don't read much, do you?

@@YON_RO I'm guessing based on your comment you don't get invited to things very often, and even when you do, your intensity about inane topics that don't matter turn people off and you're not invited to the next event. Evolve, Yon.

@@YON_RO That's what makes it a fascist masterpiece.

He gave Home Alone 1 and 2 thumbs down but gives part 3 thumbs up. Beyond my understanding.

Roger was a single guy back in 1990 but he had become a step-grandfather by 1997, which made him more susceptible to embracing cruddy kiddie fare that he probably took the tots to see with him. No one with their eyes open could watch the Home Alones sequentially and think #3 was superior to the first two.

As great as Siskel & Ebert were, sometimes they got it so wrong. Speed 2, 2 thumbs up 😂 I know its just opinions not everyone is gonna share the same opinion ofc, but there's a few reviews they put out that really leave me bewildered

At least Gene didn't see the further sequels

@@ElSoloNoco Wait, 2 thumbs for Speed 2? Sounds sus.

@@mainstreetsaint36 yeah, they can be wrong. i was like "really?" i was 16 when that film came out and thought it wasn't going to work w/o keanu reeves and it didn't. it was shit.

Shutup man

Gene did that too with independent films.

My List Best and Worst of 1997 is, 1. Beverly Hills Ninja. (Best). 2. Zeus and Roxanne. (Best). 3. The Beautician and the Beast. (Best). 4. Dante's Peak. (Best). 5. Leprechaun 4: In Space. (Worst). 6. Jungle 2 Jungle. (Best, Best Acting by Tim Allen and Jobeth Williams). 7. Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves. (Best, Best Acting by Rick Moranis). 8. Liar Liar. (Best). 9. Selena. (Best, Best Acting by Jennifer Lopez). 10. Cats Don't Dance. (Animated) (Best). 11. The Devil's Own. (Worst). 12. Turbo a Power Rangers Movie. (Best) (R.I.P Jason David Frank - 2022). 13. Anaconda. (Worst, even worse than Python, Bora, Piranha Combined). 14. McHale's Navy. (Worst). 15. Shiloh. (Best, Best Than Old Yeller, Homeward Bound the Incredible Journey). 16. Volcano. (Worst) (Tommy Lee Jones, a National Treasure, a Living Legend, he's got a long legacy, the roles that he's been in are memorable). 17. The Lost World Jurassic Park. (Best). 18. Con Air. (Best). 19. Speed 2: Cruise Control. (Worst). 20. Batman & Robin. (Best). 21. My Best Friend's Wedding. (Best). 22. Face/Off. (Worst). 23. Hercules. (Best). 24. Men in Black. (Best). 25. Wild America. (Best). 26. Contact. (Best). 27. George of the Jungle. (Best). 28. The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain. Animated. (Best). 29. Air Force One. (Worst). 30. Good Burger. (Best). 31. Air Bud. (Best). 32. Spawn. (Best). 33. Pooh's Grand Adventure the Search for Christopher Robin. Animated (Best). 34. Free Willy 3 the Rescue. (Best). 35. G.I. Jane. (Best) (Best Acting by Demi Moore). 36. Leave It to Beaver. (Best). 37. Mimic. (Worst). Etc. Etc.

​@@nonamewillbegiven2412 Ok, Karen.

@@mortalclown3812 not a white woman. Try again scrub

Cannot agree more. 👍👍👍

Wasnt aware that movie was hated

Poor Siskel wouldn't make it to the next millennium. He never made it to the continuation of the Star Wars Universe or the recreation of the MCU. Very sad.

Yep, and those awful remakes keep coming through 2023. Hollywood has no originallity anymore.

@@TheMrfoxguy Its seems like an OK movie until you see Day of the Jackal and then realise they re-made an absolute classic as a complete turd. The differences between the movies are best encapsulated in the protagonists and their guns Bruce Willis, has no charisma or charm in that movie (or even at the best of times) and has a completely absurd giant computerised cannon thing. Edward Fox, ridiculously charming and almost sociopathic, has a very custom tiny calibre concealable carbine that fires explosive .22s. Also the gunsmith in the original was an absolute gem. Of the movies listed, Jackal, Alien Resurrection, Flubber, Jackal is by far and away the worst. Alien Resurrection is actually OK compared to the newer alien movies. At least its got Brad Dourif in it. I'll watch a flaming turd sandwich if its got Brad Dourif in it. And Flubber will keep a noisy child quiet for 90 minutes and if that's not a worthwhile thing I don't know what is.

Visually stunning

@@MrMllx Yes - but idiotic plot.

@@PilpelAvital It's a satire of fascism and American propaganda ... there's more to a movie than a plot

Anybody who thinks Starship Troopers doesn’t understand that it’s a satire in the style of propagandic war films.

@@PilpelAvital Satire, for those of you too stupid to realize

My favorite part was the one about the "autistic lumberjacks" lmfao

Yeah, Ebert gut me laughing there. 😆😆.

@@subtledemisefox I thought he said artistic? Maybe I am autistic lmao

Guess the email guy thought it deserved less than one star.

If you watch "worst of 1998" it's very close before he died and you can tell he's very ill. He still does a great show. RIP S & E.

Agreed. 😢

Well, everyone dies eventually.

They were old. That's what old people do...they die.

That’s because you’re old. Like me.

Well, most of the movies anyhow.

No they aren't. Take off the rose tinted glasses buddy.

They were great..so entertaining

Back when men were still men.

They’re high up there among cancer’s most unfortunate and tragic victims.

Corny

He made that comment when much less was known about Autism SD 25 years ago. If you were to do some basic research on Autism today, you wouldn’t find anything humorous about his analogy

@@matt_ohern Bruh, I can laugh at whatever I find funny.

@@matt_ohern This was also made before people who think they know everything because they read articles on the internet got their panties up in a bunch over a joke.

I.laughed too hard at that too.

@@matt_ohernGo count toothpicks, wimp.

Still think it's bizarre how much he disliked Fellowship of the Ring.

Same

@@ct6852 Gene wasn't alive for that. And Roger liked all three Lord of the Rings films.

@@sha11235 Shit yeah I was thinking of Roeper. Keep getting them mixed up.

Disney has never done anything new ever, it just repeats and rips off fairy tails

Worse, Disney does "woke" remakes.

@@aksekhiddelll8900 And that's why *Bedknobs and Broomsticks* is the greatest movie ever. It is an admission that it is impossible to create artwork that is 100% sui generis with absolutely no influence from what came before it.

And their show was owned by Disney by this point too

​@@ViciousAlienKlown1d1ot

Maybe that was a runner's up thing on the faded franchises list.

*Severely* missing?

That was camp, love. Some people love it (not me)

Yeah, I'm surprised they left that one off of this video. Ironically, I actually liked B&R as a kid, but as an adult, I now realize how incredibly dumb and cheesy it was (best parts of it were Uma Thurman and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but even THEY couldn't save that train-wreck of a film). The same applies to "Batman Forever" (that wasn't even "The Riddler", it was just Jim Carrey being Jim Carrey and nothing more). Joel Schumacher absolutely RUINED Batman back in the mid/late 90's. Thank goodness, Christopher Nolan successfully revived the character with his Dark Knight Trilogy later on in the 2000's/2010's. Fortunately, at least Schumacher had the decency to later apologize on video for ruining Batman.

But...but...Sugar Ray was in it. Sugar Ray. It was hot, wet, garbage.

It came and went quickly. I only remember when it came out because Robin Williams and Billy Crystal had a weird cameo on Friends to promote Father’s Day. It seemed so out of place.

Let's see, so I am going to guess you are either 35 or 36 now? Married with kids? We'll find out if I got any of that right.

I hadn't heard of it until seeing this episode online. I was 5 back then. I only remember Flubber.

@Stephen Del Col You're lucky, I was 27, and actually saw it with my wife (her turn to pick) in the theater (remember those?), you missed nothing, for it was a real piece of shit! On a side note, it was sad to see the late great Robin Williams get dumped on twice, but both of those movies sucked out loud!

Musta been reviewing that one on cruise control...

They were not afraid to give big-budget sequels a thumb's down, either. They were just off this review. I guess it happens.

@@DavidBrown-wm1up . Yeah.....I think that was half the fun of watching Siskel & Ebert (for me, anyway)......when out of left field they'd give a thumbs up (or a thumbs down) for a movie you were SURE they would hate (or vice-versa) !! REALLY miss these two...... :-( .

@@sdne1959 It's so sad without them. However, I think we all learned a lot from them and think about movies through a prism they helped tp create. So in a way that might seem lame but is real, they live on.

@@DavidBrown-wm1up . Yeah.....you didn't have to love them (and plenty didn't)......but their passion for what they did was hard to deny, and (almost) always VERY entertaining..... :-( .

Dave Holden so did I

I have that one but I haven’t watched it in a while

Same haha. Even though i liked a lot of movies as a kid that ive now come to realise are bad, i always despised that one

@@mmsiphonevinyls1027 Yall are freaking clowns. I loved that movie growing up!

⁠​⁠@@7deadlysloths just opinion. If you or anyone else likes it, im glad you got more from it than me.

I love *Jungle 2 Jungle!*

I sure as hell hope so! Siskel was a wit, Goddess rest his soul.

I want to believe that he did. Too funny.

Probably not. I think he was just joking.

That was also my first Alien movie but I was like 8 when I saw it. 😅

@@sha11235 . Did they close this website down sometime in the past month?? All I'm finding is some financial information... .

@@sdne1959 It is working as far as I know.

Same here

@@sha11235 It's siskelebert.org now. I used to go to the old one all the time. But I just recently found the new site. But thanks anyway.

@@sdne1959 It's siskelebert.org. No "and" in it.

Two Thumps Up--(hmmm....)

And funnily enough, Ebert (and I think Siskel too) hated the first two movies!

@@amwfan88 true.. but Siskel defended the first movie, saying it was better & saying Culkin was better, lol.. loved that

They gave it 2 stars out of 4. These films were even lower.

Batman and Robin is an abomination.

Let's kick some ice...

@@notyou8716 A BatmanRobination...?

Speed 2: Cruise Control should be on the list, except they gave it two thumbs up.

Titanic is absolutely something to see, but I agree LA Confidential is surperb. One of my favorite movies of that decade

@Palidor19 Yeah, my wife likes it way more than me, almost to the point of making me consider giving it another chance. When I told her that just the other day, she then informed me that it was on Netflix. Now, I have to "batten down the hatches" and prepare myself for one more disastrous voyage! 😜

I disagree :) Starship Troopers is great satire, it just has a different story structure than Total Recall or Robocop, so people have some trouble with consuming it as easily as the aforementioned ones :)

It's kinda hillariious that they put how much money a movie makes into their opinion on films...I mean their best picture lists are typically lucky if they break even, even on small budgets.

But starship troopers is bad. Just because there's a point to it doesn't make it a good movie. It's still poorly directed, terrible acting. bad cgi, and just bad storytelling.

@@basquat76 Bad CGI? Really. So you just absolutely have no idea what you are talking about then. That explains a lot.

@@Trainwheel_Time lmfao. Sure thing buddy

@@basquat76 the cgi in starship troopers literally looks better than the shit I see in trailers for new marvel movies. I don’t think it’s a perfect movie but definitely an entertaining watch.

She's funny, hip and always remembered. God bless. RIP, Natalie.

Wow, Covid, eh? Crazy.

She was fabulous.

I'm sorry to hear that. My condolences.

He's allergic to them.

Yeah. Points off for that but allegery is acceptable....

I just lost a lot of respect for Gene Siskel.

@@ACGreyhound04 A Greyhound that likes a kitty.

What about Dissociation? Or being stunned?

I love the novel and wrote a post above about why Ebert was full of it to be dismissive of this reimagining of "King Lear" as an idea. But he's right that the film adaptation was really disappointing on a lot of levels.

And only 23 years ago...

Jodi Benson, I love you in the Little Mermaid but why are you doing this? Well, it's a Disney family film, that's why. But anyway, I'm sorry for a little disagreement but for your sake, Jodi...choose and pick your projects carefully. I love you because I care. God bless you.

We know.

@@markelijio6012 residuals for Mermaid ran out

Still a terrible film no matter what it is.

@@basquat76 Agree. The movie is great garbage and becomes insanely boring ange depressingly grim

It’s underrated for sure. Just not understood in its time. I could only imagine what these two would say of the terrible movies released today.

The book Starship Troopers was written 20 years before Alien was made

I don't think the commentors don't get the Movie. The Movie is actually more of a Riff or just showing what Propagand or Pro-War Movie is. Actually, people don't get that basically the Soldiers are Nazis. What his name- the guy who played Doogie Howser. He was dressed in a Gestapo uniform. Some of the scene in the Movie are directly lifted from the famous Nazi Propaganda film- Triumph of the Spirit. The Movie is really once you understand it- is showing what Fascist Propaganda is like and is very Anti-Fascist once you get it.

I agree with Ebert. The first half hour or so is brilliant, and then you can go do something else.

Yeah its a satire

It just pales in comparison to RoboCop. The satire in Robo is so sharp and spot on because the performers have a firm grasp on the material. It was so scattershot and hackneyed in Starship that the effects became the most memorable part of the movie for a lot of people

I agree with you there yeah it was a silly popcorn sci-fi movie but it’s fun to watch enjoyable. Definitely one of my all-time favorites. Paul Verhoeven has made three films that are on my all time favorite list. First is RoboCop, Total Recall and last but not least Starship Troopers

Agree with Ebert. Its a movie that is both underrated and way overrated at the same time

I laughed out loud at that clip as well. Hilarious.

Hell yes, same here! 👍🏻

And Joanne Whaley is so sexy and beautiful I can barely stand it. Wow!

It made me laugh the way I did when my Grandmother died, ie: Not at all

It wasn't too bad, but not one of Murray's best.

I think he is saying it is done well compared to Little Indian, Big City and Jungle 2 Jungle which he thought were bad fish out of water movies.

Its a classic for 1986

And its hunk of shit

I saw it and thought "wtf, this is supposed to be a kids' movie?" Then I realized I was watching Fluffer.

Depending on how much you're spending on. Such as marketing and distribution.

. SO GOOD........and SO UN P.C. !! God bless Siskel AND Ebert !! .

Especially funny given how much he hated child endangerment in movies

“The actors in this film are so dull, I wish they’d all get clubbed with a tire iron to near-death.”

Yeah but back then we tended to be easily pleased.

U-Turn was a cute and fun movie for kids?

Seen on BET, FX and Sundance Channel since September 16, 2002 with very impressive ratings.

I personally love cats, but some people don't. To each his or her own.

I like cats but not to fond of dogs. We all have different tastes.

@@bakedbeansgangstajones3937 why do people have different tastes.

I always thought more uptight people (like nerdy types) liked cats. I'm a dog person who never had a cat. Though I don't mind watching some funny cat videos on youtube, that's as close as I want to be to them.

People who don't like cats probably don't deserve to live.

I just wrote something similar lol Love that movie

Best part was Jennifee Lopez 💯😎😍

@@tyfalagan she was okay but U-turn is a forgettable film

Oliver Stone, Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Voight each got a slap in the face from Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert for the 1997 Tristar Pictures movie called "U-Turn."

Underneath it all, Oliver Stone's "U-Turn" was his follow-up to "Natural Born Killers" with an excellent cast, released by Sony Pictures Studios in 1997. It was a cult hit despite decent reviews, but that's my strongest opinion.

@@markelijio6012 Natural Born Killers was a terrific film

Robin appeared on many of the Worst of the Year shows, in fact, he did it for four years in a row-1996-1999!!!!

What's unique about him is that when he's in a bad movie he's also bad. A lot of good actors can either be good or phone it in when in a bad movie. But Williams was at his best when reined in a bit. Movies that let him loose and be too manic or too sappy (patch adams) could go off the rails fast. Though Aladdin did turn out well despite letting him loose.

One Hour Photo

Name one

@@cleftturnip7774 such as Joel Schumacher

@@decimatorentertainmentstud8523 i personally have never heard directors apologise. But I'll take your word for it. Also I liked batman and robin it was alot of fun.

@@cleftturnip7774 I respect you that

@@markelijio6012 You'll get no argument there

It didn't. Maybe it was a runners up thing. Can't have everything on the show.

A little more than a year.

I thought The Man Who Knew Too Little was pretty entertaining.

Starship Troopers was a mockery of Robert Heinlein's novel. If the movie had stuck closer to the book it would've been a classic. The acting was also criminally bad.

Roger Ebert is the most overrated movie critic of all time. He wasn't half as smart as people give him credit for.

@@Eisenbison Really? I think Peter Travers of Rolling Stone is. Typically harsh on mainstream movies, too quick to rate independent movies high...Ebert doesn't do this imo

@44excalibur "if only the movie honestly embraced fascism" come on man, you can't be serious with that shit take. The acting was bad because Verhoeven intentionally cast beautiful but bad actors, like Nazi propaganda films.

Same here.. a twisted, demented noir that tries to expose the ugly underbelly of America

It was more about how it was poorly applied to that specific movie and story. He was very progressive, so to hear him saying that a movie was too woke is speaking volumes.

He would be forced to LIKE it, as most public figures are ordered to feel.

If you don't like seeing women, gays or people of color (or shock horror! all three) in films, just cop to that, and don't hide behind PC or woke fear like a coward.

@@Antonio_Ortiz Unfortunately Ebert was way off on the merits of Jane Smiley's dark take on the relationships in her temake of "King Lear." "A Thousand Acres" had little to do with "political correctness" (aside from addressing the farm crisis, which wasn't a huge theme in the filn) and everything to do with investigating dominance in a specific cultural context. That theme is present in the subtext of Shakespeare's play too. I agreed with Roger that the film adaptation was poor. But we would have gone a few rounds as to the merits of Smiley's book itself. It didn't win the Pulitzer Prize for nothing.

Political Correctness isn’t a real thing

thank you for years ive always told people the violence in Robocop was a satire of Americas love of ultra-violent movies

@@mr_nobody_000 it absolutely is, and when you know that it becomes kinda funny. Similar to Total Recall.

I loved it as a kid

I'm 32 - was 9 when Flubber came out - and I've never seen the movie in its entirety. But I remember I started watching it after renting it from Blockbuster and just kind of walking away after about 10-20 minutes in. I do want to re-watch it someday.

That performance footage looked bad (from what I saw in the preview).

I actually liked that film.

I really like Neil on his albums, but his live aesthetic is not to my taste, at least when he was in his Crazy Horse mood. He likes ragged playing and long solos.

I'm a big fan of Neil Young and I actually loved that film. Today, he's now married to Daryl Hannah.

Yes Roger Ebert was well known for being a liberal but he knew BS when he saw it. Imagine what he would make of today's SJW, PC climate in movies where men are emasculated and portrayed as weaklings while women are always morally superior and always better than men in everything they do.

😆😆 Ebert's reasons for disliking the remake of the story of "A Thousand Acres" are amongst the weakest of his career. But he's right that the film adaptation wasn't good. But as I wrote in my post, the story structure in ATA wasn't the real problem. It had many other more basic problems.

No, no its not

I can respect a thumbs down for those movies. Was there anything redeeming to them? (besides Tim Curry's smile equated as The Grinch?)....

@@clydesalley But the essential question was what did he think of: Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House

@@clydesalley I also thought the third entry was a triumph in realism at a level that the first two entries failed to achieve....

Maybe he liked more the new children (I did, he was smarter)

@@jacobadams5924 . Wait.......you AGREE with a thumbs down on the original Home Alone? It's a classic !! ANY of the other sequels, okay.......but the original ?? .

No, that's not true at all.

@@sha11235 Please, I literally grew up in Chicago watching the show, it was like the worst marriage imaginable but without any sexual release to mitigate it...I hope!! 😱 Anyway while their weekly intellectual cockfights were greatly entertaining for the viewing public, they had to be detrimental to the combatants.

Yeah, "Alien: Resurrection" is bad, but at the very least it's entertaining, and maybe one or two of the characters are somewhat likeable. It's a romp; an adventure-comedy, which admittedly is a disappointing direction for an "Alien" film to take (and the whole franchise along with it). "Covenant" was just an exercise in rectumology, as far as I'm concerned. It wanted to be both "Alien" and "Aliens" at the same time, while shoehorning in the reach for the stereotypical, bloated existentialist-themed sci-fi film hooey that "Prometheus" got too close to the Sun and burned out on as well. To make matters worse, not one single character in the film was worth rooting for to survive to the end. It's really beat to see somebody with such an astonishing touch and vision like Ridley Scott suck so hard, not once, but twice in a row.

Both are just terrible

Alien: Resurrection was a gore-a-thon

I hated Alien when I saw it 1979 and so I never bothered with the sequels. The only good thing I remember about it was Sigourney Weaver in her underwear.