The Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures Bracket -- Round 3

Well, it was a very tense and surprising second round of the Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures bracket, but we’re now into the third round and the Sweet Sixteen. Some of the titles that have made it thus far are pretty predictable, but seven of the remaining films are lower seeds (relative to a situation where all top-four seeds had survived).

For now, I can only share with you my preferences for the films to move onto the Elite Eight, so let’s go.

Day 1

(1) The Royal Tenenbaums vs. (5) The Color of Money: Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. But The Royal Tenenbaums is one of my ten favorite movies of all time, so that’s that for Fast Eddie Felson.

(11) Pretty Woman vs. (2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit: I’ll say it once more. I do not expect Who Framed Roger Rabbit to win this whole bracket. But it’s winning this matchup if I have anything to say about it. (Real talk: I could see it losing in the poll. But I would vote for it.)

Day 2

(1) The Insider vs. (5) Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion: So, if I was a betting man, I would bet that the top seeds in this day’s polls will not make it to the Elite Eight. In this specific poll, I think that’s a shame. The Insider is one of the very best films Michael Mann ever directed, as he manages to create incredible tension through camera placement, pacing, and editing. And this film features a great late-stage performance from Al Pacino, Russell Crowe’s best performance (the one he should’ve won the Oscar for), and stellar ensemble work too. I like Romy and Michele. And I kinda think it’s winning this poll. But I would vote for Lowell Bergman and Jeffrey Wigand.

(6) High Fidelity vs. (2) Kundun: I imagine the easy money is on High Fidelity winning this poll, but I am voting for Kundun. While Kundun is not my favorite Scorsese film (I like The Color of Money more, but it has the misfortune of going up against one of my all-time favorites), I think it’s more impressive and compelling than High Fidelity, which has aged somewhat poorly over two decades. But I expect it to move on. We’ll see.

Day 3

(8) Tombstone vs. (4) Rushmore: Real talk: I would have predicted 25th Hour was going to the Top Two. Instead, all those Tombstone voters out there were my huckleberry. I like Tombstone well enough, but not enough to vote for it here. I’m with Max Fischer.

(6) Grosse Pointe Blank vs. (2) Ed Wood: Tim Burton’s best film is Ed Wood, and even with the grim specter of Johnny Depp’s whole…thing, I vote for it in this poll.

Day 4

(1) The Sixth Sense vs. (5) 10 Things I Hate About You: This should be a very fun poll to watch. Two very different films, and two very different legacies. Of the four films he made with the Walt Disney Company, only The Sixth Sense has kept M. Night Shyamalan in the bracket. And it’s overall his best film. I’ll vote for it here — I saw the movie in theaters six times, because I was so blown away by his craftsmanship (and I was also 15, so I didn’t really know that much better). But I imagine 10 Things — which is very funny — may make a run for it.

(3) The Prestige vs. (2) O Brother, Where Art Thou?: I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan, said the man who is now debating whether or not he should just wait for Tenet to arrive on HBO Max to watch it for the first time. But The Prestige is not my favorite Nolan film, though it’s extremely good. O Brother, on the other hand, has a great soundtrack, an enormously funny script, and a killer lead performance from George Clooney, whose chatterbox sensibility ends up being a perfect fit. I’m with the Soggy Bottom Boys.