Brad's Movie Challenge

Starting 01/01/06, Brad is going to watch one movie, everyday, for 365 days. This site will serve to document all rules & exclusions of the "Challenge" as well as keeping track of Brad's progress.

3/27/2006

03/25/06 Basic Instinct

Basic Instinct (1992), directed by Paul Verhoeven

watched w/ Leslie; DVD rental (Netflix) @ home

We all know what people want to see when they see this movie. It's quite possibly on of the most controversial scenes ever in Hollywood, and one of the most talked about flashes of a big star's nakedness. Yes, I'm talking about Michael Douglas' butt. It's tragic that this sculpted piece of wrinkly flab had to cause such an uproar from the censors. I mean, c'mon, his dad being Kirk Douglas got him into film to begin with, so now we have to see his butt just to mark his cinematic territory?! Alright, this is a big title that I'd never got around to seeing, and man am I glad I waited nearly 15 years for it. That's sarcasm folks. You know the plot right? Washed up temper-tantrum detective investigates grizzly murder of rock 'n' roller, finds sexy temptress ex-girlfriend is prime suspect, she's a crime thriller author who just so happened to right about same said killing, he falls for the bad girl, people die, people have naughty intercourse, Sharon Stone shows her...acting skills. You know the drill, or should I say ice pick in the bedroom by Mrs. Blonde. Did I miss anything? This is supposed to be Hitchcockian, but is more Verhoevian like "Showgirls" smut. You see the plot twists coming; no suspense; re-hashed characters; and while the sex scenes are steamy, I wish it involved two attractive people as opposed to one vixen & a skeleton. It's funny when a film can be nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie at the same time. I'm looking forward to the sequel...really just the next body part to be flashed.

2 out of 5 stars

posted by Undead Film Critic @ 9:18 AM  

4 Comments:

  • At 3:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Okay,

    I am not trying to be antagonistic but I think you scored this movie way too lowly. Sharon Stone plays Catherine perfectly...it is all clearly intentional camp and caricature--thus the entertainment factor. She is the ultimate (caricature of the)femme fatale. And now Brad I urge you to go out and see the sequel this Friday when it opens. These days you would never see a 48 yr old women in a nude seen (or several) unless it was played for comedy. Therefore, I would say seeing it this Friday is a political statement that I would encourage you to make. s.o.l.

     

  • At 9:20 AM, Blogger Undead Film Critic said…

    "These days you would never see a 48 yr old women in a nude seen (or several) unless it was played for comedy.

    Anytime Sharon Stone gets naked, it's comedy! The only reason anybody knows her name is because of her infamous "crotch shot" scene in this flick and for her subtle yet empowering role of Claire Mattson in Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol.

    However you are right S.O.L. Sharon plays Catherine perfectly. Too bad that's all she can do.

    And if your looking for good over 40 nudity (& who isn't), rent About Schmidt. Wow.

     

  • At 3:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I do want to go on record saying, that if you want to see Basic Instinct 2 on its opening night (and who doesn't) tonight is your one chance to do just that. Having read about 30 of the reviews currently available on this fine film, I am quite excited to see this silly, alluring, over the top film! And you Brad, should see it too. S.o.L.

     

  • At 4:41 PM, Blogger Undead Film Critic said…

    Manohla Dargis of the New York Times - "no surprise that Basic Instinct 2 ... is a disaster of the highest or perhaps lowest order. It is also no surprise that this joyless calculation ... is such a prime object lesson in the degradation that can face Hollywood actresses, especially those over 40. Acting always involves a degree of self-abasement, but just watching trash like this is degrading."

    Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer calls her performance "quite terrible," then goes on: "Stone is betting that a 48-year-old woman can be as hot and dangerous as the 20-somethings the film industry is addicted to. Bully for her -- in theory. In practice, Stone appears to have had so much work done that her face resembles a tautly made bed, and her unchanging expression of smoldering arrogance seems less an acting decision and more the result of neurotoxins. The body may be willing but the flesh has been immobilized."

    Kyle Smith in the New York Post describes the movie as "Botoxic" (under a headline reading "Necromancing the Stone"), and concludes: "There are inflatable toys that are livelier than Stone, but how can you tell the difference? Basic Instinct 2 is not an erotic thriller. It's taxidermy."

    Carina Chocana in the Los Angeles Times concludes her review of the movie this way: "Dead serious and stone idiotic, the only basic instinct in evidence here is desperation."

     

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