halo1205 Blog

Basic Instinct 2: That's right! i said it! :o)

halo1205 — Fri, 25 May 2007 16:09:00 GMT

If popularity breeds contempt, the critical beating this movie took endeared it to me all the more. I listened to podcast after podcast and read movie news galore that took pleasure in shredding the movie sight unseen. The biggest bone of contention was that Sharon Stone, over the age of 40, was putting herself out there as sexual being once again, and that she should be put out to pasture. As saddened as I was that in a time when MILF has become part of the popular vernacular this was still a prevailing attitude, it was countered by the excitement of seeing Catherine Trammel on screen again, one of my favorite film characters. She is the devil in red lipstick and took the original Basic Instinct from standard thriller fare and made it a must see, as well making Stone a star.

Is Basic Instinct 2 a good movie? Hell no! But it is a fun, fun watch! Stone unhinges her jaw and swallows the scenery, taking Trammel from a temptation-evoking sexual provocateur to a lip-smacking man-eater. Throw in a high-speed hand-job, some erotic asphyxiation, acrobatic rough sex, beautiful architecture, Charlotte Rampling and David Thewlis for international dramatic cred (granted, it’s squandered, and Thewlis gives Stone a run for her money taking it over the top), and a half-baked thriller plot and pack it all into a well shot glossy package and you have 90+minutes of solid entertainment. Entertainment! BI2 was not designed to change the world, provoke deep thought or be a metaphor for the world’s woes, it is simply titillating adult oriented entertainment. Much has been said about the movie, but I have never heard it called dull! Have fun with it… Go crazy and Double feature it with Showgirls! :o)

HARDCORE: A good film elevated by great performances.

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 12:04:00 GMT

I had always thought of George C. Scott a hacky actor. He was always so BIG in everything he was in, and you were always aware that he was ACTING. But in the early 80s he found himself a niche… tormented father, a part he played with so much sensitivity here as a man of God wondering through Godless territory in search of his daughter who never returned home with her church group when they made a trip to LA. The anguish he conveys when faced with the truth about his daughters fate is powerful and heartbreaking. (Scott played a Father with a missing child of a different sort in The Changeling very effectively as well). Season Hubley (Mrs. Kurt Russell at the time) is great as well as his tour guide through the seedy underworld of sin he had only heard of before. Schrader is always a capable director with a great sense of style (American Gigolo, Cat People, Patty Hearst, The Comfort of Strangers).

Big Brother gone Bad!

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 09:07:12 GMT

I rented this for all the wrong reasons... I loved the cover! Turns out it was a great movie and i now own it on DVD.

Closer to the Novel

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 09:05:23 GMT

... than the excellent original, this isn't bad, better than the sequels before it, but not as good as the original.

Romans Raping Naked Nuns

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 03:10:54 GMT

... if that was only the most messed up part of this!!! Ken Russell at his maddest - gotta love it!

Chewy in the middle!

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 02:50:41 GMT

The third season rocked… the rest ranged from mildly interesting to plain disappointing.

Weirdly Fun

halo1205 — Mon, 21 May 2007 02:43:09 GMT

Meditative and unusual, but really, really good! A little hard to get into, but stick with it. Sandy Dennis is hilarious in this.

Norbit

halo1205 — Sun, 20 May 2007 21:29:00 GMT

I am new here, and am starting on a bad foot... or one that recently stepped into a big pile of poo anyhow!

I dunno why I watched Norbit, but I did. And it is a shame i will forever bear. Eddie! Dude! What wuz ya thinking? Moreso, Thandie! Girl! What was you thinking??? I have really like Thandie Newton since Flirting but she has since systematically found the wort crap to be in.