The Age of Commercialism

Sorry, this movie sucks

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Basic Instinct was a huge hit and a cultural phenomenon when it was released and it is easy to see why. The sex scenes are raw and just a few steps away from being a legitimate pornographic film. The violence- although not often- is quite brutal and the blood flows like water. But the film is quite good as a detective story. Michael Douglas was in top form back when this came out and Sharon Stone finally hit the big leagues after playing the famous Catherine Tramell character. Featuring great noir-ish overtone and gorgeous locations Basic Instinct is a winner

I really like Paul Verhoeven films, love Sharon Stone and have thought Basic Instinct to be a wonderful film since first seeing it on general release. So that's three things I don't have in common with most people and to make matters worse (or better) it is probably the film I have watched more often than any other (Don't Look Now might give it a good run). And the crazy thing is, of course, that it is a thriller with lots of suspense and 'who did that?' moments all the time, so how can it be watched many times? The answer is, that this is so well done that you can't help getting caught wondering and double guessing or simply not caring and just enjoying the fabulous visual, the fantastic score (not the only echo of Vertigo (there's one more I watch fairly frequently - how strange) and Sharon Stone. Verhoeven does not shy away from sex scenes, actually he must love them to direct them with such care and attention to details. Clearly Stone shares some of that passion and together star and director produce some red hot stuff here. There are also scary car chase scenes, gory kills, moments of amusement, a real sense of mystery - hairs on the back of the neck style and just a sheer love of cinema oozing from those lush and carefully chosen set-ups. Love it.

An erotic thriller! Sharon Stone aka Catherine Tramell character is an author who writes books with story lines that are similar to murders coincidentally Catherine's been around. Circumstantial evidence or something more? Michael Douglas ask Detective Nick Curran detective is on the case! Basic Instinct has a story line of Catherine toying and playing with the detective department and Curran become to intimately involved. The supporting characters become involved and are played in and out by the story line, just like Catherine's plays with the characters. George Dzundza aka Gus character interaction adds a gruff counter balance helping Curran out. Jeanne Tripplehorn Dr. Beth Garner is the voice of reason as an harbinger of what's to come. The back and forth story layers more tension as the climax slowly builds. Teasing which character has what motives. Basic Instinct's climax does not disappoint. A solid eight stars.

I remember looking at the ratings and thinking they were oddly average for a 90's thriller (they're usually very good) with excellent lead actors Michael Douglas and Sharon Stone, just as great in this one. I knew it had at least one very controversial scene, and couldn't understand why the subpar general opinion.It turns out the film is brilliant thriller cinema for an hour - very good acting, memorable scenes, honestly excellent dialogue, and coherent and accessible - but seems to drop what it's been doing for that hour as the later developments draw closer to a different sort of feel, and quality. The film starts to become pretty self-indulgent, as the intrigue slowly becomes more convoluted and complicated to follow, with too many characters now to remember and too many dynamics between them. It fell into the trap it set up for itself, of wanting to be unpredictable continually throughout two hours of playtime and constantly evolving as it reaches the deeper ends of the plot - but it feels just too complicated in the end and whatever expectations are stemmed earlier in the viewing are gone as it progresses in the second hour. The ending just doesn't match the quality of the first hour.Now on the more philosophical aspect, the film is in the end too timid. Its over-the-top sexuality and explicit depiction of lust don't serve a purpose we learn at the end if not a weak aesthetic of its own; and as I've read somewhere the film merely 'exploits' the dark side and never 'explores' it.5.5/10