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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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Basic Instinct

Basic Instinct

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Basic Instinct
Review: This movie is among best I've seen. Beautiful acting by beautiful actress. I see nothing wrong w/ video quality as some people indicated. Sound is also very good, too.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Wrong leading lady
Review: This movie was extremely overrated. Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas were neither one convincing in their roles. The star of the show, I feel, was Jeanne Tripplehorn. She was the only believable character and her brilliance was what saved the film. The film's only other redeeming quality was the casting of the guy who played Newman on Seinfeld.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A TWIST On A TWIST Murder Mystery.
Review: Sharon Stone and M. Douglas were terrific is this marvelous murder mystery/ thriller. Murders are committed by the book of a seductive and clever author. Strong lang, adult themes and scenes. Terrific movie

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Fairly decent suspense/thriller
Review: Most erotic thrillers are quite bad. Oh, there are a few exceptions such as Brian De Palma's Body Double and Dressed to Kill but most of them have a straight-to-video quality. As for Basic Instinct, it creates a question that makes one ponder: does a bad ending ruin an otherwise solid movie?

Basic Instinct begins with a woman making love to a man tied to a bedpost. We can't see her face since it's covered by her blonde hair. In a moment of ecstasy, as the man reaches his climax, she pulls out an icepick from underneath the bed and stabs him several times. It's a violent and rather shocking beginning. Enter detective Nick Curran (Michael Douglas), who seems hell bent on solving this case. It seems the murdered man was a wealthy former rock star and his girlfriend is the primary suspect. Her name is Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone), a novelist who is also quite the seductress.

There's one element to the case that could either prove her innocence or her guilt and that is the fact that she wrote a scene in her book identical with the murder that occurred. Dr. Beth Garner (Jeanne Tripplehorn) believes that Tramell is just using the book as an alibi and that she really is the killer. Curran, who at first suspects her, begins to change his feelings when he starts falling for her. The danger heightens as he becomes sexually involved with Tramell.

Basic Instinct is fairly entertaining through all of its 129 minute running time. It's suspense wavers a bit but it works when it's there. The sex scenes are also quite steamy. The performances are also all-around solid. Michael Douglas is convincing as the cop with an edge. Jeanne Tripplehorn also delivers a good performance. The real scene stealer, though, is definitely Sharon Stone. Her portrayal of a seductress is quite good but she also shows moments of such innocence and emotion that it makes the audience wonder if she is the killer or not. Her performance was truly Oscar-caliber.

Now, onto what doesn't work. There are some logic loopholes and I seriously doubt the police are that dumb though those aspects are fairly easy to overlook. What really displeased me was the film's ending. Sure, the last several minutes are suspenseful but no real plot twist occurs. There are a bunch of red herrings thrown around to confuse the audience and it really adds up to nothing. The ending is really just a form of manipulation and it's all enforced primarily by the film's final scene, which left me feeling a bit cheated. It doesn't make the film terrible if that might be what you're thinking. To some respect, a lot of people might actually like the ending. It does leave the idea of a sequel open, which sounds like something of an interesting idea.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful sexy thriller!
Review: There's not much to complain about when talking about BASIC INSTINCT. It was definitely one of the best films of the '90s and, personally, one of the best films ever! I love movies like this. Another good one of this genre would be WILD THINGS. BASIC INSTINCT is far superior, however. Sharon Stone is one of the highlights of the film playing Catherine. The murder scenes were very exillirating. I know it may be impossible, but I would love a sequel with the same cast. I don't just throw around five stars, BASIC INSTINCT is a real winner :)

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: You'll either like the movie or hate it
Review: Basic Instinct strikes me as an okay film; it's decent to some respect but it could have been more. The suspense level in this film could have been edgier. Instead, what this film is better at is creating some steamy sex scenes between Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. You probably won't see more sex in an R-rated film than in Basic Instinct. Ironically enough, the film's most suspenseful moments are also the sex scenes as we are left wondering whether Stone is the killer and if she plans to kill Douglas. Those scenes work very well as it's a very well-done concoction of eroticism and suspense. Most of the film's other moments, though, fail to achieve much interest. Still, those scenes are quite well worth the rental.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Campy, laughably bad
Review: Basic Instinct is a very funny movie, though I suspect Eszterhas and Verhoeven may not have intended it to be. The dialog is silly, the plot ridiculous and the sex scenes a riot. Still, because this is one of the best bad movies ever made, I recommend you see it at least once! I have not seen the director's cut and may check it out just to see what I have been missing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Better than the original!
Review: I have read the other comments about this film and frankly....what's wrong with you people? The Directors UNCUT version is the BEST version of this film and it truly gives this film the due justice it deserves. I have seen the original version MANY times and this version just makes more sense. It's just like the Uncut/Unrated version of GIA. When you see the original version and then the UNCUT...it's like night and day. The film isn't "choppy" and you really get to understand the character development the writer intended. I highly recommend this version and suggest you purchase it and decide for yourself. If you're a Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas fan...this is some of their best work! REALLY.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: MIND GAME
Review: IT IS NOT ABOUT SEX OR ABOUT MICHAEL DOUGLAS'S PERSONAL COMPULSIVE OBSESSION WITH SEX. IT IS ABOUT A IMPECCABLE THRILLER ; A MIND GAME : EVERY TIME YOU SEE AN ICE PICK YOU SEE THE LAST PICUTRE OF THE MOVIE & YOU WONDER DID SHE USE IT OR NOT ?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What is this?
Review: In the city I live in, such a noisy fuss was made about it that many people including myself went to see what caused such excitement. Indeed the fuss-makers should pay me what I paid for the ticket, as the story is no different from any ordinary paperback. Amazing to see some guys writing comments in this column admire Sharon Stone as if they have never seen a naked woman on screen before. Garbage movie, and the ones that think this one deserves to get five stars are completely unaware of the meaning of ''entertainment''.IT DOES NOT DESERVE A STAR AT ALL - I COULD GIVE IT A MINUS.


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