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tmensamaster-2's rating
Paul Verhoeven is known in Hollywood as a maker of ultra-violent, ultra-sleazy films. 'Showgirls' bears the brunt of many bad movie jokes and 'Total Recall' and 'Robocop' are known to be very entertaining but stupid. Depending on who you talk to, 'Basic Instinct' is either sleazy trash or an erotic masterpiece. These films definitely do not belong to the art category: They are Hollywood entertainment. Most people think that is all Verhoeven can do. They will be surprised, as I was, that his Dutch films are suitably different. They are art-house material and several times have been nominated by several critic's associations as Best Foreign Picture. De Vierde Man [The Fourth Man] is his most notable accomplishment It is truly astonishing: It is eerie, gory, sexy and chilling with an amusing and involving performance by Jeroen Krabbe as a bisexual writer who bites off more than he can chew in a sexy hairdresser in the form of blonde Soutendijk.
Krabbe plays real-life writer Gerard Reve whose books are very well-known in the world of literature. He is asked to speak at a function attended by several prominent literary fans. Strange clues are revealed in his journey. He has a hallucination on the commuter train of an eye squishing and oozing through a hotel room door and of his name on a coffin. Later, at the function, a strange woman follows him with a camera, videotaping his every move. She is Christine Halsslag, a hairdresser who is incidently the groups treasurer and says she is videotaping him as '' a memory of his visit''. Though Reve is annoyed by her pestering camera, they seem to hit it off. She shows him the hotel where the group has paid for his room in case he is too tired to go home on the train. His eyes widen, it is the same hotel where the eye oozed through the door. Seeing he is unnerved, Christine asks him if he wants to stay with her. He accepts her offer and.....Things really begin to hit it off......
Soon, some strange things are revealed. It seems that Chrissy's been married three times and her three husbands have died rather bizarre deaths. After seeing a picture of Christine's sometime boyfriend. Herrman, Reve becomes determined to sleep with him and tries to manipulate Christine to invite Herrman back. But, who is doing the real manipulating?
The film is set up similar to a Kubrick film in that everything is told in riddles and visuals that tell the story in a way that resembles some kind of fable of good and evil. The film has much religious symbolism: the opening shot is of a spider crawling over the figure of Christ on the cross and Reve himself seems to have religious visions of what may be the Virgin Mary. Christine herself begins to act strangely: she drives a bit too recklessly for him. The film is very similar to Verhoeven's 'Basic Instinct' in that we have a main character who may be fatally attracted to a killer and the potential murderess has a cold, kinky style that is too strong to resist. Soutendijk even has a resemblance to Sharon Stone: the blonde hair, the sexy yet evil smile, she's like a dramatic version of Elizabeth Hurley's devil in 'Bedazzled'. She so obviously but so easily poisoning him with her sexiness, she is like a devil, tempting the hero with endless pleasure for a high price. If the Virgin Mary finds it so important to protect Reve, isn't it conceivable that Christine is a manifestation of the devil. A behavior near the end seems to suggest this, she is done with Reve and needs to move on to a new soul
Believe it or not, I haven't given away anything. The film twists in so many directions that some things may or may not have ever happened. The film is astonishingly and intelligently directed by Verhoeven and after seeing this, you will be tempted to see his other Dutch films before he was Hollywoodized. Afterwards, I found myself wishing that Verhoeven would do another one of these, a sexy, smart and stunning film.
Krabbe plays real-life writer Gerard Reve whose books are very well-known in the world of literature. He is asked to speak at a function attended by several prominent literary fans. Strange clues are revealed in his journey. He has a hallucination on the commuter train of an eye squishing and oozing through a hotel room door and of his name on a coffin. Later, at the function, a strange woman follows him with a camera, videotaping his every move. She is Christine Halsslag, a hairdresser who is incidently the groups treasurer and says she is videotaping him as '' a memory of his visit''. Though Reve is annoyed by her pestering camera, they seem to hit it off. She shows him the hotel where the group has paid for his room in case he is too tired to go home on the train. His eyes widen, it is the same hotel where the eye oozed through the door. Seeing he is unnerved, Christine asks him if he wants to stay with her. He accepts her offer and.....Things really begin to hit it off......
Soon, some strange things are revealed. It seems that Chrissy's been married three times and her three husbands have died rather bizarre deaths. After seeing a picture of Christine's sometime boyfriend. Herrman, Reve becomes determined to sleep with him and tries to manipulate Christine to invite Herrman back. But, who is doing the real manipulating?
The film is set up similar to a Kubrick film in that everything is told in riddles and visuals that tell the story in a way that resembles some kind of fable of good and evil. The film has much religious symbolism: the opening shot is of a spider crawling over the figure of Christ on the cross and Reve himself seems to have religious visions of what may be the Virgin Mary. Christine herself begins to act strangely: she drives a bit too recklessly for him. The film is very similar to Verhoeven's 'Basic Instinct' in that we have a main character who may be fatally attracted to a killer and the potential murderess has a cold, kinky style that is too strong to resist. Soutendijk even has a resemblance to Sharon Stone: the blonde hair, the sexy yet evil smile, she's like a dramatic version of Elizabeth Hurley's devil in 'Bedazzled'. She so obviously but so easily poisoning him with her sexiness, she is like a devil, tempting the hero with endless pleasure for a high price. If the Virgin Mary finds it so important to protect Reve, isn't it conceivable that Christine is a manifestation of the devil. A behavior near the end seems to suggest this, she is done with Reve and needs to move on to a new soul
Believe it or not, I haven't given away anything. The film twists in so many directions that some things may or may not have ever happened. The film is astonishingly and intelligently directed by Verhoeven and after seeing this, you will be tempted to see his other Dutch films before he was Hollywoodized. Afterwards, I found myself wishing that Verhoeven would do another one of these, a sexy, smart and stunning film.
Atom Egoyan's 'Exotica' is in my opinion, his best film to date and one of the best films of the decade. I originally watched the film late at night on a channel called 'Showcase' which doesn't edit their movies. I'd heard of the director, Atom Egoyan, but hadn't seen any of his films. After the credits began to roll, I sat there absorbing its impact. This is a film where all the secrets and the characters motivations are not revealed until the end [not a bad thing]. The film creates an atmosphere of sadness and melancholy that is spellbinding and the plot itself is a compelling one.
The film is almost 'Magnolia' in a strip club. I say that because it is about several characters whose lives are so interconnected they will inevitably meet. If one person were removed, their lives might just collapse. One of the characters, played by Bruce Greenwood has a destiny that will, in fact. meet up with one of the club's young dancers and the DJ, something we do not expect. We make assumptions about characters, whether they or good or bad. I don't know how many times I was wrong. The film twists so deviously yet so quietly and deliberately. We don't know anyone's full story until the end, which reveals something so heartbreaking, it almost tears the fabric of the movie.
Of note is the movie's cinematography and music. Some of the music is eroticised, creating the atmosphere of the strip club. But others, like a haunting piece that plays over the 'field scene' are breathtaking. That piece of music has to be one of the most effective and beautiful piece of music I have ever heard. Whoever did it [ I believe it was Michael Danner or something] has to be commended for creating a piece I will always remember. The cinematography is just as effective. It is darkly filmed, with some graininess but vaguely rich. The field scene has a yellow tinge to it: It feels almost heavenly. From what is revealed later, it is anything but heavenly......
An amazing film that must be seen by thinking moviegoers. From the way it was advertised and the video box art, it looks like some voyeuristic porno. It is anything but. After seeing Egoyan's other films, like 'Felicia's Journey' and 'The Sweet Hereafter', it must be concluded that this is his most accomplished film. Truly haunting, hypnotic and emotionally draining........... A Perfect 10.
The film is almost 'Magnolia' in a strip club. I say that because it is about several characters whose lives are so interconnected they will inevitably meet. If one person were removed, their lives might just collapse. One of the characters, played by Bruce Greenwood has a destiny that will, in fact. meet up with one of the club's young dancers and the DJ, something we do not expect. We make assumptions about characters, whether they or good or bad. I don't know how many times I was wrong. The film twists so deviously yet so quietly and deliberately. We don't know anyone's full story until the end, which reveals something so heartbreaking, it almost tears the fabric of the movie.
Of note is the movie's cinematography and music. Some of the music is eroticised, creating the atmosphere of the strip club. But others, like a haunting piece that plays over the 'field scene' are breathtaking. That piece of music has to be one of the most effective and beautiful piece of music I have ever heard. Whoever did it [ I believe it was Michael Danner or something] has to be commended for creating a piece I will always remember. The cinematography is just as effective. It is darkly filmed, with some graininess but vaguely rich. The field scene has a yellow tinge to it: It feels almost heavenly. From what is revealed later, it is anything but heavenly......
An amazing film that must be seen by thinking moviegoers. From the way it was advertised and the video box art, it looks like some voyeuristic porno. It is anything but. After seeing Egoyan's other films, like 'Felicia's Journey' and 'The Sweet Hereafter', it must be concluded that this is his most accomplished film. Truly haunting, hypnotic and emotionally draining........... A Perfect 10.
Paul Verhoeven is one of my favorite directors. His movies are so damn entertaining. They always, well I should say most of the time, have wit and intelligence [Forget 'Showgirls' and 'Hollow Man', any director can make mistakes] and have either graphic sex or violence or both. 'Basic Instinct' is in the latter category. It is so erotic and Stone and Douglas have so much sexual chemistry that when you look at an Adrian Lyne film, you see them for the crap they are.
Basic plotline has Stone's character, 'Catherine Tramell', accused of the vicious sex murder of a retired rock and roll star. Douglas's character has a strange attraction to her, which may not lead to good things..... Paul Verhoven has openly admitted that this film is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's classic masterpiece 'Vertigo'. In fact, Stone wears, in sequence, the same wardrobe as Kim Novak did [which makes you wonder, was she wearing panties under her clothes]. That brings us to the interrogation scene, which is the best in the movie. Stone shamelessly flirts with the cops' libidos until the buildup of sexual tension is so great, Stone releases it by playing 'peek-a-boo' with the space in between her legs. Every male viewer cherishes that scene, simply because it is so sexy. That word can be used throughout the film, as Stone and Douglas do the mattress mumbo. At the time, the sex scenes were so realistic that the press went wild and debated whether or not viewers were witnessing un-simulated sex. The film is still quite sexually daring today and has an intriguing spider's web plot too. The plot's twists and turns manage to make the movie sexier as the viewer wonders whether Sharon is innocent or guilty..........
The film's only misstep occurs at the end, with an unsatisfactory ending that makes the whole film seem like some stupid, contrived game. But it's not. It keeps it's fascination and it's sexiness and its suspense right up till the end, which is what a good erotic thriller should. Actually, the ending for some will lead to a lot of discussion if you watch the film with someone, as the film toys with two of the film's characters innocence or guilt and does not give up all its secrets.....
The film is great Verhoeven. It has his usual, hilarious, seemingly inappropriate kinky humor and extreme sex and violence to match. The fact that Verhoeven is actually able to balance the film and make it funny and sexy is wonderful film-making. Well, have I said 'sexy' enough times? Then go rent it.........8/10
P.S. If you like this one, check out Verhoevens' Dutch film ''The Fourth Man''. It has a similar plot and even a similar character that resembles Catherine Tramell. If the ending of 'Basic Instinct' leaves you wanting, check that film out. It is even better than 'Basic' and is more 'arty'. It is also a little bit more daring erotically.
Basic plotline has Stone's character, 'Catherine Tramell', accused of the vicious sex murder of a retired rock and roll star. Douglas's character has a strange attraction to her, which may not lead to good things..... Paul Verhoven has openly admitted that this film is a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's classic masterpiece 'Vertigo'. In fact, Stone wears, in sequence, the same wardrobe as Kim Novak did [which makes you wonder, was she wearing panties under her clothes]. That brings us to the interrogation scene, which is the best in the movie. Stone shamelessly flirts with the cops' libidos until the buildup of sexual tension is so great, Stone releases it by playing 'peek-a-boo' with the space in between her legs. Every male viewer cherishes that scene, simply because it is so sexy. That word can be used throughout the film, as Stone and Douglas do the mattress mumbo. At the time, the sex scenes were so realistic that the press went wild and debated whether or not viewers were witnessing un-simulated sex. The film is still quite sexually daring today and has an intriguing spider's web plot too. The plot's twists and turns manage to make the movie sexier as the viewer wonders whether Sharon is innocent or guilty..........
The film's only misstep occurs at the end, with an unsatisfactory ending that makes the whole film seem like some stupid, contrived game. But it's not. It keeps it's fascination and it's sexiness and its suspense right up till the end, which is what a good erotic thriller should. Actually, the ending for some will lead to a lot of discussion if you watch the film with someone, as the film toys with two of the film's characters innocence or guilt and does not give up all its secrets.....
The film is great Verhoeven. It has his usual, hilarious, seemingly inappropriate kinky humor and extreme sex and violence to match. The fact that Verhoeven is actually able to balance the film and make it funny and sexy is wonderful film-making. Well, have I said 'sexy' enough times? Then go rent it.........8/10
P.S. If you like this one, check out Verhoevens' Dutch film ''The Fourth Man''. It has a similar plot and even a similar character that resembles Catherine Tramell. If the ending of 'Basic Instinct' leaves you wanting, check that film out. It is even better than 'Basic' and is more 'arty'. It is also a little bit more daring erotically.