90s Movie Review - Basic Instinct

Director: Paul Verhoeven
Genre: Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 128 minutes
Year: 1992
Starring: Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, Jeanne Tripplehorn, George Dzundza, Denis Arndt, Wayne Knight, Mitch Pileggi, Stephen Tobolowsky

Description: A violent police detective (Michael Douglas) investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist (Sharon Stone)

Review: If there was ever a film that deserved the title of ‘erotic thriller’, it’s this one. Even today, the sex scenes are very daring for a film that does not belong in the adult section. Of course “Basic Instinct” is most known for that one interrogation scene, but the film has way more to offer.
Sharon Stone’s name is so strongly associated with the film that you would almost forget thay she wasn’t the first choice. Michael Douglas suggested Kim Basinger, but she rejected the role. Michelle Pfeifer, Kathleen Turner, Geena Davis, Ellen Barkin and Marielle Hemingway also declined. The studio finally wanted Demi Moore, but then director Paul Verhoeven suddenly thought of Sharon Stone, with whom he had already worked in “Total Recall”. And she turned out to be the perfect choice for femme fatale Catherine Tramell.
Michael Douglas plays the somewhat shady San Francisco detective Nick Curran. He falls for the wrong women, other women fall for him. During a murder investigation, he falls head over heels in love with the main witness (and suspect), the beautiful author Catherine Tramell. She has a strange take on ‘research’: she bases her male characters in her novels on existing men. And to study them she sleeps with them. When the book is finished, these men are mercilessly dumped. She is now the prime suspect in the murder of a man who was killed with an icepick. The same method as in one of Catherine’s books.
“Basic Instinct” is one of Paul Verhoeven’s best films, filled with intrigue, mystery, sensuality and darkness. I actually can’t believe that I saw this film at a young age, because it’s pretty explicit. I don’t think Verhoeven could have gotten away with this film today, because Hollywood is a bit of a prude.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 15

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.

Action: Bumblebee (2018)
On the run in the year 1987, Bublee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small California beach town. On the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken.

Drama: The Squid and the Whale (2005)
We follow two young boys (Jesse Eisenberg, Owen Kline) dealing with their parents divorce (Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels) in Brooklyn in the 1980s.

Comedy: The Naked Gun (1988)
Incompetent polive Detective Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) must foil an attempt to assassinate Queen Elizabeth II.

Animation: When Marnie Was There (2014)
Due to 12-year-old Anna’s (Hailee Steinfeld) asthma, she’s sent to stay with relatives of her guardian in the Japanese countryside. She likes to be along, sketching. She befriends Marnie, but who is this mysterious girl?

Romance: Stardust (2007)
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man (Charlie Cox) makes a promise to his beloved (Claire Danes) that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.

Horror: Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people, with the culprit being the legendary apparition, The Headless Horseman.

Science Fiction: Interstellar (2014)
A team of explorers travel through a wormhole in space in an attempt to ensure humanity’s survival.

Crime: American History X (1998)
A former neo-nazi skinhead (Edward Norton) tries to prevent his younger brother (Edward Furlong) from going the same wrong path that he did.

Thriller: Basic Instinct (1992)
A violent police detective (Michael Douglas) investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist (Sharon Stone).

Documentary: Down to Earth with Zac Efron (2020)
Actor Zac Efron journeys around the world with wellness expert Darin Olien in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live.

Family: The Lego Movie (2014)
An ordinary LEGO construction worker (Chris Pratt), thought to be the prophesied as ‘special’, is recruited to join a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the LEGO universe into eternal stasis.