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Basically, it's a flop as US critics maul Stone sequel
The Daily Telegraph ^ | April 3, 2006 | Catherine Elsworth

Posted on 04/02/2006 10:48:21 PM PDT by MadIvan

The original broke new ground with the risqué shot that made a star of Sharon Stone. Its long-awaited sequel, however, is likely to be remembered only for failing to deliver anything approaching so memorable a moment.

Basic Instinct 2, the follow-up to the 1992 blockbuster starring Michael Douglas as a San Francisco policeman who falls for Stone's murderous femme fatale, opened at the weekend to paltry box office sales and a critical mauling.

According to preliminary figures, it made only $1.15 million on its opening night and was expected to total just over $3 million by the end of the weekend. By contrast, the animated feature Ice Age: The Meltdown - also a sequel - made an estimated $22 million on its opening night and was expected to take more than $70 million by last night.

Fans of the original Basic Instinct, directed by Paul Verhoeven, have waited 14 years for the follow-up to the erotic thriller in which Stone played the smouldering, icy crime writer who is a suspect in a series of vicious sex murders.

Its iconic interrogation scene - where an underwear-less Stone demonstrates her sexual power to police officers with a swift uncrossing of the legs - became one of the most talked-about peep show moments in cinematic history. The film went on to gross $350 million.

Trailers for the new film, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, feature lots of teasing footage of Stone - now 48 - but, as many critics waste no time in pointing out, there is no repeat of the revealing shot.

The Washington Post calls the film "a hammy plot with a pickle on the side". Writing in the New York Times, Manohla Dargis dubbed it "a disaster of the highest or perhaps lowest order".

The film, also starring Charlotte Rampling, David Thewlis and Liverpool-born David Morrissey, is set in what the CBS News critic David Edelstein calls "a drab London that's, no offence to English people, really un-erotic".


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: basicinstinct; icepick; moviereview; nopick
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Hollywood has been releasing some particularly bad films as of late.

Regards, Ivan


1 posted on 04/02/2006 10:48:25 PM PDT by MadIvan
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To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick; Laurita; Semper911; lutz; Deetes; Barset; fanfan; LadyofShalott; ...

Ping!


2 posted on 04/02/2006 10:48:44 PM PDT by MadIvan (Ya hya chouhada! Dune fans, visit - http://www.thesietch.com/)
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To: MadIvan

Is London really that un-erotic?


3 posted on 04/02/2006 10:50:26 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (When Al Franken had his bris, they threw away the baby and saved the foreskin.)
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To: MadIvan

I may be in the vast minority, but I thought the original was highly over-rated. It was okay, but they played it off as one of the best pictures ever made. I wasn't buying it then and it seem folks aren't buying the new one at all.


4 posted on 04/02/2006 10:51:06 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (If you don't want to be lumped in with those who commit violence in your name, take steps to end it.)
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To: MadIvan

About the only body part that Sharon Stone hasn't already shown onscreen is her spleen.


5 posted on 04/02/2006 10:51:52 PM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: MadIvan
Really goes to show that maybe, just possibly, Hollywierd has finally hit bottom.
Seems people want something 'better' to go watch than an aging Sharon Stone show off what little she had to begin with, or some pseudo-sleeper like V and blinding themselves to the 'epic' Brokeback Mountain. Is there something wrong with this picture?

Wake up Hollywood, the crap you are turning out is not fit to flush in any toilet.

Looks like Ice Age is the hit, something EVERYONE in the family can go see.

6 posted on 04/02/2006 10:58:33 PM PDT by Pistolshot (Condi 2008.<------added January 2004. Remember you heard it here first)
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To: DoughtyOne

It was big because it was controversial for 2 reasons: First, it had the flashing scene. Second, Stone's character was bisexual and the gay lobby had a fit.


7 posted on 04/02/2006 11:02:53 PM PDT by AmishDude (AmishDude, servant of the dark lord Xenu.)
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To: Slings and Arrows
Is London really that un-erotic?

What?? London, un-erotic you say? Well here's a little Q&A to test your erotic sense of London:

Is this (a) a giant breast implant or (b) the new London City Hall?

Is this (a) a giant phallus symbol or (b) a financial services office building?

Is this (a) a big boob or (b) the mayor of London?


8 posted on 04/02/2006 11:11:34 PM PDT by SirJohnBarleycorn
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To: MadIvan

"Fans of the original Basic Instinct... have waited 14 years for the follow-up..."

Was ANYBODY really waiting for this sequel?


9 posted on 04/02/2006 11:14:10 PM PDT by jocon307 (The Silent Majority - silent no longer)
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To: AmishDude

I'd add that the twisted critiques loved it for it's "exotic" impression.


10 posted on 04/02/2006 11:14:50 PM PDT by DoughtyOne (If you don't want to be lumped in with those who commit violence in your name, take steps to end it.)
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To: MadIvan
I must admit I never saw Basic Instinct. Never was interested. But I saw this movie today...


IT WAS GREAT FUN.
11 posted on 04/02/2006 11:19:19 PM PDT by sully777 (wWBBD: What would Brian Boitano do?)
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To: SirJohnBarleycorn

LOL!

Pic 1: Sharon Stone's probably wondering where she left that.

Pic 2: Sharon Stone's probably wondering where she can get one.

Pic 3: Is it true that when he takes Viagra he gets six inches taller?


12 posted on 04/02/2006 11:42:14 PM PDT by Slings and Arrows (When Al Franken had his bris, they threw away the baby and saved the foreskin.)
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To: MadIvan

MadIvan,

Cool graphic I will have to check that site out.

I have read every book, some twice, some more.

The Dune Universe is pure mind candy for me.

Thanks


13 posted on 04/02/2006 11:43:26 PM PDT by A message
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To: MadIvan

Saw the trailer in the movie house two weeks ago. She looked bad. Some women look good as they age...Not Stone.


14 posted on 04/03/2006 3:13:02 AM PDT by Dallas59 (MOHAMMED LIED-PEOPLE DIED)
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To: MadIvan
The original film was much better. I give this one a minus simply because Michael Douglas isn't in it. Even he knows what a turkey it is and skipped this one.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

15 posted on 04/03/2006 3:21:13 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: jocon307
Its not even sexy.... it looks like a cheap rip-off of a Paul Verhoeven movie. That's perhaps because he didn't direct it and you can probably guess that it doesn't follow up on the original movie's ending - did she commit the murder? After two wasted hours, no one found out. Gee, if Hollywood is going to make cheap movies, they shouldn't insult the public's intelligence by intimating one is going to be better than the original. Sequels seldom do excel in that area. Then again, when its only about raking money, artistic excellence takes a dive. It should really have been called Base Instinct.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

16 posted on 04/03/2006 3:34:15 AM PDT by goldstategop (In Memory Of A Dearly Beloved Friend Who Lives On In My Heart Forever)
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To: MadIvan

Did anyone expect the movie would not be mauled by critics? People will still go to see it. And they'll get the uncut version on DVD when it's released. Apparently there's a lot of sex cut (pardon he pun) from the version presently on screen.


17 posted on 04/03/2006 5:13:48 AM PDT by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspelll.)
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To: MadIvan

They should have recast it with a younger woman. Nobody wants to look at old tang.


18 posted on 04/03/2006 5:22:09 AM PDT by wolfcreek
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To: Slings and Arrows

Don't know about today, but I lived there for 3 years back in the '70's, and it was rockin' then...


19 posted on 04/03/2006 5:43:35 AM PDT by CTOCS (Some people drink from the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.)
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To: martin_fierro
there is no repeat of the revealing shot

Just imagine Willie Nelson in a scissors hold.

20 posted on 04/03/2006 5:46:32 AM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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