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This top section includes Scoop's site notes, images, vids, web finds, and meandering prattle. |
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FILM CLIPS:
Some more great high definition film clips (zipped .avi files - some of them
VERY large, but worth it if the subject matter interests you). This time it is Suzanna Hamilton in 1984 (Movie
House Review) in high definition zipped .avis.
BASIC INSTINCT 2:
There have been many nasty words written about this film, and I
don't feel motivated to add to them. You can get the down and dirty from Rotten
Tomatoes or from Tuna's comments.
Instead of addressing the film in detail, I want to vent some
spleen about "unrated" DVDs. Lor' Almighty, is this becoming a scam. I don't
know how many lame DVDs I have sat through because the words "unrated" or
"director's cut" have lured me into a false hope that there might be some really
raunchy stuff on the disk. So let's clear the air a bit on the term "unrated."
It simply means that it has not been submitted to the MPAA for a rating. It
could be tamer than the theatrical version. It could even be G-rated material
without the formal G certification. More often than not, it is material which
would have received an R rating if it had been submitted, but can be called
"unrated" because the term is literally true. One could theoretically snip one
frame from an R-rated edition and bill it as "unrated" without going afoul of
the authorities. It is advertising that is completely true in denotation, but
false in connotation because you're expecting something nastier in the "unrated"
edition.
So it is with the DVD for Basic Instinct 2. The "unrated"
edition would have no trouble getting an R rating. There is also an R-rated
theatrical version, but I have not looked at it, so I don't know what
differences exist between the two, but I do know that the "unrated" version is
not even a hard R. It is far tamer than the theatrical version of the original
Basic Instinct from the 1980s. Not only are we denied Sharon Stone's infamous
beaver, but we don't even get a glimpse of any pubic hair.
What makes matters even worse is that the deleted scenes - oh,
how we movie freaks savor the possibilities inherent in deleted material - do
not include any additional nudity at all, except a non-sexual scene in which
Sharon Stone gets caught in a downpour, thus turning her blouse transparent and
providing some pseudo-nudity.
What makes matters worst of all is that we know for a fact that
there is much more deleted footage which simply did not make it into the unrated
DVD in the film or the deleted scenes. We saw the footage many months earlier on
the internet, and it does include some naughtier stuff, including a hot ménage a
trois.
So we have an unrated DVD which is actually soft R-level
material, deleted scenes which could probably qualify for a PG-13, and the sure
knowledge that the DVD specifically excludes some raunchy material which we know
for a fact to exist.
Bah, humbug.
As for the movie itself, it is a failure, but
possibly not for the reasons you might suspect. It is not an
incompetent movie. It's a boring one. It might have been
entertaining if it had gone in one of two directions: either
toward a gloriously campy masterpiece with Sharon Stone
operating in the ultrabitch mode, or toward flat-out
taboo-challenging tacky erotica. The moviemakers chose neither
of those options. Instead they tried to make it a convoluted
whodunit with stylish production values and just a soupcon of
bitchiness in the Joan Collins manner. It reaches for class
instead of crass.
BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
Wrong answer.
Tuna did a comprehensive treatment of these
images last week, so I concentrated only on the scenes which I
felt could offer some new looks through light and color
adjustments.
OTHER CRAP:
White Player Gets Dark-Skinned Bobblehead-
"Orioles players have joked in the past that they didn't look like their bobblehead dolls. But when a recent shipment of Brian Roberts bobbleheads arrived, team officials knew something was wrong. Roberts, who is white, had dark skin."
"Thanking Jesus in Court Lands Man in Jail"
This is a real headline:
"Goldman Sachs challenges Web site Goldmansex.com"
Goodie Bag TV: Catholic High School Girls in Trouble
Strange statues around the world
Colbert Report: The Right Rules to Battle Terrorism-
"We can't leave out alien civilizations, so clearly, anal probing gets a thumbs up."
Colbert Report: Know a District: Washington's Fightin' 2nd
Colbert Report: Massachusetts - our nation's Sodom and Gomorrah.
Four new clips from Clerks II
Eight clips from Shyamalan's new film, Lady in the Water
Three clips from The Groomsmen, a new dramedy from Ed Burns
A clip from Scoop, Woody Allen's new movie:
Mort Zuckerman faces Colbert, even though he's on notice
Colbert notes that network TV has achieved the lowest ratings in history.
Colbert counts down this week's threats, including fake sperm and Jackie Chan.
Stephen Colbert explains the problem of evidence to author Ron Suskind.
Colbert says: You cannot stop Joementum.
Slow News Day: The people at Fox & Friends spent 3 hours trying to coax Hugh Grant up to their studio.
The Daily Show:
"Joe Lieberman's Senate seat is being threatened by a guy with kind of a Jonestown vibe."
The Daily Show's Ed Helms talks to a man distressed with the gay lifestyle he's discovered in the San Francisco's
Castro District.
The Daily Show looks at the world's "Emotional Weather"
- "If you're in the Middle East, this is your 6,021 straight week of seething rage."
The Daily Show looks at the president's trip to Germany:
"Let's assume 'slicing the pig' is a euphemism for 'solve the Middle East crisis.'"
Daily Box Office for Friday, July 14, 2006-
Pirates $19 million, the two new movies seven each. Not much variance from expectations.
Daily Show:
Jon Stewart encourages Owen Wilson to promote his crappy new movie.
The Daily Show:
"The Plame leak is no big deal, and that's why they've been covering it up for the past two years."
Date with Jessica Biel to be auctioned |
Movie Reviews:
Yellow asterisk: funny (maybe). White asterisk: expanded format.
Blue asterisk: not mine. No asterisk: it probably sucks.
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"The Flesh and Blood Show"
The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) is vintage UK horror from Pete Walker, who, at the time, thought he was making a really edgy film. Now, it comes off as little more than quaint. He based the plot on Agatha Christie's 10 Little Indians, the idea being that a group are gathered together under somewhat unusual circumstances, and then start dying. Here, they are all theatrical people, and have been gathered at an abandoned theater on an old pier to improvise a review that will then be performed in London. Four actors and four actresses have been assembled. These are young, attractive and creative people, so they tend to get naked, have sex and play practical jokes, but when they start disappearing, nobody is laughing.
Any more plot would be a spoiler, and that would be a shame. Perhaps some will remain in doubt longer than I did about the identity of the killer. We have full frontal and rear nudity from Jane Cardew, breasts and buns from Luan Peters and breasts from Penny Meredith and Candace Glendenning.
IMDb readers have it at 4.2. At the time it was released, it could have been a hit due to the nudity and violence, but it is far too mild by today's standards. Throw in a weak plot and very dark photography, and it was a long watch. I will say that all of the cast was up to the challenge, there was simply not material enough for a good film here. Low C-.
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Scoops-
Cybill Shepherd was a hottie. Probably the hottest gal in Hollywood for a few years in early 70's. At that point she posed in a wet T-shirt for Interviu Magazine (how I wish the US had a magazine of the same kind and quality as Interviu). Anyway, here she is, as she was more than 30 years ago.
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'Caps and comments by Dann:
"Basic Instinct 2" (part 2)
Yeah, I screwed up by leaving Sharon Stone's full-frontal out of yesterday's collage, so here's another collage. The FF is a long shot, not easy to see, but after reviewing the caps, I realize it should have been included. For those who may have missed it, the original review is below:
Boy the critics hated this one! Sharon Stone, looking amazing at 48, reprises her role as Catherine Trammel in 2006's Basic Instinct 2.
Set after the end of the original, Catherine is now in London, and people are once again dying around her, as she writes novels about them. As in the first movie, she escapes the long arm of the law, and a psychiatrist appointed by the courts to examine her becomes entranced with her.
Same basic story as the original, Sharon Stone looking as sexy and being as bitchy as ever, lots of fun as she sticks it to the man. It's this simple: if you liked the original, this one isn't bad, and if you hated the original, forget about this one.
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