MacLovesMoon Reviews

Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

It's Clear Some People Are Out To Get This Movie

[8/10 · 5 April 2006]

I think the reason for all the opinionated diarrhea on this movie is that most people have it out for Sharon Stone being around 50 and getting naked while playing sexy. No one cared when the Golden Girls sat around eating cheesecake and discussing their first orgasm, but to see someone post menopausal getting digitally pleased while driving I guess is just too much for some to handle. Let's face it, she looks good, she's light years hotter than my mother who's the same age! It's not an Oscar or a cult classic like the first, but ever since the turn of the century that's all movie goers seem to expect: a cinematic experience that will touch your soul. As such, it never claims to be either. It's an erotic thriller that is both erotic and thrilling, and is a continuation of a brilliant character that we all love to hate. It's the character of Catherine Trammell that helped give way for this sequel. Fans of the first movie want to see more of that frosty ice queen.

The cinematography and art direction were lush and extravagant and made me want to move to Britian for sure. The score is amazing as well.

Sure there's some overacting from some characters but there's some brilliant work from David Morrissey who's virtually unknown.

There's a setback in that the script is virtually the same as the first movie only plugging in a psychiatrist in place of the cop. As well as the criminal decision of the MPAA to force the movie to be cut down even more which takes away from the guilty-pleasure raunchiness that the story is known for.

At the very least it's entertaining and fun to look at it, and that's the movie's only intentions. So if you've got beef with Mizz Stone, maybe you should actually SEE the movie and draw your own conclusions before you spew forth your projectile vomit?

The Closer (2005–2012)

2005's Newest and BEST drama

[21 July 2005]

Sure, this could fall into the category with the other Law and Orders and CSI's but something about this show really stands out probably because its aired on TNT and you'd expect there to be some cheesy movie of the week quality about it. Like Law and Order the show puts more focus on the cases themselves rather than the personal lives of the characters, but The Closer opens the door a little more. Kyra is really what draws in people to this show, it's something about her character's charm despite the fact the character is from the often ridiculed south. The writers were also keen to make Brenda Johnson a real person, not some super-hero who always wins and always knows the every move of the bad guy; sometimes Brenda makes mistakes and pays for them and sometimes she is insecure about her looks or being freshly relocated to the big city of Los Angelos. The show just started this summer and I wish it the best of luck, I hope it can become as acclaimed as all the other crime dramas we've got on the airwaves today

Birth (2004)

Wow...

[3 November 2004]

I went into Birth expecting it to be another genuine Nicole Kidman movie, I was wrong. It surpassed all my expectations. The cinematography was beautiful: the lighting wasn't magazine and generic but soft and icey with long shots that forced you to contemplate what the characters are thinking rather than have it spoon-fed to you through dialogue. Notoriously the camera stares at Kidman for a full three minutes without ever cutting to anything else while her character is in the audience of a symphony, and you see so much raw emotion pass just by seeing her from the neck up. Allusins to Rosemary's Baby were also sprinkled amongst the imagery from Kidman's Mia Farrow hairdo to the tall and waif Gothic apartments. The plot is probably the movie's breadwinner, something fresh and provocative, no substanceless stories of a single, sword-wielding mother seeking revenge nor a band of pixie-hobbits fighting the forces of black magic. The ending leaves you with enough answers, and yet allows you to draw your own conclusions. Its characters aren't your typical gullible purists who are so easy to move to tears, but sensible and a little bitter. Much can't be said about the infamous "bathtub scene", despite one couple actually getting up and leaving the theater (People don't stop and realize the actor is 10 years old and has to have his parents on the set at all times, surely there was nothing that vile going on). There is no kissing, no sex, no holding hands, no fondling, no child abuse, however I could understand how parents might find the scene where we are forced to watch the young boy remove every article of clothing a little gratuitous. The young actor, Cameron Bright, was surprisingly breath-taking, simultaneously being the "husband" and the "boy" at the same time; such mature dialogue emanating from his mouth and yet such childish mannerisms. All in all, the movie gets under you skin and provokes you to think about how you would react if one day someone you never met claimed to be your reincarnated loved one as well as perculate your thoughts on the age-old question of what does happen when we leave our earthly plane.