Basic Instinct 2
Inside Man
Firewall
Basic Instinct 2
"Basic Instinct 2" is nonsense from frame one, a stupidity parade that keeps getting worse. The first installment from 1992 was a super-sleazy trash movie, but entertaining enough. There is an awfully long way from Paul Verhoeven's weird, kitschy and outrageous mind to this second installment, directed by Michael Caton-Jones. This sequel, unlike the original, doesn't have any distancing or humor, which makes it very self-important and pompous. Sharon Stone's performance as the supposedly ultra-sexy maybe-killer Catherine Tramell is expected to drive the movie, but she isn't the least bit alluring. Catherine is a completely uninteresting person, which make the people that let her manipulate them look like complete morons. And, my goodness, the ending. I didn't even expect this movie to go for something that cheap.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
Despite being savaged by most critics, I found "Basic Instinct 2" enjoyable in an awful way. The characters communicate in sharp one-liners, leaving the camera to bounce between them like a ping-pong ball. Sharon Stone's laughable temptress gives a lot of ping, while David Morrissey's beguiled psychoanalyst retorts with a lot of pong. Ping, pong, and so on. The film also boasts the most outrageous piece of phallic symbolism in recent film history. David Morrissey holds his therapy sessions with Sharon Stone in the so-called Gherkin skyscraper in London, which the camera lovingly lingers on like a pornographic close-up. "Basic Instinct 2" is an altogether silly film and about as erotic as a cucumber in the hands of a Thai showgirl. Watch and laugh.
( Tim Ochser )
Inside Man
"Inside Man" has earned Spike Lee his best opening weekend at the box office to date, perhaps because it's the most mainstream film he has made. However, even if the movie gives us a less political than usual Lee, Spike Lee is still Spike Lee, and he can't help throwing in sharp commentary here and there. Lee brings spark to the movie and elevates it above your usual heist'sflick. And he lets it play out less straightforwardly than it probably would have in the hands of another director. The narrative of "Inside Man" is thought through and well laid-out. The flow and pacing maintain a high level of suspense. As always, Denzel Washington dominates the movie with his powerful screen presence, but the supporting cast is also spot-on.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
"Inside Man" is director Spike Lee's most mainstream film yet and one of his best films to date. He takes on the tired genre of the heist movie but infuses it with a freshness unseen since "Reservoir Dogs." Yes, the plot is ludicrously over-the-top but Lee also zooms in on small details, such as a Hindu man complaining to the police after they order him to take off his turban in case there's a bomb hidden in it, or Denzel Washington's detective making small talk with an ordinary officer. These nuances help set "Inside Man" apart and give it a refreshingly thoughtful dimension for a mainstream film. "Inside Man" may not be subtle but it is certainly very entertaining. It's good to see a director who's still willing to take risks.
( Tim Ochser )
Firewall
It's not necessary to spend two pointless hours in the company of "Firewall" 's simply watching the trailer, which tells the entire story anyway, will do. Harrison Ford's nuclear family is held hostage because he has access to a lot of money. Then there is some shooting and some "Where is my family?!" - but that's it. Every aspect of the movie runs on autopilot, lulling you gently asleep. Sure, "Firewall" isn't meant to reinvent cinema as we know it, but this can't even be categorized as light entertainment since it isn't entertaining when you can predict every single contrived and cliched move. That conveyor belt, buried deep in the heart of Hollywood, filled with screenwriters throwing the old things together will never stop.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
"Firewall" is a thoroughly routine thriller although it was nice to see Harrison Ford in a lead role again. He doesn't spend much time in the limelight these days. Ford plays an IT security expert whose family is held hostage by Paul Bettany's smooth villain and his team of kidnappers. Bettany promises to free Ford's family if he helps him rob the bank where he works as chief of security. Naturally the plan goes awry. There's even a kid with an allergy to nuts, which really ratchets up the dramatic tension. Will the evil villain whip out a tub of peanut butter or won't he? In the end you don't really care what happens. You know it will end happily and you know the villains will all be killed, which doesn't leave much room for surprise.
( Tim Ochser )
