tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post6387306254578696074..comments2024-03-03T10:32:45.969-08:00Comments on Mr. Peel's Sardine Liqueur: The Psychology Of The LensMr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-83351886102366665632009-02-10T18:11:00.000-08:002009-02-10T18:11:00.000-08:00If you're into Polly Walker, Enchanted April is du...If you're into Polly Walker, <I>Enchanted April</I> is due out on DVD in a month or two.Uncle Gustavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08501032829800803300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-89281067719199782512009-02-10T17:29:00.000-08:002009-02-10T17:29:00.000-08:00J.D.--Glad you enjoyed the piece. BASIC INSTINCT 2...J.D.--<BR/><BR/>Glad you enjoyed the piece. BASIC INSTINCT 2 is definitely worse. Actually, I think it's a lot worse, which is saying something. <BR/><BR/>Emily--<BR/><BR/>Really? Really? Well, all right. I hold no animosity towards him. He's probably my second favorite Baldwin. I once stood behind him in line at the Paramount commissary and he seemed all right. That's really all I've got. <BR/><BR/>EFC--<BR/><BR/>Noyce has made a few really good films like DEAD CALM and THE QUIET AMERICAN but if the material isn't there then it doesn't seem like there's much he can do beyond making it look pretty. His daughter was obviously a smart one. <BR/><BR/>Flickhead--<BR/><BR/>I've always been a big fan of Stone and the whole Lana Turner-old movie star vibe she exudes but man, she's made some lousy movies. I get the fascination with the movie--I think I've had it--but boy, it just sits there. Robert Evans has said that he wanted Polanski but Paramount wasn't interested--they just wanted to get the movie made and didn't want to go off to Paris or wherever to do it. Too bad. It's a nice daydream. <BR/><BR/>Joe--<BR/><BR/>Clusterfuck is right! And the fact that you, like me, had to search really hard for things that Walker and Landau were doing really says something. For whatever reason, when Landau tells Sharon Stone that she's throwing a great party it feels like just about the most natural bit of business in the entire film. Again, I really like Sharon Stone--something like THE SPECIALIST might be lousy but it at least uses her right--but it feels like we should have gotten a few more (or a few better)starring vehicles from her during her peak. At least there's CASINO.Mr. Peel aka Peter Avellinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10553482286909862975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-66516148670999606892009-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:002009-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00I was actually thinking of writing something about...I was actually thinking of writing something about <EM>Sliver</EM> because as you point out Peel, it really is one of the biggest Hollywood clusterfucks of all time. The ending was scrapped and reshot, Stone hated Baldwin and nothing in the movie except the glimpses of Martin Landau or Polly Walker is worthwhile. <BR/><BR/>I would not cast the net any farther than Philip Noyce and Vilmos Zsigmond to shoot my Hollywood blockbuster, but you're right, they bring nothing to this material. Robert Evans seemed gonzo to cash in on the success of <EM>Basic Instinct</EM> and the movie has little else on the brain.<BR/><BR/>You made some great observations about Sharon Stone. I liked her and it's too bad she very rarely got access to material that played to her strengths. She lucked out with <EM>Basic Instinct</EM> and <EM>Casino</EM>. The rest of her career, not so much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-34338348240918562182009-02-10T10:10:00.000-08:002009-02-10T10:10:00.000-08:00For someone who thought he had nothing to say abou...For someone who thought he had nothing to say about <I>Sliver</I>, you sure had a lot to say about it!<BR/><BR/>I saw this the day it opened. Sharon beckoned me. She was the lifeforce of <I>Total Recall</I> (notice how that film dies after her character does) and the personification of eroti-cool in <I>Basic Instinct</I>. Who knew from that point on she'd essentially trash her career with poor script choices?<BR/><BR/>If I recall, <I>Sliver</I> made the bulk of its gross on opening weekend. Word of mouth quickly killed it.<BR/><BR/>Nonetheless, the film fascinated me for a while. I once called it "the greatest film Roman Polanski never made." It had all the ingredients for a Polanski film: Ira Levin novel, Bob Evans producing, a lone woman in an apartment facing a potential breakdown, a <I>ménage à trois</I> (Stone-Baldwin-Berenger) wrought with conflict... <I>Rosemary's Baby</I> meets <I>The Tenant</I> meets <I>Knife in the Water</I>.<BR/><BR/>But Phillip Noyce is no Polanski, and Joe Eszterhas is no Gérard Brach.<BR/><BR/>But with that long, goofy face, William Baldwin could be related to Stan Laurel.Uncle Gustavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08501032829800803300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-43193234366674118072009-02-10T08:43:00.000-08:002009-02-10T08:43:00.000-08:00I remember an interview with Philip Noyce where he...I remember an interview with Philip Noyce where he said that he always screens the finished cut to his daughter first for her honest opinion. <BR/><BR/>So he shows her Sliver (she's 12 or 13 years old at the time, BTW) and afterwards asks for her thoughts on it. She asks Noyce if he's already signed on for his next film yet. He says no, he hasn't. She then suggests that he doesn't show Sliver to anyone until AFTER he's already signed on for his next project.EFChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03707319383245900449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-41917821824449670432009-02-10T08:05:00.000-08:002009-02-10T08:05:00.000-08:00Hey I liked Sliver.That might be because Billy Bal...Hey I liked Sliver.<BR/><BR/>That might be because Billy Baldwin is hot in that movie and he keeps taking his clothes off.Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2118574901486983093.post-36269617327513990692009-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:002009-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:00Very funny review and I share your apathy for this...Very funny review and I share your apathy for this film. You write:<BR/><BR/>"including a spectacularly dull plot and a leading couple in Stone and Baldwin who have less than zero chemistry."<BR/><BR/>hah! aint' that the truth. Between SLIVER and BACKDRAFT, someone was trying to make William Baldwin into an A-list movie star and fortunately it didn't happen for the reasons you cite in your post.<BR/><BR/>And yet, strangely, over time he seems to have gotten a bit better. I quite enjoyed his small role in THE SQUID AND THE WHALE so go figure.<BR/><BR/>As for Sharon Stone... I didn't think it was possible for her to sink any lower than SLIVER and then I saw BASIC INSTINCT 2. Yikes...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08164105442273577128noreply@blogger.com