![[Screen It]](/images/underground_header.jpg)
|
|
|
|
Less filling than our full-length reviews but still informative, our DVD capsule reviews offer technical and supplemental information for each release, along with a quick look at whether the title is any good and/or entertaining or enjoyable.
BASIC INSTINCT
Catherine becomes a prime suspect when her rock star boyfriend is brutally murdered, which just so happens to be a crime she also described in her last novel. But would she be so obvious as to write about a crime that she was going to commit and use it as her alibi, or is a jealous rival setting her up? Obsessed with cracking the case, Nick descends into San Francisco's forbidden underground where suspicions mount, bodies fall and he finds within himself an instinct more basic than survival as he falls for Catherine who just so happens to be writing a novel about just that. As manipulative a guilty pleasure as they come, this "is she or isn't she" picture from 1992 comes courtesy of director Paul Verhoeven ("Hollow Man," "Starship Troopers") and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas ("Jagged Edge," "Showgirls") and certainly isn't for all viewers, what with its sex and violence. Yet, for those who enjoy films with plenty of red herrings, a fun, twisting plot and a suspect whose guilt is in question until the very last frame - not to mention a perpetually slick, but gritty/slimy aura with which the filmmakers have imbued the film -- the picture offers plenty of adult entertainment that's completely engaging and mesmerizing to watch, even for those who will be embarrassed to admitting just that after watching it.
|
|
Length: 97 minutes
Screen Formats: 2.35:1, 16x9 Languages: English, French Subtitles: English Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Sides: 1 |
|
When Mick's charm gets the best of her, the two set out for a big city adventure in New York. Once there, Dundee's safari smarts translate into a knockout comedy as cultures clash, with comical run-ins with muggers, transvestites, black slang, butlers and bidets.
Nominated for a Best Screenplay award, this fish out of water story - the humor arises from Dundee's reaction to what he observes and encounters in the Big Apple - is a charming and highly entertaining yarn, thanks in great part to Hogan's easygoing portrayal of the completely engaging title character.
While some moments are bit farfetched and others have to be overlooked, the 1986 film is obviously more intent on simply being an enjoyable diversion rather than any sort of satire on life in the modern, "civilized" world.
Yet, it offers a good number of decent laughs, some fun but not entirely believable chemistry between Hogan and Kozlowski (who would nevertheless later be married in real life) and the inevitable sequels (1998 and 2001) that obviously weren't as good as the original.
Crocodile Dundee is now available for purchase by clicking here.
|
Length: 111 minutes
Screen Formats: 2.35:1, 16x9 Languages: English, French Subtitles: English Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sides: 1 |
|
Inadvertently sucked into the scandal when the incriminating photos are sent to Sue's attention, Mick and Sue must avoid the mob in the only way they know how. Returning to the familiar terrain of the Australian outback, Mick and Sue set out to outsmart the villains as they make their way through the challenging outback.
The inevitable follow-up to the 1986 smash hit, this 1988 film - like most sequels - offers more of the same that made the original so entertaining and popular among the masses. Namely, that's delivering further fish out of water material and comedy, this time flipping it around by starting the story in New York and concluding it by returning to the Outback where the protagonist is back in his environment and others are the flopping fish.
While it's still a rather entertaining and enjoyable yarn - simply because of Hogan's take on the character and overall comedic and easygoing performance - the film isn't as good as the original (which shouldn't surprise anyone) and introduces the obligatory but completely unnecessary villains into the proceedings, but nonetheless is certainly pleasing and easy enough to watch for fans of the series.
Crocodile Dundee II is now available for purchase by clicking here.
|
Length: 113
minutes
Screen Formats: 1.85:1, 16x9 Languages: English Subtitles: English, French, Spanish Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Sides: 1 |
|
He finds himself in a nightmarish reality of a Martian mining colony ruled over by a terrorizing dictator who can alter reality to suit his whims. The red planet then erupts with rebellious mutants, the fire of an alluring and mysterious woman and a vicious and savage enemy.
Working from an adaptation of Phillip K. Dick's short story, "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale" by screenwriters Ronald Shusett, Dan O'Bannon, and Gary Goldman, director Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct," "Robocop") delivers an adventurous and mostly entertaining, if ultra violent sci-fi yarn.
Featuring the first time viewers really noticed actress Sharon Stone (although she appeared in various films before this 1990 release), one of the more enjoyable performances from Schwarzenegger and Oscar winning special effects (that don't look too bad even now after more than a decade), the film might rely more heavily on those effects and violent action than it does the fascinating sci-fi premise of Dick's original story, but it's still a fun video experience for viewers looking for just that sort of combination.
Total Recall (Collector's Edition) is now available for purchase by clicking here.
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.
All Rights Reserved,
©1996-2022 Screen It, Inc.