From Newsgroup: rec.arts.tv

Arthur Lipscomb <arthur@alum.calberkeley.org> wrote:

I watched:

A Sharon Stone-a-thon!

Basic Instinct (4K disc) 1992 movie directed by Paul Verhoeven and
starring Michael Douglas as a cop protecting the Streets of San
Francisco. Sharon Stone also stars as a woman that Douglas is
investigating for murder.

Total Recall (4K disc) 1990 movie directed by Paul Verhoeven based on a
book by Philip K. Dick.

Short story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"

Dick was a wonderful writer who explored the theme of memory as the
basis for the human psyche. Other writers have certainly done that, but
Dick was superior. The movie reduces it to a plot device instead of the
central theme.

The movie stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as an
average man who when push comes to shove will use an innocent bystander
as a human shield then toss the bystander's bullet riddled corpse down a >flight of stairs at the bad guys. Sharon Stone stars as
Schwarzenegger's wife, whose Basic Instinct is to kill him. Rachel
Ticotin stars as Schwarzenegger's love interest who is both sleezy and >demure. And Ronny Cox stars as a man who after being fired from being
the evil head of OCP decided to change jobs and now evil head of Mars.
The movie holds up great in all of its' Paul Verhoeven "R" rated glory.

I loved Rachel.

My favorite part of the script was that original-flavor Ah'nold was the
villain and everyone else worked for him!

Are you going to watch the tv series, which had nothing to do with the
movie? It does a much better job exploring Dick's themes although it was original scripts. I saw it in first-run syndication, entirely out of
order.

Minority Report (4K disc) 2002 movie directed by Steven Spielberg based
on a book by Philip K. Dick.

Another short story. The main character is supposed to be Max Von
Sydow's age. Spielberg left a lot more of Dick's story in it than other adaptations have.

It's poorly plotted and relies on way too much coincidence to overcome
an omniscient villain. Best part of the movie is Cruise carryig
Samantha Morton through the shopping mall with the umbrellas and
balloons. Also with Colin Ferrel.

The movie stars Tom Cruise as a cop in a
dystopian future that uses rCLprecogsrCY to see the future and warn of >pending murders, then Cruise and his team swoop in an arrest someone
before they commit the crime. Cruise is a true believer in the system
until herCOs accused of a murder he hasnrCOt committed yet and he sets out >to prove his innocence. The movie holds up well. And I really like the >scene when Cruise finally encounters the man he is supposed to murder.

Paycheck (blu-ray) 2003 movie directed by John Woo based on a book by >Philip K. Dick. The movie stars Ben Affleck as an engineer who
reveres engineers machines for companies then voluntarily has his memory >wiped for money.

He gives the same performance as in The Accountant.
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