Watching Total Recall for the first time in maybe 15 years. Verhoeven and DP Jost Vacano had such a weird, almost unique look going on, totally drab and flat (both the look *and* Arnie) but it works, not least because the blood is so rich and vibrant. Arnie, for his part, is totally game for this strange mix of almost old-fashioned cornball and state of the art and the gleeful embrace of sheer absurdity. I kept thinking to myself how patient he must have been for all these crazy set pieces, esp. considering he's the least coked out looking/acting of the whole cast.
― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 16 January 2019 20:41 (five years ago) link
yeah it’s super-entertaining and the supporting cast is great - sharon stone in particular has a blast playing a character which probably seemed pretty flat on the pagei watched this again fairly recently and one thing which really struck me is how good arnold is as the super-spy quaid who appears in video messages to the regular quaid - he’s got this laidback cockiness that schwarzenegger never really played in any other role, weirdly. i wish we got to see more of that side of arnold onscreen during his career!
― Effectively Big Jim with a beard. (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 16 January 2019 21:57 (five years ago) link
also the visual of construction-worker arnold holding a jackhammer will never not be amazing and hilarious
― Effectively Big Jim with a beard. (bizarro gazzara), Wednesday, 16 January 2019 21:58 (five years ago) link
Boy, “Benedetta” gets a poop joke in there less than five mnutes into the movie and then it just keeps going.iCan’t say I didn’t enjoy lots of it, though, regardless. This is full throttle trashy Verhoeven.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 21:17 (two years ago) link
i wanna see the nun titty movie so bad
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 21:20 (two years ago) link
You ain't never seen Jesus like this!
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 16 November 2021 21:34 (two years ago) link
It's wild.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 20 November 2021 00:04 (two years ago) link
and, yeah, it's trash with verve
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 20 November 2021 00:05 (two years ago) link
attempting a ranking of verhoeven films which will make no sense whatsoever
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Sunday, 5 December 2021 01:18 (two years ago) link
total recallshowgirlsellerobocopthe fourth manbenedettastarship trooperskatie tippelblack bookturkish delightsoldier of orangeflesh & bloodhollow manspetters
still haven't seen: business is business, tricked
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Sunday, 5 December 2021 01:23 (two years ago) link
thought Elle was surprisingly good but otherwise am not that interested in his films
― Dan S, Sunday, 5 December 2021 01:47 (two years ago) link
really liked Total Recall at the time. I should see it again, but I already know I'm going to be disappointed
― Dan S, Sunday, 5 December 2021 01:51 (two years ago) link
watched Showgirls again recently. loved the scene showing her companionship with the drifter she hitchhikes a ride with at the beginning of the film, who robs her. she ends up getting the better of him at the end
― Dan S, Sunday, 5 December 2021 02:21 (two years ago) link
Total Recall ruled when I watched it last year.
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 5 December 2021 03:54 (two years ago) link
Really love Soldier of Orange. Just a great buddy war film, although I can understand if one would consider it lacking in Verhoevenesque tendencies. It’s played pretty straight.
― Mule, Sunday, 5 December 2021 10:43 (two years ago) link
He's made only two films in the 12 years since this poll and yet I think he's due for a repoll.
― Milm & Foovies (Eric H.), Sunday, 5 December 2021 17:46 (two years ago) link
ive always liked-but-not-loved robocop, but total recall just delivers a full buffet of insanity and then some, outrageously fun when i revisited it recently, forever #1 PV for me
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Sunday, 5 December 2021 18:56 (two years ago) link
GIVE ZEZE PEOPLE ZEH AIIIR
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 5 December 2021 19:08 (two years ago) link
black book higher for me, maybe no. 2 after showgirls and just ahead of total recall
― Tracer Hand, Monday, 6 December 2021 11:17 (two years ago) link
i need to see it a second time for sure
― STOCK FIST-PUMPER BRAD (BradNelson), Monday, 6 December 2021 11:22 (two years ago) link
Benedetta was quite good but I feel just a little underwhelmed. Still worth seeing.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Monday, 18 April 2022 23:58 (two years ago) link
Benedetta was enjoyable enough in the old-fashioned sense of trashy-arty Euro films like Just Jaeckin’s ‘Emmanuelle’ and ‘The Story of O’
― Josefa, Tuesday, 19 April 2022 00:23 (two years ago) link
it’s wild how I always have to be reminded that he did Basic Instinct. which I’m assuming was his biggest earner?
― OG Bob Sacamano (will), Tuesday, 19 April 2022 01:30 (two years ago) link
and Robocop.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 19 April 2022 15:29 (two years ago) link
It's been years since I've seen Soldier of Orange, but I remember liking it a lot.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Tuesday, 19 April 2022 15:34 (two years ago) link
Huh, I wonder what happened to the RoboCop documentary, "RoboDoc"? This piece claims it finally wrapped (after four years) over a year ago:
https://deadline.com/2021/04/robocop-robodoc-documentary-peter-weller-movie-paul-verhoeven-1234747420
― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 28 July 2022 16:41 (one year ago) link
looks like RoboDoc is finally coming to streaming: https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3775706/robodoc-the-creation-of-robocop-four-part-docuseries-premieres-august-29-on-screambox/but what I really revived this for is to say that I finally watched Benedetta and it was a lot of fun! every powerful character see-sawing between what they believe and their ambitions was great. was not expecting it to be as funny as it was
― mh, Saturday, 19 August 2023 15:59 (nine months ago) link
How long as that been in the works, a decade?
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 19 August 2023 16:29 (nine months ago) link
having seen Reservation Dogs before Benedetta, I kept thinking of her visions in terms of the visions in that show. which isn’t that far off, really
― mh, Sunday, 20 August 2023 01:30 (nine months ago) link
Benedetta is wonderful, and I highly recommend reading its source material, Immodest Acts, too. I love its really dry humour.
Not listed in the poll, but his experimental Dutch mini-feature TRICKED is definitely worth a watch.
― beamish13, Sunday, 20 August 2023 01:46 (nine months ago) link
Gave Showgirls a fresh rewatch thanks to the new 4K and it feels even more of an otherworldly miracle now, in the nu-puritanical ‘20s
― fair but so uncool beliefs here (Eric H.), Sunday, 20 August 2023 16:59 (nine months ago) link
Not one vote for Soldier of Orange? Surprising.
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Sunday, 20 August 2023 17:12 (nine months ago) link
While he hasn’t found a sci-fi project that piqued his interest, Verhoeven has plenty to keep him busy. He is currently preparing to shoot a political thriller called “Young Sinner,” which would mark his fist American film since he released “Hollow Man” in 2000. Verhoeven said that the film, which sees him reteaming with “RoboCop” writer Ed Neumeier, could be ready to enter production as early as this year.“I’m working with Ed Neumeier, who wrote RoboCop. You could say it’s a political thriller, if you want, situated in Washington,” he said of the project. “The last couple of years I’ve been working in France because I couldn’t find something interesting here at that time. But Ed came up with a really interesting proposal. For two years we have been working on the screenplay. It should be done in two months and then we can find out if someone can finance it.”
“I’m working with Ed Neumeier, who wrote RoboCop. You could say it’s a political thriller, if you want, situated in Washington,” he said of the project. “The last couple of years I’ve been working in France because I couldn’t find something interesting here at that time. But Ed came up with a really interesting proposal. For two years we have been working on the screenplay. It should be done in two months and then we can find out if someone can finance it.”
BTW, Verhoeven is 85!!!
― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 7 January 2024 14:51 (five months ago) link
That probably sneaks up on a lot of American viewers - he had a long and extensive filmmaking career before making Robocop.
Thankfully he makes a lot of appearances in NYC - highly recommended, but Lincoln Center usually records and uploads his talks so you can see them on their YouTube channel. A few recommended ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6_0CwGuiMc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QotxGy4CKk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O5QZncVjuw
He's definitely a filmmaker who's grown on me in recent years. Starship Troopers alone seems very underrated and sadly a film that the country's lived down to thanks to the increasingly warped right wing.
― birdistheword, Sunday, 7 January 2024 19:21 (five months ago) link
(FWIW, I would've voted for Black Book)
― birdistheword, Sunday, 7 January 2024 19:22 (five months ago) link