Q&A: Summer Classics, Best 'Action' Acting, and Late 70s Silliness
Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 11:00AM Yay, reader question time! I did two public appearances, with mic in hand, this weekend which is rare for me. First up was the Q&A with David Dastmalchian for the Animals opening at Village East Cinemas and then on Sunday, a very stressful pre-screening trivia for the Mad Men Finale at The Astor Room restaurant in conjunction with The Museum of the Moving Image. I am always terrified if I'm miked but here at home on TFE, no terror. I type at you, no miking necessary.
Let's take 9 reader questions. I suggested 1979 related questions (our year of the month) but let's do some general questions first on action film acting, summer movies, Oscar sweeps, and classic novels on the screen...
BHURAY: What are your five favorite novels of all time and if they've been translated to film how would you rank the films?
NATHANIEL: I don't feel all that well-read I confess. I spend so much of my time with movies that it's hard to carve out several hours for a book. But when I do read I try to alternate between one for fun and one because-it's-classic when I do read. These are the five best novels I've ever read:
Beloved and lots more questions after the jump...
- The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
- Beloved - Toni Morrison
- The Road - Cormac McCarthy
- Blindness - José Saramago
- Orlando - Virginia Woolf
With the exception of Sally Potter's brilliant take on Orlando starring Tilda Swinton (an absolute must-see and super cinematic) I don't love any of the film versions of any of these and so it would seem silly to rank them as they range from disappointing but really trying to disappointing but forgettable.
BEN: With the amazing reviews for Charlize Theron's performance in the new Mad Max movie, do you think it's possible for an actor or actress to get nominated for an action flick again? Obviously there was Heath Ledger, but that was a unique set of circumstances.
When it comes to breaking through Oscar's anti-genre bias wall, you always need three things:
- for your film to be big at the box office
- for your competition to be somewhat lacking
- ...and, most importantly, a unique set of circumstances.
Obviously in Ledger's case -- the only acting nomination from a superhero film and only the third from a comic adaptation that I'm aware of (the other two being from A History of Violence and Dick Tracy) -- you would not hope for that particular circumstance. I love Theron in general but the reviews of her performance have been slightly mistifying. It's a good action performance and she is totally a movie star but as hashed out on the podcast this weekend, it's not really a revelatory star turn. The Holy Trinity of action-actressing is still: Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), Linda Hamilton (Terminator 2: Judgement Day), and Sigourney Weaver (the Alien films). The best 'genre' acting in 2015 is not in Fury Road (though it's a brilliant movie) but in Ex-Machina.
JEFF: What are your top 5 favorite performances in a Summer Blockbuster?
I started working on this and TWO HOURS LATER I still hadn't figured out how to approach it other than to remind everyone that Susan Sarandon's greatest work is in Bull Durham (1988), for which she should have won the Oscar and that if you look at spring & summer hits over the decades Jamie Lee Curtis is absolutely the finest unsung queen of great acting in movies few think of as "acting" movies (Trading Places, True Lies, A Fish Called Wanda, Freaky Friday). The point is: I was clearly never going to finish this answer largely because "Summer Blockbuster" definitely means different things to different people; It even means different things to the same person #Gemini. So allow me to repurpose this question with my greatest discovery. My least favorite major Oscar category is Supporting Actor and yet, as I compiled a list, performances kept falling into that general vicinity. How about that? Perhaps Oscar ought to fill their roster with this season in mind from now on and we'll have less duller than dirt lineups in the future.
Consider this a starter list that YOU should narrow down in the comments with your top five. Asterisks by the Oscar nominated. The performances in bold red are gold medalists in their year from our own Film Bitch Awards (or would have been had we been operating that year in some cases). Can you pick just five from such iconic wealth of supporting actors in summer event films?
- Jim Broadbent - Moulin Rouge!
- James Cromwell - Babe*
- Charles Durning - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas*
- Rupert Everett - My Best Friends Wedding
- Colin Farrell - Fright Night
- Alec Guiness - Star Wars*
- Tom Hanks - A League of Their Own (my personal favorite of Tom Hanks star turns)
- Ed Harris - The Truman Show*
- Rutger Hauer - Blade Runner
- Harvey Keitel - Thelma & Louise
- Jude Law - A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- John Malkovich - In the Line of Fire*
- Matthew McConaughey - Magic Mike
- Alfred Molina - Spider-Man 2
- Ricardo Montalban - The Wrath of Khan
- Noriyuku 'Pat' Morita - Karate Kid*
- Al Pacino - Dick Tracy*
- Robert T. Patrick - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- Guy Pearce - Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
- Joaquin Phoenix - Gladiator*
- Brad Pitt - Thelma & Louise
- Tim Robbins - Bull Durham
- Geoffrey Rush - Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
- Andy Serkis - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
- Terence Stamp - Superman II
- Dean Stockwell - Married to the Mob*
- Bruce Willis - Death Becomes Her
and then there's the actual Oscar winners in this category from Summer Biggies... though we have some arguable leads here...
- Sean Connery - The Untouchables
- Kevin Kline - A Fish Called Wanda (they're either all supporting or all lead in this film?)
- Tommy Lee Jones - The Fugitive (arguably the co-lead)
- Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (arguably the co-lead)
- Kevin Spacey - The Usual Suspects (great but the film's true lead)
- Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds (great but arguably the film's lead)
RYAN: I know you're a purveyor of spread-out Oscar years. Has there ever been a year where you think a movie should have swept all the acting awards?
The one and only time in which I would approve this happening is A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951 and it's frustrating that Oscar didn't quite get there (stiffing Brando of all players!). That movie is like the Mount Olympus of acting with the new Gods (Brando) and the old Titans (Leigh) at war. I couldn't love it more. It's not that several movies don't have great performances in all four types of acting (leading and supporting, and both sexes) but it's the issue of being the best of a year... it just doesn't happen that everyone in one thing is better than everyone else in hundreds of things, you know?
1979 INSPIRED QUESTIONS
FOREVER1267: "The Dukes of Hazzard" debuted January 26th, 1979. So pick a team #TeamBo or #TeamLuke. Turns out "The Facts of Life" debuted in 1979 too, so if we want to keep it actress-centric and not hot redneck - centric, you could answer which one of those girls was your favorite?
Ugh. I hated "The Dukes of Hazzard" when I was a kid. Everyone watched it. I want to say #TeamLuke since Tom Wopat reinvented himself as a musical actor on Broadway (he's pretty good, too) but in truth, gun to my head of childhood memories, I was only ever on two teams (when forced to watch) #TeamDaisyDukeShorts and #TeamWhicheverDukeBoyWasHoppingIntotheCar. Does this mean I was an ass man and didn't know it!? As for The Facts of Life. I loved Tootie & Natalie but only in tandem so my answer is Blair and her "brilliant ideas" which consistently gave me life. (I guess I still love rich bitchy frighteningly entitled blondes -- see Jane Krakowski in anything.)
What teams are you on?
JAMES: Top five sports movies NOT about the big American ones (baseball, football, hockey, basketball) eg 1979's Breaking Away?
Oh god. I have literally never thought of this and it's so narrow if you don't include all sports. Baseball almost always gets the best movies (Bull Durham, A League of Their Own, The Natural etcetera) and boxing almost always the most Oscars (Raging Bull, Million Dollar Baby, Rocky, etcetera). They don't really make tennis movies do they (I love tennis)? I WISH there was a great movie about Olympic gymnasts. I'd watch the crap out of that. But I don't really seek out sports movies unless there's a specific reason (great director, favored actor, oscar buzz) so I will just say that I love both Bring It On (they will all tell you that cheerleading is a sport!) and Breaking Away (cycling) and otherwise NO this question is too hard. I give up.
BROOKESBOY: Thoughts on the Best Actress lineup of 1979?
ST JEANS: What is your favorite performance by an Actress in 1979?
I'm super OK with Sally Field winning the Oscar for Norma Rae. I think she is truly special and marvelous in that movie. And in pretty much all her other movies. And in her TV series. And on stage. I guess you could say I am a fan. I don't understand why she had to have such a backlash when she won a second Oscar since the deserving winner of 1984 (Kathleen Turner) wasn't even nominated so why does it matter that Field won a second? As for the other nominees of 1979, I like them. Chapter Two might even be my favorite Marsha Mason performance (is that weird thing to say? -- I have no clue about Marsha Mason consensi). I also loved the non-nominated teenage Diane Lane in A Little Romance though I don't know if that one holds up.
I'm curious if readers have someone they wish had been nominated that year in lead? I think I need to see more 1979 films (I'm weak on that particular year) but in supporting I do wish there had been some love for the All That Jazz ladies.
DAVE: Which movie came in sixth place for a Best Picture Oscar Nomination in 1979?
I didn't crawl ashored with Oscar legs until 1982/1983 so this answer is from the primordial ooze. Judging from the nominations that year, it was surely a race between La Cage Aux Folles (3 nominations) and The China Syndrome (4 nominations) with Being There, Manhattan, The Black Stallion, and The Rose divvying up various off-consensus votes. I know that La Cage got the lone director spot but I suspect the more mainstream pleasures of the four-time nominated and successful all-star thriller would have prevailed. It was also a big deal at the Golden Globes and we know it had the attention of Oscar's acting branch so that's my firm guess.
THAT'S IT FOR THIS WEEK'S Q&A. As always, I love to read your answers, too, in the comments.
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Reader Comments (46)
"They don't make tennis movies, do they?" Oh, Nathaniel. Somewhere Kirsten Dunst is reading this, clutching her DVD of Wimbledon and tearing up.
I'm glad the wonderful Sally Field won for Norma Rae.
Other lead actress performances that I liked from 1979:
Judy Davis in My Brilliant Career
Hanna Schygulla in The Marriage of Maria Braun
Lee Remick in The Europeans
Mary Steenburgen in Time After Time
I like Sally Field's win, and I wish Bernadette Peters had made it in for "The Jerk."
As for action performances, I think Emily Blunt in "Edge of Tomorrow" is equally marvelous as Weaver is in the Alien movies.
I agree with Nathaniel about "A Streetcar Named Desire" having that unique distinction of being a tremendous acting vehicle. The only other movie that comes close is "Tootsie" since I think Hoffman, Lange (lead), Pollack, and Garr are marvelous, although I think there was at least one other performance that year that topped Lange and Pollack. But still, they're all easily top three material and Hoffman is top 10 of all time in it.
I'm with you on Sally Field, generally speaking. She's always fully committed and completely present. I think it may be her earnestness that makes her a punchline as much as she has been. For some strange reason sentiment is a four-letter word for some people.
Summer blockbusters typically are ripe with villiains, mentors/father figures, wise-cracking sidekicks, and loveable everyman love interests, so it's no wonder that supporting male performances, especially, would be so well represented in any list of best.
There are various Billie Jean King v. Bobby Riggs films coming out supposedly, maybe one will hit the mark. Does Match Point also count as a tennis film?
Soccer isn't really an American thing, but Bend it Like Beckham was entertaining when it came out and was a big international debut for Keira Knightley's jaw. I also remember you liking Whip It, and roller derby isn't a big sport at all.
One could vouch for dance as a sport, and there are a few solid ones.
I would have gladly given Field the Supporting Actress Oscar over Hathaway and think from the weak field of 84 she's marginally the best with Redgrave close behind.
Nat: On A Fish Called Wanda, I'd say that Kline, Curtis and Cleese are pretty clearly the leads. Palin and Maria Aitken are DEFINITELY supporting though.
I wanted to be Blair as a kid.
I thought it was the speech, not the win, that created the Sally Field Oscar backlash.
When did you finally get around to watching Beloved (1998)?
Maybe my familiarity with her TV persona. But Field never reads as cinematic to me as a screen presence. Despite how compelling she can be in certain roles. And multiple Oscar wins for someone who reminds you of the "lesser" medium of television will always rub people the wrong way. See Hilary Swank as a mirror of what happened to Field.
My all-time favorite novel-to-film adaptation: To Kill a Mockingbird. I am eagerly waiting for the release of Lee Harper's recently rediscovered companion piece to the novel: Go Set a Watchman. It's a sequel of sorts since it was actually written before!
Pick only five from *that* list of actors? Yikes. But okay - Hauer, Spacey, Broadbent, Ledger, and Phoenix (I know lots of people are appalled he was nominated for that performance, but it worked for me - but then I'm a huge Phoenix fan). I can't believe I'm not picking Durning who was as wonderful as always, but he's only in that 1 (fabulous) number.
I like Field's award fine (even though I tend to prefer her in comedies). But I dearly wish Bernadette Peters had been nominated for The Jerk. I think she just kills in that.
And as to Facts of Life - Team Blair all the way, though I did love the Natalie jokes in Twelve Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer.
Bette Midler in The Rose > Sally Field in Norma Rae for me, but I love both actresses.
I would have been in full support of an acting sweep for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but admittedly there are 1-2 nominees in every category I haven't seen.
3rtful: I see them as career mirrors, too. They're quite different actresses, but being seen as somewhat lacking range allow both to surprise people when a performance is terrific (see also, The Homesman.)
Happy Tuesday, Nathaniel! I like the 79 lineup very much too. I'm thinking that Clayburgh is the weak link, but it's been so long since I've seen Starting Over, I might be a bit harsh. And I like her in general. I'll be rewatching for the Smackdown (YAY!). I adore Marsha (that speech is simply marvelous), Jane and Sally in their roles. I see the seams in Bette's performance where her inexperience shows, but she is totally committed to that role, and she's magnetic and raw. A much stronger group of nominees than historians would have us believe.
Swank gets some terrible stuff thrown at her despite showing since the 2nd win she's a fine dramatic actress and much better than huge stars like Jolie.
My choice for the movie with Best Acting in All Categories would obviously be Singin' in the Rain: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor and Jean Hagen all took on roles that deserve more credit as a full-tilt acting exercise, and all four have never shone better.
"Strangers on a Train" isn't a sports movie, but its tennis match is tensely terrific.
I would add Robert Shaw in "Jaws" to your list of great supporting actor performances in summer event films.
I love Sally Field. Why the backlash? I don't understand the Hathaway hate, either, although I know it's real. When a teenage cousin of mine cut off her hair, I told her she looked like Anne Hathaway. My other teenage cousin was horrified by this compliment and swiftly assured our cousin that she actually looked like Shailene Woodley, not Anne Hathaway. This response dumbfounded me.
You forgot Paul Newman in Road to Perdition as part of the "nominated performances in comic book adaptations"
Network should have won all four acting categories, but I would have made the controversial decision to place Finch in supporting actor to do it. I would have nominated Duvall over Beatty in actuality along with Finch.
Holden
Dunaway
Finch
Straight
I love Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham, but was surprised to see you rank it her career best. I love her in that movie, but Oh my God Thelma & Louise!
Sigourney Weaver should have won Best Actress for Aliens.
John Schenider was always the prettiest of the Duke boys, but both of them have held up pretty well. As for the Facts of Life, proto-lesbian Jo holds a place in my heart, but Natalie was the scene stealer. Did you see Mindy Cohen in the indie film Violet Tendencies? The script wasn't stellar, but her delivery was flawless. She should get more work. Maybe she's living happily off residuals...
The China Syndrome probably is correct at the time. (Being There had quite a few fans as well, though I always found it a bit mystifying). Jane Fonda had just come off a win the year earlier and the Academy loves to get behind "causes" particularly when there's a good movie involved.
It's also what propelled Norma Rae into the Best Picture contest I think.
Sally is my choice for winner in '79, I also love her in everything but my lineup would be slightly different:
Sally Field-Norma Rae-Winner
Jane Fonda-The China Syndrome
Piper Laurie-Tim
Bette Midler-The Rose
Lee Remick-The Europeans
I think China Syndrome is the film that just missed the nomination for best picture considering its topicality, big box office and the other noms it received. I would have been my pick to win over Kramer vs Kramer as well.
The acting sweep is a tough one. There are so many that come close: Some Like it Hot, The Shop Around the Corner, GWTW, The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Tootsie, Return of the Soldier etc. that contain award worthy work in three categories but come up short in the forth. The Philadelphia Story is the closest I can think of aside from Streetcar although Stewart and Grant are really co-leading men and this isn't even Jimmy's best work that year, that would be in Shop Around the Corner.
I would have loved to have seen Jill Clayburgh win the Oscar in '79. I know she really should have won the year before for her phenomenal work in A Unmarried Woman, but they could have made it up to her with an Oscar. Shame her career never reached the highs of the 1970s. What a stunning lady!
Adam, I also think Clayburgh should have won for An Unmarried Woman. Absolutely beautiful performance!
Brookesboy,
Yeah, she was great. She reminds me a lot of my favourite actress, Geena Davis. They're both really genial and warm onscreen.
Wasn't "Road to Perdition" based on a comic book? Paul Newman got nominated for that, right?
I will always be fully devoted to Bette Midler for 1979, but Sally Field in Norma Rae is obviously a great choice.
Oh, my, where to begin? Here goes...
I adore Jamie Lee Curtis in general and in virtually all of her summer blockbusters, and love (no, L-O-V-E) that she won a BAFTA for, of all things, Trading Places! I've wondered what she thinks of that award. Is she proud of it or blasé about it? Does she keep it on display? Hell, does she even remember where it is anymore?
Regarding summer blockbusters' best supporting actors, my top five would be:
- Jim Broadbent, Moulin Rouge! (madcap perfection, and yet he won his Oscar for Iris?)
- Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects
- Matthew McConaughey, Magic Mike (brilliant)
- Robert Shaw, Jaws
- Tim Robbins, Bull Durham (delightful)
A Streetcar Named Desire is indeed an incredibly worthy quartet, but I also would say that there's a case to be made for Network, namely Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall (who wasn't even nominated!), and Beatrice Straight, sweeping the Oscar acting categories. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, as mentioned, and The Silence of the Lambs (Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Ted Levine, and Brooke Smith) are quite unimpeachable showcases as well.
Whither thou, Chariots of Fire? The Karate Kid is BY FAR my favorite sports movie.
China Blue! Kathleen Turner was just beyond brilliant in Crimes of Passion.
Re: 1979, duh! Sigourney Weaver in Alien, which also should've been nominated for Best Picture.
P.S. #TeamBo!
Re: non-Big-Five sports, my ten year old self would say Cool Runnings. It was just so fun! It was definitely a formative movie among people in my age bracket. I probably should give it a rewatch.
But I'll also suggest a movie I'd loooove to see made. I cry every time someone mentions Derek Redmond's race in the 400m at the 1992 Summer Olympics. If you don't know the story, you owe it to yourself to look the video up on YouTube.
Kathleen Turner was unjustly snubbed for Romancing the Stone, but the best perf in 1984 is indeed her China Blue in Crimes of Passion! Sally Field won bcos the Academy havent forgave Redgrave for her infamous Oscar speech 7 yrs ago..
I tink the backlash agst Sally Field is bcoz she's sooooo ordinary & mumsy & pple thot how could an plain-jane auntie like her won 2 Oscars...same backlash agst Swank bcos I tink they both lacked star appeal...Its sheer talent/brillance that won both o them their 1st oscar & a stroke o luck they won their 2nd.
Totally agreed that Streetcar shld've won all the 4 acting Oscars...Brando was deliberately slighted & made to wait for ano 3 yrs b4 his win....Its tough finding ano pic who shld won for all 4 acting cat, but I'll pick The Philadelphia Story...Grant shld've been nom for best actor & Steward best supp...It'll be perfect if Hepburn, Grant, Steward & Hussey all won.....well at least in my dream
Yeah, if we're including HISTORY OF VIOLENCE as a comic then Paul Newman in ROAD TO PERDITION also counts, right?
I think Sally Field in NORMA RAE is fantastic. I am absolutely fine with that win. Bette Midler would've been a spectacular choice, too.
Just Above My Head/James Baldwin, The Bluest Eye/Toni Morrison, Their Eyes Were Watching God/Zora Neale Hurston, Invisible Man/Ralph Ellison, A Lesson Before Dying/Ernest J. Gaines. Eyes and Lesson were adapted for the small screen and I wasn't happy with either (save the performances of Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Lorraine Toussaint and Michael Ealy in the former, and Don Cheadle in the latter).
Sigourney, Sigourney, Sigourney. I bet if she had been nominated for Alien, she would've triumphed for Aliens. I caught Children of a Lesser God for the second time a few weeks ago and, nearly 30 years later, still couldn't believe my eyes. Marlee < Sigourney. It's also a crime Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi weren't recognized for Tiger.
Summer Blockbuster Supporting Actors: Harvey Keitel and Brad Pitt/Thelma & Louise, Ed Harris/The Truman Show, Dean Stockwell/Married to the Mob, Robert Shaw/Jaws
The acting sweep: Network, no question. Finch and Holden (Actor, still give it to Finch), Dunaway (Actress), Duvall (Supporting Actor, not at all impressed with Beatty or that year's winner, Robards), Straight and my winner in Supporting Actress, Marlene Warfield as Laureen "Bad Ass Commie N*****" Hobbs. But another gem: Coal Miner's Daughter. How could the membership fall in love with Sissy, but not Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm?
Dukes of Hazard? I'll pass.
The Jericho Mile, a TV movie about long distance running (and it's from, what do you know, 1979!).
Bette Midler in The Rose is #TheUltimate but I would have cast my vote for Sally. Most believe the UNION scene is her most powerful moment but for me it's when, after she is released from jail, she wakes up her kids and has the talk about who she is (or, rather, isn't). Brilliant work.
A toss-up between La Cage and Syndrome.
"Has there ever been a year where you think a movie should have swept all the acting awards?"
2013 - American Hustle
2012 - Silver Linings Playbook
...just kidding.
Ugh, you tell me about it. The fact that Beatty, instead of Duvall, was nominated for Network still baffles me. That movie is EVERYTHING.
I am missing a couple of perfs from that year before I make that call, but Reds in 1981 may well deserve all four acting trophies as well.
This is probably for another time, but while we're on the subject of the most acting wins you'd give to a single movie, what about the most acting nominations you'd give to a movie? I can think of a few off the top of my head that I would have given 6 or even 7 acting nominations to, and I'm sure if I really went back and thought about it, I could probably come up with more. Could any movie reach 8?
John T --- oh, oops. yeah. REDS. good choice. i'll have to think about that one. 1981 is a bit lacking in strong competition and i love all four of them like crazy (I sometimes think it's Jack Nicholson's single best of his less "Jack Nicholson" more "the character" performances)
Everyone -- I vote a resounding "no" on NETWORK for all four Oscars. as genius as the acting is as an ensemble, i'd feel no need to hand everyone in it an Oscar at the expense of others in that great year. Especially since I think De Niro (Taxi Driver) and Piper Laurie (Carrie) deserved the Oscars in that particular year from those categories
NewMoonSoon -- ooh. I think Andrew wrote about that very scene here.
Biggs -- i did see Mindy Cohn in that she was good. And I actually saw her in the audience of the new Dianne Weist play here in Manhattan :)
Brookesboy -- really? I remember watching it with Nick once and we were like "Diane Keaton on quaaludes" like very good but almost too mellow for what the role called for.
I 100% agree with your holy trinity of action actressing. All three are fab, and Hamilton doesn't get nearly enough credit for that ferocious performance. A distant fourth would probably be Uma in Kill Bill. And I have no idea who would be fifth. Carrie Ann-Moss from the Matrix maybe? Blunt from last year? Jovovich in her fun turn in The Fifth Element? All are great but I feel like I'm missing someone...
Nathaniel, you've never seen Holly Hunter in When Billie Beat Bobby?
Speaking of Jovovich (not necessarily of actressing), has any woman ever fronted all five movies in an action series (with a sixth in pre-production)?
The first Oscar season I got into was 2006 and I prayed that Ledger, Gyllenhaal and Williams won Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress. I also thought Hathaway was deserving of a nomination (that phone scene). Their losses, especially Ledgers and Gyllenhaals, along with the Best Picture loss are my biggest Oscar upsets to this day.
Sharon Stone in the original Total Recall is legendary.
I have to agree with 3rtful -- oh my God, what is happening to me? -- that Sharon Stone is brilliant in Total Recall. Granted it's a gonzo film, but she seemed totally clued in to the tone and sci-fi nature of what Verhoeven was going for (no doubt a reason he ultimately cast her in Basic Instinct).