Sharon Stone

Sliver (Unrated Edition)
$12.98
Probably one of the biggest critical failures in the history of motion pictures, "Sliver" centers around a woman (played by Sharon Stone) who moves into a highrise apartment in downtown Manhattan when suddenly many tenants start to get murdered. The owner of the buliding (played by William Baldwin) experiments with voyeuism by videotaping the goings on in the tenant's apartments. The movie is pretty much forgotten today, but many do remember the film for the extreme amount of sex scenes between Stone and Baldwin as well as the amount of male nudity Baldwin shows; in the original cut of the film there was even a frontal shot of his body. The film is pretty empty on plot, but buy the film if you want to see the gorgeous body of William Baldwin; he is not shy in showing his assets. Despite the critical failure of the movie "Sliver" grossed over $166,000,000 at the boxoffice. The DVD has no bonus features but comes in widescreen. One critic did enjoy the film, however; David Sheehan from NBC says, "Don't miss it! Goes beyond "Basic Instinct"...super, sexy, super-stylish, super suspenseful."

The Quick and the Dead
$9.95
In 1995, then-blossoming director Sam Raimi (who went on to direct the "Spider-Man" and "The Evil Dead" films) and writer Simon Moore ("Traffic") worked on their first Western. Joined by composer Alan Silvestri ("G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra", "Beowulf", "Night at the Museum" and "The Mummy" films) and cinematographer Dante Spinotti ("X-Men: The Last Stand", "The Family Man" and "Red Dragon"), the crew set out to create a unique western that has never been done before.

"The Quick and the Dead" featured an all-star cast which included the sexy Sharon Stone ("Basic Instinct", "Sliver", "Bobby" and "Catwoman"), the legendary actor Gene Hackman ("Unforgiven", "Crimson Tide", "The Replacements", "Heist", "Behind Enemy Lines" and "Runaway Jury") and two actors that would become popular a few years after the release of this film, Russel Crowe ("Gladiator", "A Beautiful Mind", "Cinderella Man", "American Gangster") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("Titanic", "The Departed", "Bood Diamond", "Gangs of New York").

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"The Quick and the Dead" receives its first HD release on Blu-ray. Featured in 1080p High Definition (1:85:1), the film for the most part captures that Western feel and at times, the picture quality showcases the grit of the West. From Sharon Stone's blue eyes to gold in the the teeth of some of the people in the town, there are times that the picture quality looks very good especially since this is a 15-year-old film.

But there are times when the picture quality just looks bad. In one scene during a discussion between Ellen and Cort and when it focuses on her, the film looks as if the the low light added so much noise around the film. Fortunately, this segment is short. The other thing is that the film in high definition also does make certain CG segments a bit unreal (ie. a tremendous hole in the middle of one's head).

But for the most part, the film does look good for a film back in 1995. And happy to know that Sony has decided not to use DNR (digital noise reduction) and kept the grain intact.

As for the audio, "The Quick and the Dead" sounds awesome. The lossless audio really takes advantage of the surround channels. I was pretty impressed because it's one thing to get the clear dialogue and the gun shots from the front and center channels (and gun shots zipping through the surround channels) but there a good amount of scenes that really utilize the surround channels and some of those booms are not just short, some actually linger. I also noticed a bit of LFE, so for the most part, the audio for "The Quick and the Dead" was pretty solid. Not reference quality but for a 1995 film, it sounds great.

Subtitles are in English, English SDH and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The Quick and the Dead" comes with only one special feature (aside from the trailers) and that is the film is presented in movieIQ. For those with Blu-ray players that are BD-Live enabled, you can watch the film while a panel on the side can be accessed via your remote with information about the cast, crew, music and production.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"The Quick and the Dead" is by no means the greatest Western, nor is it the best. But what it does well is trying to accomplish something different by capturing the look and feel of a spaghetti Western, but also making the protagonist a female surrounded by an interesting group of characters.

Sharon Stone is absolutely beautiful in this film and the film wasn't created that long after "Basic Instinct". She was one of America's top, sexiest female leads and it was interesting to see her in a film that captures that beauty and sexiness but also has a hint of danger around her. I suppose its up to the viewer if she was a win or fail for the film but for the most part, the concept of a female protagonist was definitely enjoyable to see in this film. It's also important to note that this was the first film that Sharon Stone co-produced.

As for the other talent, Gene Hackman is just solid in any Western. The film was made a few years after his Academy Award winning appearance in the classic Western "Unforgiven" and he seemed as a natural playing the antagonist in "The Quick and the Dead". As for Russell Crowe, he was still an unknown in the US despite being popular in Australia and Asia (especially in Japan for his other 1995 film "No Way Back") and Leonardo DiCaprio was starting to emerge after his Academy Award nominated performance in the 1993 film "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" and plays a young man quick with his gun but all he has wanted was respect from his outlaw father John Herod.

The film also had interesting behind-the-scenes information (probably why there are no special features included on the Blu-ray) in regard to Sharon Stone starring in the film only if Sam Raimi directed and writer Simon Moore being fired and then rehired to fix a script written by writer Tom Sayles but instead of fixing it, omitted Sayles work completely and gave him his own rewrite. It's important to note that Sony at the time was against Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio to be in the film that Sharon Stone was the one who fought for Crowe to be in the film and because of Sony not wanting DiCaprio for the film, Stone paid him out of her own pocket.

If anything, I felt that Raimi did a fine job with this film because no matter what was going to happen, there would be viewers that don't necessarily have female gunslingers in their minds as the main protagonist. Sure, the gunfights may be cliche and the screenplay may not be deep and engaging, but "The Quick and the Dead" was not a film I was expecting to be the next "Unforgiven" nor was I expecting anything remotely close to a Clint Eastwood or John Wayne film either.

Overall, "The Quick and the Dead" was a wild, fun and entertaining film that may not have been a financial success in the box office nor was it a film that received many positive responses from the critics, but it was one of those films that people didn't take seriously and wanted a Western popcorn flick to enjoy and be entertained. For those who want to see a different kind of Western on Blu-ray, you may want to give this film a chance.

Sharon Stone (Megastars)
$17.95
I have the French version of the book, but I thought it was touching, even if too short. The author seems to have a boundless admiration for Sharon, that he tries to conceal by often trying to convince us he doesn't fall into the star traps. I must add the pictures are simply beautiful; far from being a spring of information, this book is a piece of art, that you will like to keep on a shelf.

All the Bold Days of My Restless Life: A Novel
$13.95
If you've ever wanted to get an insider's look of a soap opera and be captivated by a lesbian romance, then look no further than ALL THE BOLD DAYS OF MY RESTLESS LIFE, the laugh-out loud novel that takes place on a daytime drama. Author Sharon Stone concocts a wild ride with main character Bailey Connors, the head writer on the soap billed with the same name as the book.

Though it seems like a dream to work on a wildly popular show, Bailey doesn't have it easy. She not only has to cater to the stuffy suits of the network executives, but she also has to wrestle with the demands of the spoiled, egotistical actors who don't always agree with the scripts they've been given. It's enough to make a girl pull her hair out. And Bailey's not trying to hear it right now, especially after being dumped by her longtime girlfriend.

Never fear, her trusty assistant Peter is there to save the day. Her flamboyant friend has a few prospects up his sleeve to help butch-looking Bailey to get back on the horse. But the women he sets her up with are horrible, to say the least.

And if Bailey's life could get any worse, she is stuck with one of the dumbest writers to ever live and has to rewrite months of scripts to kill off one of her favorite characters on the show. Talk about drama!!

Stone's All the Bold Days novel is hilarious not to mention outrageous. It has a quirky sense of humor that reads sharply and very quickly. She creates a great peek into the world of daytime TV, giving tidbits into the soaps. The ending wraps up well, as you root for Bailey to land on her feet.

Pick this one up if you need a good laugh.