Paul Verhoeven – up to his old tricks

He’s 82 now and still trying to shock. If you have forgotten, he’s the Dutch director who did a brief tour of duty in Hollywood, during which he churned out such entertaining trash as Showgirls and Basic Instinct. His latest effort capitalizes on the current vogue for lesbian period drama, with the additional spin of hot nuns.

The name of the film is Benedetta. It isn’t out yet (except in the Cannes festival), but there is nudity in the self-explanatory trailer:

The naked women are


Virginie Efira

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Daphne Patakia

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5 thoughts on “Paul Verhoeven – up to his old tricks

  1. He kinda sorta also made Robocop and Total Recall. Give the man some props!

    1. Many props from me. He doesn’t get nearly the love he deserves. Robocop and Total Recall are great fun, and there are things to love about Hollow Man and Starship Troopers as well.

      Heck I even like his trashy movies. He didn’t write the scripts for Showgirls and Basic Instinct, but I kinda feel he got the most out of them.

      And some of the Dutch ones, both before (Soldier of Orange) and after (Blackbook) his Hollywood era, are terrific. He frequently manages to combine entertainment with serious themes.

      On the other hand, I couldn’t get psyched for the lesbian nun movie, if the trailer is a fair indicator. It looks like a grade-B Ken Russell wannabe.

      SIDEBAR: IMDb says there will be a “Robocop Returns.”

        1. The Fourth Man is possibly the best movie ever made with a budget of zero. (Approximately).

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