Contagion (2011) - milld spoilers. in Current Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Films Forum

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Contagion (2011) - milld spoilers.

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hermanthegerm	Contagion (2011) - milld spoilers.	Lead	[-]
Sep 8 11 12:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	A well made thriller, that updates the epidemic film to include a sort of mild terrorism and internet communications, swine flu and other updated details. A Steven Soderbergh film, so you know he means business. An Outbreak clone? Not quite, but the same type of film. Not quite as exploitative as Outbreak, not quite as serious as The Hot Zone but then also not as clinically cold as The Andromeda Strain. Is there any need to tell what it's about? An world epidemic breaks out, and it's up to our brave scientists to figure out where the disease comes from, and how to stop it. Meanwhile we get some human interest stories that are for the most part OK (and yet we still get the cheating wife who gets it and croaks.) "There is a lot of money tied up in this film and people expect to hear a boom when something blows up, so I'll give them a boom." George Lucas as quoted by Harlan Ellison's WATCHING Last Edited By: hermanthegerm Sep 9 11 5:53 PM. Edited 2 times.
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Doctor Scarabus		#1	[-]
Sep 9 11 8:16 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mr. Soderbergh has sorely tried my patience in recent years with his witless "Oceans" series and ploddingly redundant George Clooney vehicles like "Solaris" and "The Good German". Credit where credit's due -- he's arguably the hardest working director in showbusiness. But Soderbergh's prolific output has been marked by an ongoing and steady deterioration in quality. Which is why -- positive advance buzz notwithstanding -- I was reluctant to see his latest offering until She Who Must Be Obeyed made me one of her unrefusable offers. Glad she did. "Contagion" is an arresting return to form: a compelling, flawlessly constructed medical thriller/epidemic disaster movie which both entertains in a Hell's-rollercoaster-ride sort of way and engages the intellect. While many of the plot elements are indeed familiar, Soderbergh and his collaborators have wisely opted for a fresh approach to the material: imagine a Robin Cook spec script re-written by someone familiar with both the English language and dramatic construction -- as well as hugely knowledgeable of conspiracy lore in popular culture. Thematically and stylistically "Contagion" is reminiscent of what I like to think of as John Frankenheimer's American Paranoia trilogy -- "Manchurian Candidate", "Seven Days In May" and "Seconds" -- as well as Pakula's Watergate/Church Committee-era conspiracy thrillers "Parallax View" and "All The President's Men" retooled for the age of Truthers, Birthers and the more suspicious-minded Tea Party activists. The "This Is How The World Ends (Maybe) ..." plot unfolds with brio, the dialogue is sharp, the performances are uniformly solid (Gwyneth Paltrow doesn't stick around long enough for her serial tics and mannerisms to annoy). Genuinely one of the best films of the year -- a welcome respite from the likes of "No Strings Attached", "Zookeeper" and the latest "Transformers" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" abominations. Don't just take my word for it: the "New York Times" agrees: Steven Soderbergh's plague paranoia. Last Edited By: Doctor Scarabus Sep 9 11 9:12 AM. Edited 4 times.
reddog122	It's the End of the World and I Feel...Nothing	#2	[-]
Sep 9 11 1:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Steven Soderbergh's spare, frustrating, but not uninteresting thriller Contagion begins in darkness and the sound of a cough which anticipates the mystery about to unfold. An unknown disease which attacks our immune and neurological systems triggers a world wide investigation by the CDC and WHO into its origins and cure. Its premise and all-star cast might lead one to believe we're in a 1970's Disaster Picture, but those films intentional absurdity and melodramatic personal stories are not what are on Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Burn's mind. Some personal stories, such as the little nuggets of emotion that, say, Matt Damon as a grieving husband and father and a dedicated field doctor played by Kate Winslet are allowed, bubble to the surface, but for the most part this a medical procedural with doctors talking and talking and talking a lot of exposition, some of it fascinating some of it tedious. Issues of morality and greed played out by blogger Jude Law and scientist Laurence Fishburne provide some meaty discussion, but Marion Cotillard gets lost in the shuffle as the rep from the WHO trying to track the origins of the disease (set up in a frightening sequence with Gwyneth Paltrow). So much is happening that I think Soderbergh cast big names as visual shorthand and while this helps, the movie feels over ambitious straining to convey a world in total upheaval, not quite succeeding in total showing us personal stories, a medical procedural, conspiracy theories, and societal breakdown. Still there is much to admire here. The performances are good all around and the color palette that Soderbergh as director and cinematographer uses conveys much of the film's emotion (shades of Traffic) and the film is crisply edited by Stephen Mirrione and there is a striking electronic scoby Cliff Martinez. The film looks great. Everything is in place for a classic thriller, something along the lines crossing All the President's Men and The Andromeda Strain, but for the fact that Soderbergh and Burns have given us a film that strives for more than that, but they haven't provided enough humanity into their story for us to try and care about its destruction.
luluthebeast		#3	[-]
Sep 9 11 8:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I plan to see it Sunday and I hope a lot of people die, along the lines of Fukkatsu no hi.
luluthebeast		#4	[-]
Sep 11 11 3:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Probably the most boring thing I've seen about the spread of a disease, they've had more exciting programs on The Discovery Channel about it. All of the "big stars" just seemed to sleep-walk through their parts and as a matter of fact, the best acting job today was turned in by Dean Winters as Mayhem in the new Allstate commercial, very humorous! The plot was just a dull, logical progression of an outbreak with a completely dull ending. What a waste of my Money!
JamesD		#5	[-]
Sep 12 11 11:42 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I saw this film on Saturday. I didn't dislike the film...but I wasn't moved by it all that much, either - with the exception of the stories centering on Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, which had real emotional heft. I did appreciate that Soderbergh was able to convey very well the idea of a worldwide health disaster on a small budget, through a few tight scenes (a riot at a pharmacy, for example), and he balances multiple stories without ever creating confusion in the narrative. I agree with reddog122 that the film looks great, but I wished I had liked it more than I did. Intentionally, I watched Elia Kazan's film Panic in the Streets (about a health epidemic in New Orleans) the night before I saw this film, and I liked the former much more - Kazan limits the scenario to one tight story of a health inspector (Richard Widmark) searching for two criminals who happen to be plague carriers.
Dudley Manlove		#6	[-]
Jan 1 12 3:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	WOW What a dull. safe and oddly calm snooze fest and i have zero idea what the point was. It was such a safe film that did not an any stage try to cover any contentious issues or thoughts. - Did the world need to thin human numbers so it was a form of natural re-correction? -At no stage did the world as you would expect become overtly religious in its time of panic or need. - The world seems totally calm. No borders seemed to close, no A bombs dropped to seek old score reprisals as a from of blame - nothing. -We simply sat back and put our faith in the Drug companies????? - We should explicity never trust Internet rumous either apparantly. It was such an overtly pro big buisness and non mentioning religious film from an ex 'meverick'. Most odd and depressing.
Maximillian		#7	[-]
Jan 2 12 7:32 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard play doctors in this movie. I'd like to play doctor with Kate Winslet and Marion Cotillard. [Insert rimshot.] "Just ignore him, Marion. He'll go away."
SAM33		#8	[-]
Jan 7 12 7:22 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just watched this last night, and thought it was good, not great. Agree with much of Scarabus and Reddog's thoughtful reviews that begin this thread. I appreciate the non-exploitative approach here, which is what I guess some may not care for, but I find it a refreshing respite from car crashes and explosions. Held my interest throughout, and I found it honestly scary in its pretty factual presentation of an all-too-possible scenario. SAM33
suzy3852		#9	[-]
Feb 8 12 5:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I really like this movie. At first I was wondering why they started with day 2 but continuing watching the movie and then towards the end it showed how it all started. It was unusual to see it that way but gave a good thriller on why it was done. Just too bad so many people died in a short time cause of what happened in the first place.
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hermanthegerm		#10	[-]
Feb 8 12 6:55 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	suzy3852 wrote: Just too bad so many people died in a short time cause of what happened in the first place. ??? "There is a lot of money tied up in this film and people expect to hear a boom when something blows up, so I'll give them a boom." George Lucas as quoted by Harlan Ellison's WATCHING
Badfinger		#11	[-]
Feb 17 12 5:46 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	luluthebeast wrote: Probably the most boring thing I've seen about the spread of a disease, they've had more exciting programs on The Discovery Channel about it. All of the "big stars" just seemed to sleep-walk through their parts and as a matter of fact, the best acting job today was turned in by Dean Winters as Mayhem in the new Allstate commercial, very humorous! The plot was just a dull, logical progression of an outbreak with a completely dull ending. What a waste of my Money! THIS!!! What a sorry excuse for a film. They jumped around from character to character so often and quickly there was no emotional involvement with any of them. Two hours of c-span would be as equally engaging as this film. That anyone would find such a cold and dull film entertaining on any level is a true head scratcher.
oldmanster		#12	[-]
Feb 18 12 9:45 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Badfinger wrote: luluthebeast wrote: Probably the most boring thing I've seen about the spread of a disease, they've had more exciting programs on The Discovery Channel about it. All of the "big stars" just seemed to sleep-walk through their parts and as a matter of fact, the best acting job today was turned in by Dean Winters as Mayhem in the new Allstate commercial, very humorous! The plot was just a dull, logical progression of an outbreak with a completely dull ending. What a waste of my Money! THIS!!! What a sorry excuse for a film. They jumped around from character to character so often and quickly there was no emotional involvement with any of them. Two hours of c-span would be as equally engaging as this film. That anyone would find such a cold and dull film entertaining on any level is a true head scratcher. Knock off the derogatory comments and start scratching. Deep enough to draw blood. The film may be dry but it moves along, and is an interesting viewing experience. Not the best disaster film, but hardly the dog you make it out to be. ... Reed
Carl Eyesnheart		#13	[-]
Feb 18 12 9:58 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Yeah, I liked this one well enough. I thought it worked at a perfect pace and appreciated many aspects of the film, including the fact that just because some characters might have been stars who could survive a big ol' ship sinking, doesn't mean they can survive this. I enjoyed the realism and pretty much everything about it. But hey, I am bald and that makes the head scratching insanely easy to do. My fanzine all about Rock N Roll: www.sonicruin.com
luluthebeast		#14	[-]
Feb 18 12 11:40 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	oldmanster wrote: Badfinger wrote: luluthebeast wrote: Probably the most boring thing I've seen about the spread of a disease, they've had more exciting programs on The Discovery Channel about it. All of the "big stars" just seemed to sleep-walk through their parts and as a matter of fact, the best acting job today was turned in by Dean Winters as Mayhem in the new Allstate commercial, very humorous! The plot was just a dull, logical progression of an outbreak with a completely dull ending. What a waste of my Money! THIS!!! What a sorry excuse for a film. They jumped around from character to character so often and quickly there was no emotional involvement with any of them. Two hours of c-span would be as equally engaging as this film. That anyone would find such a cold and dull film entertaining on any level is a true head scratcher. Knock off the derogatory comments and start scratching. Deep enough to draw blood. The film may be dry but it moves along, and is an interesting viewing experience. Not the best disaster film, but hardly the dog you make it out to be. ... Reed Well Reed, we're entitled to our opinion just like you are, and I've seen enough of this type of movie and science special to consider it a dog. Obviously you want to be nasty and personal about this and if we were on another board I would be more than happy to join in, but as David doesn't appreciate that sort of thing here I'll just say "Have a nice day."
Badfinger		#15	[-]
Feb 18 12 10:58 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	oldmanster wrote: Badfinger wrote: luluthebeast wrote: Probably the most boring thing I've seen about the spread of a disease, they've had more exciting programs on The Discovery Channel about it. All of the "big stars" just seemed to sleep-walk through their parts and as a matter of fact, the best acting job today was turned in by Dean Winters as Mayhem in the new Allstate commercial, very humorous! The plot was just a dull, logical progression of an outbreak with a completely dull ending. What a waste of my Money! THIS!!! What a sorry excuse for a film. They jumped around from character to character so often and quickly there was no emotional involvement with any of them. Two hours of c-span would be as equally engaging as this film. That anyone would find such a cold and dull film entertaining on any level is a true head scratcher. Knock off the derogatory comments and start scratching. Deep enough to draw blood. The film may be dry but it moves along, and is an interesting viewing experience. Not the best disaster film, but hardly the dog you make it out to be. ... Reed I didn't make any derogatory comments. You can't say the same. Sorry if I hurt your feeling for not liking this "dog" of a film.
Badfinger		#16	[-]
Feb 18 12 11:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Carl Eyesnheart wrote: Yeah, I liked this one well enough. I thought it worked at a perfect pace and appreciated many aspects of the film, including the fact that just because some characters might have been stars who could survive a big ol' ship sinking, doesn't mean they can survive this. I enjoyed the realism and pretty much everything about it. But hey, I am bald and that makes the head scratching insanely easy to do. I was really shocked when Paltrow died 5 minutes into the movie. It did have a realistic feel to it but it never spent enough time on any character in order to create any sort of emotional attachment or empathy. It was a cold, clinical and dull film and I have no doubt that is what the film makers set out to do. In that respect it was successful but it doesn't make it entertaining. Glad you enjoyed it.
luluthebeast		#17	[-]
Feb 19 12 10:57 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Badfinger wrote: I didn't make any derogatory comments. You can't say the same. Sorry if I hurt your feeling for not liking this "dog" of a film. "start scratching. Deep enough to draw blood" Not derogatory? Woof!
taraco		#18	[-]
Jul 6 12 9:17 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just saw CONTAGION. I thought it was really thin, nonsensical at times and neither epic nor human in scope. In fact, I thought it was amazingly poor cinsidering someone like Soderbergh in charge. Wow.
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Contagion (2011) - milld spoilers.

Contagion (2011) - milld spoilers.