Contagion

MovieHook Rating.. C+

Contagion is about a group of people who must deal with the spread and containment of a highly contagious disease. Based on that statement you could probably guess what might happen. Sick people, a search for the cure, and widespread panic. Contagion is exactly what you think it is. Not to say that's bad, but I was not surprised by anything I saw.

The disease starts in Hong Kong, from there it is carried by Gwyneth Paltrow back to the states where she and her son die within a day or so. Her husband Matt Damon, immune to the disease, is left to take care of himself and his daughter.

Meanwhile Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and a few other major players are notified of numerous deaths happening around the world. The disease is spreading quickly, and the Center for Disease Control must find a vaccination and keep the public calm.

Jude Law a conspiracy blogger/journalist broke the story first. He questions if the CDC is really trying to help. He finds a medicine that he believes cures the disease, and spreads the word. As millions become affected chaos breaks out, road blocks are set up, and the people go nuts.

Soderbergh directed an all star cast. Scott Burns wrote a fairly smart script. The movie was well put together and entertaining enough, but nothing more than you'd expect. I wish Soderbergh would have gotten a little more experimental, maybe tinted the movie red like he did with Traffic. Well obviously not that, but something along those lines. It seems like disease outbreak movies can go in one of two directions. An epidemic occurs and everyone turns into flesh eating zombies Aka 28 days later & I am Legend. Or an epidemic probably stemming from an animal becomes widespread, and the government works to contain the disease and the world seemingly goes ape shit Aka Outbreak.

I honestly felt like Contagion was too predictable and brought in tons of characters the movie couldn't devote enough time to explore. John Hawkes who I loved in Winter's Bone, plays a Janitor who shows up only once in each act of the movie, his character seemed compelling, but was pretty much wasted. The movie somewhat explored the idea that the government and CDC took care of their own before the average person. Hawkes character could have been used to show the struggles and desperation of a lower income individual taking care of his family during this epidemic.

Winslet and Cotillard were intriguing as well, but are never really explored. They came and went without us really knowing anything about them. I completely forgot about Cotillard until they mildly tie up her story near the end. I think this movie could have benefited from chopping off some of the extra meat. There were probably 7 or 8 main characters introduced, and only 2 or 3 were given the proper time to develop. Contagion tried to be this massive story about all these different people, but it just couldn't be done in 100 minutes.

For this movie to work, they were really gonna have to get us involved with these characters. So when they cry, we cry. When they are angry, we get angry, and so on. They basically just crapped on Matt Damon's character the whole movie, and by the end, sure I felt bad for him, but I wasn't really upset. His wife was cheating on him, he couldn't give his family a proper funeral, and he was stuck inside with no food protecting his daughter for months. I was more like, "jesus christ" cut this guy a break. You waited for some kind of reprieve, but what they gave him was pretty unsatisfying.

On the positive side, I always say if I can finish a movie in one sitting it was pretty good. And like I said the cast was impressive. Matt Damon is a great actor and he did what he could with the wiggle room he was given. He really only had two key emotional scenes, hearing his wife has died and dealing with it at the end, both were good.

I really did like contagion, it just didn't add anything to the genre. If you're going to make a movie on a topic that's already been explored, you have to find a unique way to tell the story. This movie just rang repetition in my ears, and it'll quickly be forgotten.

Drive.. My Review

MovieHook Rating A-

First off, I want to say I have never seen a movie like Drive. I heard great things from my friends and the critics before I found an opportunity to see this film. I hyped this movie up almost to an irresponsible level, essentially it was going to have to blow my mind, and that's exactly what it did. Tons of movies fall victim to the curse of the hype. Sometimes not given the amount of credit they deserve because of preconceived notions, but Drive surpassed my expectations.

Starting with Ryan Gosling, I don't really like him. I'm not even sure why. His role choices aren't a problem. I liked Blue Valentine and loved Half Nelson. It may just be that he looks like another stupid hollywood hunk, but looking over his filmography, it's not really the case. He chooses mostly indie roles, and thankfully has never played a superhero.

His character in Drive is a Hollywood stuntman, with some 'for hire' getaway driving on the side. His name is not mentioned, he is only referenced as The Driver or The Kid. His character is similar to the one he plays in Half Nelson. In both roles, he doesn't speak to a large extent. Most of what he portrays comes from his expressions and his body language. In Drive, he meets the girl in the apartment next to him (Carey Mulligan), and begins spending time with her and her son. There exchanges in the movie are brief, mostly just trading smiles back and forth. You get a feel that his character doesn't really have a personality. I spent most of the movie looking for the peephole into his head, but the turning point for his character comes one night sitting alone in a diner. He is approached by a former associate he once drove for a job, the man jokes and harasses him, eventually re-asking for his services as a getaway driver. The Kid is upset, and threatens to kick this man's teeth down his throat. I immediately thought to myself, "Ok, now we're getting somewhere."

It is also important to point out the look and score of the film. The cinematography is grainy which gives the city a rough and gritty feel. It takes place in Hollywood, but you wouldn't know it from what they show us. You don't see any celebrities or tourists shopping around town. The events that take place are secluded and rarely escape the crime polluted side of the city.

The score has everything to do with the pacing of the film. The soundtrack is made up of electro 80's pop songs, but really only a few songs are played. The first act of Drive is mostly silent, sort of letting the characters and the story grow organically. There's a lot of downtime, grocery shopping, car garage, lots of driving. Sitting on shots longer than most people would like, but it gives the film it's art house feel.

The speed of the film jump starts when Mulligan's ex-convict baby daddy comes back into the picture. Without giving a lot away, the next forty five minutes involved me readjusting in my chair and frequently rubbing my face. The build up with the score is intense, I felt very uncomfortable, this is probably the most intense movie I have ever seen. It's also significant to mention by the end of the second act the movie comes to a eery halt, all the tension building up to the climax disappears. I'm sure this was not an accident. The director Nicholas Winding Refn is giving us time to comprehend what's been lost, and time to figure out what the driver must do next. This launches us into The Driver's last stand and the conclusion of the film.

Refn chooses to do the violence in a very B movie way. It reminded me of a Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino 'esque' over the top formula for killing. The most memorable slaying award has to go to the scene in the elevator. Gosling brings down a man who has come to his apartment to kill him, afterwards, for good measure he repeatedly kicks his face in. After about the 7th or 8th kick, I'm confident I heard this man's skull cracking, it sounded like Gosling was stepping on a plastic container. It actually reminded me of how they mutilated Hitler's face in Inglorious Basterds. Between that murder and a copious amount of other stabs and gunshots. It was apparent to me, Refn was not trying to hide the blood. Some of it even travels on Gosling's jacket from scene to scene.

Drive is easily one of the best movies this year, if not the best. Gosling is not extraordinary, but he does nothing to ruin the film. And if you don't wanna see this movie because Ryan Gosling's in it. Go see it for Bryan Cranston, or Ron Perlman, or Carey Mulligan, or Al Brooks (out of nowhere), or the bodacious Christina Hendricks from Mad Men. If you haven't already seen this movie, go see it. If you don't wanna see it, go see it anyway because you are making a bad decision.