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Steven Soderbergh has a catalogue of great movies, including “Traffic” (2000), “Erin Brockovich” (2000), “Ocean’s 11” (2001) and “The Informant!” (2009). Now, he can add “Contagion” to that list. The film takes a multi-pronged look at the spread of a virus that kills within days and leaves international healthcare professionals baffled.
Some of the best movies have no villain or hero. Director Steve McQueen’s main character Brandon, played by Michael Fassbender in what ought to be an Oscar-winning performance in “Shame,” is neither. McQueen’s new film is executed to a startling perfection. It reveals deeper truths about self-control and a lack thereof, and how self-control on the surface could be used to conceal a certain chaos and desperation within.
The “Final Destination” films have been around since 2000, and there is no foreseeable end to the franchise, despite 2009’s entry being heralded as the last. How do filmmakers continue a trip that was supposedly over? They make a prequel, of course.
“Midnight in Paris” scored multiple nominations for the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, and the accolades are well-deserved. Written and directed by Woody Allen, the film is a slice of nostalgia that’s both a love letter to Paris and a reminder that there’s no time like the present.
The nominations for the 2012 Golden Globe awards, airing this January, have been announced. On the film front, there are some familiar names (Meryl Streep, Glenn Close, George Clooney) but also a few unexpected nominations (Rooney Mara, Kristen Wiig, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.) In television, many popular shows that we’ve seen nominated before (“Glee,” “Breaking Bad,” “Rescue Me”) were, for the most part, ignored. Instead, some surprises made the cut (“American Horror Story,” “Boss,” “Necessary Roughness”).
With “Fright Night,” director Craig Gillespie (“Lars and the Real Girl,” “Mr. Woodcock”) has delivered a satisfying vampire drama that should please fans of the 1985 original while welcoming viewers who don’t realize they’re watching a remake.
The same essential arguments made against smoking in movies can be made against almost any kind of activity that can be depicted in a film. Alcohol is highly addictive, poses public health risks, and intrigues teenagers. Are all activities capable of causing harm therefore unsuitable subject matter for movies? Of course not, because if this were policy, no one would watch movies, which is the last thing the MPAA wants.
Kathryn Stockett’s novel “The Help” has spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and the movie adaptation is easily one of the best films of 2011. Set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, the picture focuses on Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan (Emma Stone), a progressive white journalist disgusted with the way black maids are being treated.