Contagion

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Plot: A woman (Gweneth Paltrow) carries a flu bug from Hong Kong to Minneapolis infecting people on the way and then she and her son dies. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) get quarantined, and his daughter Jory (Anna Jacoby-Heron) is distraught. The CDC and WHO jump on the case including CDC Chief Cheever (Laurence Fishburne) and investigators Drs. Meers (Kate Winslet) and Orantes (Marion Contilliard). Meanwhile blogger and busybody Alan (Jude Law) hawks a homeopathic cure.

Review: Contagion is a fast moving story that is always interesting. There are a lot of characters, but the plot is easy to understand, and the biology seems completely plausible. 

The best part is that it really could happen, and that makes it a little more scary. The worse part is that we never engage with individual characters. The characters are always in a hurry, and the spreading disease is more important than building the backstory. 

One subplot that worked was how daughter Jory couldn't see her boyfriend, but the dance scene was a too saccharine for me. Kate Winslet and Marion Contilliard gave good performances as driven doctors. The cinematography and art direction was uninspired. 

Cast:  Gwenth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Anna Jacoby-Heron, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, and Marion Contilliard. 

Directed by: Steve Soderbergh

Rating:   2.5 stars; it is pushing three stars, but it lacks emotional engagement. It gets points for telling a warning story that might inspire people to stockpile canned goods and ammunition.  My DW liked it: because it was interesting and not stupid.

More: I liked the barnyard epilogue at the end. Nicest visuals in the film.

Even more:  Those ribbon structures of virus protein binding looked simplified to me. 

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Crazy, Stupid Love

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Plot: Emily (Julianne Moore) is divorcing Cal (Steve Carrell,) and Cal tries to bounce back by hitting the bar scene. Cal meets Lady's Man and pick-up artist Jacob (Ryan Gosling,) who tutors him on picking up girls at the bar including a make-over. Meantime Cal's son (Jonah Bobo) is hitting on his babysitter (Analeigh Tipton.)

Review: The divorce happens right at the beginning, and basic story is Cal learning how to pick up girls from Jacob, and this plot line is entertaining. Cal is not believable at all, but Ryan Gosling's Jacob is the best character in the movie, and they have good rapport. 

The plot twist with the likeable Emma Stone is a plus too. 

On the negative side, Julianne Moore was a nothing for the whole film. The chemistry between Cal and Emma is just not there, and that is why this movie fails. 

There is an elaborate subplot around the babysitter, and this is cute. It sets up the best scene in the movie where the whole cast meets at Cal's old house, and all the secret relationships are revealed -- pretty funny.

There were some interminable parts too. The scene with the speech to middle school was so awful. I wished the earth would open and swallow me up, so I could get away. Bad. The ending was terrible too.

Cast: Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone

Directed by: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Rating:   1.5 stars; Just not very fun to watch, not very funny, with characters that I don't care about. 

 

More: This is really a buddy picture between two guys. It looks like a romantic comedy, but it isn't a love story.

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