Contagion doesn’t feature insane killers, demons, or haunted houses, but it’s one of the most effective horror films of the year. Walking out of the theater, my audience warily eyed each other, making sure not to touch anyone or anything as we went our separate ways. Steven Soderbergh continues to prove himself as one of the finest directors of ensemble casts working behind the camera today, and his controlled direction coupled with a fascinating script by Scott Z. Burns makes for a hell of a movie. It’s unsettling, but it’s also exceptionally crafted and well-acted, so I have no qualms about recommending it for everyone.

Before the movie came out, many (myself included) wondered what the point of Contagion was: doesn’t it look too similar to every other outbreak movie of the past twenty years? But this film reminded me that the devil is in the details: it’s not only about the subject matter, but how the story is executed, and I’m glad I checked it out. Soderbergh adds all kinds of touches that make the movie stand out, from his shallow focus compositions to an excellent montage showing the spread of the deadly disease across the world. There’s a detached quality here, and the director does a good job of keeping the audience at arm’s length throughout the movie and not falling into the trap of making the movie about any one character over another; the main characters are the disease and the fear it inspires.

The acting is fantastic from everyone involved. Matt Damon sells his character’s emotional breakdowns, Kate Winslet makes a big impact with a smaller part, Laurence Fishburne does some of his best work in years, and Jude Law is fantastic as a renegade blogger searching for the truth. Even Gwyneth Paltrow (who dies in the trailer) does well with the small screen time she has. Tiny performances by Elliot Gould, Demetri Martin, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston, and John Hawkes didn’t disappoint, but the standout actress for me (as much as I love Kate Winslet) has to be Jennifer Ehle, who is not a big name yet but certainly should be after this movie. She evokes a young Meryl Streep not only in appearance but in quality in her role as a doctor on a quest to discover the cure for the disease.

Marion Cotillard’s character is the weak link here, but that’s no fault of hers. The script seems to forget about her since she disappears for a huge chunk of the movie – close to 40 minutes, I’d wager – and then when she returns, her motivations have completely changed with a pitiful implication of why we’re supposed to empathize with her climactic decision. This is a script flaw more than an acting complaint, so I just want to reiterate that I had no issues with Cotillard’s performance. Because there are so many characters introduced, and because Soderbergh keeps the audience from fully engaging with any of them (except for maybe Matt Damon and his daughter), this problem feels particularly egregious. But I’ll also reiterate: just because we don’t get to truly know any of these people, that doesn’t mean that Contagion is not a captivating thriller.

Cliff Martinez adds an eerie electronic-based score punctuated with grating feedback noises, subtly adding to the horrific atmosphere Soderbergh creates. Martinez has been doing some good work this year with this and the scores for Nicholas Winding Refn’s Drive (one of my favorite films of 2011) and the Matthew McConaughey flick The Lincoln Lawyer (which I still haven’t seen).

The escalating panic and hysteria that Contagion depicts are perhaps the scariest moments in the film; it’s easy to assume this movie’s cynical view of the world is pretty realistic if such a situation were to occur. The involvement of the internet in breaking news and Jude Law’s character becoming a prophet for people is not outside the realm of believability, nor are the looting, violence, and destruction presented. Burns’ script is captivating, frightening, and well-constructed, and Soderbergh’s take on the material is a perfect visual partnership with the script’s tone. Contagion is not anything that I plan on revisiting any time soon, but that’s not because I didn’t like it: it’s just because everything it suggests is too unnervingly realistic. And that unsettling feeling is the film’s greatest success. Until next time…

Read similar posts to Review: Contagion on Filmonic

Warner Bros. have released the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s virus thriller Contagion, which stars Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne.

In a bold movie the studio has decided to show the death a character played by one of the main players mentioned above, but as the trailer progresses you understand that the death is actually pretty important to the story and they couldn’t really skip around it.

Watch below:

The movie follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

Contagion will be released September 9, 2011 in the US and October 21 in the UK.

Read similar posts to Contagion trailer on Filmonic

It looks like Scarlett Johansson will be the only member of the human race representing the XX chromosome in The Avengers (in the team, anyway). In a recent interview Gwyneth Paltrow, who played Tony Stark’s personal secretary Pepper Potts in Iron Man and CEO of Stark Industries in the sequel, confirmed that she won’t be appearing in the big team-up movie.

From Collider:

I asked if Pepper Potts would be making an appearance alongside her boss Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.). Surprisingly, she said, “no. no Pepper.” I then asked if this was for sure or was it a maybe. She said, “I think it’s a for sure. I think they’re starting shooting soon and they probably would have asked me by now.”

Director Joss Whedon suggested earlier this year that while “it is true that the movie is only going to have one female Avenger…[Black Widow] will not be the only female character”. Natalie Portman said at Comic-Con she will only play Thor’s love interest Jane Foster in future Thor sequels, and hasn’t signed for The Avengers. Now Pepper Potts is out, and it’s unlikely Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) will make an appearance as Captain America is set in the 1940s.

Are there any other Marvel females that could show up?

Read similar posts to No Pepper Potts in The Avengers on Filmonic

In February it was announced that Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne had all signed up for Steven Soderbergh’s thriller Contagion, which follows an international team of doctors and scientists brought in by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) after an outbreak of a deadly virus.

No concrete release date had been set, however today Warner Bros. announced that the film will be released on October 21st 2011 in 3D.

The cast list alone is enough to get people to see the film so i’m not sure why it needs to be in 3D. But I suppose if everyone else is doing it they might as well, and Soderbergh was apparently impressed with Avatar so he may want to give it a go.

Scott Z. Burns (The Informant! and The Bourne Ultimatum) has written the script, which apparently is “terrifying”, and the film is scheduled to begin filming later this year.

Read similar posts to Contagion release date set on Filmonic

Like its predecessor, Iron Man 2 officially kicks off the summer movie season. Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood suited up for this comic book movie adaptation, but did it live up to the amazingly high standards set by the first film?

[Extremely minor spoilers after the jump.]

I think Iron Man 2 suffered from a case of overactive marketing. Add up all of the various trailers and television spots for this movie, and it basically takes us chronologically scene by scene through the entire film. There’s no sense of wonder that the first film evoked, no mystery left for us to discover. If you go back and rewatch the first Iron Man trailer, you’ll see that they don’t actually show Stark doing much in the traditional Iron Man suit except flying. This time around, they took the exact opposite approach: by showing us every action scene in the trailer, the audience is unable to connect with the story and is instead left playing the “well, we know where this is going” game.

Sure, you could argue that in today’s over-saturated media marketplace, we’re bound to see big scenes in trailers and TV spots. But IM2 showed its hand early, giving away all its secrets and (if you’ll allow the continued metaphor) leaving the final trick to fall a bit flat since all the magic had been revealed. Even if they had just left us one surprise (Iron Man’s slick new suitcase suit at the end of the grand prix scene, for example), perhaps it would have been enough for us to again experience that magical feeling the first film captured so well. The marketing department even went as far as to show us a scene in the trailer that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film (“you complete me”), and somehow they STILL had time to reveal all of the big scenes for us before we walked into the theater.

For me, the film felt like a series of missed opportunities. The only reason we know Mickey Rourke’s character’s name is Whiplash is through press releases and plot synopses before the movie came out. The word “Whiplash” is never spoken once in the entire movie. There was also no mention of the Ten Rings organization, the terrorist group responsible for Stark’s capture in the first film. With the way the original ended (the leader of that group still at large), I figured there would at least be a passing reference to their surely-nefarious activities (similar to the Scarecrow’s cameo in The Dark Knight), if not a full-on exploration into their plans in the wake of Iron Man’s rise to power.

Speaking of exploration, perhaps the biggest missed opportunity in the movie was the lack of exploration into the Pepper Potts character. I’ve never been a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow, but she’s very likable as this character and provides a good counter-point to Stark’s ridiculous eccentricity. In the film, Tony makes Pepper the CEO of Stark Industries, which is a great chance to further explore her character and see how she reacts to the responsibilities thrust upon her. Instead, Pepper becomes perhaps the most marginalized character in the film, relegated to just one or two scenes in which all she does to convey her newfound authority is hurriedly speak to someone on the phone. By the end, she has resigned from her position, but we are never given a clear indication about the future of Stark Industries; is Tony back as the CEO, or does the job still belong to Pepper? Favreau is content with zooming out while they’re having this discussion, and the question is left unanswered. (Granted, from what we’ve seen so far, Tony’s duties as CEO took a backseat to his work as Iron Man so it’s not REALLY that important an issue – but a bit of clarification would have been nice.)

The character of Tony Stark has been altered dramatically. In the six months between the events of the first film and the start of this one, Stark’s cockiness has been brought to its logical conclusion. He’s revealed to the world that he’s Iron Man, which is seemingly enough to justify him turning into a total jackass. His trademark swagger and witty banter seems much more malicious here, and Stark seems almost vindictive, going out of his way to bring people down and make them look like idiots all around him. There’s also the alcohol abuse: not the full-on “Demon in a Bottle” examination once rumored for the project, but instead a birthday party scene which is basically an excuse for an excessive amount of useless CGI fighting between Iron Man and War Machine. The entire depiction of Stark reminded me of the titular character in Rocky III: high from his heavyweight titles, overexposed, and an altered version of the lovable boxer we saw in previous films.

While the movie doesn’t quite venture into Spider-Man 3 territory, it does introduce multiple new characters and features two new villains. Mickey Rourke plays Ivan Vanko, a Russian expatriate with an inexplicable affinity for cockatoos and a Stark-like ability to engineer electronics and robotics. Considering Vanko was raised in Russia by a drunk, his talent is theoretically more impressive than that of Tony Stark, who, while a notable child prodigy, was unquestionably raised in an environment more conducive to their brand of sophisticated technical knowledge. It’s too bad Iron Man 2 isn’t interested in exploring these theoretical situations; instead of being an interesting character, Vanko is depicted as an essentially mute guy who, while certainly looking the part of a villain, is actually a pretty terrible one. Rourke doesn’t help matters any as an actor, imbuing Vanko with about as much personality as my computer desk and, in his opening scene, going so far over the top with his bellowing yell that it elicited laughter from me instead of sympathy.

Sam Rockwell (fresh in my mind from his fantastic performance in 2009′s Moon) fared a bit better as Justin Hammer, Stark’s industrial rival and the Negaduck to Stark’s Darkwing. He was also a bit over the top, but that trait seemed to fit better with his character. An egomaniac obsessed with beating Iron Man at his own game, Hammer is a charismatic dude (with some sweet dance moves) who spends practically half of the movie picking up Tony’s sloppy seconds (including that “piece from Vanity Fair”). He might be a bit crazy, but he just wants to one-up Stark in any way possible, so he thinks teaming up with Vanko will be the solution to his problems. I’ll avoid any big spoilers, but it’s safe to say that Vanko is a bit smarter than he appears.

Don Cheadle replaces Terrence Howard as James “Rhodey” Rhodes this time around, and I thought he filled the role without missing a beat. While I prefer Howard’s depiction of the character, Cheadle more than held his own and was easily capable of acting against Downey. And yes, as we saw exhaustively in the trailer, War Machine is featured pretty heavily in Iron Man 2. Cheadle seems to have fun with the character, but Howard’s smirk when he says “next time” to the silver suit in the original film makes me a bit sad that he wasn’t able to fulfill his own prophesy.

The most surprising part of the film was Scarlett Johansson, who actually wasn’t bad as Black Widow. Let’s face it – she’s got the looks, but she doesn’t always deliver in the acting department. She doesn’t have many lines here, but her delivery was sincere and I bought her in the role. She definitely has the physicality for the little bit of action the character performs (also given away in the trailer), a “female kicking ass in a hallway” scene thematically similar to a scene we just saw in Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass but not nearly as brutal. Despite some strange directorial choices in that scene with regards to overhead shots and distracting editing, she still comes out with the desired effect: looking badass.

In keeping with the “missed opportunities” theme, we have a small appearance by Samuel L. Jackson as S.H.I.E.L.D. chief Nick Fury, who guides Stark in the right direction for one or two scenes and then is absent for the rest of the movie. I realize he’s a minor character, but I would like to see a brief diversion into that character’s mind and gotten to know him a little bit. He’s going to pop up in other Marvel films until The Avengers comes out, but until then he’ll most likely be seen in a small capacity like this and I doubt any screenwriter will devote enough time to get to know this character when they’ve got a huge hero to build their stories around. When you think about it, we know almost the same now about the Avenger Initiative as we did with Fury’s brief post-credits mention of it at the end of the original Iron Man. We hear that Iron Man is recommended for a slot on the team, but Tony Stark is not – and then we aren’t allowed any further insight into the potential consequences of what that might mean.

Maybe it’s just me, but I felt like this entire movie was not as well-directed as the first one – strange, considering Jon Favreau was at the helm for both entries. In Iron Man 2, there is a long list of decisions that I simply didn’t agree with. The first-person POV scene walking through the crowd was dizzying and unnecessary, as were the wild camera movements in our introduction to Iron Man right before he lands at the Stark Expo. Instead of locking down the camera like he did in that cool shot during Stark’s first flight over the Santa Monica Pier and the Ferris wheel in the original movie, Favreau chooses to spin the camera around as Iron Man freefalls toward the ground, jarringly swinging in close to him and then far away again with no particular rhyme or reason.

I also had some issues with the Monaco race scene. Apart from the opening establishing shot of Monaco – a Dark Knight-esque helicopter shot that gorgeously reveals the layout of the city below – I thought the whole race sequence was not very well done at all. There wasn’t a single POV shot from the front of the car, which seems like a no-brainer if you’re trying to convey the feeling Stark is having of speeding down the track. Instead, Favreau places the camera high above the action and we look down on it passively and detached from the action. The sense of speed was poorly translated, which was yet another missed opportunity since we don’t see Indy car races in film very often.

Let’s also not forget that Whiplash destroys a car, and then – with no protection, mind you – is literally engulfed in flames as he pulls a “cool guys don’t look at explosions” and walks out unscathed on the other end. What was his endgame there? In yet another comparison to The Dark Knight (I know, I know, but they just keep coming to me), The Joker allowed himself to be captured, setting up that great jail interrogation scene but also thinking ahead enough to engineer his own escape. Writer Justin Theroux tries to emulate that pattern, but falls short when we realize that Whiplash just wants to “make God bleed” and…that’s it. He’s got no game plan after that, he’s just hoping that someone else who hates Iron Man will bust him out of prison. Of course, Justin Hammer plays right into his hands, but Whiplash’s plan seems much more thrown together than the calculated brilliance of The Joker’s.

This brings up perhaps my most basic criticism of the movie. If Whiplash’s tentacles are approximately 20 feet long, why doesn’t Iron Man, I don’t know, just take a few steps back? Or maybe – and bear with me here, because I realize this suggestion might be too unbelievable – maybe he could freaking FLY AROUND HIM blasting Whiplash with pulse beams all day long while he swings in vain down on the ground. I can’t comprehend how someone as “smart” as Tony Stark would see that the guy has a limited reach and say, “you know what? I’m going to get in close with this dude and see how that works out for me.” Mind-boggling.

I know if I was still a kid, I’d love this movie simply because it has more Iron Man fight scenes than the first one. But that argument no longer holds true for me now that I’m an adult. It’s the same feeling I got when watching Louis Letterier’s The Incredible Hulk – I enjoyed the sequences with Ed Norton as Bruce Banner far more than I did watching a CGI Hulk smashing things. Comic book films have done a great job of locking down A-list dramatic actors in the past few years, and my theory is we should be allowed to watch them work. Let them earn their massive paychecks.

To be fair, you’ll have to take that last paragraph with a grain of salt. I’ll admit (as I did in my review of the first film) that I’ve never read an Iron Man comic or been a fan of the character before I saw Favreau’s 2008 film, so perhaps I’d have been more excited to see a CGI Iron Man blowing up CGI drones if I were passionate about the character and grew up imagining these sequences on the big screen. But since that isn’t the case for me personally, I ended up coming down a bit hard on this film.

Despite my criticisms, I’d still recommend checking this out. It’s not terrible, but I just had a lot of issues with it. If you’re looking for a good summer action flick, this is definitely a good place to start, and I’d even say it’s worth seeing in theaters (if you catch a matinée). But when Marvel follows up a great first film with a mediocre second one, they shouldn’t be surprised to hear vocal disappointment from fans and critics alike. Turn off your hype machines, lower your expectations, and you’ll have a good time. Until next time…

Read similar posts to Review: Iron Man 2 on Filmonic

Upon its release in 2008 Iron Man was greeted with $585 million at the worldwide box office and 93% positive reviews. This meant that in order for Iron Man 2 to surpass its predecessor it would need to make $600 million+ and have at least 94% positive reviews at Rotten Tomatoes. That’s if you judge success like that anyway.

From the trailers and buzz making a sufficient profit doesn’t seem to be a problem, although on the review side of things it seems Iron Man 2 may have been hit by the ‘sequel curse’.

As I type there are currently 12 reviews on RT, and 3 of them are negative. This might not seem that big of a deal, although the reasons they are less than positive might be a worry.

From The Hollywood Reporter‘s Review:

Everything fun and terrific about Iron Man, a mere two years ago, has vanished with its sequel. In its place, Iron Man 2 has substituted noise, confusion, multiple villains, irrelevant stunts and misguided story lines.

Variety:

All told, ‘Iron Man 2′ suffers the same fate as many a sequel. Where the first film felt buoyant and occasionally inspired in helpfully demonstrating that, done right, there’s considerable treasure to be culled even from second-tier occupants of the Marvel universe, the new pic feels more duty-bound and industrial.”

Empire gave the film a 3/5 rating, and had this to say:

Rourke and Rockwell make satisfying, complementary villains, while Downey Jr. delivers again. Shame this sequel feels inessential, over-busy and a little, well, mechanical.

On the flip side the majority of sites have given Iron Man 2 more positive reviews.

From AICN:

We may not have a lot of Comic Book awesome coming this summer, but frankly – this is all I need. I’ll be seeing this a bunch – and I can not wait to see this movie destroy my nephew’s brain tomorrow night. Seriously – his 9 year old noggin just will not be able to process how great this is.

ComingSoon:

High expectations from the first movie may leave some wanting, but there’s enough brilliance on display to leave you wanting more as well.

IGN:

Like Tony Stark himself, Iron Man 2 is a sleek and cheeky number that almost certainly trumps the fun-factor of Jon Favreau’s 2008′s surprise hit

I suppose we’ll just have to see Iron Man 2 for ourselves to judge. This is still early days yet and those negative reviews may be the only few that get published. Even if it drops to 70-80% on Rotten Tomatoes it won’t be a disaster. As along as people have a fun time and it doesn’t derail The Avengers we’re good.

Read similar posts to Early Iron Man 2 reviews are in. Some are positive. Some less so. on Filmonic

According to a recent news report Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays Pepper Potts in Iron Man 2, gets punched in the face during a scene in Iron Man 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfrf63DVGws

As you probably already worked out, this is false. But it’s a funny false. Those familiar with The Onion may have worked it out just after clicking play.

The Onion has a history of Iron Man reports. Back in 2008 they ‘reported’ that Marvel planned to make the Iron Man trailer into a full length feature film.

Read similar posts to Gwyneth Paltrow gets punched in the face in Iron Man 2? on Filmonic

The Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland erupted gloriously last week and European air travel has been pretty much non-existent since. The latest news suggests that British airspace will be open tomorrow, however Marvel and Paramount aren’t taking any risks with mother nature and have moved the world premiere of Iron Man 2 from London to Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures and Marvel are planning to hold a special screening at the original venue for the world premiere in London on April 26th, and Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke along with director Jon Favreau are expected to attend the premiere in L.A.

Iron Man 2 will be released on April 30th in the UK, and May 7th in the US.

Read similar posts to Iron Man 2 premiere moves to L.A due to volcanic ash invading Europe on Filmonic

In February it was announced that Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne had all signed up for Steven Soderbergh’s thriller Contagion, which follows an international team of doctors and scientists brought in by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) after an outbreak of a deadly virus. We haven’t heard anything about it since the casting, although Jude Law recently said that he will be shooting for 10 days at the end of the year.

Well today The Playlist got more details on the film, including details on who will be playing who. (Spoilers below)

Gwyneth Paltrow plays a character called Beth Emhoff who is struck down by a mysterious ailment during a Hong Kong flight, and her husband, Matt Damon, is is forced to care for his wife, and soon his step-son, as her condition worsens.

Laurence Fishburne plays Dr. Ellis Cheever, the head of the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and Kate Winslet plays his colleague Dr. Erin Mears. Both are battling to find a cure for the disease, and Winslet’s character is sent to examine Gwyneth Paltrow at her home in Minnesota.

Marion Cotillard plays European doctor Leonora Orantes who works for the World Health Organization. She is also working on finding a cure and heads to Hong Kong to investigate what appears to be the genesis spot of the breakout.

And finally, Jude Law plays Alan Krumwiede, “a hungry, truthseeking blogger with an unfortunate interest in conspiracy theories”. His character is “responsible for spreading information about the disease, both true and false, around the world.”

My interest in Contagion first sparked after hearing the talent that had signed on, and I can now see why they did. As well as being an interesting thriller, there are many meaty roles to go around and it seems to be a true global affair (as deadly viruses usually are).

Scott Z. Burns (The Informant! and The Bourne Ultimatum) has written the script, which apparently is “terrifying”, and the film is scheduled to begin filming later this year for a 2011 release (no official release date has been set).

Read similar posts to More details on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion on Filmonic

A new international poster for Iron Man 2 has made its way online. Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Mickey Rourke, and Scarlett Johansson all feature, which is cool, even if they are all floaty and photoshopped.

There’s just over a month to go before Iron Man 2 hits the big screen (April 30th in the UK, May 7th in the US). Below is the latest trailer:

Read similar posts to International Iron Man 2 poster on Filmonic