Logan Lucky

Members of a thought to be cursed West Virginia family, a laid off mine worker (Channing Tatum), an Armed services amputee bartender (Adam Driver), and their lead-footed hairstylist sister (Riley Keough), team up with an incarcerated, explosives expert (Daniel Craig) to rob a motor speedway on the busiest day of the year by exploiting its underground pipe system used for cash depositing. Logan Lucky is a sometimes dumb but watchable and mostly satisfying heist movie, although its not a genre I’m keen to see Steven Soderbergh revisit after his brief retirement, even if it does play like Ocean’s 11 with a soul. While the A-list actors annoyingly employ hillbilly accents, Tatum carries the film well and its fun to watch Craig play a colorful, against type character.

*** out of ****

Solaris (1972 and 2002)

A psychologist is sent to investigate disturbances involving members of the crew at a space station and, upon arrival, is quickly haunted by visions of his recently deceased wife. Andrei Tarkovski's Solaris, an adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel is extremely protracted (as expected) and yes overlong, though introspective, beautiful, and stirring with great performances especially by Nataly Bondarchuk. Steven Soderbergh's remake 30 years on has none of the original's patience nor hypnotic qualities, although George Clooney inhabits the lead role strongly and stoicly, and Viola Davis is confident in support.

1972 version: *** 1/2 out of ****

2002 version: ** 1/2 out of ****

Behind the Candelabra

Scott Thorson, a lonely animal trainer (Matt Damon) living at home with his foster parents picks up a man at a gay bar and attends a live performance by Liberace (Michael Douglas), the flamboyant, world renowned concert pianist who in 1977 and late into his career is still keeping his homosexual lifestyle a secret from his fans.  When Scott gains access to his dressing room, the disparately aged men immediately embark on a bizarre and tumultuous relationship, ending in a public breakup and lawsuit, followed shortly by Liberace's death from AIDS complications in 1987. Behind the Candelabra is a competently made, often humorous  and shocking film from Steven Soderbergh, which is said to be his last. It features brave performances from Douglas and Damon, and amusing supporting work from Dan Aykroyd and Rob Lowe, all of whom carry the film through its narrowly focused narrative. 

Side Effects

A young woman (Rooney Mara) sinks into an insurmountable spiral of anxiety and depression following the return of her husband (Channing Tatum) from a white collar prison. Seeing a respected psychiatrist (Jude Law) on the recommendation of her hometown therapist (Catherine Zeta-Jones), she is placed on a new psychotropic drug which leads to a bizarre tragedy and a catastrophic fallout for the good doctor. "Side Effects" is said to be Steven Soderbergh's final film, and although I don't believe it will be, it would be a great loss to the industry if it is. Reteaming with his "Informant" and "Contagion" screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, Soderbergh again show why he is one of the most versatile filmmakers, here crafting a nice little measured and twisty crime thriller. Mara once more is completely captivating and Law delivers an impressive performance as a desperate and intelligent man, unwittingly backed into a corner.

Magic Mike

Mike is a pretty industrious dude, working construction by day and working as a stripper by night to help jump start his new furniture design company. When a ne'er-do-well coworker asks for help getting into his club, and finds himself onstage alongside him, Mike soon takes the punk under his wing on journey through the fast lane while falling for his beautiful, overprotective sister. "Magic Mike" is a well-made film by eclectic director Steven Soderbergh which plays like A-level porn before settling down in its second half for a fairly solid character study. It pains me to say this, but Channing Tatum has an allure, and as with "21 Jump Street" he does a fine job carrying this film. Matthew McConaughey is strong as the sleazy club owner and Cody Horn gives the film a balance as Tatum's foil. Things start going in an interesting direction toward the end, which the filmmakers don't quite follow through on. This also might play better if you don't see it in a theater full of ravenous, shrieking, sex starved females.

sex, lies, and videotape

A repressed housewife's sleazy husband is carrying on an affair with her much more liberated sister. One day they are paid a visit by the husband's college chum, whom he hasn't seen in nine years, and whose odd fetishistic penchant throws a wrench into the whole backwards arrangement. Steven Soderbergh's directorial debut helped jumpstart the independent film movement and despite of its scintillating title and set-up is an intelligent and extraordinarily well made piece of adult oriented entertainment. The cast is excellent, with Andie MacDowell and Laura San Giacomo playing sisters of opposite polarity and to great effect while Peter Gallagher portrays that kind of yuppie scumbag he does so well. Then there is James Spader, who is absolutely dynamic as Gallagher's visiting college mate. While watching this, I was thinking to myself, would these films ever even exist without his involvement? "sex, lies, and videotape" is smart and involving, and even more so when the heart of the film is revealed. Soderbergh has gone on to become one of our most versatile directors, but his talent was evident from the outset with this brilliant and well constructed film.

Contagion

We open with a woman coughing at an airport bar and the camera makes us keenly aware of germs being spread as we see closeups of money being handled and a bowl of peanuts on the bar. This will be the onset of a viral epidemic that spreads at an astounding rate and kills its victims within a matter of days. After the woman and her son whom she passes it along to perish, we follow her immune husband and daughter and on a broader scale we follow several doctors working for the Center of Disease Control as they try to contain the disease, trace its roots, vaccinate against it, and control the widespread mayhem that ensues as they epidemic spreads. "Contagion" is an extremely focused and terrifying film from Steven Soderbergh working from a germaphobic script by Scott Z. Burns. Soderbergh again works with a large budget and A-list cast, which is where I feel he does his best work, and his handling of this material, which could have been dastardly, is executed tensely and brilliantly. The cast includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow (in some really disturbing scenes), Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jennifer Ehle (excellent), and John Hawkes, all contributing nicely. I've read reviews stating that Law's blogger character who profits off the epidemic detracts from the plot, but I thought it fit in nicely, as did Cotillard's Hong Kong subplot, with the screenplays attempts to show the many different angles a catastrophe like this can bring. "Contagion" is an extremely intricate and unnerving film that is sure to yield high returns for the people at Purell.

The Girlfriend Experience

Steven Soderbergh is an Academy Award winning director who often makes great films, but also finds the need to experiment and it is when he takes on these projects that he usually fails. The Girlfriend Experience is an example of one of these projects. It details the life of a high-priced call girl in NYC during the height of the 2008 presidential campaign as she meets with Wall Street clients involved in the bailouts. At home is her trainer boyfriend who seems satisfied with the life his whore girlfriend has chosen. The Girlfriend Experience is beyond and feels long even at its 78 minute length. The characters are uninteresting, the dialogue is uninspired and it seems like no effort was put into the filming.
*1/2