Side Effects

DRAMA, SUSPENSE/THRILLER

One Pill Can Change Your Life

★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of 5 | Rental

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Rated: R Sexuality, nudity, violence and language.
Release Date: February 8, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 45 minutes

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Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Scott Z. Burns
Cast: Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones

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SYNOPSIS:  Emily and Martin are a successful New York couple whose world unravels when a new drug prescribed by Emily's psychiatrist - intended to treat anxiety - has unexpected side effects.

REVIEW: Steven Soderbergh has been been busy lately. He directed Contagion and Haywire in 2011, Magic Mike in 2012, and now Side Effects to start the new year. Contagion writer Steve Z. Burns reteams with Soderbergh, looking to recreate the tension they created two years ago. 

Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law, Rise of the Guardians) works long hours at the hospital, sees numerous patients at his own practice, and participates in pharmaceutical studies - all in an effort to keep his wife and stepson living a comfortable lifestyle. Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara, Prometheus) waits for her husband Martin Taylor (Channing Tatum, Magic Mike) to be release from prison where he was incarcerated for four years for insider trading. Upon his release, Emily keeps a brave face but finds herself struggling to keep her emotions in check and her mental health balanced. After she runs her car into a parking garage concrete wall, Emily is visited by Dr. Banks as a psych consult. Released from the hospital, Emily starts to see Dr. Banks as a patient. After consulting Emily's previous psychiatrist Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Broken City), Dr. Banks prescribes Abrixa as a medication to fight her depression. After continued treatment, Emily is worse off than before, causing a sleepwalking incident that puts her in the psych ward again. As Dr. Banks reputation and personal life come into question, and his life starts to unravel, Dr. Banks takes it upon himself to solve the mystery of Emily and her strange surreal life.

Steven Soderberg brings another one of his stylize and cinematic films, akin to Contagion and Traffic, to screen. He uses his signature lighting, and alternating warm and cool tones to tell the story just as engaging as any of the plot points. Scott Z. Burns' story is slow and steady, setting up for a more interesting third act. The slow pace of the film allows director Soderberg to use his visual craft to build the story. With a movie of this type, it is important to build a proper foundation. Law, Mara, Zeta-Jones, and Tatum help to build those blocks, but the story suffers due to unnecessary waiting. Jude Law shows why he is such an exceptional actor. Rooney Mara, fresh off the Prometheus and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo also shows her ability as an acting chameleon. The character of Emily is the most crucial to the success of the story, and Mara does a superb job getting the job done.

The halfway point of the film is where the pace picks up and when the film become worthwhile. As Dr. Banks life unravels, his practice folds, and his marriage suffers, Jonathan finds himself on the wrong end of life's diagnosis. Not all the pieces fit and not all the results seem likely, but yet he finds that he is on the declining slope of a downward spiral. The thought of losing control of one's faculties brings uncertainty to where both Emily and Dr. Banks may end up, and keeps up the intrigue.

Dr. Jonathan Banks answers a question from an inquiring party as to why he practices psychiatry in United States versus the UK. He replies that citizens of the United Kingdom feel that psychiatry and psychiatric medicines is for people who are sick and that Americans believe psychiatry and psychiatric medicine is for people looking to get better. That statement reveals much of the practice of pharmaceutical trials, patients going to numerous doctors, and the combination of old and new marketed drugs assisting in mental recovery. All points to a mental health industry that isn't looking to make anybody better but instead wanting to line pockets. So is it any wonder that Rooney Mara's Emily may or may not succeed in beating the charges against her even with her history of mental instability.

With a long set up and careful crafting of the necessary pieces of the puzzle, Side Effects is a movie that is well-done and well-crafted, but needed to get the audience engaged with a faster pace. The direction is good, the acting is top notch, and the overall story is solid. With any mystery of this type the success or failure of the film based on quick set up and an intriguing investigation. The cat and mouse game between the major characters is the best part of the film.

Side Effects could have been a great thriller. Soderberg is a respected and talented director. The cast is exceptional. But slow pacing and some obvious outcomes affects just how many side effects were not listed on the bottle.

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Rise of the Guardians

Stay Frosty

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee and DVD

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Rated: PG - Thematic elements and some mild scary action

Release Date: November 21, 2012

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

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Director: Peter A. Ramsey
Writers: David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the book by William Joyce
Cast:  Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Jude Law, Dakota Goyo, Khamani Griffin, Kamil McFadden, Georgie Grieve, Emily Nordwind

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SYNOPSIS: When an evil spirit called Pitch becomes bent upon taking over the world by inspiring fear in the hearts of kids everywhere, the legendary spirits of Christmas, Easter, dreams, teeth and frost must unite to take on the threat.

REVIEW: Direct to DVD director of Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, Peter Ramsey, goes to the big show with his first full animated feature release. David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots, Inkheart, the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful) adapts author William Joyce's book 'The Guardians of Childhood' into an animated action adventure featuring some of the most iconic holiday or mythical childhood legends that parents tell their children stories about. 

Hundreds of years ago, an invisible elemental spirit (Chris Pine, Unstoppable) came into being, unsure of who he was or what his purpose was. The only thing he was sure of what what his name was the name given to him by the Man in the Moon - Jack Frost! Now in the present day, as Jack Frost enjoys making blizzard conditions and giving kids snow days from school, an ancient menace named Pitch (Jude Law, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) has reemerged to challenge the current Guardians. Consisting of the Russian Santa Claus North (Alec Baldwin, Rock of Ages), a Tooth Fairy named Tooth (Isla Fisher, Rango), the Bunny of Easter (Hugh Jackman, Real Steel), and Sandy the Sandman of Dreams, the Guardians are dedicated to the cause of keeping the children of the world safe and filled with hope and wonder. Now, with Pitch looking to fill the children of the world with grief and fear, the Man in the Moon urges the Guardians to enlist the help of Jack Frost in their defense of the world's youngest. But can the Guardians count on a reckless elemental who just wants to have fun and wants to be recognized?

The animated Rise of the Guardians, based on the book 'The Guardians of Childhood', is a unique perspective on those mythical ideals that our parents have told us stories about. North, the embodiment of the Spirit of Christmas is not just a jolly, big-belled man in a red suit with white fur trim. He is a Russian-esque imposing figure armed with powerful magic and two swash-buckling swords. Like a Russian nesting doll North is jolly, but also fearless and filled with wonder. The Australian accented Bunny, armed with boomerangs and Aborigine markings, takes his task of hiding colored eggs and marking the advent of spring and of hope on Easter Sunday very seriously. Tooth, the director of thousands of hummingbird sized tooth fairies collects thousands of teeth each day in exchange for coins. The pint-sized silent Sandy uses his golden wispy sands to fill childrens' heads with their favorite dreams. Jack Frost, with all of his Final Fantasy white locks and wooden staff, knows how to make sure kids have fun - at the expense of a few adults sliding and sliding around. He seems reckless, but at his core he loves the children just as much as the 'big guys'. The question is... will the belief of the world's children be enough to power the Guardians against the evil of Pitch?

Pitch Black is a formidable adversary to the Guardians. He is the harbinger of fear and was a dominate force in the world in the Dark Ages. When the Guardians emerged as forces for good, Pitch's powers were diminished and he was cast into obscurity. But as Pitch's machinations come to bear against the children, every ounce of power the villain gains takes away from the Guardians energies and their ability to combat Pitch's fear-mongering.

The animation is superb! All of the characters are designed to the utmost details to embody the spirits they portray. Pine, Baldwin, Fisher, Law, and Jackman bring their respective characters to phenomenal life. The worlds created for each of the Guardians takes every mythical character in a direction unseen before, The action sequences are choreographed and rendered beautifully, every camera angle and fluid movement eliciting the proper thrill, dread, or smiles. For every dark moment that Pitch puts into play, director Ramsey balances with intriguing or comic moments.

Rise of the Guardians is the perfect action-packed holiday film in the spirit of the classic move formula where the heroes have to save the holiday. In this film, though, the stakes are higher as our beloved mythical characters are not just saving the holiday, but the hope and happiness of all children and the Guardians' own existence. Maybe a little scary for the smallest of our future generation of dreamers and believers, Guardians will otherwise delight parents and children alike.

Rise of the Guardians takes holiday animation to the next level, giving the audience thrills, spills, and chills along with a fine story of perseverance and redemption. Jack Frost may be nipping at your nose, but he also has a free spirit and a warm heart.

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Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

A Worthy Adversary

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Rated: PG-13 Some drug material, intense sequences of violence and of action
Release Date: December 16, 2011
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 min

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Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Michele Mulroney, Kieran Mulroney, characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Paul Anderson, Kelly Reilly

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SYNOPSIS: As Dr. Watson prepares for his wedding day, Sherlock Holmes immerses himself in the hunt for Professor Moriarty, his most vile and intelligent adversary. As the stakes are raised and Holmes' friends are threatened, Holmes reenlists Dr. Watson's aid in the pursuit of his enemy.

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REVIEW: Sherlock Holmes returns! Director Guy Ritchie returns for a follow up to the 2009 Sherlock Holmes. The writer/director of Snatch, RocknRolla, and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Guy Ritchie relinquishes writing duties to a new duo of Holmes scribes, Michele and Kiera Mulroney of Ryan Reynolds' Paper Man. Will this turn for the incomparable Sherlock Holmes be elementary?

The tireless Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr., Iron Man) has used his detective skills since the close of the Lord Blackwood case to follow and compile a string of seemingly unrelated tragedies, deaths, and strange occurrences. All the ribbon threads from his investigations lead him back to the elusive Dr. Moriarty (Jared Harris, AMC's "Mad Men"). To what end to Professor Moriarty's motives serve? As the good doctor 'ties up loose ends' to someone close to Holmes, Sherlock must quicken his pace to unravel the machinations of this most serious foe. The plot involves a gypsy woman, Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 2009) that Sherlock meets during Watson's stag party. After the wedding of his associate Dr. Watson (Jude Law, Hugo), Sherlock ruins the honeymoon plans in order to save both Dr. Watson and his new bride Mary (Kelly Reilly, Eden Lake). Enter Sherlock's ironically more eccentric brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry, V for Vendetta) to aide in the efforts, as snarky and arrogant as his brother. Aiding Professor Moriarty is a former British sharpshooter, Colonel Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson, A Lonely Place to Die).

Where Sherlock Holmes dealt with the Baker Street detective dealing with Lord Blackwood's technology masked as the occult, the sequel deals with a much more sinister plot and vile villain with Professor Moriarty. Lord Blackwood wanted to return England to its former glory and regain the American Colonies. The genius Professor Moriarty has men and women do his bidding and ultimately ends their lives when their usefulness to him runs its course, all in the pursuit to start a European war that he can profit from.

Professor Moriarty is arguably the greatest adversary to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, although he only appears in the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes tale, "The Adventure of the Final Problem" and mentioned in the subsequently published "The Valley of Fear". In Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Professor Moriarty is ever Sherlock's equal and superior, having genius level intellect and champion boxing skills. Considered the "Napoleon of Crime" by Holmes, Moriarty is certainly his arch-nemesis, Holmes spending months collecting data and thwarting Moriarty's operations at every available turn.


A Game of Shadows focuses on the detective dance between Holmes and Moriarty, but still has time to  expand on the Watson and Holmes relationship. Like an old married couple, they nag and prod at each other relentlessly, all the while suffering in silence at the brotherly love they share and the hollowness they experience when apart. Their affection is infectious, their barbs humorous. Downey Jr's Holmes is becoming the hip version that Holmes would aspire to if not kept primarily on PBS or BBC.

The action is superb, the mix of slow motion and quick edits making for visual candy. Moriarty's master plans deserve the attention of a detective of Holmes caliber and a story set on the silver screen. Ritchie's unique vision and the Mulroneys' story make for a grander stage for Holmes and Watson to work on. Stretching much farther than the streets of London and the surrounding countryside, the sequel at times is both slower and expansive. But keeping with a formula that works from the first film, and breaking the mold whenever possible, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is worth a closer look.

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WORTH: Matinee and DVD

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Contagion

Sterile Environment

Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writers: Scott Z. Burns
Cast: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jennifer Ehle

SYNOPSIS: A woman returns from a business trip abroad suffering from a jet lag that soon becomes an undiagnosed highly contagious disease, spreading through the world's population more quickly than the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization can find a viable vaccine or cure.

REVIEW: Steven Soderbergh, acclaimed director of Traffic, Erin Brockovich, the Oceans Eleven trilogy and The Informant!, takes a script from The Informant! and The Bourne Ultimatum writer Scott Z. Burns to tackle a story that follows a highly contagious "novel" unknown viral strain that runs rampant around the globe, radiating out from a possible single epidemic source.

Opening with the movements of a single woman returning from a Hong Kong business trip who quickly falls ill, suffers seizures and dies, Contagion provides an almost investigative perspective as to the spread of the virus, its effects on the population, the response by government agencies, the economic and political fallout, and the eventual diminished return to normalcy. When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns from an AIMM business trip, her supposed jet lag becomes a fiery fever and headache, leading to seizures and death. Her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) endures even more tragedy as their son is exposed and dies. The story, in parallel, follows several contagious individuals around the globe as they return to their homes, villages and countries, unknowingly carrying the virus with them to spread the infection to others by touching other people of surfaces. Once the CDC and the World Health Organization is alerted to the reported cases and deaths attributed to this new disease, doctors and scientists all other the world try to strike back with an investigation to the initial cause and genesis of the virus and how to combat it.

Soderbergh takes an almost sterile, methodical approach to this film. Where Dustin Hoffman's Outbreak focused on tracking and combating their virus within the confines of a remote American town, Contagion takes a grander perspective by tracking the spread of the disease as it grows to global proportions, sitting in as government agencies plot out their next moves, watching state and federal health organization fight and prove ineffective to the spreading anarchy, following the internet as rumor and fact blend together to flame the fires of civil unrest and panic, and living in the aftermath of a disease that may infect one in twelve of the world's population.

Analytical and businesslike, the story moves along well enough, but lacks much emotion. Only Matt Damon's Mitch and his daughter give us anyone to truly connect to. Fishburne's Dr. Ellis Cheever is too clinical and stoic, even when he worries about Kate Winslet's Dr. Erin Mears who goes out in the field to diagnose the source of the Minnesota outbreak. Jude Law's internet blogger journalist, Alan Krumwiede, tries to be a man of the people against the secretive government conspiracies, but comes off less honorable than a man of the people should be. The cast is capable and expansive, but the scale of the film reduces them to flotsam drifting on the surface of the ocean. The script is solid and comprehensive, but lacks a few intimate points. And some of the time explaining and knowing the deterioration of social services doesn't explain why homes still have running water and electricity, and why Mitch's daughter is still able to text her boyfriend after 100 days of the decimation of the world's population.

Tracking the virus as if it were a real-world exercise, Contagion shows an unflinching, third-person perspective of the effects of a possible world-killer disease. But the problem in Soderbergh's Contagion is that the film is unable or unwilling to let us in emotionally, rolling out the story in a altogether too matter the fact way. I know that you should try and keep your distance and refrain from physical contact from others in order to stay healthy, but sometimes a tender warm caring touch is more satisfying, even if it poses a risk.

WORTH: Matinee or Rental