They were so close.  Ides of March is gripping at times, somber and thought provoking at others but when the core of the film is revealed, it’s hard to find comfort or care in its primary characters.   Ok, I have to exclude Philip Seymour Hoffman from that generalization; his character and performance were the most true to life, which inherently doomed him in the film.  The others, not so much.

Ides of March follows Stephen Myers (Gosling), a charismatic, energetic campaign organizer working to win the Presidential primary for incumbent Governor Mike Morris (Clooney).  Leading such a harried campaign, there’s no time for relationships until Myers, quite surprisingly, strikes up a relationship with a staff intern, Molly Stearns (Evan Rachel Wood).   When Molly seeks Stephen’s help with a sensitive issue from her past it only adds to the enormous pressure of leading the campaign.  Sadly when it rains it pours for Stephen – along with the Primary of the century and Molly’s angst, he’s pursued by a smart and resourceful campaign manager for the opposition, Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti).  Tom is a master of subterfuge and flirts offers of a place on the other side’s administration while feeding seeds of discontent about Stephen’s own staff.    Caught between his loyalty to the Governor, his duty to help Molly and his own idealism about politics, Stephen traverses the rocky waters of the Capital Hill process while learning the true nature of the job and what he has resigned to let his life become.

Gosling (Half Nelson) is the spotlight role here.  I’m making my first Oscar pick of the year by saying that he will get a nod (but not a win).  Clooney (The Peacemaker) does average at best as Governor Morris.  He appears more to be a walking headshot than a believable candidate.  His running platform is filled with naïve public pandering which you have to attribute to the script, not necessarily to him.  Giamatti (Sideways) is ripe and passionate.  Playing a seasoned veteran of the campaign game, you really get a feel for his characters position within the film and its’ portrayal as he manipulates Gosling’s character.  Evan Rachel Wood (Thirteen) gave a strong performance, but I question why she would take a role like this that only perpetuates her limited ability to play teen angst characters (even though here she’s supposedly 20).  Super hot, manipulative like a teen – I expect and want more from such a fresh faced beauty.  Marisa Tomei (Four Rooms) and Jeffrey Wright (Source Code) round out what appears to be a stellar cast on paper; the issue for them, and this film, is that the plot will cause audience rejection.  You’ve got a great string of powerful performances throughout the film, but it’s lost in the idealism within its execution.

When screening audiences are laughing during a funeral sequence that is supposed to broody and heartfelt…you know you went wrong with the characters.  ‘Ides’ gives you one solid performance to the next, but when the true nature and reality of the characters are revealed, you lose any interest in caring what happens to them and even more so about the eventual outcome of the people they play onscreen.  It’s a shame, because some great performances may get lost in the mix on this one.  Let’s hope moviegoers and Oscar voters can see through the subterfuge.

3 Stars Out of 5

The Ides of March is rated R for pervasive language.  Running Time: 101 minutes

It’s October.  A time when Ghoulies, Ghosties and Long-Legged Beasties roam the earth.  But if you start seeing the ghost of a World War II Japanese kamikaze fighter pilot, you’re probably Enoch Brae, the central character of Restless.  And that’s not a bad place to be.

Enoch is an odd kid.  If your name is Enoch you probably have to be a loner slack indie hipster.  It’s probably the law.  Enoch traces his outline in chalk, as you’d do for someone who has died.  He hangs out with a ghost that regularly beats him at Battleship.  And Enoch crashes funerals.  One day, during his usual round of funeral-hopping, he meets Annabel, a beautiful little Mia Farrow doppelganger that is almost as quirky as he is.  The two strike up a friendship, Enoch finds out Annabel has terminal brain cancer, and the rest of the film is about the time they spend together.

This ain’t your momma’s “terminally ill pretty thing heading for the light” kinda film.  Annabel isn’t raging against the dying of the light (or if she is we don’t see it), instead she’s trying to enjoy the time she has left by doing whatever she wants.  Mostly that’s dressing like a cross between Audrey Hepburn and Zooey Deschanel — I’d like 15 minutes in the costuming room of this movie, a big bag, and a lack of security — and trying to get Enoch to realize that he’s in love with her.  She succeeds on both counts.

Relative newcomer Henry Hopper plays Enoch, and he does a good job of playing a messed up kid that spends so much time pushing others away he doesn’t even like himself very much.  Pixie-like Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) plays Annabel, and her not-entirely-here beauty is tailor made for the role.  Ryo Kase (Letters from Iwo Jima) is Hiroshi Takahashi, the ghostly kamikaze pilot that is Enoch’s best friend, and Gus Van Sant (Milk, Good Will Hunting) does an amazing job weaving their stories together to form a cohesive tale that builds toward it’s tragic, but ultimately satisfying conclusion.  Van Sant gets quirky, and lets the story unspool at it’s own pace, something that movies rarely do in today’s crash-bang-boom era.  In a world where viewers are pulled along at warp speed through all sorts of stories, it’s refreshing to have a tale that finds it’s own rhythm and sticks with it.

A lovely, quirky score by Danny “Somebody Give This Dude An Oscar” Elfman, ties scenes together and gives a light touch to the darker aspects of the film.  And have I mentioned how the costuming of Annabel has pulled all the strings on my covetous, baser nature?  All the costuming should be commended for lending a timelessness to the film, instead of going for the easy on-trend pieces that would date this piece by the end of the year.  Yes, there’s an unusual amount of pretty in Annabel’s terminal illness, but there’s a surprising lack of sap that makes Restless head and shoulders better than sobfests like Terms of Endearment and Love Story.

Relax, slow down, and let yourself meet the speed of this curious little film.  You’ll be glad you did.

“Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots” get their day on the big screen in Real Steel, a movie that transcends the one-joke premise and is instead a heartwarming, fist-pumping mechanized fairy tale of a father and son coming together amid some of the baddest technology you’ll ever wish was really available.  Not to bad for a few plastic robots from the 60s.

Okay, so Real Steel isn’t based on the old game you played with and trashed back when you were a kid, it’s actually based on the story “Steel” by the amazing and incredible Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, Hell House, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet).  But the storyline sure quacks like a toy robot: it’s sometime in the not-too-distant future, a time where boxing has ditched humans and amped up the amazeballs factor by using robots.  Big, powerful, amazing robots, that are controlled/worked by human handlers and treated like superstars.  Robotics engineers are the new cool kids on the block, and as with all types of fighting there’s the legal big-leagues, and the shady underground scene.  Cue Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman, looking scruffy but gorgeous; does the man ever look bad?), a poor schmuck whose every decision seems like the wrong one.  After hurting himself in human boxing, he’s a robot boxing promoter, but he’s been reduced to staying one step ahead of the law and his myriad of creditors.  When Charlie finds out that he’s the father of 11-year-old Max, his son from a girlfriend he only barely remembers, having to take care of a kid puts a cramp in his style.  So he makes a deal with his dead girlfriend’s sister Debra; Charlie will watch Max over the summer so Aunt Debra and Uncle Marvin can go away to Europe, then Deb and Marv will take Max off Charlie’s hands for good.  But when Max, a kid who’s already a huge robot boxing fan, gets his first taste of competition, he decides to try his hand at the sport himself, along with a robot he finds in a spare-parts dump.  If you think Charlie and Max don’t bond over this, you obviously don’t get out much.

Jackman is in rare form here, and that’s saying something.  The man could literally act his way out of a paper bag and onto the Globe Stage if he wanted to, thanks to his ability to handle just about any role, from musical lead to a certain sideburned superhero.  He can even make a craptastic movie…well, palatable from time to time.  (I’m looking at you, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  Kate and Leopold.)  Evangeline Lily has a small but important role as Bailey Tallet, Charlie’s engineer and former love interest.  She’s not given much to do beyond solder parts and tell Charlie he’s a screwup, but as with Lost, Lily adds an openness and sincerity to her character.  The truly breathtaking performance comes from Dakota Goyo as Max, who holds his own with the A-List  actors he’s working with.  The three leads manage to rise above the Sci-Fi trappings and turn what could have easily been a quick cash-in (*coughTransformerscough*) into a film with real heart underneath all that metal.  It’s the answer to every prayer sent out by someone who has a significant other who won’t go to touchy-feely films.  It’s two treats in one; a feel-good movie with plenty of ass-kicking action.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes the date night of the season.

Ahh action.  It’s here, and in spades.  Director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Date Night) knows how to mix his genres without sacrificing one for the other.  Film editor Dean Zimmerman keeps the pace quick when it needs to be, but slows things down in just the right places.  Legacy Effects handles the robot action, blending special effects with live action so well I couldn’t see an edge or warp anywhere.  Though to be honest the movie’s action sequences are so well done viewers won’t be doing much more than staring at the screen, transfixed.  I’ve gotta say that when I first heard about this movie I had my doubts.  Big, strong, fighting robots-sized doubts.  But Real Steel put those doubts to rest.  Real Steel is the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon wishes it could have been.  That’s because Real Steel takes the time to deliver a touching father-son story along with it’s whizbang effects.  The result is a movie well worth your hard earned rivets.

Ally Darling is a slut.  At least that’s what all the women’s magazines tell her, and everyone knows those magazines are nothing but truth in pulp paper form.  So Ally goes on a mission to track down her ex-bf’s, in the hopes that one of ‘em will serve as her One True Love…so she won’t have to amp up her number and become Superslut.  I say hey, if you’re gonna be a superhero, what better way.  And what better way to spend a few hours in the multiplex right now than with this fun little confection of a movie?  Baltimore-born Anna Faris does a great job of gettin’ low for the laughs, Captain America’s Chris Evans shows that he’s more than just a stud in latex, and the laughs and love are easy.  If you think your list of chick-flick movies is longer than the average list, don’t be afraid to add this one on.  No-one will judge you for that.  At least nobody worth knowing.

Based on Karen Bosnak’s novel “20 Times a Lady”, What’s Your Number points out the disparity between the sexes when it comes to sex.  Guys bang anything that moves and that makes ‘em a stud, women run out of fingers to count with when counting conquests and they’re not marriage material.  So after her younger sister’s engagement party, Ally decides that it’s no more sex, no more conquests, no more random hooking up.  Naturally, she boinks her boss that night (a hilariously creepy Joel McHale, in a role more Talk Soup than Community).  But her lothario neighbor Colin gets roped into helping her with the promise of Ally’s help with ditching the one-night-stands he constantly brings home.  Ally’s cute, Colin’s sexy, they’re both funny…and you can figure out the rest.  Thank goodness What’s Your Number has a refreshingly light touch with the romance, focusing on laughs and the awkwardness of tracking past lovers instead of the deep meaningful connection the leads share.  The chemistry between Faris and Evans is off the charts anyway, so gilding that lily would have had the movie ending up a clunker.

This movie wouldn’t work without the supporting characters, and the casting department did it’s homework here.  Besides Joel McHale, Zachary Quinto (Star Trek) plays an indifferent granola-guy, Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) plays now-gay Republican wannabe Tom, Reno 911’s Thomas Lennon plays gynecologist ex Barrett, and as a pièce de résistance, Andy Samberg has a cameo as Gerry Perry, the guy Ally loses her virginity to.  Seeing Faris and Samberg, two comedic actors that have no problem going anywhere for a laugh, get down and dirty is hilarous and cringeworthy.  Dave Annable (Brothers & Sisters) plays Ally’s “one that got away”, and he nails the role of a guy that is just a bit too perfect.  Cute points for casting Faris’ real-life hubby Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as ex “Disgusting Donald”, the guy that gets her started on her crazy adventure by being better now than he was then.

The usual chick-flick clichés run hot & heavy here, but they’re cute as all heck in the talented hands of director Mark Mylod (Entourage, the amazingly wonderful BBC rom-com series Cold Feet).  Ally and Colin meet cute, but can’t stand each other.  Ally has an amazing,  huge apartment smack-dab in the middle of Boston, something a marketing assistant would never be able to afford (though scenes with her family show that her parents are rich as hell, so there’s that.)  There are the requisite montages, the conflict after they finally realize they’re perfect for each other (and if I’m spoiling the movie for you by that tidbit this must be the very first romance you’ve ever thought about watching in your entire life), and the big chase scene at the end.  There are also lovely wedding vows, gorgeous Boston scenery, and a wacky ending that has real emotional depth.

Though What’s Your Number shows that all ends well after Ally’s ex-tracking binge, I’m not sure I’d do it myself.  Would you?

CW, Kathleen, Corinne and Wendy are the typical family, maybe even better; they’re goofy with each other, mom & dad are still sexy crazy for each other, with a closeness that you just don’t see every day.  Then tragedy strikes, and the shockwaves send young Corinne to a wild life, and then to salvation with a capital S.  But who’s salvation has she found, and how does one keep a hold of his or her faith in an oppressive society?  Higher Ground takes a look at fundamentalist Christianity and it’s growing pains, paralleling the changes in that belief system with the changes the Baby Boom generation went through.  It’s a powerful film that has at it’s center a strong willed woman of deep faith, a unicorn in today’s overbearing, male-centered church.  That Higher Ground manages to simultaneously convey Corinne’s deep respect and love for her faith and with the troubling changes certain segments of the Protestant religion has undergone in the past several decades is a stunning achievement, especially for first-time director Vera Farmiga.

Based on Carolyn S. Briggs’ memoir, This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost (which has now been re-printed under the title Higher Ground), Higher Ground follows Corinne (Vera Farmiga; Up in the Air) from a young girl who sees going to church as just something to do, to a rebellious teen pregnant and hurriedly married and then to a woman who has put all her trust and hope in God.  But as the decades change, the groovy veggie hippies for Christ she joined as a teenager slowly become more dogmatic.  Adding to her troubles is a husband (played by Joshua Leonard of The Blair Witch Project) who sees no problem with the way their church has changed, and a sister and mother who have shed their earlier beliefs.  The film takes these characters from the personal, sexual and spiritual freedom of the 1960s, all Jesus Christ Superstar and tofu patties, to the close-minded demagoguery of 1980s “spirituality”.  As Corinne passes through the years, she must make a decision to stay with her faith, or to find her own way to be in the world.  ”Lord, it’s either inside with you, or outside with the dogs”, one church member says early on, a softly worded threat that anyone doing, saying or feeling anything different from those of the church would burn in H-E-double-hockey-sticks.  With all that fear of damnation thundering on a person 24-7, is it any wonder so many fundamentalists are batshit?

The character of Corinne is a refreshing change from all the half-crazed Bible-Belters that have become cliché over the years.  Here is a woman with strong beliefs that is also open minded and loving.  In my mind every single hyper-judgemental fundamentalist should be tied down and forced to watch this movie, if only to show them how they should really be living.  Then again they probably wouldn’t get it.  Farmiga pulls off the double duty of director/lead actress admirably, giving a nuanced performance that may well be overlooked by the Academy for it’s low-key style.  Which would be a shame, but we all know the Academy loves histrionics.  Dagmara Dominczyk (Kinsey) plays Corinne’s best friend Annika, a woman who sees God in everything, even in the drawings she makes of her husband’s penis.  “Christ-like sex!”, she exclaims, as the women collapse into giggles.  Meanwhile, Joshua Leonard as Corinne’s husband Ethan is sort of the Everyman of the Fundamentalist movement, and how he goes from a pot-smoking hippie to a crunchy believer to a flat-out shunning “Christian” is probably scarier than anything the horror genre will whip out at moviegoers this year.  It’s a sneaky, moment-by-moment change, and to see him become someone entirely different through Corinne’s eyes is heartbreaking and horrifying.

Higher Ground takes a look at many of the problems destructively fundamentalist movements have; blatant sexism, brainwashing, clannish/cultish behavior, and shows you how they’re used to keep the flock in line.  It seems all are not equal in His sight.  Have a gift of preaching?  Well, if you’re a woman that’s out.  (I hope nobody’s told Joyce Meyer.)  Wanna read Lord of the Flies?  Fuggetaboutit.  Piece by piece we see the negativity of their fundamentalism, a stark contrast to Corinne’s all-accepting faith.  She is a segment of the population that goes unnoticed; the open, accepting person of any faith.  Hey, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the judgemental self-righteous saved of any religious denomination makes better press, right?  Absolutely.

Corinne’s struggles to reclaim the faith she feels she’s lost leads her to therapy (faith-based of course), crushing on the hot mailman, and finally acceptance.  Her faith is a part of who she is, not the sum of everything she is.  That’s gotta be a difficult message for any extremist to swallow, but it makes for amazing filmmaking for those open to it’s message.  Higher Ground is a lot like Corinne’s faith, a quiet thing that is no less powerful for the lack of bells and whistles.

Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when cable, the web and streaming step in to provide an instant movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick and see if it’s worth your time. This week it’s the documentary “Forks Over Knives”.

The Story: This documentary takes a cold, hard look at how Americans eat, and how what we decide to shove into our gaping maw affects how crappy we feel. And, how if we switch things around, how the food we put into our bodies could possibly make us feel better, and reverse health problems. Wait, so Ding-Dongs and grape soda aren’t good for me?

The Good: TONS of research went into this documentary, and it’s covered in a way that keeps viewers interested. Forks Over Knives not only throws research evidence at you, it follows test subjects in a personal way. Forks Over Knives introduces you to many different men and women who for one reason or another have been in studies or have found these doctors as a last-gasp effort to be more healthy. These people tell you in their own words how their lives and/or bodies have changed by switching to a plant based (or, in some instances, “plant strong”) diet, and not a one of ‘em sounds like a cult member. Dr. Campbell of Cornell University and Dr. Esselstyn of the Cleveland Clinic — the doctors that lead the way in this research — are personable, and incredibly hands-on, and the movie follows them through their careers to show how these docs came up with their ideas.  The director himself gets in on the diet-switch, and we get to see him and his bloodwork before and after his very own guinea pig-dom; think of this movie as Un-Super Size Me.  By the way, fellas, wanna know how to ditch Viagra and still be a hit with the lay-deez? Forks Over Knives’ll show you exactly how and why what you eat can affect how you get your groove on. And who knew badass Ultimate Figher Mac Danzig was a vegan?

The Bad: Though this is a very interesting documentary that has so much information on how a whole plant-based diet helps you live a healthier life, at times it seems a bit heavy handed. There’s no middle ground here; you live an oil-free, vegan way of life, or you’re doomed to a life less healthy. And I like my EVOO and Miracle Whip (yeah, I’m one of those people) too much to give ‘em up. Then again, any all-or-nothing message repeated over and over again in the course of an hour and half starts to feel a bit oppressive. Yeah, yeah, yeah; of course they’re right. Anyone who doesn’t think eating healthier would be better for them is an idiot. But we’re all a bunch of lazy putzes who would rather eat a handful of Cheetos than grapes, so I have a feeling this is a documentary that will mostly be preaching to the converted instead of those who need saving.

The Everything Else: There’s a cute animated segment in the beginning of the documentary that shows viewers how animals are pleasure seekers, thanks to the roaming of an adorably drawn great white shark. Next Shark Week I’ll be picturing them all in Hawaiian shirts & sunglasses. The pieces of old footage from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s showing how we were taught how to eat are adorably retro now, especially so after all the information this documentary throws down.

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?: Absolutely! In fact, in light of what I had for lunch, I probably should watch it again right now.
Should you see it?: Everyone should see this film. Period.  Force yourself if you have to.  Whether or not it’s all true, it makes you re-evaluate your choices and asks you to live a better life. Not too shabby.
Netflix average rating: 4 ½ Stars
My rating: 5 Stars

Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when cable, the web and streaming step in to provide an instant movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick and see if it’s worth your time. This week it’s the 2011 remake of “Arthur”.

The Story: Okay, so there’s this crazy-rich wealthy dude who hasn’t grown up even though he’s in his 30’s. He’s got a hella drinking problem that causes his family no end of concern. Solution? Marry the guy off to a straightlaced gal, and tell him if he doesn’t go for it he’s cut off. But then he meets the fantastic girl…and it sure ain’t the one mummy picked.  Sound familiar? Of course it is; this is the remake of the super-popular 1981 romantic comedy/drunk-dudes-are-loveable film of the same name. Swap English dude Dudley Moore with English dude Russell Brand…and you have a surprisingly well-done movie that keeps the drunken lout just as loveable as when we first met him all those years ago, but moves him into the 21st Century.

The Good: This isn’t the role Russell Brand was meant to play — that’d be Aldous Snow from Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall — but damn if he doesn’t make a fine drunken rich bum. He’s got the childlike quality of Moore’s drunken rich bum, but a bit more charisma and a certain je ne sai slacker that’s perfect for today’s modern lazy-ass 30-something. Helen Mirren doesn’t slide into Sir John Gielgud’s shoes as much as she re-defines the character of Arthur’s nanny/chaperone/conscience and completely owns it. Jason Winer’s ability to take all-out-crazy scenes and make them play like just another day is obviously a skill he honed on Modern Family, and one that can’t be overemphasized. This film could have easily slipped into needless slapstick, but even at it’s craziest the situations ring true. Bonus points for the touching shout-out to Steve Gordon, the director of the original Arthur, who died of a heart attack at age 44. This Arthur’s father shares a similar fate.

The Bad: As much as I wanted to love Jennifer Gardner’s whackjob golddigger Susan, it just doesn’t play true. But Gardner gets mucho bonus points for going for it with gusto, and for so obviously enjoying herself in the role. (You haven’t lived ‘til you’ve seen her meow like a kitty.) I couldn’t help but agree with Susan on one topic; how in the world could a man that is poised to take the reins of a multi-national business not have even the slightest idea of how to handle himself in the business world? It plays for laughs, sure, but when Arthur tries to work and fails ever so miserably, it’s pushed a little too far. Speaking of miserable, the remake of “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” feels insipid and dull now. It just doesn’t fit the goofy, manic pace of this film. Luckily it only plays at the end credits.

The Everything Else: This go-round tones down the drinking a bit; instead of Arthur staggering around and passing out in churches, we have him throwing rowdy parties where he picks up all sorts of women (and according to Hobson, all sorts of diseases if he doesn’t hurry up and wash his winky). To keep things a bit more realistic, our modern-day Arthur does dabble with recreational drugs, but not onscreen. But all the scenes of his opulent wealth, and the ways in which he uses it, have a lovely, childlike grandeur about them, and that keeps our new Arthur and his lady love fresh, fun and fabulous in this new century.

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?: Why not? It’s cute, it’s funny and it could turn into a drink-along-with-Arthur game with a handful of friends.
Should you see it?: If you think remaking the original is outright blasphemy, probably not. But if you’re open to a new drunk in town, this film is a good time even if you don’t have a magnetized bed.
Netflix average rating: 3 ½ Stars
My rating: 4 Stars

Zombies are the big thing nowadays.  But what if the world went out with a whimper instead of a bang?  What if it went out with a cough?  It may not have the cool kids cachet of the stumbling dead, but Contagion‘s well thought out scientific underpinnings make it a compelling thriller for the brainy set, those who are aching for a different kind of action movie, or anyone who has a love affair with medical procedural shows.

As the film starts, you hear a cough.  Then another, and another.  Beth Emhoff, a businesswoman who is returning home to the States from a trip to Hong Kong, isn’t looking so good.  That’s pretty damn serious, considering she’s played by Gwyneth Paltrow, a woman that would look good after a 3-day cheesecake and whiskey bender.  Anyone who has seen the trailer for this film knows that Beth isn’t recovering from this business trip bug, and quickly other people come down with the illness.  Before long, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are racing against time to stop the pandemic before it’s too late.

The beginning of Contagion is much like the start of Stephen King’s novel The Stand in how it shows just how easy it is to pass along a virus.  We see Beth pick up a drink, then put it down.  The busboy picks up the empty glass, he grabs onto a bus rail on his way home…and suddenly millions of people are dead or dying.  But this film plays down the horror aspect, going instead for a fast-paced thriller focused on how to find a cure while the world is falling apart.  Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Syriana) uses his skill working with an ensemble cast to show many different points of view; from CDC doctors and WHO officials to janitors and families in far-out villages, there is hardly a social demographic that is missed.  Writer Scott Z. Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum) amps up the audience’s adrenaline by crafting scenes that show how government, big business and the blogosphere all strive to come out of this smelling like a rose, regardless of the toll it takes on humanity.  Meanwhile, humanity ain’t exactly holding hands singing Kumbaya, and scenes with crowds of frightened people pushed to their limits have a frightening ring of truth.

Yes, there are themes here, but they don’t beat you about the head to get you to submit, they slide into your conscious bit by bit as the action progresses.  They’re also grounded in common sense; think for yourself, take care of yourself and those you care about, take care of the world.  It’s easy to see why H2O Africa Foundation co-founder Matt Damon signed onto this project; it’s a wake-up call cunningly disguised as an action-packed thriller.  It’s also easy to see how this film attracted it’s all-star cast, as Soderbergh’s deft touch with subject matter that shoots off in many directions at once, and Burns’ ability to craft a thriller that takes time to let you care about the folks in the thick of it, was probably catnip to these stars.  Everyone rises to the occasion, giving performances that are believable in their humanity.  Bonus points for getting Dr. Sanjay Gupta to play himself in a cameo piece.

There are problems with any movie that tries to cover such a broad scope, and Congation isn’t immune.  Although Paltrow’s character isn’t on screen — alive, anyway — for long, the connection audiences build with her after her Psycho-esque early end gets shattered by a revelation that is wholly unnecessary.  And Lawrence Fishburne’s Dr. Ellis Cheever puts himself on the line for someone, and we find out after this storyline is almost entirely played out that someone is Cheever’s wife.  But for these flaws there are many more positives.  Jude Law’s blogger Alan Krumwiede, who is trying to do the right thing but can’t seem to help being a dick about it.  Matt Damon as Beth’s husband, who will stop at nothing to keep his daughter safe.  Marion Cotillard as WHO official Dr. Leonora Orantes, a woman that gets a first-hand look at how things are going outside of the big cities.  Not everyone lives, but not everyone dies either, and that gives viewers the hope they need to keep rooting for the world to survive.

With cold and flu season hitting us right about now, I’m sure there will be quite a few people who will be a bit more careful this season after seeing this film.  Meanwhile, I picked up a bug at the screening, and can’t seem to shake this sore throat.  I’m trying not to freak out about it, but after seeing what can happen if a bug gets nasty?  I think I’ll be staying in to rest this weekend.