The Laundromat

The Laundromat (2019)

Starring Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, David Schwimmer, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeffrey Wright, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Nonso Anozie, Will Forte, Chris Parnell, James Cromwell, Melissa Rauch, Larry Wilmore, Robert Patrick, Rosalind Chao, and Sharon Stone

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Scott Z. Burns

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C-

Unsane

Unsane (2018)

Starring Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharaoh, Juno Temple, and Amy Irving

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Written by Joseph Bernstein and James Greer

***This film is currently streaming via Amazon Prime***

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Side Effects

Side Effects (2013)

Starring Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

When leaving the theater after watching Side Effects, the first word that I thought of to describe the film was "pulp," but that implies a sense of cheap sensationalism that doesn't befit this taut, effective thriller in the slightest.  Instead, I'll say that Steven Soderbergh's latest and reportedly last film echoes back to the days of classic film noir (a genre which oftentimes had an elevated "pulpy" sensibility) and, dare I say, is quite Hitchcockian in tone and execution.  Soderbergh has created a flick with many more twists and turns than I was expecting, many of which may be jaw-dropping, but all of which prove to be fitting to the overall story.  

As the film opens, twenty-eight year-old Emily (Rooney Mara) is eagerly awaiting the release of her husband Martin (Channing Tatum) from prison.  After serving four years for insider trading, Martin is ready to jump right back into the business end of things, but Emily finds herself quickly slipping into a depression.  After a suicide attempt, Emily begins seeing psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) who puts Emily on a series of anti-depressant medication.  Seeing little to no improvement and after talking with Emily's former psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Dr. Banks puts Emily on a new drug named Ablixa.  Unfortunately, one of the side effects of Ablixa is blackout-like sleepwalking.  While in one of these blackouts, Emily commits an act that places her into a mental institution and the questions begin to arise as to who exactly is to blame.

The film does take a little bit to find its balance and several of the actors, particularly the overly glum Rooney Mara and the rather one-note Catherine Zeta-Jones (who we know we're supposed to think is sexy because she wears tight skirts and thick-rimmed glasses like a librarian from a young kid's wet dream), are curious enigmas that certainly had me doubting Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Burns' screenplay during the first half.  [It should also be noted that I couldn't buy for a second that Channing Tatum was a smart, Wall Street-type stockbroker.] However, much to my delight, as the film heads into its final hour, puzzle pieces begin to fit together and twists, turns, and double crosses veer the flick on a decidedly different course than one expects at the onset.  It's at this time that the film shifts focus from Emily and towards Dr. Banks who is rather unexpectedly facing the brunt of the blame for his patient's criminal act.  Jude Law very nicely balances his character's need to find out the truth behind the questionable new drug while at the same time hoping that his findings won't prove him criminally culpable.  

No one's going to mistake Side Effects for a cinematic masterpiece, but it's fun, smart, and very nicely places you on the edge of your seat for a good bit of its running time.  Sex, violence, and drugs -- a potent combination, but one that always has the potential of creating a good amount of riveting drama as is the case here.  A very nice start to cinema for me in 2013.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Magic Mike

Magic Mike (2012)

Starring Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn, and Alex Pettyfer 

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Unexpectedly good reviews and throngs of horny women greeted Magic Mike upon arrival in theaters in Summer 2012.  Like most straight men, there was simply no reason for me to check this out despite the fact that Steven Soderbergh has proven a solid (or at least an interesting) director whom I've certainly appreciated in the past.  Somehow, what was sold as a female fantasy flick about male strippers has managed to already garner awards this season with Matthew McConaughey being named Best Supporting Actor by the New York Film Critics' Association.  Time had come to check it out, throw any uncomfortableness and awkwardness aside, and find out if this thing really was any good.  The answer to that, plain and simple, is that Magic Mike is okay.  It certainly isn't the unabashed raunchfest its trailers made it out to be, but it tells a story that's been told a hundred times before and, despite the addition of male posteriors on display, it doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table.

Supposedly somewhat autobiographical for star Channing Tatum, Magic Mike is the story of the title character (played by Tatum), a man of many trades -- construction worker and furniture designer by day, stripper by night -- who befriends the young nineteen year-old Adam (Alex Pettyfer) while on a roofing job together.  Adam eventually discovers the truth about Mike's late-night source of income and finds himself thrust on stage one evening gyrating his junk in front of a bunch of crazy ladies.  Unable to pass up the nice income, Adam begins to blossom into his own on the nightclub's stage much to his sister's (Cody Horn) chagrin who worries (perhaps rightly so) that this career choice may lead her brother down seedier paths.

The biggest problem with Magic Mike is that the story is far from original despite the fact that director Steven Soderbergh attempts to liven things up with what I can only assume is improvised dialog and creative lensing.  Soderbergh also gets a fun performance out of Matthew McConaughey as Dallas, the owner of the strip club where Mike and Adam work.  Over-the-top and certainly charismatic, McConaughey is a strong presence, but I'm not sold on the fact that he's awards-worthy.  Also of note, Mr. Tatum and Mr. Pettyfer offer up what is likely their best work yet, despite the fact that neither character goes on any semblance of an original arc.

Ultimately, though, Magic Mike suffers from blandness in the story department.  While the horny women may have been able to overlook that because of the chiseled abs and asses, this reviewer wasn't moved by such displays.  Color me surprised that this one was so lauded by the critics.  I think they were just surprised by the fact that Soderbergh had delivered something that wasn't as jokey and hokey as Showgirls.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie Review - Haywire

Haywire (2012)

Starring Gina Carano, Michael Angarano, Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas, Bill Paxton, and Michael Douglas

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Haywire is mindless fluff.  That's not meant as a criticism, but it's the truth.  No one's going to mistake this female-led action flick as great cinema, but it's certainly an enjoyable ride.  A day after I watched it, I may not remember much in the way of plot or character development, but I will remember that I had an enjoyable 85 minutes seeing it unfold in front of me and sometimes that's all one needs when watching a movie.

MMA-star Gina Carano is Mallory Kane, a "black ops super soldier" (according to imdb's description) who is used by the government to head out on certain missions for them.  She's good at her job and can kick some serious ass, but she often finds herself a bit at odds with Kenneth (Ewan McGregor), her ex-boyfriend and also the man that sets up her jobs for the government.  When set on a job to Ireland, she quickly discovers that she has been set up by her bosses and must go rogue in order to save her life.

There's nothing special that the story brings to the table, and while director Steven Soderbergh does an admirable job of filming the action scenes and keeping the story rolling at a good pace, things are by the book for the most part.  The acting is all above par, even that of Gina Carino who was criticized in reviews that I read for her lack of acting chops.  I found her perfectly acceptable for what this role asks of her.  Do I wanna see her tackle something a bit more weighty?  I'm not sure, but as an action chick, she handles herself well.

Admittedly, there's not a ton to say about this because Haywire is just a standard action flick, but it's a good one and worth a watch.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Contagion

Contagion (2011)

Starring Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, John Hawkes, Sanaa Lathan, and Elliot Gould

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Contagion is a modern-day version of those 70s "classics" like Earthquake and The Towering Inferno.  Let's put a bunch of well-known actors into a plot, throw in a natural disaster, and see who makes it out alive.  Unlike those special effects-laden films of a few decades ago, however, Contagion is actually good.  

Really good.  

And genuinely frightening.  I do think that, in the end, Steven Soderbergh's thriller about a new strain of deadly virus wreaking havoc on the world hopes that it feels "important."  And while it certainly paints a rather grim picture of what would happen should such an incident occur, I can't help but think it seems more "fluffy" than "substantial," but that's certainly not a bad thing in this case because it still succeeds at nearly every level.

The film opens on a black screen with the sound of someone coughing.  And already the mood is ominous.  We discover (thanks to a subtitle on the screen) that we are in Day 2 of this new viral outbreak and we see the young and vibrant Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) sitting at an airport bar talking on the phone with a man whom she just slept with.  All seems fine...except then we realize that Beth is the person whom we heard coughing mere seconds ago.  And Soderbergh makes it very clear via his directorial choices that Beth is passing this thing along to others -- the close up of the bowl of peanuts that she just ate from, the handing of a credit card to the bartender.  We're in for trouble and Soderbergh isn't hiding that from us.  The very fact that he makes these incredibly mundane things manage to appear so scary is a credit to him.

From there, the film branches off into various storylines -- some following "normal" citizens like Beth and her husband (Matt Damon), with others focusing on members of the Centers for Disease Control and their attempts to discover the origins of the virus (which is where folks like Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, and Marion Cotillard come into play).  Never staying with any of these plotlines for extended periods of time allows the viewer to never tire of any of them and always keep them longing for more.  Much like the disaster flicks of the 70s, no one is safe here.  Big stars (all of whom perform very well here) are going to bite the dust and this certainly increases the nerves that the viewer feels.

Admittedly, the film is bogged down with the character of Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law), a blogger who says that he will show the public the truth behind the secrets that the government and the CDC are hiding.  Anytime the plot veered into his territory, I kept wanting it to head to someone else.  His conspiracy theories just didn't seem well developed and, quite frankly, bored me (as most ludicrous conspiracy theories do).  Fortunately, as stated, the film doesn't stay on any one character for long and we find the plot quickly shifting to others.

Still, despite that one fault, I couldn't help but find myself absolutely enthralled by Contagion.  On the edge of my seat thanks to Soderbergh's creative direction, this is a completely believable real-life horror story the likes of which I hope we never see actually happen even though it positively could.  Time to grab that hand sanitizer...

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

Movie Review - The Girlfriend Experience (2009)

Starring Sasha Grey and Chris Santos

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

Aaah...the struggles of an escort in a committed relationship. Goshdarnit...having sex with a bunch of men for money while trying to maintain some happiness with an actual boyfriend is apparently really tough work. That's the jist of The Girlfriend Experience, a film that's really only known for being a movie released in actual theaters that starred a porn star.

I guess the driving plot point in this movie is when Chelsea meets a client who appears to be the perfect relationship match for her based off of her "personology" books (apparently some type of astrological bs). In an irrational state, she decides to leave her boyfriend for the guy. If that's the driving point of the plot, I'm unsure why it doesn't occur until 50 minutes into this 75-minute long movie.

And therein lies the problem with this flick...it's got an interesting premise, but it goes nowhere. The first third of this movie felt interminable. Sure, it picked up a tad, but not enough to actually interest me in the characters.

I'm sure that Sasha Grey's performance didn't help. She's so incredibly bland onscreen...there's no life behind her eyes (although, I guess in her business, the eyes aren't really where the life is required to be). There's scenes where she does voiceover work where her diction is so ridiculously laughable.

It's certainly not all Grey's fault, though. It seems like much of this flick was improv'ed or ad-libbed. There are times when ad-libbing sounds "real," but here it didn't ring true at all...it just led to a lot of repetition, stuttering, and "uhm's." And even in a film with this short length, there were scenes that totally could've been cut (can anyone who sees this explain the last scene to me? What the heck was that?) Soderbergh should have known where to draw the line on some of these scenes...and he doesn't really help with the direction either. For several scenes, he just plops the camera down in one spot and lets it sit there. In a boring movie, boring camera work doesn't help matters. And let's not even get into the fact that he has the movie jump around in time (I'm guessing to cover up the inanity of it all). It's really not clever, especially in a movie where there's no plot to speak of...it's just annoying.

Oddly enough, in the end, I didn't hate the movie (although, as you'll see in the rating, it isn't any good). It was an interesting film idea that, unfortunately, in the end, amounts to nothing. I will say this, though...I enjoy the clever tagline on the poster: See it with someone you ****

The RyMickey Rating: D

Movie Review - The Informant! (2009)

Starring Matt Damon and a Bunch of People Known for Comedy Playing Dramatic Characters!
Directed by Steven Soderbergh!

Let me start with something good! The score by Marvin Hamlisch is one of my favorites of the year! Clever, retro, and highly enjoyable! I purchased it soon after I watched the movie!

Now, when the score's the best part of your movie, there's a problem!

Inherently, this movie's not bad! In fact, in addition to the score, there's quite a bit that I liked here, but it just all doesn't come together and amount to anything I could care about!

Based on a true story, Matt Damon is Mark Whitacre, a biochemist working for Archer Daniels Midland, a company responsible for putting corn in stuff! He decides to blow the whistle on the company's price fixing tactics! In the end, however, his plan begins to backfire for reasons I won't reveal here!

Damon is pretty decent! He certainly kept my interest throughout the movie and provided some clever voice-over work! He's aided acting-wise by Scott "Quantum Leap" Bakula and Joel "The Soup!" McHale as his contacts in the FBI! Both of these guys were good, as was Melanie Lynskey (who was so touching in Away We Go) as Whitacre's doting wife who pushes her husband to spill the beans on his company's wrongdoings, unaware of the fact that her husband may not be the angel he portrays himself as!

I also must say that I appreciated Soderbergh's directing style here! It felt very low key, low budget, and old school! I liked the odd lighting, the set design, and the costuming! It was visually very appealing!

So why the heck was I bored out of my mind during the first ninety minutes of this movie?! Admittedly, the final thirty minutes featuring Whitacre's unraveling caught my interest, but it felt like this movie went on for an eternity prior to that! Despite really appreciating a lot about this movie, it didn't click with me in the slightest! I guess that falls onto the writers for not doing enough to hook me with the story! It's unfortunate because there's a lot to like about this movie, but having a good story is pretty damn important and the story here is weak!

Note: It would be remiss of me not to mention the exclamation point at the end of the movie title! As you see in my post above, I'm a fan of the fact that there's an exclamation point there!

The RyMickey Rating: D+ !