Side Effects (2013)

Steven Soderbergh’s (apparent) final big-screen bow takes on big pharma and the need for Americans to dope up to get through the day, be it anti-depressants, anxiety pills, uppers, downers, or whatever. And what of the “Side Effects”? Limp libido? Exhaustion? Murderous sleep-walking fit? That’s the ticket here as a married couple (Channing Tatum and Rooney Mara) rocked by hubby’s prison stint for Wall Street sins are reunited only to see the wife slip off her plates after an apparent suicide attempt. Caught in the middle of all this, taking money from on high and prescribing pills to the low, is Jude Law as a psychiatrist, who begins Boy Scout and becomes … less so. I can’t give away anything more, because Soderbergh and writer Scott Z. Burns (both of “Contagion”) take a turn that hit me, well, like a drug at first -- euphoric love, but then a quick and lowly crash as I contemplated all that I saw. How not to spill the pills? Let me say this: The ugly ridiculous denouncement is Family Research Council approved. Pure 1950s. Got it? Mara is great. Tatum, ehh. Catherine Zeta-Jones plays another head shrink, and Pacinos the scenery. B- 

Haywire (2012)

Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” exists for one reason: To show mixed-martial arts fighter Gina Carano kick the snot out of such Hollywood heartthrobs as Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender, and Ewan McGregor. She does this exceedingly well. The fight scenes are fast, feel brazenly real, and contain none of the CGI’d wirework gunk that turns most female vigilante flicks into fetishized trash. I’m looking at you, “Underworld.” When Tatum pummels Carano in the opening scene, the sight is shocking. Carrano gives back, brutally. Alas, the action is all that’s worth noting as the story (by Lem Dobbs, who wrote Soderbergh’s “Limey”) is a merry-go-round of betrayals so outlandishly unbelievable and confusing, I gave up tracking details and dialogue. Speaking of, and I pray I never meet Carano, but her delivery is tepid, with at least half her words red-flagged as post- production re-recording. She has a tough screen presence, but so much of this film is awkward talk that it feels long at 93 minutes. In a sequel, Carano must fight Liam Neeson. Fact. B-

Contagion (2011)

“Contagion” will stay with you for weeks, like a bad infection or the title killer virus that spreads around the globe thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow’s businesswoman/mom/wife/adulteress. This is a medical apocalypse horror flick where every cough, sneeze and human touch comes on like an axe blade. Director Steven Soderberg and writer Scott Z. Burns present a cold and smart drama, as if told by a veteran crime reporter. The duo refuse to go for the loud orchestra-assisted heroic deaths of major characters: They get sick and die, the scene moves on. No comment. Like the virus. Some great actors – Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne and John Hawks among them – are the scrambling heroes, locking their surviving children in their home, taking to the field to control the virus’ spread, or managing from on high at Center for Disease Control. The characters spill expert medical terms without apology, make errors both terrible and loving, and the saviors wear lab coats. The women rock. Science rocks. Jude Law plays a snakey left-wing blogger, and is deviously good. Damon marks his best onscreen moment: A husband so shocked upon hearing of his wife’s death, he asks to speak to her. The doctor repeats, “She’s dead.” Cold and sad. A-

The Informant! (2009)

A nerdy executive at an American food/chemical corporation hits up the FBI with a doozie offering: He will be the fed’s star whistleblower spy against his corrupt, price-fixing employer. PBS drama? Not with Steven Soderbergh (the “Ocean’s” films) at the helm and Matt Damon in the lead. “The Informant!” is side-splitting funny, more twisty than “Shutter Island” ever hoped to be, and has the most unreliable narrator since Kevin Spacey played a man named Verbal. See, every word out of Mark Whitacre’s mouth is a lie. He is compulsive and pathological. Yet, Mark sees himself as conspiracy victim (he quotes Crichton and Grisham) and a spy, specifically, Agent 0014 (“I’m twice as smart as James Bond”). But he’s more 0000. He narrates aloud on his hidden wire and never listens to anyone except the voice in his head. And he’s stealing an untold fortune from his employer. And, yet, the genius of this film is that Matt Damon makes you want to believe this guy. Damon is Tom Hanks with an Eagle Scout badge. It's part of the fun: Every time Mark’s lies crumble, it’s a shock. Damon is hilarious, without ever slipping a wink, perfectly straight to Soderbergh’s tongue-in-cheek direction and the groovy, giddy score. A-

The Girlfriend Experience (2009)

Steven Soderbergh scales back from his “Oceans” films to tell the story of an escort worker (Sasha Grey) whose job requires her to “play” the girlfriend of her vastly wealthy clients. The men don’t really love women. They like the sex, sure. But it’s money they love. And the high-rise apartments, jets, wine and fancy restaurants. But, it’s all burning away -- the stock market is on life-support and the 2008 election is on TV. Our escort, Christine is just as cold. She obsesses about her clothes, yearns for a clothing boutique of her own, and is shocked when her live-in boyfriend (Chris Santos) balks at her wanting to go away with a client because she and he may be soul mates. Why? They share a birthday. It’s not a life-changer, but Soderbergh weaves a tale where American has ditched commitment and true connection, for money. This is the wakeup call. Grey, from the adult film business, owns the screen. She packs a wallop without lifting an eyebrow. The “off-the-cuff” cinematography and editing made me feel like a fly on the wall. The writing, so smooth, has the vibe of a documentary. A-