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Contagion (2011) - I appreciated it more than I actually liked it. Soderbergh's ambition and his desire to create a realistic depiction of a killer pandemic is admirable, and I found it intellectually very intriguing, but it's also very cold and, well, clinical. Not that that's a bad thing, but I found myself feeling so bereft of hope by the end I wasn't really scared of the virus anymore. That bleakness can be refreshing, but here I found it pretty numbing without any basic humanity to balance it out.

Samuel Hoelker: It's been a busy week at the theater for me.

Crazy, Stupid Love: I went in with absolutely no expectations, considering how terrible its trailers were and my dislike for both Julianne Moore (really, Steve Carell? You're mad that you're now able to marry attractive women??) and Ryan Gosling. And it's not bad overall. It's fun, it's almost all completely believable, and Gosling wasn't bad. I didn't like how the storylines tied together multiple times throughout the movie though; it seems almost pointless. But at least there's Kevin Bacon!

Bellflower: Oh jeez, Bellflower. Bellflower's an apocalyptic-ish film about two strange slackers who drink and prepare to be, um, prepared for the end of the world and lead those remaining. And they drink a lot. I've never seen any movie where people drink this much, and I've seen Barney's Version twice. Bellflower's got a unique style - LA looks like a wasteland already - but is incredibly heavy. Its themes include violence solving anything. Halfway though, I thought to myself, "Well, I like this movie a lot but it has nowhere to go," (I thought the same during The Future) but then it went in exciting new directions (which did not happen during The Future). For a first feature, it's pretty amazing. My #3 of the year so far.

Contagion: I agree with Edwin on this one; I think on paper it's amazing, but actually seeing the film is almost tiresome. No one really makes decisions - it's very "a to b to c" - and while it's definitely the most realistic of any film in its subgenre, it's still a film, and in the end films have characters. And really, did we need the "revelatory" last scene?

Drive: Seeing this and CSL in the same week has really made me appreciate Ryan Gosling. Any ill feelings I had towards him from Blue Valentine have gone away. Drive's unique, it's interesting, it's exciting, it's thought-provoking, and it's not what you expect (based on the audience reaction - the guy behind me during the character-building first half kept on saying "what the hell is this movie about" while once the violence kicks in, he suddenly switched his tone to "YEAH THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT." It's way more than a revenge thriller, but I guess that's what people are expecting. And it's always good to see A. Brooks. My #2 of the year so far.

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