Side Effects

[Ja'moke]

So if this is indeed Steven Soderbergh's final film (which I highly doubt), do we think it is a fitting way for him to bow out?

I personally thought it was brilliant fun. It's a film that is constantly shifting in tone, just when you think you are settled in to what kind of movie it is attempting to be, it pulls the old switcharoo and becomes something completely different, before eventually turning in to all out Hitchcockian madness. I was just smiling throughout the last few scenes because it gave me that glee of watching an old school noir suspense thriller, even if Catherine Zeta Jones was hamming it up a little too much. Both Rooney Mara and Jude Law were fantastic though.

[vrailaine]

Absolutely no way it's his last proper film, I'd say. Seems like the guy was just getting tired, could be the kind of self-imposed barrier to ensure he comes back with something pretty brilliant.
I bet he'll almost immediately be making documentaries though, before completely going back on his word.

Think I've seen more films by Steven Soderbergh than any other director, actually, asides from maybe Woody Allen and Kieslowski (counting Dekalog as ten films).
sex lies and videotape, King of the Hill (personal favourite), Schizopolis, Out of Sight, the Limey, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, the Informant, And Everything is Going Fine and Magic Mike. Will almost certainly see this, Haywire, Kafka and one of the Oceans films at some point or another too.

[Mini]

It's a strong thriller with lots of twists and turns and a great use of sound. I liked the way it played with your sympathies and kept you guessing. Mara is brilliant and it's the best I've ever seen from Jude Law, who usually irritates me. If it really is Soderbergh's last film then it's a great note on which to leave. Miles better than Contagion anyway.

[Small Man Big Horse]

It's weird with Soderbergh, I really like his early work, Kafka, King of the Hill, Underneath, Out of Sight and The Limey especially, but he considers many of them failures (especially the earlier works) and is only proud of everything from Ocean's 11 onwards, films which have never really done anything for me particularly, and some of them I think are pretty dreadful (The Girlfriend Experience, Ocean's 12).

Funnily enough I am looking forward to his Liberace tv bio-pic, Behind The Curtains, though have concerns it could either be wondrous or a hilarious disaster.

[Noodle Lizard]

I've never seen the appeal in Mr. Soderbergh.  I mean, he makes some okay stuff, but I don't get why he's held quite as highly as he is.  He's about the same as Guy Ritchie to me.

So there.  Have that.

[Ralph Cifaretto]

It's weird with Soderbergh, I really like his early work, Kafka, King of the Hill, Underneath, Out of Sight and The Limey especially, but he considers many of them failures (especially the earlier works) and is only proud of everything from Ocean's 11 onwards, films which have never really done anything for me particularly, and some of them I think are pretty dreadful (The Girlfriend Experience, Ocean's 12).

Huh Huh HUh!

Are you mad? OceaN'S his best film, and gfe is pretty good.

Btw I dont think Out of sight and Limey could really be considerred 'early' work. Unless you broke down each part of his career into 2 periods, a) breaking even and b) making BIG money.

[Sam]

I've never seen the appeal in Mr. Soderbergh.  I mean, he makes some okay stuff, but I don't get why he's held quite as highly as he is.

I think it's that he's very versatile and prolific. He can turn his hand to any genre and if it's a dud, there's another one coming soon. He's knowledgeable about all aspects of film production and understands genre conventions. He makes things intelligently but he also has fun and isn't afraid of being silly or OTT.

He's a jack of all trades who's contributed a lot to cinema and is fairly consistently entertaining and likable. There's something pleasingly old-fashioned about his aesthetic and working methods. It's a refreshing counterpoint to the world of serious 'look at me' auteurs.

[Lord Mandrake]

Traffic is a modern classic whilst the Che films and the Limey are much underlooked. The Oceans films on the other hand are atrocious, sickly jizzy pap.

[phantom_power]

Doesn't he divide his films as pre and post schizopolis. That was his clearing the decks and allowed him to make Out Of Sight, which re-established him after a series of disappointments (commercially if not critically). I think it is these pre-schizopolis films that he is not sure of, or at least thinks he didn't make them as well as he could have

[Pissant]

Dump me in the 'overrated' camp.  Out of Sight was splendid, but I can't remember seeing anything since that comes close to that.  This film, as much of his work, just seemed like a TV movie with money thrown at it.  Everything just feels a bit thin. Woefully miscast for me, too.  I do like the textures he creates in the editing room though.  Modern visuals, sounds, that 'indie' vibe.

Spoiler alert

RE: the bit where Rooney ploughs her car into the wall and only emerged with florrid rosy cheeks for her trouble.  It was obvious (and, alternatively, jarring) that she was wearing her seatbelt because her face wasn't mashed in.  Which made Jude Law look like a right stupid cunt for 'figuring' it out later.  That's not a twist, it's convincing an audience to overlook a glarring misrepresentation and then throwing it back in their face later all for a cheap, (that is, unearned), dramatic thrill.  I do feel bad about wishing Rooney Mara's face was bashed in.

[close]

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Side Effects displayed so much potential with the narrative only to opt for the lamest, cruddiest emotional ransacking possible.

Halfway through it looked like it would involve Jude Law fighting a conspiracy against drug companies and was also saying some interesting stuff about overmedication and financial conflicts of interest, and the morals of using sufferers of depression as guinea pigs. This was all worthy stuff and there was also genuine tension given the unpredictability of the central character.

Then the stupidest, most idiotic shlocky thing happens.

Spoiler alert

The central character who murders her boyfriend whilst sleepwalking as a side effect of her prescription to a new anti-depressant, who we spend an hour of the film watching in a genuinely heartfelt touching and realistic relationship turns out to be IN A LESBIAN CRIMINAL PARTNERSHIP WITH HER ORIGINAL SHRINK.

[close]

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who I rather liked in the 90s film Entrapment displayed virtually zero acting ability beyond staring at

I mean fuck me, this film took the most moronic crappy turning.

You know in TV murder mysteries where we see a montage of all the clues played back at the end for all the morons to go 'Oh yeah didn't spot that', while the clever baddie explains how clever their plan was. This actually happens.

Absolute fucking tosh. I love melodrama with some genuine fun and ham acting- Basic Instinct is riotously entertaining. I enjoyed Zeta-Jones in Entrapment and Zorro where she's best suited. But you can't make something like this which isn't just content to fool you but to emotionally drain you first. FUCK OFF.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

The soundtrack was nice at times but a bit like American Beauty which has a nice motif, there's far far too much of it, like being overfed sweets until you're sick of them.

The directing had some really good shots but it was telling a fundamental piece of rubbish story.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Spoiler alert

And the lesbian kissing between Zeta Jones and the Rooney woman was sexless, tongueless and thoroughly unconvincing.

[close]

[Icehaven]

I went to see this yesterday mainly to stare at Jude Law for 2 hours, had a vague awareness it was about pills, and had presumed the same as someone above, that it was going to be more about the morals/ethics of the drug industry etc rather than

Spoiler alert

a twisty murdery thriller

[close]

. So yeah, it all got pretty ridiculous after

Spoiler alert

she stabbed him

[close]

didn't it? You immediately know then that

Spoiler alert

she's was faking it,

[close]

and I realised it wasn't going to be the kind of film I was expecting at all, and not in a good way. I did think Law was excellent in it though, not just because he's hot, he was well cast I thought, and he's always better when he doesn't try and do an accent. I actually burst out laughing at the bit where Catherine Zeta Jones hits him with her briefcase, that was hilarious, although I have no idea if it was supposed to be.
Actually there's a Guardian interview with Jude Law which I just read, which in the first paragraph refers to the film's '

Spoiler alert

lesbian sub-plot

[close]

', which is surely a huge spoiler, if you read that before seeing the film it'd basically give you a massive clue as to what's really going on.
Anway, I'd have preferred to wait and got it on Lovefilm or something, not really worth shelling out £7 for.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

Or £8.15 (fml)...

Another thing, the bit where Law is presented with photographs by his wife of

Spoiler alert

him supposedly having an affair with the patient

[close]

, was totally unrealistic, there's no way she would storm off without even asking or confronting him about it (especially as the photographs proved nothing), as was

Spoiler alert

everything being hunky dory at the end

[close]

.

Just another example of films these days that pick up an emotional strand when the plot suits it and then abandons it, only to reach some cobbled back together conclusion at the end.

Basically this was shash and should've owned up to being nothing but shash far earlier. At least honest shash is fun, and usually ends up with everyone in sexual relationships on a yacht drinking cocktails as the camera pans out to steel drums.

[Zetetic]

I thought it was enjoyable enough, although I can see that turns heavily on how much you thought the

Spoiler alert

TWIST

[close]

shitted on what came before. It's not helped by the fact that the post-

Spoiler alert

TORRID LESBIAN AFFAIR

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stuff really doesn't hang together very well - it's sufficiently full of holes and unlikely coincidences that it's hard not to wonder if

Spoiler alert

ANOTHER TWIST

[close]

is coming that shows that's all someone's imagination.

[Ralph Cifaretto]

Think I've seen more films by Steven Soderbergh than any other director, actually, asides from maybe Woody Allen and Kieslowski (counting Dekalog as ten films).

Yep, the last 2 weeks of Neighbours happen to be the finest 10 films of 2013 (counting each daily installment as a stand alone film ;) )

Finally got around to seeing this, it was alright. What you can say about recent Soderbergh, they always look beautiful/unique. You could keep going back for them just for that (and I suppose as they're moving images, we should be doing that with every film as the primary reason for watching).

[Ralph Cifaretto]

Side Effects displayed so much potential with the narrative only to opt for the lamest, cruddiest emotional ransacking possible.

Halfway through it looked like it would involve Jude Law fighting a conspiracy against drug companies and was also saying some interesting stuff about overmedication and financial conflicts of interest, and the morals of using sufferers of depression as guinea pigs. This was all worthy stuff and there was also genuine tension given the unpredictability of the central character.

Then the stupidest, most idiotic shlocky thing happens.

Spoiler alert

The central character who murders her boyfriend whilst sleepwalking as a side effect of her prescription to a new anti-depressant, who we spend an hour of the film watching in a genuinely heartfelt touching and realistic relationship turns out to be IN A LESBIAN CRIMINAL PARTNERSHIP WITH HER ORIGINAL SHRINK.

[close]

Catherine Zeta-Jones, who I rather liked in the 90s film Entrapment displayed virtually zero acting ability beyond staring at

I mean fuck me, this film took the most moronic crappy turning.

You know in TV murder mysteries where we see a montage of all the clues played back at the end for all the morons to go 'Oh yeah didn't spot that', while the clever baddie explains how clever their plan was. This actually happens.

Absolute fucking tosh. I love melodrama with some genuine fun and ham acting- Basic Instinct is riotously entertaining. I enjoyed Zeta-Jones in Entrapment and Zorro where she's best suited. But you can't make something like this which isn't just content to fool you but to emotionally drain you first. FUCK OFF.

+1. Note to self: Think about this comment and submit a worthy embellishment to the ideas offered.