Reason Writers at the Movies: Peter Suderman Reviews Contagion in The Washington Times
Writing in The Washington Times, Reason Associate Editor Peter Suderman reviews director Steven Soderbergh's new infectious-disease thriller, Contagion:
"Contagion" ought to come with a warning: Bring a handkerchief. While you're at it, bring a bottle of disinfectant, sterilized gloves, a face mask — and, if theater management will let you, a sealed containment suit too.
You'll certainly want them by the time the movie is over.
Director Steven Soderbergh's latest outing is a globe-spanning horror-thriller designed to do for infectious disease outbreaks what "Jaws" did for sharks. The crucial difference is that avoiding sharks is relatively easy; all you have to do is stay out of the water.
"Contagion" is a subtler film. Like "Traffic," Mr. Soderbergh's Oscar-winning movie about the drug war, it's more of a prismatic procedural and less of an action-filled adventure.
But in its own small way, it is far more fearsome than any cinematic sea monster: How do you avoid an enemy that lurks invisibly on the surface of every coffee mug, credit card, countertop and subway handhold — not to mention the skin and breath of every person, friend or stranger, you encounter?
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MATT DAMON!!!!
You see it’s that intrinsically paternalistic MBA style of thinking.
So Suderman killed Loder?
Note that Suderman’s reviews are located at the Washington Times, and we still get Loder’s here. I think this is the first movie they’ve both reviewed though.
Loder is still reviewing movies for reason! His reviews go up late Thursday night. But I review a movie or two for The Washington Times most weeks, and I’ll be posting links to those reviews here on Friday afternoons.
As we all know, there’s only one solution to this:
THUNDERDOME!!
What the fuck does this have to do with the grand libertarian project? Oh, maybe infectious diseases are another liberal scam to justify state intervention? Did Al Gore fund this movie?
Max….have a cocktail and settle.
It has to do with MAAATTTT DAAAAAMMMMOOOOONNNNNN!!!!!
The lesson is that if teachers got paid more they’d teach kids to wash their hands and save humanity in the process. What would we do without teachers you humanity killers you?
MATT DAMON
i blame overuse of household antibiotic soap & cleaning products which prevents the immune system fm fully protecting folks
I blame the yellow people spreading their germs around the world.
It’s fascinating insights like OO’s that keep me coming back here again and again.
if u dont agree its cause ur fat & live in the burbs
im a giant bag of retarded fuck
^infectous microbe alert^
How do you avoid an enemy that lurks invisibly on the surface of every coffee mug, credit card, countertop and subway handhold ? not to mention the skin and breath of every person, friend or stranger, you encounter?
Teh Internet.
don’t leave the house. Flamethrowers for anyone who gets too close.
I liked Frank Herbert’s The White Plague. I’m not sure every aspect of it is proper for a film, but it always seemed like a good movie plague–crazy, human-tailored virus.
Also, see No Blade of Grass. Has the classic John Christoper “normal people doing terrible things to survive that they’d never have considered doing before” theme.
I’ve never been able to locate a copy of the film.
Huh. I’m on an apocalyptic kick lately, having read Earth Abides and The Road in recent months.
Well, since I was talking about John Christopher anyway, you might want to try this series.
Interesting. I’ll have to check those books out.
I’ve reserved The White Mountains at the library.
Reserve all three; they’re not that long and you’ll read them fast.
There’s a prequel, too. Avoid?
I avoided, since it was written 20 years later. The only author I’ve seen who could still put together good work 20-30 years after their heyday is Richard Matheson (7 Steps to Midnight is pretty good). But that doesn’t mean Christopher can’t.
You should read “The Healing Crystal” interesting stuff.
“No Blade of Grass”
You can tell it was written a while ago. From Wikipedia:
they make their way across an England which is rapidly descending into anarchy,… Picking up a travelling companion in a gun shop owner named Pirrie,
The English youth of today would be puzzled by that.
I just want to know much of the money he got to make this movie do you think MATT DAMON will give to the poor teachers? He’s a multimillionaire and set for life, so surely he doesn’t need the money as much as Mrs. Smith.
And remember, he does it because he loves it, so the money is completely meaningless to him.
In fact, I bet they didn’t even pay him. Once he made his first blockbuster salary and was set for life, from then on it went to teachers and charities.
Teaching children is both the shittiest and most noble profession out there
…
other than working with actual shit. I have endless respect for feces handlers.
You mean parents?
No, he means people like Tony.
Tony ? people?
Despite Teh MATT DAMON, I kind of want to see this. I am sure the movie snobs on here will bring the haterade but I liked Traffic and if this is in the same vein it is probably worth seeing.
Plus, ever since reading The Andromeda Strain as a kid, the disease outbreak thing has always had the ability to freak me out.
Soderbergh is a bore, and has always been, except for Sex, Lies, and Videotape. This should be a bore too.
Enough haterade for you? Remember, Traffic, like so many other Soderbergh films, was a remake of another person’s work.
Fine. Just ruin everything then, you ruiner.
You just think Damon is hot. I understand, I am unsure of Angie Harmon’s politics and her L&O days were often a liberal love fest but I think she is SMOKIN’!
L&O has had an awesome string of ladyfolk.
Dianne Wiest. I hear ya.
Since Jill Hennessy it’s been a slow march down, each new chick a little less good than the one before.
Elizabeth Rohm was terrible.
Cary Lowell, on the other hand, was great.
Stephanie March (SVU)
Oh, I will bring a ton of haterade. I saw a trailer for this, and almost fell asleep, which would’ve tragically ended with me choking on my own vomit.
But faced with a perfect biological killer ? at first they can’t even grow it in a lab because it destroys cells too fast
*tunes out*
Yup.
Never you mind about the science facts, db.
He’s tuning out because the “science” is retarded. If it killed cells that fast, it couldn’t grow in a body either and would never have evolved.
I know that. Just goofing on both Hollywood’s (usually correct) assumption that the audience doesn’t know science and also making a MST3K reference. 🙂
Well, I stand corrected, then. Except for the fact that I guarantee that the movie’s “science” will be retarded.
You’re just the mouthpiece for the patriarchy.
He’s a Kzin?
Wow, Wing Commander totally ripped those books off.
Niven gave away the Kzinti to Star Trek, anyway.
Speaking of Wing Commander, I loved those games, including the related Privateer games. Why no new versions? They were big hits, so it doesn’t quite make sense.
There’s a new game coming out sometime later this year called SOL: Exodus. Supposed to be totally in the tradition of WC and X-Wing, etc. I’m hoping it lives up to the genre’s excellence.
I just heard about that. I sure hope you’re right. Why isn’t space combat a good thing now? Are they saving it up in case we get bored with the fiftieth iteration of Halo?
“How do you avoid an enemy … ”
I doant avoyd mah enemies, I keel dem.
Looks like someone’s put his sights on Loder’s job.
How do you avoid an enemy that lurks invisibly on the surface of every coffee mug, credit card, countertop and subway handhold ? not to mention the skin and breath of every person, friend or stranger, you encounter?
Stephen King should sue these guys for royalties.
Yeah, but then The Simpsons could sue him and where would it all end?
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. And in the world of contagions, the man with the huge accessory spleen – this guy – will rule you all. Yeah, who’s got the birth defect now?
I extend my deepest sympathies.
“Accessory spleens are usually found in the abdomen, though some male patients have had accessory spleens in the area of the testes.”
Read more: What Is an Accessory Spleen?
http://www.ehow.com/about_5554…..z1XUNZKUQb
Is there a corporation behind the contagion?
Only if your mama qualifies as a corporation.
Mama so infected they make her take a bath in Clorox Plus
Mama so full o’ germs she gotta live in a Biohazard can.
Mama so infected she change her name from Phyllis to Syphilis…
Does Ron Paul want to abolish the CDC?
Good Will Coughing
Matt Damon
Contagion
~~~~~~~~~
I agree