Contagion: Harum, Scarum, and meaningfully art-house bacteria …

19th January, 2012.

Well …

THAT’S a thing … !

Well …

Actually, it’s possibly several things, including things that actually AREN’T things.

Which is possibly a phrase designed to give a philosopher a headache, I know that …

Let’s get moving on to what I WANT to talk about, shall … ?

»»·««

Yes, let’s … !

Now, I’ve got to admit I’ve had a quiet patch or two, recently, what with one thing and another.

But … ?

Well, the local library being as good as it is with film rentals, you DO get a hankering for something a touch different.

I do, certainly.

Especially after having seen the VERY entertaining Reign of Fire, the other night: I fancied something a touch slower paced, and managed to bag the 2011, Steven Soderbergh film, Contagion.

And, yes, before you ask: Contagion and Reign of Fire are as different as chalk and cheese*.

»»·««

The recent DVD release that is Contagion has a very quiet beginning: as it sees travelling business woman, Beth Emhoff — Gwyneth Paltrow, in what has to be one the SHORTEST appearances she’d made in a film — coming back from a trip to Hong Kong.

And dying — ten minutes into the film — of a mysterious virus she’s picked up, whilst travelling.

Which is the where Soderbergh’s ensemble cast takes: with various researchers — from the Centre for Disease Control in the US and the World Health Organisation — struggling to both trace the virus to its source, AND to come up with a vaccine.

»»·««

Now … ?

Am I impressed/grabbed/blown awayº … ?

Hmmm …

I’m not sure I could say as much: especially as I found Reign of Fire a touch pacier, and more entertaining.

However … ?

Contagion is a much more thoughtful kind of movie: and one that’s riveting in it’s very quiet understatement of world disaster.

Here …

I’ll leave you to think this over, shall I … ?

Contagion

★★★☆

* I sort of like the idea of avoiding cliques, when it’s possible. Sometimes, though … ? Sometimes, when you’re rooting through the toolbox of communication, an old fashioned hammer and nails are your best bets. And yes … these are two very different films …

º Why IS there only one word for Thesaurus^ … ? Nina … ? Debbi … ? Trevor … ?

^ More the point, why IS ‘dyslexia’ so hard to spell … ? And WHY, when you’re not sure of a word’s spelling, do you look in a dictionary: a book that relies on you knowing how to spell the word you don’t how to spell … in order to check on the spelling …
Mad … ?
 We WILL be, in next week’s exciting episode …!