Headhunters

If you loved Girl With The Dragon Tattoo then you’ll also want to sit down and see Headhunters… as it’s the best Scandinavian thriller to surface since The Millenium series. Headhunters will have you constantly trying to guess what happens next and to the filmmakers credit this is a film that leaves you asking no questions.

Roger Brown (Aksel Hennie – Age Of Heroes, A Somewhat Gentle Man) suffers from small-man syndrome. He feels due to his lack of height that the only way he can keep his beautiful wife, Diana (Synnove Macody Lund – newcomer) from straying is to buy her love with expensive gifts. However, his wages as a corporate headhunter doesn’t allow for this so he moonlights as an art thief that has all the local Police scratching their heads.

Then enters Clas Greve (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Blackthorn, At World’s End) a business mogul, who is paying far too much attention to Diana and has an extremely rare art piece in his collection. He is obvious target for Roger but is it wise to steal from a man who is a creator of GPS technology and is trained by the army to find people?

When the team of screenwriters handed director, Morten Tyldum (Fallen Angels, Buddy) the script for Headhunters he must have been licking his lips, because after just one read he would have been able to tell that he was now at the helm of the best suspense-thrillers to surface in a long time.

Headhunters delivers the best of two worlds. The script is calculating and suspenseful and it’s violence doesn’t hold back. There are no ‘nice’ guys here, everybody is willing to kill to get what they want and Tyldum doesn’t hold back from showing graphic ‘after-scenes’ of a car accident or even the odd head-shot.

The script never allows for the audience to get too comfortable. You can never predict what will happen next, and for most of the film you can’t even work out who is friend or foe. Also outstanding is the fact that the writers make Roger such a hero when you already know that he is a adulterous art thief who will lie to get whatever he wants or needs.

Headhunters also showcases two of Scandinavia’s best actors to the world. Aksel Hennie and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are both sensational and either could slot into Hollywood with ease. Synnove Macody Lund can also hold her head up high. She debuts in this film and with her looks and talent I’m sure you will have producers lining up at her door to get her into their films.

This is one terrific thriller that fans of the genre shouldn’t miss. Truly stunning, Headhunters is a film that you will be telling your friends to go and see.

Year: 2012

Director: Morten Tyldum

Stars: Aksel Hennie, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Synnove Macody Lund

Classification: MA15+

Runtime: 100 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


The Grey

If you didn’t enjoy slow moving films such as Van Diemen’s Land then you’re certainly not going to enjoy The Grey. With something spectacular cinematography making this a must see The Grey is very much man versus nature and you can’t help but wonder whether or not Bear Grylls would survive this one.

Ottway (Liam Neeson – Unknown, The Next Three Days) is a troubled man. Haunted by his past he flirts with suicide as he works as a hunter at an icy oil drilling field. However his life becomes a fight for survival when he is involved in a plane crash with his colleagues. And while some (like the easy-going Hendrick (Dallas Roberts – The Factory, The River Why) are only too happy to put Ottway in charge, others like Diaz (Frank Grillo – Lay The Favorite, Warrior) see it as a power-struggle they are desperate to win even if it means they are putting their lives at risk due to the pack of wolves that don’t like the men in their territory.

The Grey is certainly an up-and-down kind of film. While the screenplay and the work of director, Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces) make this a film that will stick your mind it is sadly let down by some dodgy special effects, namely the wolves that look as realistic as the kid playing playing The Big Bad Wolf in your local Primary School production. It makes you shake your head at how a group of filmmakers who create such a realistic plane crash miss the mark so wide with the wolves… at the end of the end of the day the suspense of the script is seriously undermined by something so trivial.

Still, as I mentioned earlier the script does work and there is certainly no way you can ever predict who is going to live or die. Characters are taken when you least expect it (yes you will jump more than a few times during the film) meaning at times the film almost borders on becoming a horror… but you know what? That actually makes it even more thrilling to watch.

The big winner with The Grey though is Liam Neeson who once again puts in a brilliant performance and only cements him as to why he is one of the finest actors of our generation. This film could yet generate some awards for him.

If you get past how fake the wolves look The Grey is actually a pretty decent suspense film that takes it’s audience on one hell (only colder) of a ride.

 Year: 2012

Director: Joe Carnahan

Stars: Liam Neeson, Dallas Roberts, Frank Grillo

Classification: CTC

Runtime: 117 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

I’m not normally someone who likes an US remake of a foreign film, I’m also believe that if ‘something ain’t broke don’t try to fix it’. And considering how much I loved the Danish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo I was pretty sure I would be disappointed by the U.S. remake. But boy-oh-boy did Mr. Fincher make me eat my words. About the time that Fincher’s version of the title credits kicked in, like a blow to the head thanks to Trent Reznor’s kicking film score, I knew that despite it being a remake it was going to be something really special.

For those who haven’t seen the original film The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is based on the hit series of novels from author Stig Larsson. It picks up with renowned journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig – The Adventures Of Tintin, Cowboys & Aliens) having just been successfully sued after he made unfounded accusations against a leading business man. In a bid to lie low Blomkvist takes a job offered to him by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer – Priest, Beginners) a retired businessman who believes that one of his family members is responsible for the murder of his grand-daughter almost 40 years earlier. Blomkvist is joined on the case by Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara – The Social Network, A Nightmare On Elm Street) a young computer hacker with personal problems of her own.

Director, David Fincher (The Social Network, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) provided to be the right person for the job when it came to being at the helm of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. Fincher goes back to his previous work of films like Zodiac and Se7en and brings a real morbid and dark feel to the feel. He handles the suspense really well and while at times the original film felt cluttered (because of the amount of characters) Fincher never allows his version to follow suite.

To his credit he never actually allows the audience to become confused at all. The original became a little confusing and bogged down when Lisbeth is investigating the murders of the other girls but Fincher sets it out for all to see in a clear and basic way. And I know that I have already mentioned it but the opening credits are an absolute standout and something that Fincher and Reznor deserve to be credited for.

The person who was likely to cop the most criticism for this film was Rooney Mara. With Noomi Rapace doing such a fine job in the role of Lisbeth Salander in the original you just knew that poor Mara was always going to be compared to her. And while I mean no disrespect to Rapace some aspects of Mara’s Salander are actually better, she certainly portrays the socially awkward parts of Salander’s character a lot better… and she is helped with some great one liners. Together with Daniel Craig, Mara has some genuine chemistry and despite many who feared it (including Craig himself) you never ever feel like you are watching a Bond film just because he is it.

The Danish version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was a masterpiece and I have to admit that the U.S. remake matches that. Some of the scenes will be confronting for some but this has to be one of the best thrillers ever made.

Year: 2011

Director: David Fincher

Stars: Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer

Classification: MA15+

Runtime: 158 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


Shark Night 3D

Okay, anyone heading into the cinema to see Shark Night 3D is going to know that you aren’t going to see a brilliant film, the only real question to ask is would it stand up as a horror film? Am I right horror films? Well, Shark Night 3D may have some dodgy moments but for the most part stands up.

The story is simple enough. A great of college students, led by Sara (Sara Paxton – New Year’s Eve, Enter Nowhere) head of to a lake in the Louisiana Gulf for a break. And while students such as Nick (Dustin Milligan – The Entitled, Sisters & Brothers) sees it as a chance to spend some time with his friends and as a chance to score with Sara, any plans he has are shattered when the group of friends discover that the lake is infested by sharks. Even worse is the fact that it seems the only people that can help them are the creepy Dennis (Chris Carmack – Alpha & Omega, Deadly Honeymoon) and Red (Joshua Leonard – Higher Ground, The Lie).

It is shame that Shark Night 3D’s script is all over the place. While at time it follows the Hollywood clichéd horror film at other times it feels like it is trying to make a statement, especially about reality TV. In the film’s credit it does actually toss up a couple of twists that you don’t see coming as well. Director, David R. Ellis (The Final Destination, Asylum) does the best he can with a film that needed a much larger budget, it is obvious the sharks aren’t real and it’s almost laughable at times to see the actors wrestling with big rubber objects that are meant to be sharks. To his credit though Ellis battles on and while using the stock-standard underwater shots that have been around since Jaws he does let the film set a good pace.

There is one thing I would love to question Mr. Ellis about though. Why on earth does he allow some really stupid looking music montage parts slip through in the film, eg. When the girls are changing, it just looks totally ridiculous. However, even worse is the music-video at the end of the film (after the credits)… the song is crap and the whole sequence does nothing but cheapen the film and make it look like the work of a film student… a bad one at that.

As usual in a teenage horror film the acting is fairly stock standard, however both Dustin Milligan and Chris Carmack do use it is a vehicle to show that they have the looks (and perhaps the ability) to do bigger and better things.

There are a few laughable moments in Shark Night 3D but if you love cheesy slasher-like horrors you’ll be in your element with a film that follows all the simple horror templates but still manages to surprise from time-to-time. Only if you’re really into horror.

Year: 2011

Director: David R. Ellis

Stars: Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Joshua Leonard

Classification: M

Runtime: 90 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


X

Back in 2008 director, Jon Hewitt (Acolytes, Darklovestory) blew me away with his film Acolytes, I film I still believe one of the finest films ever made in Australia. Now he has blown me away again with a film that is low-budget filmmaking at its very best. X may not be a film that everyone can stomach but if you love gritty thrillers that are brilliantly written then this is the film for you.

Holly Rowe (Viva Bianca – Panic At Rock Island, TV’S Spartacus: Blood And Sand) is a call-girl who started her career in Sydney’s seedy Kings Cross over ten years ago. She has made her way from the streets and become a high-class hooker, now tonight is her last night on the job, then she is retiring and taking off to Paris. Then there is Shay Ryan (Hanna Mangan Lawrence – Thirst, TV’S Bed Of Roses), a young country girl who has been forced to come to the Cross and prostitute herself to make a living. Through fate the two girls meet and take on a job together, however while on that job they see something they shouldn’t see and suddenly both women find that their lives are at risk.

Hewitt brings amazing realism to this film with the use of his traditional style of filmmaking and the fact that he had the guts to shoot most of it guerilla style. Some will pick similar themes to his film Redball, however X is a much better film and deserves all the praise it can muster.

Much of X working so well can be accredited to the fact that Hewitt and wife Belinda McClory (Darklovestory) have written a brilliant script. Not only does it contain three-dimensional characters that you really care about but they have not forgotten that a good thriller needs suspense. There are moments in this film where the fact that Holly and Shay’s lives are at risk has you on the edge of your seat. And because Hewitt doesn’t bow to popular filmmaking rules you simply never know what it is going to happen next… and that’s the way a film (especially a thriller) should be.

The two leads, Hanna Mangan Lawrence and Viva Bianca put in the performances of their lives. I have been a firm believer for a long time now that Lawrence is one of the finest young actresses that Australia has to offer and her performance in X only enhances that belief. She puts in a brilliant performance that is worthy of award nominations, and hopefully this is the role that will show Hollywood what she has to offer. She is well supported by Viva Bianca who also puts in a credible performance and announces herself to Aussie producers.

X is gritty and confronting but is proof that Australians can make brilliant films. This is a sensational thriller that takes the audience on a journey with the characters at hand. If you’re a fan of suspense don’t miss this film.

Year: 2011

Director: Jon Hewitt

Stars: Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Viva Bianca

Classification: TBC

Runtime: 85 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


Attack The Block

Just when you say ‘they aren’t making any original movies anymore’ along comes a film that makes you eat your words. Sure alien invasion movies have been done before but Attack The Block is so original that it will truly shock you… not in the frightening sense but in the sense that somewhere out there a screenwriter actually had an original idea instead of simply just remaking something done years earlier.

Sam (Jodie Whittaker – A Thousand Kisses Deep, One Day) is a nurse who lives in a rough area of South London. Actually, she lives in a council building know as The Block. Technically, The Block is ‘run’ by gangster, Hi-Hatz (Jumayn Hunter – TV’S Vexed & The Bill) and drug dealer, Ron (Nick Frost – Paul, The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn). Sam’s day is changed for the worst when she is mugged by Moses (John Boyega – TV’S Da Brick & Law & Order: UK) and his group of ‘thugs’ who are quickly putting fear into The Block. However, when an alien invasion begins during Sam’s mugging the tough-man Moses quickly ‘wastes’ the first alien, only to then see big and meaner aliens arrive… something the residents of The Block aren’t going to stand for.

Writer/Director, Joe Cornish (TV’S Blunder & The Adam And Joe Show) really is a breath of fresh air. See he hasn’t just created another violent alien invasion film with Attack The Block. Sure there are lots of full-on fight scenes but there is also heart and soul with this film. He tackles some pretty serious topics with the film, including why teenagers end up in gangs like this and brilliant ‘can she forgive him’ storyline between Moses and Sam. The fact that Moses mugs an innocent woman at the start of the film and by the end you are supposed to see him as a hero had failure written all over it… but such is the power of Cornish’s writing that he does it with ease. Unlike most films in this genre Cornish makes sure all his characters are truly three dimensional, he even remembers to include character development. Cornish is a brilliant filmmaker who I can’t wait to see more from.

Cornish also doesn’t rest the laurels of the film on big name actors either. Sure, Nick Frost gets top billing but he really doesn’t have that large part in the film. No the true stars here are the teens and they all do a sensational job. However, the real standout is John Boyega who not only pulls of the action scenes sensational well but when it comes to drama he shows that he should be considered one of the finest young character actors going around. Jodie Whittaker also deserves a mention for her fine performance as well.

Attack The Block doesn’t look like the kind of film that a critic would be raving about, but seriously I can’t recommend this film enough. It just goes to show that you can’t tell by the packaging how good the present will be. This ends up being a creative film with some good acting, a great suspenseful storyline and enough action to keep anyone happy. One of the biggest surprises of this year, Attack The Block is a breath of fresh air.

Year: 2011

Director: Joe Cornish

Stars: Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Jumayn Hunter

Classification: TBC

Runtime: 88 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


Paranormal Activty 3

Normally as a series of horror films goes on the films get worse and worse. The same can’t be said for Paranormal Activity 3. For the most part the film is equal to (and in some ways better than) it’s predecessors but then everything is gone and ruined by an ending that you can only hope is going to be wrapped up in another film… either that or there are some filmmakers out there that deserve to be as dead as some of the victims they have created over the years.

Paranormal Activity 3 is a prequel to the first two movies. This time around we see Young Katie (Chloe Csengery – TV’S Chase & Parenthood) and Young Kristi Rey (Jessica Tyler Brown – I Do, TV’S Hawthorne) who live with their mother, Julie (Lauren Bittner – Subject: I Love You, Worn) and her filmmaker boyfriend, Dennis (Christopher Nicholas Smith – Another Psycho, TV’S The Office: U.S. Version). When Kristi Rey befriends an entity in the house weird things start happening and while Dennis and his co-worker, Randy (Dustin Ingram – TV’S Glee & Zeke And Luther) believe that something supernatural is happening Julie chooses not to believe it until soon the whole family are in danger.

Directors, Henry Joost (NY Export: Opus Jazz, Catfish) and Ariel Schulman (Catfish, Jerry Ruis, Shall We Do This?) do a great job maintaining suspense throughout the film. There are times that you find yourself waiting for something to happen and you can actually feel your heart almost beating its away out of your chest. And then when something does happen it’s ‘believable’ enough for you to think it could really happen. Thank goodness also for the fact that Joost and Schulman decided to forgot that whole ‘this really happened’ crap that the first two films went for… we knew they were actors so just admit it. However, Paranomal Activity 3 falls apart at the end with an ending so stupidly weak you want to throw rubbish at the screen and rocks at screenwriter, Christopher B. Landon (Paranormal Activity 2, Burning Palms).

Acting wise the two kids are sensational and obviously have big futures ahead of them but it is Jessica Lauren Bittner and Christopher Nicholas Smith that really show some class. Their performances are natural enough to make you think that you are watching a docco and they are two that really do deserve some more acting work to come their way. If any good at all is to come out of this film it’s the fact that these two put in performances that wipe the floor with the cast of the first two Paranormal Activity films.

It’s disappointing that Paranormal Activity 3 falls apart with an ordinary ending because for the most part it is a good horror film that maintains suspense throughout. Despite it’s woeful ending Paranormal Activity 3 is still a lot better than the other films in the series.

Year: 2011

Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman

Stars: Lauren Bittner, Christopher Nicholas Smith, Chloe Csengery, Jessica Tyler Brown, Dustin Ingram

Classification: M

Runtime: 84 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark

I’m not sure this has ever happened to me before during a film. I was loving Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark right up until the last scene. Sure the film has ‘borrowed’ heavily from films such as Critters and Gremlins but it had me engrossed right up until the final scene when one of the characters did something that was completely unforgivable in my books.

Young Sally (Bailee Madison – Just Go With It, 25 Hill) isn’t very happy at all. She has been completely shafted by her father and forced to go live with her estranged father, Alex (Guy Pearce – Justice, 33 Postcards) who is now in a relationship with the sickly, sweet, Kim (Katie Holmes – Jack And Jill, The Son Of No One)… someone whom she is actually a lot like. Worse, still Kim and Alex are currently in the middle of renovating a mansion formerly owned by Blackwood (Garry McDonald – Burning Man, A Model Daughter: The Killing Of Caroline Byrne), a famous painter whom mysteriously disappeared. The mystery grows deeper when weird things start happening and Sally starts hearing voices. Alex doesn’t believe her stories but with dire warnings from the strange, Harris (Jack Thompson – Mao’s Last Dancer, Australia) soon he just has to accept that something isn’t right.

For the most part director, Troy Nixey (Latchkey’s Lament) helps Guillermo del Toro (who co-wrote the script) regain his credibility with Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. Early on the film takes on the tone of a good horror, the creatures are mysterious and at time quite terrifying (to those not used to horror) and because the characters of Alex, Sally and Kim are nice, believable and down-to-earth you don’t want to see anything particular nasty happen to them. But a poorly made ending (not sure whether you could blame the screenwriters or a director that should have known better) the film becomes a let down. The final scene sees one of the characters do something completely out of character and while I’m sure the filmmakers would argue it adds to the mystery of the film all it really does it cause frustration for the audience.

The real winner, acting-wise, is Bailee Madison. While both Guy Pearce and Katie Holmes are credible in their roles it is young Madison who shows some real talent. Group this with her performance alongside Adam Sandler in Just Go With It and it is not hard to see that you are witnessing one of the finest child actors that Hollywood has to offer at the moment. Madison certainly has a big career ahead of her.

For the most part Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark is a good horror with just enough suspense to keep you on the edge of your seat, but I just know that a lot of people are going to be thoroughly disappointed with the ending. Well worth a look but remember I warned you about the ending.

Year: 2011

Director: Troy Nixey

Stars: Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison, Garry McDonald, Jack Thompson

Classification: M

Runtime: 95 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


The Skin I Live In

Twenty minutes into The Skin I Live In I started to think I had sat down in a poor man’s version of A Clockwork Orange. A strange guy dressed in a tiger suit was doing weird (and violent) things on the screen and I was starting to wish I had taken the day off. But then everything changed, the film changed in such a way that it now sits on my list of one of the most confronting films I have ever seen. Mind you I loved it but gee it gave me the jeeper creepers, but to be fair I won’t spoil any of the twists for you.

In fact all I will say about the storyline is – there is a brilliant surgeon, Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas – Puss In Boots, Spy Kids 4) who is haunted by the death of his wife, Gal and his daughter, Norma (Blanca Suarez – TV’S El Barco & The Boarding School). Together, with his house maid, Marilia (Marisa Paredes – Les Yeaux de sa Mara, Gigola) he keeps a young woman named Vera Cruz (Elena Anaya – Point Blank, Room In Rome) prisoner in their mansion.

Director, Pedro Almodovar (Broken Embraces, Volver) really has created one twisted thriller with The Skin I Live In, in fact you get the feeling that Alfred Hitchcock would be impressed… okay maybe a little shocked… but certainly impressed. Almodovar is a smart filmmaker; he knows that elements of this film are going to find this film disturbing and a little hard to watch, so he smartly doesn’t hold back but makes the scenes bearable to watch. It almost seems like Almodovar has made a choice to make the more graphic scenes the most beautiful to watch. At times you feel the filmmaking is a little lazy, but soon you realise that this is the only way to tell the story and to do the twists any justice at all… it is also the only way to keep the audience in genuine suspense without making Hollywood’s mistake of reveling things too soon. And you certainly can’t fault Almodovar for the storyline. It is original and a story that you will instantly become engraved into your mind… there will be no forgetting this one anytime soon.

The Skin I Live In also reminds you just how good of an actor Antonio Banderas really is. For years he has been hidden away behind an animated cat, but here he puts in a performance as equally disturbing for the audience as Sir Anthony Hopkins was in The Silence Of The Lambs. Banderas certainly becomes one of the silver screens most horrendous villains in the role of Robert Ledgard… I still shiver just thinking about it. He is also well supported by Elena Anaya whom you feel may be getting some calls soon from Hollywood… he beauty and brilliant acting skills are a rarity these days.

The Skin I Live In is certainly one of the most twisted films to hit the cinemas this year. This is a film that you will remember for a long, long time to come. The Skin I Live In is destined to not only become a cult classic but be regarded as one of the best thrillers ever made.

Year: 2011

Director: Pedro Almodovar

Stars: Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, Marisa Paredes, Blanca Suarez

Classification: TBC

Runtime: 117 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths


Contagion

One bright spark decided to class Contagion as a science fiction film… nothing could be further from the truth. The storyline of Contagion has happened in world history before and if you listen to the experts is likely to happen together. Rather than a sci-fi this film is a stunning thriller that captures human nature in a way most films can only dream of.

When Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow – Country Strong, Iron Man 2) returns from a business trip to Asia with the flu nobody bats an eyelid, yet only a couple of days later her husband, Mitch (Matt Damon – Margaret, The Adjustment Bureau) is stunned when she dies. With the virus she contracted spreading like wildfire across the world soon experts such as Dr. Ellis Cheaver (Laurence Fishburne – Thurgood, TV’S C.S.I.), Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard – Midnight In Paris, Little White Lies) and Dr. Erin Mears (Kate Winslet – Carnage, TV’S Mildred Pierce) spring to action around the globe in a bid to contain the virus and find a cure for it. Meanwhile, web journalist, Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law – 360, The Boy In The Oak) keeps all the experts on their toe as he seems to always be one step ahead of them.

With any other director at the helm Contagion would turn into a huge production full of special effects and car chases but with the brilliant, Steven Sodebergh (The Last Time I Saw Michael Gregg, Haywire) at the helm the film becomes a serious thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat because of the fact that it seems so realistic it feels as if your are watching a docco. Credit must also be paid to screenwriter, Scott Z. Burns (Notes On Lying, The Informant!) whose terrific script leaves the audience with characters that they care about… this adds to the suspense as you don’t want to see one of your faves succumb to the virus. Part of the films realism must also be credited to Burns who has obviously put in the hours researching what would happen in the event of a crisis such as this.

Contagion also benefits from having a stellar cast. As you would expect the likes of Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet (great to see her back on the big screen after yet another lay-off) are at the top of their game, while the support cast of Elliott Gould (Dorfman, The Encore Of Tony Duran), Bryan Cranston (Larry Crowne, Drive) and Enrico Colantoni (Servitude, TV’S Flashpoint) get a chance to remind Hollywood of their skills. However, the standout is Jude Law who puts in one of the finest performances of his career and it is obvious that he enjoyed playing a character that only raises more questions in the films plot… at times Law is almost unrecognizable.

This goes to close to be the perfect Hollywood thriller. With a terrific cast and amazing script Contagion was always going to be a winner but with the genius known as Steven Soderbergh at the helm it has an edge that makes a film that is a must see.

Year: 2011

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Stars: Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Jude Law

Classification: M

Runtime: 106 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths