Plot: What's it about? I've been a fan of Steven Soderbergh's films since 1989's Sex, Lies and Videotape . His style is unique (or was) and he went more mainstream in the late 90's with movies like Out of Sight , Erin Brockovich and his Oscar-winning Traffic . Of course he's probably best known for the Ocean's trilogy of movies that were both commercially and critically-acclaimed (well, the first one was). Still, I have to admire an Academy Award winning director that stays true to his roots and over the past decade Soderbergh has stayed mainstream, while giving us some independent films like The Girlfriend Experience starring adult film star Sasha Grey. Last fall's Contaigon showed that he still had what it took to make an entertaining movie and with his latest effort, Haywire he's got another female protagonist as the lead. Will it work and can the ensemble cast (which he's known for) pull it off? Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) does things that governments don't want to know about. She's good at what she does, and after a mission to rescue a hostage in Barcelona, she's sent to Dublin. Things don't exactly work out in Dublin and she's then sent fleeing for her life while explaining her story to her "hostage." As is consistent in the world of movie espionage, it seems that no one can be trusted and those who you thought were your friends are actually out to slice your throat. Not fun. Mallory needs to use every bit of her training to outwit and outsmart those, namely Paul (Michael Fassbender). Of course she's got to avoid all of the pratfalls of agents trying to kill her, make it back into the United States, protect her friends and family and the coup d'etat is that she needs to get revenge for those and attempted to betray her to begin with. But...can she? Admittedly, this isn't Steven Soderbergh's greatest film. It's not bad, but it feels like a hybrid of so many other films in which the female lead must overcome enormous odds to achieve the goal. Yes, I'm talking about recent movies like Salt and Columbiana . Maybe those are unfair comparisons, but it's what came to mind. As usual, the supporting cast is filled with a who's who of movie stars including current "it" men Michael Fassbender and Channing Tatum who seem to be in every other movie as of late. The main problem with the movie, and this is consistent with what others have said, is the main star - Gina Carano. Careno isn't the worst actress, but she's clearly no Meryl Streep. There's no denying that she's a very physical actress and evidently she did all of her own stunts. However it's easier to teach a good actress how to do stunts as opposed to vice-versa. If you're in the mood for a good Steven Soderbergh film, I'd advise you to look elsewhere as this one was just too predictable for my taste. Video: How does it look? The 2.40:1 AVC HD image looks great and it does have Soderbergh's signature all over it. For those that have seen Traffic you'll recognize that some of the various sequences seem to have a certain hue associated with them. The scenes in Dublin seem to have a very bluish tint to them, the government has a yellowish tint and those in Barcelona have a very warm feel to them. Soderbergh uses a lot of natural light and hues which give the film a more "realistic" look and feel, but sometimes it seems to drown out some of the definition to some key scenes. As a result this might seem to have a more inconsistent feel to it as opposed to the "artsy" look that I'm sure he was going for. Audio: How does it sound? There are a lot of times when Haywire could have sounded really good, but they weren't taken advantage of. I'm speaking of a shootout in Barcelona, but the sounds were intentionally muffled. This is both good and bad in that it's different, yet it doesn't make full use of the surround sound. Vocals take front and center and though surrounds aren't utilized as much as I'd like, they do kick in at times to give some added ambiance. There's a jazzy score that plays nearly throughout and while interesting at times, it does tend to get a bit old. Soderbergh's films aren't notorious for having "in your face" soundtracks and this is no exception. Supplements: What are the extras? This movie didn't exactly light up the box office and Lionsgate has included a few supplements here, but they're mainly filler. We start off with "The Men of Haywire " in which the supporting cast is focused on. Bill Paxton, Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor, Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum and Michael Fassbender are all spotlighted. Next up is "Gina Carano in Training" which shows the extreme that Carano went through to physically do the part. Impressive, though as noted she might have benefitted from some acting lessons as well.

Plot: What's it about? Scary. Disease is scary when you really think about it. When you think about it, there's not a lot that can be done if an airborne illness will kill one in every 12 people on the face of the planet. With air travel, things aren't localized the way they were back in the days of, say, The Black Plague. No, things can travel and spread. Well, think of it another way. Let's say a friend forwards you a video on Facebook. Let's say you share that video with five of your friends, and they with five of theirs. This is what's called going "viral." Get the picture? While movies like this are fiction, they're based on real-life events. Remember the SARS scare? How about H1N1? The swine flu? None of this stuff is made up nor is it to be taken lightly. As they say in the film ("Contaigon") "...all it took was for the right bat to meet up with the right pig." Mitch (Matt Damon) is expecting his wife (Gwyneth Paltrow) back from a business trip. She's arranged a stopover in Chicago to meet up with an old flame, but by the time she gets home she's deathly ill. There are others all around the world that are experiencing similar problems. Before long the CDC (Center for Disease Control) is involved and actively looking for a cure to this nameless, faceless epidemic. Experts are brought in and taking the lead is Dr. Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne). He, along with a group of other doctors are actively looking for a cure while at the same time trying to remain unaffected themselves. As the days pass, paranoia rises. Streets vacate. Mob mentality starts to take over. Blogger Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) proposes a holistic cure on the internet, while at the same time becoming rich. Will this be another pandemic or will the CDC manage to synthesize a cure in time to save humanity? "Contaigon" is a gripping drama about events that can and have happened. Director Steven Soderbergh has assembled a terrific cast and in much the same vein as "Traffic", we follow the intertwining stories that make up the film. The movie was mis-marketed as somewhat of action thriller and it's simply not that type of movie. Rather it's biding and skillfully-paced. There are other movies of the same genre like "Outbreak" that implore a bit more action, but "Contaigon" literally takes it one day at a time. Soderbergh uses a few familiar faces from the "Ocean's" movies like Matt Damon and Elliott Gould, but thrown in for good measure are Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, John Hawkes and Mario Cotillard. If you're a fan of Steven Soderbergh's films, and I am, this is right up there with the best of them. Video: How does it look? Stunning. Really. Stunning. The 1.78:1 AVC HD transfer is among the best live-action transfers that I've seen and I'd put it right up there with "Avatar" in terms of picture quality. Granted, this isn't nearly as dazzling or as glossed over as "Avatar" but the image is none the less stellar. If there was a bit of grain or any error in the transfer then I missed it. Soderbergh's use of shallow and deep focus gives many of the scenes a very interesting and unique look. And, much like "Traffic" the different storylines seem to implore a different color palette for each. Detail is impressive, with grey hairs on Matt Damon and imperfections on Gwyneth Paltrow's skin being immediately noticeable. This is a new to Blu-ray movie and it shows. This is amazing from beginning to end. Audio: How does it sound? Quite the converse from the reference-quality video is the DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. It took me a few minutes to really discover what was missing and then it hit me...a score! Ok, there is a bit of a score but most of the scenes are entirely dialogue-driven. That said, the audio quality doesn't lend itself to a bad soundtrack. Vocals are deep and rich and penetrate the room with ease. Surrounds are used, but sparingly, the movie itself carries the action rather than the music being a collaborator. Like his previous "Solaris", there's not much else to say with this film in terms of a soundtrack. Supplements: What are the extras? Steven Soderbergh is a bit hit and miss when it comes to supplements on his films. And, unfortunately, "Contaigon" is one of the miss titles. We do get a trio of featurettes: "Contagion: How A Virus Changes The World", "The Reality of Contagion," and "The Contagion Detectives." Each of these sheds a bit of light on the film and some of the production issues as well as focusing on the real-life aspects that inspired the script. There's a digital copy, DVD and a streaming UV copy to boot.

Plot: What's it about? Any movie with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon on board is sure to be a hit or at the very least, cost a lot to make. Granted, this trio has starred in the two previous "Ocean's" movies and in no small part these three have made the ensemble cast look a bit paltry by comparison. That's not to say that the likes of Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Don Cheadle and Andy Garcia didn't make the first two movies work â€“ but if you had to pick a few members of the cast that really stood out above the rest, I think we all know who they'd be. "Ocean's Eleven" started out as a remake of a campy Rat Pack movie of the same name and though it was forty years later, the movie was a commercial and critical success. The movie is now a trilogy, somewhat of a gold star in Hollywood (pardon the pun) and is still as popular as ever. As the numbers go up, so do the number of stars and this go around we get Al Pacino and the ever-so-sultry Ellen Barkin (and we lost Julia Roberts from the cast...thank God)! How does "Ocean's Thirteen" stack up against its predecessors? Rusty (Brad Pitt), Daniel (George Clooney) and the gang are all back up to their old tricks. A new casino is set to open and owner Willy Bank (Al Pacino) has pulled the rug from under Reuben (Elliott Gould) in a casino deal gone wrong. Willy represents all that's wrong with Las Vegas, putting up lavish casinos solely to win the coveted "5 Diamond" seal of approval. By crossing one of the original eleven (Reuben), this prompts Daniel and the gang to seek some revenge. Naturally they need financing and the group faces a series of nearly impossible tasks to make sure that the casino will fail and take down Willy in the process. This time around, there's an artificial intelligence machine that can monitor every gambler in the hotel, new security and about a dozen other things that make this task impossible to pull off. But this is "Ocean's Thirteen" and we know it must and can be done. I have to admit that I love all of the "Ocean's..." movies, though the first was surely the best. I thought the second one was a bit over the top and by this installment, the film is almost a parody of itself â€“ but it's a fun parody of itself. There's something about heist movies that has always intrigues me and short of turning to a life of crime myself, I'll have to live vicariously though the characters in these movies. Once again, Steven Soderbergh is behind the camera and he and longtime pal, George Clooney, are clearly calling the shots here. The cast has amazing chemistry and works well together (a tip of the hat to the film's international success, no doubt) and as I mention again, the loss of Julia Roberts from the cast was the ace in the hole. If you enjoyed the first two "Ocean's" movies then this one delivers more of the same, though it's up in the air as if there'll be an "Ocean's Fourteen". Video: How does it look? Like its predecessors, "Ocean's Thirteen" is presented in a very nice-looking 2.40:1 anamorphic transfer. The glitz and glamour of Las Vegas looks about as good as it can short of being there. Colors are warm, very bright and vivid and Soderbergh uses a nice color palette to really reflect the mood here. Flesh tones seemed warm and natural and short of some minor softness in a few key scenes, I really couldn't find much wrong with this transfer. It's clearly what we expect from Warner with a typical big budget new to DVD movie. Audio: How does it sound? A Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is included and sounds pretty good here. Granted, there isn't a whole lot going on during the middle of the movie, but the jazzy, hip soundtrack sounds pretty good while emanating from the surround channels. Dialogue is reproduced very naturally and sounds true to life and though the majority of the action takes place in the front stage, the end of the film has some unexpected surprises which sounded decidedly good in surround sound. In short, "Ocean's Thirteen" isn't something that you'll use to demo your system with, but you won't be disappointed either. Supplements: What are the extras? Given the success of all three of the films, I'd have expected a bit more in the supplemental department but sadly all we get are a few canned featurettes and the original theatrical trailer.

Steven Soderbergh Archives | Blu-ray Authority

Sex, Lies and Videotape: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2018-07-24T10:27:53-04:00July 24th, 2018|Categories: Blu-Ray, Criterion|Tags: 1989, Criterion, DTS Master, Lies and Videotape: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray), rating-r, Sex, Steven Soderbergh|

A sexually repressed woman's husband is having an affair with her sister. The arrival of a visitor with a rather unusual fetish changes everything.

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Unsane (Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2018-06-08T10:25:26-04:00June 8th, 2018|Categories: 4K, Blu-Ray|Tags: 2018, DTS Master, rating-r, Steven Soderbergh, Unsane (Ultra HD)|

A young woman is involuntarily committed to a mental institution where she is confronted by her greatest fear--but is it real or is it a product of her delusion?

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Logan Lucky (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2017-11-22T12:12:42-04:00November 22nd, 2017|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2017, DTS Master, Logan Lucky (Blu-ray), rating-pg-13, Steven Soderbergh|

Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy (Channing Tatum) and Clyde Logan (Adam Driver) set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

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Behind the Candelabra (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2013-08-29T14:08:09-04:00August 29th, 2013|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2013, Behind the Candelabra (Blu-Ray), DTS Master, rating-r, Steven Soderbergh|

Plot: What's it about? There aren't too many certainties in the world of showbiz, but I'd have

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Haywire (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2012-04-27T08:20:47-04:00April 27th, 2012|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2011, DTS Master, Haywire (Blu-Ray), rating-r, Steven Soderbergh|

Plot: What's it about? I've been a fan of Steven Soderbergh's films since 1989's Sex, Lies and

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Contaigon (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2012-01-29T13:35:05-04:00January 28th, 2012|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2011, Contaigon (Blu-Ray), DTS Master, rating-pg-13, Steven Soderbergh|

Plot: What's it about? Scary. Disease is scary when you really think about it. When you think

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The Informant! (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2012-01-28T16:43:44-04:00January 28th, 2012|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2009, rating-r, Steven Soderbergh, The Informant! (Blu-Ray), truehd|

Plot: What's it about? Steven Soderbergh's movies are ones that I usually find myself watching time and

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The Girlfriend Experience (Blu-ray)

blurayauthority2012-01-28T16:43:32-04:00January 28th, 2012|Categories: Blu-Ray|Tags: 2009, DTS Master, rating-unrated, Steven Soderbergh, The Girlfriend Experience (Blu-Ray)|

Plot: What's it about? Occasionally I get DVD's in the mail that I didn't ask for and

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Ocean’s Thirteen

blurayauthority2012-01-28T16:39:10-04:00January 28th, 2012|Categories: Standard DVD|Tags: 2007, Ocean's Thirteen, rating-pg, Steven Soderbergh|

Plot: What's it about? Any movie with George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon on board is

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Erin Brockovich (HD DVD)

blurayauthority2012-01-28T16:38:48-04:00January 28th, 2012|Categories: HD DVD|Tags: 2000, Erin Brockovich (HD DVD), rating-r, Steven Soderbergh|

Plot: What's it about? Along with being the first movie of the new millennium to gross more

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