Film's Effects on Audience May Vary: Our Review of "Side Effects" (2013)

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike) 

Starring: Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Rating: R for sexuality, nudity, violence and language

Run Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes

Synopsis: Emily Taylor (Mara) has battled depression ever since her husband, Martin (Tatum), went to prison for insider trading. Martin is finally released from prison and Emily attempts suicide, which gets her sent to Dr. Jonathan Banks (Law) who prescribes her a new drug called Ablixa. When Emily has a terrible reaction to the drug, it throws everyone's lives up in the air.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Last night Sarah and I saw Steven Soderbergh’s latest (and last?) film, one that came out this past Friday, called Side Effects starring Rooney Mara, Jude Law, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Channing Tatum. It’s a movie that we didn’t really know a whole lot about going in to it. We’d seen the ads and trailer, we knew it was about pharmaceuticals and turns into a thriller of sorts, but other than that we didn’t know a whole lot about it going in.

Sarah, what did you think about Side Effects going in to it, and what do you think of it now that we’ve seen it?

Sarah: Well I expected it to be more of a traditional thriller I think, but one that felt like a Soderbergh film, if that makes sense. I was kind of apprehensive about it because I was thinking the trailer actually made it look more like Mara’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, one that was suspenseful like that.

But I actually didn’t like this one. You know, Soderbergh’s fingerprints are definitely all over this movie, with his stylistic choices and his characters, but…the actual storyline didn’t really do much for me.

Dreamworks' Latest Animated Film Is Sure To Be a Holiday Hit: Our Review of "Rise of the Guardians" (2012)

Directed By: Peter Ramsey 

Starring: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Jude Law, Isla Fisher

Rating: PG for thematic elements and some mildly scary action

Run Time: 1 hour, 37 minutes

Synopsis: A magical and secret group called The Guardians of Childhood - comprised of Santa Claus (Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Fisher) and the Sandman - protect the hopes and dreams of children worldwide. Through their classic duties (i.e. delivering Christmas gifts, Easter eggs, leaving gifts for lost teeth) they must maintain children's belief in them in order to protect them.  But when an ancient evil named Pitch (Law) rises from the darkness and threatens the Guardians' very existence, they must reach out to the lonely and misunderstood Jack Frost (Pine) to join them in their cause.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Sarah and I were able to catch an advance showing of this holiday season’s newest animated film, Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians, based on William Joyce’s “The Guardians of Childhood” book series. In a neat spin on some classic childhood characters, the film’s protagonists – The Guardians, if you will – are Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and their newest member, Jack Frost.

Sarah: And here they’re all called something different: Santa Claus is just called North, the Easter Bunny is E. Astor Bunnymund, the Tooth Fairy is simply Tooth and the Sandman is called Sandy.

A: Correct. And what the Guardians do, essentially, is protect children’s wishes, hopes, dreams, etc. and try their best to bring joy to kids around the world. They strive to continually ensure that children "believe" in them, because it's only through strong belief do they truly exist, and only when they exist can they defend the children against evil forces that may threaten them, particularly The Boogeyman…

North (a.k.a. Santa Claus) explains to Jack Frost that every light on their globe is a child who believes in the Guardians' existence, while Tooth, Sandy and Bunnymund watch from the side. It's really a neat idea that's executed quite well.