Contagion (2011) ****

Steven Soderbergh's pandemic movie from 2011 may be way too on-the-nose for our current situation, but everyone seems to be streaming it, so I decided to join the herd.

When a mysterious, new respiratory virus spreads across the globe, an ensemble cast works to decode the virus, contain its spread with social distancing and quarantines, and develop a vaccine. Meanwhile, civil disorder takes hold, as the economy crashes, people get hungry, and looters loot.

Soderbergh does a pretty good job here mixing the macro and the micro. As scientists across the globe collaborate to develop a vaccine, we also get invested in individual stories, like Matt Damon's widowed dad, trying to keep himself and his daughter safe in a quarantine zone. Excellent performances also come from Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, and Marion Cotillard, to name a few. Laurence Fishburne plays the same Laurence Fishburne character he plays in every movie. (The guy has a deep voice and an interesting face, but his acting range is more like an acting hot-plate.)

The best thing about “Contagion” is how much it gets the science right. The movie dives deep into epidemiology, public health, and virology. Kate Winslet's character explains the concept of R0 (the average number of people that a person with a given disease will spread it to.) Ehle's character explains the difference between vaccine types and the difficulty of growing viruses in cell cultures. In the future, according to Star Trek, a single general practitioner like Dr. McCoy will be able to whip up a vaccine over a dramatic few days. Here in the Dark Ages, we still have to do it over months, with lots of failed attempts and dead monkeys. “Contagion” shows all that, putting it up there with real-science movies like "The Martian" and "Moon." The film not only promotes science, it also confronts anti-science. Jude Law plays a blogger who enriches himself by promoting a homeopathic cure and criticizing vaccines. There's a great scene where a TV news show interviewing a leading scientist cuts away to give equal time to Law's character, who isn't a scientist or even a serious journalist.

All of which is to say that watching “Contagion” is just like watching real life right now, but with better-looking people. You might think that all that scientific explanation, and the lack of car chases or a romance, make this a dry, difficult film to watch. You couldn't be more wrong. Steven Soderbergh has created here a truly gripping story that will have you on the edge of your seat. If you have exhausted all your escapist entertainment options and are ready to truly embrace this pandemic, then check it out. But wash your hands first!

4 stars out of 5

Rosemary's Baby (1968) ****

I must be the last person in the Free World to see this movie. Somehow, even after catching up on other classic horror films, like “The Omen” and “The Exorcist,” I had managed to skip this one. I'm glad I finally corrected that.

Mia Farrow plays Rosemary, who moves into a New York apartment with her struggling-actor husband, Guy. Like all old buildings, the place has its quirks, including being able to clearly hear the elderly couple next door through the bedroom wall. The sounds are mostly just bickering over silly things, but occasionally Rosemary and Guy seem to hear what sounds like chanting and music through the wall. More intriguing are the stories their old friend, Hutch, tells them about the building's history, including tales of murder, cannibalism, and witchcraft.

Meanwhile, Guy really hits it off with the elderly neighbors. Minnie (Ruth Gordon) and Roman seem harmless enough, but Minnie is very nosy, constantly swinging over to visit. It's unclear why Guy likes them so much, but he is also distracted around that time by his acting career, which really starts taking off. Rosemary's loneliness is briefly mitigated by becoming pregnant, but she has growing feelings of unease about her neighbors, their friends, and even Guy, eventually coming to believe that they are all witches, who are grooming her to steal her baby. As she becomes increasingly unhinged, we have to figure out whether the threat is real, or she is just losing her mind.

Adapted by Roman Polanski from Ira Levin's novel, “Rosemary's Baby” is a classic of psychological horror. The film is terrifying without ever showing us a single be-heading or stabbing. It's all about what is going on in the characters' minds. What struck me most about the film is the banality of the horrors: an inattentive husband, a dismissive doctor, nosy neighbors, and feelings during pregnancy of isolation and losing control. These will be familiar to many women. For Rosemary, having a baby is a dream that turns into a nightmare, but let's face it, it's no picnic for any woman.

4 stars out of 5

One Man, Two Guvnors (2011, streaming 2020) *****

If you're a fan of live theater, you may be aware that the British National Theatre allows live broadcasts of some of their productions to be screened in movie theaters. Now with both movie theaters and live theaters closed for the coronavirus pandemic, they are making recorded productions available for streaming at home. They are kicking off National Theatre At Home with an absolute gem, “One Man, Two Guvnors,” starring James Corden.

Corden plays Francis Henshall, an out-of-work musician who takes work as assistant to small-time crook Roscoe Crabbe. Seeing a chance to earn an extra meal ticket, Francis signs on for a second job as assistant to another man. All he has to do is serve both masters without letting either find out about the other. Complicating matters is that his first boss is actually Roscoe's twin sister, Rachel, in disguise. Roscoe is dead, and Rachel is in town to collect a dowry from the father of Roscoe's fiance, then skip town with Rachel's boyfriend, Stanley, who killed Roscoe and who happens to be Francis's other boss, although no one involved is aware of that. Roscoe's fiance, meanwhile, is in love with an actor. Francis has to navigate all this while pursuing his own love interest, as well as a meal. Ya got all that?

The story will seem very familiar to fans of Shakespeare's comedies. It's full of madcap misunderstandings, bawdy humor, and, of course, everyone has to get married in the end. If it all seems very old-fashioned, it's because it's based on an 18th-century play by Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni.

James Corden is an absolute delight. I'm a big fan of his from the show “Gavin & Stacey,” and he is in perfect form here. Corden benefits from two inarguable facts: 1) Every line is funnier when it's in a foreign accent, and 2) Every action is funnier when performed by a fat man. Corden doesn't just rest on his bulky, British laurels, however. He's a genuinely funny, charismatic actor.

Now, I somehow came into this with the idea that it was a one-man show. Imagine my confusion when the play started out with a stage full of actors I didn't recognize. (Corden doesn't appear until about ten minutes in.) Fortunately, the supporting cast is excellent, especially Oliver Chris as Stanley and Suzie Toase as Dolly, who re-defines good posture.

This is one that's worth seeking out. It won a load of Tonys and it's an utter joy. It is, however, very British. Between the accents, the slang, and the rapid fire delivery, it can be hard to follow. (Also reminiscent of Shakespeare.) If you just relax and go with it, though, everything becomes clear. This is only playing free on Youtube for a few days. After that, I don't know if it becomes unavailable, or subscription only. Don't take any chances. Do yourself a favor and search for it now!

5 stars out of 5

Blinded by the Light (2019) **

There comes a time in everyone's life when they start to become their own person, not just a child of their parents. This transition is often bumpy and contentious, and in Western countries it is usually connected to music. When that switch gets flipped, and an adolescent starts viewing their life, their family, and their world through newly critical eyes, there's usually a soundtrack. For Sarfraz Manzoor, that soundtrack was the music of Bruce Springsteen. Manzoor isn't an obvious choice for the Boss's number one fan. A Muslim Pakistani-Brit, Manzoor grew up in a strict, Pakistani family, in an industrial town, the son of a factory worker, in an England that would never let them forget that they weren't really English. All of which, of course, explains why Springsteen's music was so attractive to him, fueling his ambition to become a writer.

Manzoor eventually told his story in the book Greetings from Bury Park, and “Blinded by the Light” is an independent film based on it, directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham). It's an upbeat, little story, full of Springsteen songs (Manzoor and the Boss eventually became friends, which enabled them to get the valuable music rights for this low-budget film.) I just wish the movie were a bit better.

Viveik Kalra plays the Manzoor character, whose name is changed to Javed for the movie. Javed is a high-school student with dreams of being a writer, but his stereotypical, Pakistani dad wants him to go into something practical so he can “get a good job.” A sympathetic English teacher (Hayley Atwell) encourages Javed's writing, while a new friend introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. The two passions feed each other, and Javed becomes an obsessive Boss fan, while cementing his literary career ambitions.

“Blinded by the Light” suffers somewhat from coming out the same year as "Yesterday," another movie about a British dude of Asian descent with a cute, English girlfriend and an affinity for a classic rock artist. Both films are, in truth, pretty inconsequential, but “Yesterday” is the better of the two. “Blinded” suffers from archetypal characters, ham-handed fantasy sequences, shameless sentimentality, and limited acting talent. As an independent film, I guess the movie deserves more slack, but it is by the director of “Bend it like Beckham.” Gurinder Chadha is not exactly a rookie at this point, and I expected more. The best thing about the movie is the music. It's a real love letter to Springsteen's music, but you might be better off just playing a couple of his albums.

2 stars out of 5