Contagion

I was excited about Contagion because watching Gwyneth Paltrow die an agonizing death made me joyous. Contagion became like Outbreak where an unknown disease comes to our borders. Contagion is really interesting and has a strong ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Lawrence Fishbourne, Elliot Gould, and previously stated target of my hatred Gwyneth Paltrow. Paltrow comes back from a business trip to Hong Kong with flu-like symptoms, but ends up dying two days later. Other people start dying who were exposed, an epidemic ensues, this is the story of how it gets contained and treated in essentially real-time. I was a big fan, though the bouncing from story to story got a little old because I wanted a greater focus on Fishbourne and the CDC, but the other characters are interesting enough to not ruin the movie. It gives a little bit of a worldly view of the outbreak, I just don't care about Hong Kong villages as much as I should perhaps. I love the inside look at the CDC and damage control during crazy times. Fishbourne is rock solid in his role as CDC director. He's the best part of the film as he deals with the various bombs getting dropped all around him. This was better than expected and worth a viewing.

Bottom Line: 7.0 out of 10. Worth a rental, or if you live in the Madison area, a viewing for $3 at Market Square on Odana (I probably should get sponsored by them...) I can't imagine anyone being disappointed as this movie maintains tension and a general sense of unease and excitement throughout.