Contagion

CAUTION: Symptoms of the new movie Contagion may include stuff I'll talk about later on. Sneezing or Coughing during the movie is not advised. You don't want to jynx it.

With that fake health warning out of the way, we should get on to describe the film.

Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) comes back from Hong Kong on Thanksgiving Week to her husband Mitch (Matt Damon) and her little son. Five minutes into the film, she is dead from a nasty new superbug sweeping the world. It's spreading faster than Dr. Ellis (Laurence Fishburne) and his CDC colleagues can come up with a cure. But obviously, they're going to have to.

And somehow, Mitch is immune from the superbug. Why him? For reasons of plot, of course! Meanwhile, society starts to collapse and everyone's Christmas becomes not so Merry.

It's biggest problem is that for a thriller, it's quite restrained. For instance, the characters were somewhat involving, keyword being somewhat. It was thus quite hard initially to get involved with their plights. But what does elevate this from a "meh" to an "OK" is that gradually, this situation reverses itself.

What also saves the film is director and cinematographer Steven Soderbergh's photography. The empty scenery shots are great realizations of this nightmare scenario. Another scene, where Mitch drives off robbers from his neighbors' house, stands out amongst them all.

For those who like scientific knowledge unsensationalized, this is the right film for you. Who knows, it might just change your habits once you leave the theater.

JETHRO'S NOTE: I did not cough during the whole movie.