Is the work of Steven Soderbergh the most overrated thing ever?

I suspect Traffic will be unwatchable in a few decades. It's like Stanley Kramer + Alan Pakula.

― Amateurist (amateurist), Tuesday, March 11, 2003 11:29 AM (11 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

if by "decades" you meant within 10 years of coming out, then you are OTM.

it's like crash with cartels and freebasing white girls. I liked it when I saw it but I think I was mostly impressed by the attempt box the execution of the attempt isn't that interesting. the directing is better than the script but neither are as good as a few of the performances, which aren't given much to work with so aren't THAT good. it's funny how it plays now be soderbergh strikes me as a director of fairly breezy and confident films whereas this just trudges along. I'd probably watch any of the Ocean's movies before this now.

not to mention Erin Brockovich

attempt box? *attempt because

He has an Off-Broadway show opening at the Public, written by Scott Z. Burns (The Informant!).

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/2014/04/07/140407goli_GOAT_theatre_als

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOXbU8TOZVM

^^Trailer for new Cinemax miniseries.

so has anyone seen it?

http://www.vulture.com/2014/07/review-the-knick-soderbergh-cinemax.html

It debuts on friday night and has garnered some early doors hyperbole, one critic comparing it to Deadwood!

deadwood wasn't so great.

just watched che. a great film, i thought, within the limitations of the style.

Deadwood was p damn good, Che a bit less than that

This thread title is up there with "Glenn fucking Greenwald."

didnt this guy retire like five years ago

his movies are usually fun to watch some are bad a few are pretty good, out of sight is great

psyched

https://38.media.tumblr.com/44a94dc662d4412f05dd259a848c783e/tumblr_mwybxrwJkW1qedb29o1_500.gif

he's a great interview subject; one constant in life is that I will always read a Steven Soderbergh interview.

The Knick looks quite promising from the first episode, even though I was struggling with the extremely graphic cutting and sewing scenes. The less said about the opening caesarean section scene the better really. The violent foul-mouthed ambulance driver and the nun are my fave characters so far.

i couldn't tell if the gore was just matter of fact (can't really have a show featuring a surgeon and not have some gore) or sort of self-congratulatory in the typical quality-pay-cable way. i guess i'll need to see a few more episodes.

the decision to have a racist protagonist and an extremely upright black supporting character is also a little modish, i think. it might have been wiser to have the protagonist be a little more casually racist, rather than vehemently racist. by wiser i suppose i mean, more interesting. but i'm not a TV writer.

also apparently a spawn of Bono is in this? i really don't like to think about Bono procreating.

I am confused as I could've sworn I saw this was shown on HBO but everything says this is a Cinemax show

don't ask me, i watched it on youtube

Cinemax is owned by hbo I think. Or they're owned by the same company or whatever. Anyways, hbo aired it to spread the word b/c who watches cinemax.

they are owned by HBO, which is owned by time warner.

not gonna watch any show about surgery sry folks not gonna happen

I dbl dog dare u

no way surgery is hella gross

i love watching surgery, but i have a pretty strong stomach.

http://th09.deviantart.net/fs70/150/f/2012/029/8/e/we_got_a_bad_ass_over_here_by_multipettan-d4nz1uj.jpg

i like surgery scenes in movies, but really only like battlefield surgery or that scene in 'ronin' with the bullet or that scene in 'the killer' with the gunpowder and the cigarette and the bullet wound.

not into any sort of surgery or puss poop blood puke

soundtrack for the knick is dope

Why is this series on Cinemax instead of its corporate cousin HBO?

Well, it was an ego problem. I asked (HBO boss) Michael Lombardo, when I called him on the phone, if it would be OK if we would be on Cinemax because I, frankly, in the midst of understanding that they were sort of reorienting that brand, wanted to be the big kid at a small school, and as it happened, Michael said, "Actually that would really work well for us." And I'm glad that that did work for them because it allowed for a smaller teacher-to-student ratio in the sense that it was really me and (HBO miniseries exec) Kary Antholis having a conversation, and that was it. I mean, it was just the two of us, and I really enjoyed that. It was efficient, and it was fun, so it all for me creatively worked out perfectly.

i'm going to marathon Soderbergh, all of his films in 3 weeks. wish me luck.

I'd like to see "The Limey" again. TELL 'IM I'M FAHKING COMING"

you left out six Ns and a couple Gs

Not a marathon actually, I'm doing it as one day one Soderbergh film and so I started with Out of Sight, which is formidable. J-Lo had such potential as an actress.

keep expecting clive owen to say "eeeeeeeeranu"

Out Of Sight is movie of the week in Dissolve

http://thedissolve.com/features/movie-of-the-week/720-out-of-sight-stayed-true-to-its-source-by-taking-l/

fair dos

So I decided to watch everything Soderbergh ever did and so far the worst film by far is Side Effects, this film is terrible. Absolutely terrible. The first half hour is great and then it's a huge plan crash.

haha yeah that one really went down the tubes with the murderous lesbians and everything. it was like a bad 90s erotic thriller plot.

*queues up side effects*

Even Soderbergh’s filmmaking owes a debt to the rhythms of Leonard’s prose. Leonard portrays Karen’s riposte after she takes down Kenneth, one of Maurice’s henchmen, with these words: “‘You wanted to tussle,’ Karen said, ‘we tussled.’” Soderbergh’s film keeps the line and ends the scene with one of several freeze frames he deploys throughout Out Of Sight. Here, it serves much the same function as the “Karen said,” interruption, pausing the moment to emphasize the competence and authority with which Karen handles the situation. Kenneth didn’t get exactly what he asked for, but he got what was coming to him, and like Leonard, Soderbergh draws out the moment by one delicious beat.

otm

Side Effects is wonderful b-movie sleaze! The batshit-ness of it all is classic!

No by far his worst film is Waking Life

wait, i got my wires crossed

It would be if he'd directed it instead of Linklater.

Realizing I haven't even seen half of Soderbergh's movies, but Side Effects is still magnificent stupid entetainment

So far I'd say:

Make a golden statue in yr city's biggest park for:
Out of Sight
Traffic

Deeply satisfying stuff:
Haywire
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean Thirteen
Magic Mike

The very definition of meh:
Ocean Twelve

Burn it down and bury the ashes on a mountain:
Side Effects

I have a lot to go still: tonight it's Erin Brockovich, then I'll do the scary SL&V ->Schizopolis part of his career.

The Limey is good stuff, especially if you liked Point Blank