22. The Good German (2006)
I hate The
Good German. The Joseph Kanon book on which the movie is based is brilliant – a
novel about moral relativism, that calls into question the actions of everyone
in the novel. Soderbergh treated the novel as an excuse to indulge his
technical fantasies. And make no mistake about it – Soderbergh’s black and
white photography is exquisite – and Thomas Newman’s score is one of the best
in recent memory. But The Good German is supposed to be about weighty moral
questions – questions the novel takes seriously, and Soderbergh casts aside
because he’s more interested in making his film look good than he is
considering what his changes to the story (which seem to be motivated solely on
the basis of how much he make the film resemble Casablanca, even if it doesn’t
fit) than about what it all actually means. The Good German was a rare miss for
Soderbergh – but damn it if it didn’t miss it by a mile.
21. Ocean’s 12 (2004)
With Ocean’s
12, Soderbergh and company jumped the shark. Getting together a large cast of
movie stars to pull off a casino heist worked the first time, so why not add
even more movie stars and try to do it all over again. It may well have worked,
except for one thing – there’s no actual plot to Ocean’s 12. The movie is
solely about watching movie stars sit around, look pretty and exchange
charming, witty banter for two hours. When they finally decide to throw in a
heist (I assume because the screenplay was getting long, and they felt they had
to squeeze one in), its stupid and silly. The original film worked because of
the charm of the cast yes, but also because it was tightly plotted. This one
wasn’t plotted at all.
20. Full Frontal (2002)
Soderbergh
was one of the earliest adopters of digital technology, and if you watch Full
Frontal today (and there’s little reason to), you will just how amazingly far
the technology has come in 11 years. This is the ugliest film that Soderbergh
has ever made, although perhaps that was the intent. I do not think however the
intent was to have this seemingly improvised film feel so amateurish
throughout. There are parts of the movie to admire – Nicky Katt as an actor
playing Hitler in a new play is hilarious – and Mary McCormack (why she never
really broke out, I’m not sure) as a masseuse are wonderful. And Brad Pitt’s
cameo as Brad Pitt, horrible actor, is among the funniest things I can recall
seeing in a Soderbergh film. But overall this film, with its film within a
film, within a documentary structure, and the assortment of strange characters,
played by talented actors making fools of themselves is just plain bad.
19. Eros (2004)
There is a
reason to see Eros – a trio of short films made by three different directors
about the subject of sex. And that reason is to see Wong Kar Wai’s brilliant
segment The Hand, with a never sexier Gong Li (and that’s saying something) as
a prostitute who has uses her sexual prowess to control a tailor. That segment
is a small masterwork in a brilliant career. The reason NOT to see Eros would be
to avoid Michelangelo Antonioni’s horrible segment – The Dangerous Thread of
Things, where the old Italian master embarrasses himself. Somewhere in between
those two segments is Soderbergh’s Equilibrium. It’s odd in that it stars
Robert Downey Jr. and Alan Arkin, who unlike the principles in the other two
segments, are not sleeping with each other. Instead, Downey does what Downey
does best – verbally riff, as he tells Arkin, his shrink, about a sexual dream
he cannot get out of his head, and Arkin stops listens when through a window,
he sees someone he knows, and tries to mime that they meet up later (Downey, of
course, cannot see this). As a sketch, it’s funny, and of course both Downey
and Arkin are immensely talented, and they carry the segment. What the hell
it’s doing sandwiched between the other two segments, I have no fricking idea.
But what the film for Wong’s segment – it’s masterful – and stick around to be
amused by Soderbergh’s. Than for God’s sake, turn the TV off. It’s better to
remember Antonioni for Red Desert and L’Aventurra, L’Eclisse and Blowup and The Passenger, and
probably many of his other films that I have not seen, but I have a hard time
imagining the could possibly be worse than what he made here (sadly, his last
directorial credit).
18. Ocean’s 13 (2007)
While
Ocean’s 13 is a definite step-up from Ocean’s 12 – which essentially had no
plot – it does go the other way too much, by having way too much plot, all of
it preposterous, and none of it as entertaining as when these people first got
together and made Ocean’s 11. Once again, the same ragtag group of movie stars
come together to plot an elaborate casino heist, and once again, it is fun to
see this actors who are quite clearly having a blast (although it wears a
little thin when you realize they had more fun making the movie than you are
watching it). Al Pacino is a great addition as the bad guy this time around,
and the movie is an entertaining way to waste two hours if you don’t want to
think. But the bottom line is simple – they should have stopped at 11.
17. Kafka (1991)
Kafka
suffers from the same thing that many sophomore films by filmmakers whose first
film were huge hits do – over ambition. The film stars Jeremy Irons as the
famed Czech writer, lost in a black and white cinemascape that is brilliantly
well designed, as the writer goes searching for his missing friend. The film is
partly inspired by Kafka and his work, but also inspired by a lot of film noir,
and for the color climax – science fiction. It is a confusing film, and in no
way an altogether successful one, as the elements of the plot don’t really seem
to fit together in any meaningful way. And yet, the film is quite something to
simply sit back and look at. As complex as his breakthrough, sex lies and
videotape, was simple, Kafka doesn’t really work, but it’s interesting to
watch.
16. Erin Brockovich (2000)
It’s hard to
dislike Erin Brockovich – it is a quality, mainstream legal drama, with a fine,
Oscar winning performance by Julia Roberts as the crusading, single mother who
spearheads a lawsuit that ends up with a huge settlement. The movie gives
Roberts the type of sassy, spunky dialogue that she delivers best, and also
gives her an opportunity to cry at the victim’s pain – oh and shows off her
breasts in pretty much every scene in the film. The film is never less than
engaging and entertaining. Yet, it also feels somewhat hollow – a little too
simplistic for such an inspiring true story. Roberts so dominates the film that
no one else really registers. It’s a fine movie, but as one of only two
Soderbergh films ever to received a Best Picture and Best Director nomination,
it seems like an odd choice.
15. Schizopolis (1996)
I’m not
going to try to explain Schizopolis, nor am I’m going to try and convince
someone who hates it that they are wrong. This is the strangest film of
Soderbergh’s career by far. The film starts out with Soderbergh, presumably
playing himself (although he’ll play so many characters throughout the film,
perhaps not) coming up to a lectern and announcing that Schizopolis is the most
important film of our time, and if you don’t get it, that’s your fault. And it
ends with Soderbergh getting back up and answering questions from the audience
– questions that we do not hear, and Soderbergh’s answers do not let us in on
what was asked. In between, Soderbergh will play Fletcher, a man whose wife is
cheating on him with a dentist, the dentist himself, and another lover of his
wife’s, who speaks Italian, French and Japanese, and whose dialogue is
subtitled (and who, by the way, I don’t think can speak Italian, French or
Japanese). Oh, and there’s a Scientology like religious movement/cult called Eventualism
that Soderbergh is also the L. Ron Hubbard like creator of. The film is absurd
in the extreme, and overall adds up to absolutely nothing. But the individual
moments in the film are sometimes hilarious and brilliant. Soderbergh has often
said making this film recharged his batteries after the bad experience he had
making Underneath, and allowed him to regain his passion for filmmaking. So,
good for him. And he’s also right about something else – if you don’t
understand Schizopolis, it is your fault, because there is nothing here to
understand. The film is exactly what it appears to be – whatever the hell that
is.
14. King of the Hill (1993)
When you
look at Sodebergh’s filmography, King of the Hill stands out as something
completely different than anything else he has ever made. I mean that in mainly
a good way. I still don’t know why, 19 years later, he decided to make this his
third film, but the result is a fascinating film. It stars young Jesse Bradford
as a 12-year old boy in the great depression, who is left to fend for himself –
and does so amazingly well. It is the story of how this boy thrives when he’s
left by himself – how he uses his charm and intelligence to get what he needs.
It is an odd film for Sodebergh to make – nothing he did before or since really
fits with it – but for whatever reason, he seems to have connected with this
material, and made an very good little film out of it.
13. Contagion (2011)
12. The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
Soderbergh
excels at finding actors who may never again be great in a movie, but are
perfect for his. For The Girlfriend Experience, he cast Sasha Grey, whose day
job is as a porn star. He didn’t cast her because he wanted an actress that was
willing to have sex on screen – because she doesn’t in this movie. He cast her,
because she is smart, she is sexy and she is a businesswoman in real life, just
like her character in the movie. In the film, she plays Chelsea, a high end
prostitute, who specializes in providing “the girlfriend experience” – that is
on her “dates” with her clients, she doesn’t act like a prostitute, but as
their girlfriend. Her clients are all rich, and all work in the stock market
(like her “real” boyfriend), and all like to talk to her – reveal themselves to
her, and tell her how to invest her money. What they don’t expect is that
perhaps she is a better businessperson than they are – she makes money off
something that will never crash – sex. Soderbergh set the film in the lead up
to the 2008 Financial meltdown, and the basic point of the movie is this – that
there is no difference between what Grey’s character in the does, and what her
clients do every day – they lie about who they are, what they want, what they
know, all to make their client feel better. At least her clients know they are
being fucked.
11. Haywire (2012)
I still do
not understand why audiences pretty roundly rejected Soderbergh’s action movie
from last January. He is an expertly crafted action film, with great, bone
crunching, jaw dropping fight sequences that are actually REAL and not just
CGI, a woman can kicks all the men’s ass’s (and for once, you actually believe
she can, because while Gina Carano may not be Meryl Streep, she certainly can
kick ass) and has an excellent supporting cast of slimy men – Michael
Fassbender, Ewan McGregor, Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas and Channing Tatum
(who isn’t quite so slimy). Haywire is a classic, old school, kick ass action
film – and one of 2012’s great entertainments. Why didn’t audiences notice? I
don’t know, but Haywire is excellent.
10. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
Soderbergh’s
debut film earns a place in his top 10 because it is undeniably one of the most
influential American indie films ever. Soderbergh became the face of the Sundance
generation with this film – that went on to win the Palme D’Or at Cannes – and
helped to usher in a new era of American indies. Yes, the film has undeniably
aged in the two decades since it was released – and because there have been so
many copies of it over the years, the impact has dimmed at least a little bit.
Yet, mainly the film still works. James Spader is still at his creepy best as
the strange old friend who shows up one day, moves in, and soon throws
everything into tumult – not that it wasn’t already, but he brings it out into
the open. The rest of the cast – Andie McDowell, Peter Gallagher and especially
Laura San Giacomo are also excellent. Yes, the film has aged. But that doesn’t
mean it still isn’t an important film – or an excellent one.
9. Magic Mike (2012)
Who would
have guess that a movie about male strippers would be one of Soderbergh’s best
films? Yet it is, because Soderbergh has an intelligent screenplay, that sees
this world for all the fun it can be, and also it’s sleazy underbelly. It is
basically structured like an old fashioned Hollywood story – with a young kid
(Channing Tatum) becoming a star in his limited world, and then falling in love
with the picture of female perfection (Cody Horn), and deciding to leave it all
behind for love. Tatum and Horn are excellent in the movie, but the supporting
cast is even better. Olivia Munn is wonderful in a small role that shows that
women can be just as shallow and superficial as men can, and best of all is
Matthew McConaghey, all Southern charm, until you test him, and he gets all vicious
pimp on you. Magic Mike is fun to be sure, but is also well made, well-acted
and surprisingly touching. A wonderful little film.
8. Bubble (2005)
Of all
Soderbergh’s low budget experiments, Bubble is the most successful – the most
complete film. It stars three non-professional actors, who play workers at a
doll factory in Ohio. Martha (Debbie Doebereiner) is overweight, lonely and
taking care of her elderly father. Kyle (Dustin James Ashley) is passive, shy,
beaten down by life who spends much of his home life in a pot fuelled haze.
Martha and Kyle are friends – he depends on her for rides, and in return
supplies friendship, and that seems to be it. But when Rose (Misty Dawn
Wilkins), a young single mother shows up, and may have designs on Kyle (perhaps
because he’s the only male option), things go downhill. Bubble is a quiet film,
attuned to the beats of everyday life. It is a murder mystery only nominally –
it doesn’t take much to figure it out, and when the police show up, played by
real police officers, the outcome is never in doubt. The film is about the
quiet, sad, lonely lives of these three people. Soderbergh, who often uses
style over substance, does the opposite here. Bubble is a one of a kind film of
Soderbergh’s resume – and one that deserves to be seen by more people.
7. Ocean’s 11 (2001)
I was hard
on both Ocean’s 12 and 13, because, well, they deserved it – and also because
Ocean’s 11 is one of the great entertainments on Soderbergh’s resume. No, the
film is no more realistic or plausible than the other two, but damn it all if
isn’t a hell of a lot more entertaining. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon,
Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia are all at the top of their games – and are
surrounded by a cast having a blast – Casey Affleck, Scotty Caan, Don Cheadle,
Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, etc. The plan is elaborate, and really
did have me guessing the first time through, and still manages to entertain me
to no end whenever the film comes on TV (which is often). I’m certainly not
going to argue that Ocean’s 11 is some sort of masterpiece, but as pure movie
entertainment, it is tough to beat.
6. The Limey (1999)
The Limey is
perhaps the simplest film of Soderbergh’s resume – a straight ahead revenge
story – but one told with wit and style to spare. It stars Terrence Stamp as a
just released British criminal who comes to L.A. to get revenge for the murder
of his daughter. He knows Peter Fonda is responsible for it, and he comes at
him straight on – no mincing words with him. Stamp is great in the movie – all
action, few words, and he just keeps coming. Soderbergh’s style elevates the
movie – the unforgettable scene where, in the background, we see Stamp throw a
bodyguard over a railing to his death below is the best single shot of
Soderbergh’s career. Yet as stripped down as The Limey is, there is also an air
of regret to the film – we see clips of Stamp as a young man (from the movie
Poor Cow), and we get Fonda talking about his past. Both of these men are well
past the point where they are any use to anyone – but that doesn’t stop them
from trying. A great little genre film.
5. The Informant (2009)
The Informant tells the improbably but true story of Mark Whitacre, an executive with Archer Daniels Midland, who is questioned by the FBI as part of a potential corporate espionage case, is cleared, and then, for no reason, confesses to them that ADM is involved in price fixing, becomes a FBI informant to help them gather the necessary evidence, and while working with them, proceeds to embezzle $9 million from the company, all the while thinking that once the truth comes out, he’ll be seen as a hero, and can take over the company. Matt Damon plays Whitacre in one of his best performances – as a man who seems utterly without guile or cunning, completely naïve as to how things are going to work out, and yet somewhat intelligent to keep all the balls in the air. The Informant is not quite a comedy, not quite a corporate thriller, and yet somehow both. It is one of the odder films on Soderbergh’s resume – and one of the best.
4. Solaris (2002)
With
Solaris, Soderbergh went out a remade an acknowledged masterpiece by an
acknowledged cinema genius – Andrei Tarkovsky. I hadn’t seen Tarkovsky’s film
when I saw Soderbergh’s remake – but once I finally did see the film, I went
back and watched Soderbergh’s film again – and was amazed that I was still
intrigued and fascinated by it. No, it is not the masterpiece that Tarkovsky’s
film is – few are – but I do think that perhaps watching Soderbergh’s version
first – and then Tarkovsky’s may be the way to go. Soderbergh’s film is more
than an hour shorter than Tarkovsky’s – the characters and themes clearer, the
pacing while slow, less ponderous. This is all part and parcel with how
Tarkovsky works, and part of what makes Solaris a masterpiece. But Soderbergh’s
film also works. It stars George Clooney in one of his best performances as
Kelvin, a shrink who heads up to a space station after a death to “council” the
survivors – and wakes up to find his wife, who recently killed herself, there
with him. The space station is orbiting a strange planet – Solaris – who can
read minds, and create people out of their memories, which is what has happened.
But therein lies the catch – because the version of Clooney’s wife that the
planet creates is not the “real” woman – because no one knows everything about
another person, so this “replicate” is only part a person – with a huge hole in
the center – the part of ourselves we keep to ourselves. Audiences hated the
film – probably because it was marketed as a sexy George Clooney sci-fi film
instead of a ponderous film about the nature of death and human relationship.
It probably would have done better marketed as an art-house movie. But here’s
hoping in that now that we’re 10 years removed from its release, that
Soderbergh’s Solaris can get the praise is deserves.
3. Che (2008)
Soderbergh’s
epic, two part, 258 minute biopic of Che Guevera is a masterpiece for precisely
the reason why it didn’t satisfy many people in the audience – it doesn’t
portray Che either as a romantic hero, as some see him, or as a ruthless
murderer, as others do. The film doesn’t take sides. What it does do is show
Che, moment to moment, day to day, in combat as he fights and wins a revolution
in Cuba, and then fights and loses a revolution in Bolivia. The first part –
The Argentine – is a more conventional biopic (not conventional mind you, just
more conventional than the second) – as it does show Che as he comes to Cuba,
and intercuts scenes of the revolution with his speech to the U.N. This is
probably what people were expecting. The second part, Guerilla, is completely self-contained
– has Che in the jungles of Bolivia, fighting a losing battle, because while
the people rose up and supported them in Cuba, they don’t in Bolivia. What the
film really does is show Che as doggedly, stubbornly persistent – unwilling and
unable to compromise his own sense of right and wrong, or give up even when he
knows he is defeated. The film is epic in length, but needs to be. It is also
one of Soderbergh’s masterpieces – sadly, audiences didn’t care, but you
should.
2. Out of Sight (1998)
1. Traffic (2000)
When
Soderbergh won the Oscar for Best Director for Traffic he did a very rare thing
– winning an Oscar for the Best work of his career. That hardly ever happens,
but it did for Soderbergh. Traffic is his masterpiece – an epic crime film
about the futile drug war America is engaged in, following three different
stories. In DC, the newly appointed drug czar (Michael Douglas) struggles with
his new job, as his daughter (Erika Christensen) sinks into addiction. In
California, a rich housewife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) finds out what her husband
really does, and proves she can be just as ruthless when she needs to take
over. And in the best, Benicio Del Toro’s Oscar winning performance as perhaps
the only honest cop in Mexico, trying to fight the cartels. Working as his own
cinematographer (as we would from here on out), Soderbergh gives us segment its
own distinct look and color palette. The movie comes together, looking at both
the large scale impact of drug and the war against them, and the personal level
as well. Soderbergh has made a lot of great films in his career – none better
than Traffic.
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