The posters chicly suggest this won’t be just another tour of Charlie Sheen’s twisted brain.
Contagion is the (cough, cough) feel-bad movie (cough, cough) of the fall.
The writers manage to make the film more compelling as it goes along, always a potential problem in boxing pictures.
Understanding Screenwriting #64: Unstoppable, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Boxing Gym, & More
With that buildup you are probably thinking I am going to dump on Unstoppable. Guess again.
Understanding Screenwriting #63: The Social Network, Inside Job, Capitalism: A Love Story, & More
The Social Network has the best opening scene in a movie since that great montage at the start of Up.
Understanding Screenwriting #60: Boardwalk Empire, How I Met Your Mother, Castle, & More
Mommy, do I have to watch this?
Understanding Screenwriting #34: Jennifer’s Body, Paris, Art & Copy, We’re Not Married!, The Good Wife, & More
Not one of the Mistress’s finest, but amusing.
Understanding Screenwriting #26: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Angels & Demons, In Plain Sight, & More
Sometimes it’s the writers.
Understanding Screenwriting #25: State of Play, Adventureland, Every Little Step, Sugar, & More
Three screenwriters, four counting the original TV writer, but you can’t tell.
Understanding Screenwriting #19: Teaching the Young, Minsky’s, Captain Blood, In Old Chicago, & More
Captain Blood is the film that made Errol Flynn a star after his appearing in smaller parts in a few Warners pictures.
Understanding Screenwriting #17: Slumdog Millionaire, Dodge City, Ride Lonesome, ER, & More
Angels With Dirty Faces go to Mumbai. On steroids.
Understanding Screenwriting #12: John Michael Hayes, Quantum of Solace, Boomerang!, Boston Legal, & More
John Michael Hayes was one of the best screenwriters of the 1950s and ’60s.
Understanding Screenwriting #7: Miracle at St. Anna, The Tall Target, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty, & More
I have not read the novel, but James McBride’s screenplay is a mess.