SIDE EFFECTS
(106 min, M)
Director Steven Soderbergh draws
the curtain on his 25-year career (at
age 50) to focus on painting and
the theatre. His parting gift is Side
Effects, a highly effective thriller
ostensibly concerned with the
murky machinations of the
pharmaceutical industry which
morphs into a bizarre tale of
deception, greed and psychological
manipulation.
Rooney Mara is brilliant as the
increasingly unhinged Emily
Taylor, a young wife left
psychologically unstable by
husband Martin’s (Channing
Tatum) arrest and four-year
incarceration for insider trading.
Upon his release, the couple
reunite, attempting to pick up the
pieces of their lives, but Emily’s
depressive state worsens, veering
dangerously towards self-harm.
She seeks the advice of noted
psychiatrist Jon Banks (Jude Law),
who prescribes a range of antidepressant medication, including
Ablixa, a new one being trialled by
several doctors at the behest of a
major pharmaceutical company.
The seemingly off-hand way that
doctors in the film discuss the side
effects of the medication with their
patients suggests that doctors don’t
really expect things to go seriously
wrong when their patients take
their prescribed pills. However, the
results for Emily are unexpectedly
catastrophic, not only for Emily but
Jon as well, who soon finds himself
at the centre of an investigation that
threatens not only his career, but
possibly his life.
It’d be unfair to divulge other plot
details- the joy is the plethora of
twists and shocks the script has in
store, which takes the narrative into
surprising territory. Blindsiding the
audience is a brilliant cinematic
tool when utilised correctly; suffice
to say the events (and people)
aren’t entirely what they seem.
The borderline unethical
relationship between
pharmaceutical companies and
the doctors they woo to
prescribe their new medications
(expensive dinners, allexpenses-paid holidays) is
touched on, as is the
frighteningly casual way so
many Americans seem addicted
to anti-depressants (the film’s
saying that pill use is rampant
and pervasively ubiquitous in
modern society, with people
popping pills for everything
while “Big Pharma” gets rich);
but that’s merely one strand in
a cleverly constructed story,
which even posits that
psychological disorders can also be
manipulated for nefarious, even
malevolent, purposes. Great acting
from a cast including Mara, Tatum,
Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones; a
very good thriller from the director
who brought us Traffic, Erin
Brockovich, Solaris, Magic Mike,
Contagion and the Ocean’s Eleven
series. Here’s hoping he changes
his mind about retiring from
movies!
Rating: 7/10.
DEAD SPACE 3(video game
review by guest gaming reviewer
Tom Palombo)
Dead Space 3 is a great game,
easily one of the best
action/horror shooters ever,
outdoing games such as
Resident Evil 6. While the game
is stellar, with strong pacing,
some niggling issues hold it
back.
Dead Space 3’s environments
make it special. For the first five
or so chapters, it’s about
abandoned vessels in space.
For the latter half, protagonist
Isaac Clarke is on ice plant Tau
Volantis, which is reminiscent of
John Carpenter’s The Thing.
Necromorphs, DS3’s space
zombies, are scarier than ever.
Sadly, the story, while
interesting, is not as compelling
as Dead Space 2. The dramatic
pull of DS2 was provided by
Isaac`s dementia, causing
visions and hallucinations. Now,
Isaac is more of a traditional
hero, found in games like Gears
of War or Halo.
DS3’s graphics are superb. It’s
one the best games to grace
consoles. Tau Volantis looks
especially great, with blowing
snow and large, icy vistas.
Surprisingly, the game runs very
well on PC, on which I reviewed
this game.
Sound forms the heart of DS3. It
creates tension and a general
sense of eeriness. Voice acting
is strong, with the standout
Gunner Wright as Isaac. Music
is good too, with even country
music blaring during an insane
moment. Necromorphs moan,
groan and shriek at you, just like
in every Dead Space.
Gameplay is the best in the
Dead Space series so far. While
DS2 had you finding credits and
stores to purchase guns, now
you craft them from abandoned
parts, including scrap metal.
The pacing is good, with more
time given to exploration, and
even better shooting sections.
Dismembering limbs is still fun.
Sadly, DS3 has a lousy cover
system, with Isaac feeling
clunky when under cover. There
are even actual Unitologist
soldiers, who shoot back.
Before I end the review, I
encountered a hilarious glitch.
When Isaac tackles a guy in a
cut scene, he is actually
severed in half. That’s not
meant to happen!
Overall, Dead Space 3 is great,
but not amazing. It has great
environments, features
awesome gameplay, but lacks
a solid narrative.
Rating: 8.6/10
Side Effects photo: (top) Martin
(Channing Tatum) comforts
disturbed wife Emily (Rooney
Mara).
Dead Space 3 photos: Outer
space horrors lurk around every
corner in Dead Space 3 (below).