If his statements about his retirement remain true, Side Effects is the last theatrically released film we're ever going to be seeing from Steven Soderbergh. While it will be a damn shame not to be treated to his incredible versatility and bottomless talent as a filmmaker any longer, he sure went out on one hell of a high point. Looking at the trailers and marketing for Side Effects would have you believe that the film was going to be about…

The private detective genre has become more and more rare to see on screen in the past few decades, and that's a real shame. In an age focused on the oversaturation of 3D, visual effects and the sacrifice of developed plot or characters in exchange for more attention on blowing stuff up, these kinds of gritty and focused crime stories would be a welcome relief. The genre really hit its boom in the noirs of the '30s and '40s, and…

Miller's Crossing is very special due to the fact that it produced not one great movie, but two. Everyone knows that the genesis of Barton Fink came from the writer's block that Joel and Ethan Coen suffered while trying to finish their screenplay for Miller's Crossing. Fink may just be my favorite movie of all time and is surely my favorite screenplay, but the surprise twist on the story is that Crossing itself ended up being a truly marvelous picture…

Have you ever watched a movie where you feel that the filmmakers accomplished precisely what they were setting out to, but it just didn't appeal to you? That's what happened with Easy Rider and me. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper set out to do a few things. One, they wanted to display the death of the American dream. Two, they wanted to create the ultimate road movie. Three, they wanted to combine a killer soundtrack with some excellent appreciation of…