The Great Escape

Traffic

When Soderbergh chose Austin to test-screen his latest opus a couple of months back, audience feedback was unanimously positive. At that point, the film ran two hours and 43 minutes; expect the final cut to have been whittled down to a more multiplex-friendly running time. This story about America's failed War on Drugs and the casualties -- both personal and societal -- strewn across that dirty political landscape has been called everything from "subversive" to "shocking," with as many variants in between as there are illegal highs on the market these days. Of course, half the fun will be seeing Douglas and his better half (Zeta-Jones, like you didn't know) making their onscreen debut together. Traffic seems likely to cause some pointed Op-Ed pieces, or at the very least a verbal bitchslapping from whoever ends up inhabiting the White House come Wild Bill's exit, and seems to be hands-down the season's most controversial mainstream film. (Jan. 12)