Soderbergh's adaptation of Elmore Leonard's novel is clever, sexy, and truly shines when it asks its superbeautiful actors (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez) to play awkward. Clooney's a prison escapee who should be doing just about anything to avoid Lopez, a federal marshal. Yet, in perhaps the movie's most touching shot, spotting her from inside a departing motel elevator, Clooney inexplicably raises his hand and waves. Of course, Soderbergh's talent has always been bringing odd characters to life -- the kind more likely to sit beside you in a movie theater than flicker up on the screen.

Andrea Sandke