‘Contagion’ nation

Wash your hands before watching. Director Steven Soderbergh chooses a frightening, omnipresent enemy in the form of germs and viruses this Friday with his global epidemic thriller Contagion. As the nation’s Center for Disease Control scrambles to study and stop a fast-spreading and deadly new virus, a group of characters around the globe must deal with the mass panic that spreads even faster than the bird flu-like sickness. The all-star cast includes Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and more. Rated PG-13. (Photo by Claudette Barius)