It's not hyperbole of any kind when you say that Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's 13) is one of the single most respected directors working today. He's managed to feed both his need for commercial success -- turning out multiple box office hits -- while equally nourishing his desire to create small, critical gems -– art, if you will. And over the years he's turned out a number of real winners. Frankly, I could write about them all, but today I'm just going to focus on my deep-fried favorites. Feel free to discuss yours below.

Out of Sight
In this Elmore Leonard adaptation, Soderbergh makes one hell of a funny, lovable crime caper – and gets probably the single greatest performance ever gotten out of J-Lo (aka Jennifer Lopez.) Teaming her with George Clooney, this is a crime caper about a guy who's broken out of prison and is trying to pull a big job. In probably my favorite flourish to the film, he brings back Michael Keaton to reprise the role of Ray Nicolette, a main character from Quentin Tarantino's Elmore Leonard adaptation Jackie Brown. This is a must see if you've somehow missed it.

Traffic
It's hard not to mention the Oscar winner that brought Soderbergh to the forefront of American filmmaking. Odds are you've seen it, and if you haven't, you owe it to yourself to see why Benicio del Toro became a household name, why people began to take Topher Grace seriously, and why they let Stephen Gaghan write and direct Abandon.

The Good German
Man, was this a great but ignored film. This just came out on DVD and is another must. Set during the end of WWII, this thriller was written and directed as if it were really made in that period (except for some strong language and nudity.) Going one step further, Soderbergh even shot this on the camera and sound equipment of the time, and scored it just the same – so this feels like an extremely well-made, war-era noir film. Any die hard film buff will love this one, or at the very least, appreciate the hell out of the effort.

Solaris
This is an incredible science-fiction love story about the pain of loss and the madness created by loneliness. Pretty much ignored when it was released, it is a film that can bring to tears anyone who has ever truly been in love. I desperately want to watch this one back to back with The Fountain sometime soon, as they are incredibly similar in theme, and both magnificent. And I'll probably have to pick up some tissues.

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