Solaris is a metaphysical rumination on memory and death, both of which are favorite subjects of mine. It's a movie that I think a lot of people will enjoy -- and a lot of people will hate.

Marking the third collaboration between director Steven Soderbergh and actor George Clooney, Solaris is vastly different from the sleek, light-hearted crime movies the two have previously made.

Clooney is Chris Kelvin, a psychologist who ventures to a planet called Solaris to investigate an ill-fated research expedition. He arrives to find two of the four crew members dead, and the other two survivors going insane. Kelvin soon learns the reason behind the crew's discontent, when a woman from his past literally appears out of nowhere.

This is a difficult movie. I imagine that many will find it difficult to understand what is going on, let alone what it all means. The director himself claims the movie is open to multiple interpretations, and half the fun is coming up with your own.

If you don't like movies that deal with heavy topics and fail to answer every question, I would stay away from Solaris and perhaps check out Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights, which looks delightfully unchallenging. But for those who enjoy pondering serious issues and drawing their own conclusions, Solaris is a winner. Grade: A-