Ocean's 13 (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Ocean's 13', is a crime comedy directed by Steven Soderbergh. Danny Ocean returns to the big screen & rounds up the guys for a 3rd heist after Willy Bank (a conniving Al Pacino) double-crosses one of our original 11, Reuben. Back is the entire cast, sans Julia Roberts & Catherine Zeta-Jones; and a few new welcomed faces pop up. Because a spider, an ogre, & some pirates have messily overrun our theaters lately, 'Ocean's 13' is clearly the best sequel of the season. It's not as engaging or as chic as Ocean's 11, but infinitely better than the unbelievably smug 12. This means that 14 is predestined. How wonderful.
Now that Reuben (Elliot Gould) is bed-ridden from the real estate deal gone-wrong, Ocean (George Clooney) & his gang hope to avenge him by attempting their most ambitious casino heist yet. Can they break 'The Bank' (the casino/hotel of the same name as its owner)? Danny, Rusty (too-cool-for-school Brad Pitt), a jittery Linus (Matt Damon), and the rest, will try several tactics. Because Willy is a man of unshakable pride, he expects this new casino to garner nothing less than another 5-diamond review. Saul (a great Carl Reiner) will pose as the critic so as to avert attention to the real critic, played by David Paymer. With Danny as the ultimate puppeteer, the gang has their methods to ensure that the real critic will give anything 'but' a 5-diamond rating; some hysterical scenes unfolds.
What to sabotage next? But Willy Banks' money, of course. The '13' (plus some extras) will try to ensure that the 'house' loses as much money as possible on his grand opening. This means that everything has to be rigged on the casino floor. Livingston (Eddie Jemison) can rig cards. Other machinery for roulette & slots are violated. Virgil & Turk (Casey Affleck, Scott Cann) pose as plastic makers in Mexico; they'll rig the dice for craps. Frank (an underused Bernie Mac) will play the rigged blackjack tables. Linus will wear a prosthetic nose & hope to woo Bank's assistant, Abigail (a sexy Ellen Barkin) into distraction.
Rusty will try to sweet talk Willy into believing that 'The Bank' should pay for a catastrophe policy as it could be susceptible to earthquakes. Basher (a wonderful Don Cheadle) will aid in jump-starting the natural disaster that could shut-down security (allowing Yen, played by Shaobo Qin, to tuck & crawl his way to the merchandise). No rock is left unturned. This includes lowering themselves into asking one-time enemy, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) for some funding. What will they offer him in return? Does he have his own agenda? Will Reuben recover? Can the '13' pull it off? Well, what do YOU think? {eye rolls}
It's nice to see Clooney, Damon, Cheadle, & Pitt doing something incredibly fun, rather than their excellent, yet somber political movies. This movie is so breezy, so airy, so light-hearted, so unserious, that before you know it, it's over and you feel like you've barely reconnected with the great ensemble cast; I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though. Because they're heisting for friendship, nothing seems as urgent or intense as the previous films' plots; there's no edginess. Before seeing this film, you can bet that no one will die. You can bet that Willy Banks will be heisted. If there's a weakness in this film, that is it. But "13's" execution is slick, skilled, stylish, grand, & fun; pure summer fluff. And although they're not multidimensional, we still care about the characters. Good film.
Now that Reuben (Elliot Gould) is bed-ridden from the real estate deal gone-wrong, Ocean (George Clooney) & his gang hope to avenge him by attempting their most ambitious casino heist yet. Can they break 'The Bank' (the casino/hotel of the same name as its owner)? Danny, Rusty (too-cool-for-school Brad Pitt), a jittery Linus (Matt Damon), and the rest, will try several tactics. Because Willy is a man of unshakable pride, he expects this new casino to garner nothing less than another 5-diamond review. Saul (a great Carl Reiner) will pose as the critic so as to avert attention to the real critic, played by David Paymer. With Danny as the ultimate puppeteer, the gang has their methods to ensure that the real critic will give anything 'but' a 5-diamond rating; some hysterical scenes unfolds.
What to sabotage next? But Willy Banks' money, of course. The '13' (plus some extras) will try to ensure that the 'house' loses as much money as possible on his grand opening. This means that everything has to be rigged on the casino floor. Livingston (Eddie Jemison) can rig cards. Other machinery for roulette & slots are violated. Virgil & Turk (Casey Affleck, Scott Cann) pose as plastic makers in Mexico; they'll rig the dice for craps. Frank (an underused Bernie Mac) will play the rigged blackjack tables. Linus will wear a prosthetic nose & hope to woo Bank's assistant, Abigail (a sexy Ellen Barkin) into distraction.
Rusty will try to sweet talk Willy into believing that 'The Bank' should pay for a catastrophe policy as it could be susceptible to earthquakes. Basher (a wonderful Don Cheadle) will aid in jump-starting the natural disaster that could shut-down security (allowing Yen, played by Shaobo Qin, to tuck & crawl his way to the merchandise). No rock is left unturned. This includes lowering themselves into asking one-time enemy, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) for some funding. What will they offer him in return? Does he have his own agenda? Will Reuben recover? Can the '13' pull it off? Well, what do YOU think? {eye rolls}
It's nice to see Clooney, Damon, Cheadle, & Pitt doing something incredibly fun, rather than their excellent, yet somber political movies. This movie is so breezy, so airy, so light-hearted, so unserious, that before you know it, it's over and you feel like you've barely reconnected with the great ensemble cast; I don't know if that's a good or bad thing, though. Because they're heisting for friendship, nothing seems as urgent or intense as the previous films' plots; there's no edginess. Before seeing this film, you can bet that no one will die. You can bet that Willy Banks will be heisted. If there's a weakness in this film, that is it. But "13's" execution is slick, skilled, stylish, grand, & fun; pure summer fluff. And although they're not multidimensional, we still care about the characters. Good film.