Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Oceans Twelve: Twelve is not the new Eleven

Ocean and his boys are back, with a new addition – Catherine Zeta Jones joins the cast as a love interest to Rusty. The movie tried too hard to recapture the feeling of Oceans Eleven. I was not a huge fan of Oceans Eleven. It was perhaps good at what it tried to do, clever in parts, but not really my cup of tea. What patience was tried with Ocean’s Eleven, found Ocean's Twelve too much to bear.

To me Catherine’s character did not add too much to the movie. Jokes about Oceans’ age, along with a look-a-like gag with Julia Roberts did not endear the film. The heist sequences especially paled in comparison to the first movie.

In reference to the plot, I found it relatively predictable; the two plot twists of the film were fairly easy to detect. For lovers of a good heist film, this is not the movie to sink your teeth into; have a look at the Ocean’s Eleven, or rent the Italian Job.

+++

Film of the Year:

Before Sunset

Commendations:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pieces of April, The Village, Goodbye Lenin (anyone: was this a cinema release during 2004), Garden State and Mean Girls.

+++

I reviewed Before Sunset earlier on the blog, While I was down in Wollongong we watched Before Sunrise, and one of the quotes that resonated then was ‘we are all each other's demons and angels’, and I think that’s what I like about all of the films I’ve selected on my list, they are films which reveal a little more about the human condition. They speak about who we are, and what we are like. I may not respond as the characters in any of these films, but [to some extent] the experiences I have and will have through my life are echoes of the drama of these films. And conversely, perhaps that’s why I don’t like Ocean's Twelve, none of the script resonated as closely with my experience, or perhaps what did, I found badly done. More to ponder here. What makes a good film for you??

No comments:

Post a Comment