Ocean's Thirteen

Ocean's Thirteen is a fluff of a movie, great eye candy, and it does have the odd in-joke here and there. It continues the Rat Pack type of feel of the two predecessors; Ocean's Twelve and Ocean's Eleven . The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh. The movie introduces Al Pacino as the bad guy. The movie plot revolves around a plot to revenge Reuben Tishkoff, played by Elliot Gould, after he is swindled by Willie Bank, played by Pacino. The movie continues the editing trick of while Clooney or one of the thirteen is telling about how something can't be done; the movies cuts off and show it. The movie feels tired and maybe it is time to put this franchise out to pasture.

If you liked the first two then you would probably like this one. Pacino and Clooney are the most fun to watch. None of the actors/actresses are given enough screen time to really dig in. The dialogue has enough little quips, and the plot has enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The whole thing reminded me of those little cheese puffs I get with a Mexican dinner from time to time. It looks great sitting on your plate, but once the crust has been broken with your fork, it dawns on you that there is only thin air underneath that cheesy outside. This doesn't feel like a movie, but more like a marketing decision. Julia Roberts is missing from this one, probably a wise choice on her part. There was a lot of talent spent on this very tired idea. I loved the low key retro 60s type music. It is time to go get "The Man From Uncle" soundtrack out. Where did I put my bongos?

You can write James Harper at movielover77061@yahoo.com