Bovie Movie

Despite returning to Las Vegas where the series began, Steven Soderbergh’s second sequel to 2001’s Ocean’s Eleven fails to rediscover the sheer insouciance of the original. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and the rest of the cast reprise their roles as the charming conmen, who this time target the hi-tech casino of ruthless Vegas businessman Willy Bank (Al Pacino). The strength of the series was always its breezy enthusiasm, but here there’s a chronic lack of fun: Pacino barely gets out of first gear, while Clooney seems to have his mind on other things. Only Ellen Barkin appears to be enjoying herself, shining in a comic role that sees her dosed with potent pheromones and seduced by a heavily disguised Matt Damon. Apparently there won’t be an “Ocean’s Fourteen”; clearly, Soderbergh’s under no illusions that Ocean’s winning streak has dried up at last. 

Given the public predilection for fast-paced, effects-heavy event pictures, Gus Van Sant couldn’t have crafted a more uncommercial film than this. Co-written by Van Sant and joint leads Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, it follows two friends — both called Gerry — who embark on a wilderness trail only to get hopelessly lost in the harsh terrain without any provisions. Unwinding at a snail’s pace, with the most simplistic of storylines and barely any dialogue, this audacious allegory is either pretentious twaddle or a poetic masterpiece, depending on personal taste. While the duo does nothing more action-packed than trudge towards potential doom, their predicament becomes riveting, made additionally entrancing by dreamy cinematography, breathtaking landscapes and hallucinatory cloud formations. An acquired taste for sure, but a meditative marvel nonetheless. 

George Clooney and his A-list pals have fun in the Las Vegas sun in this thoroughly enjoyable caper from director Steven Soderbergh. In a loose remake of the 1960 Rat Pack venture of the same name, Clooney comfortably steps into Frank Sinatra’s shoes as Danny Ocean, who is fresh out of jail but still plans to pull off an audacious heist with the help of a ten-man crew. His star cronies include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Carl Reiner and Don Cheadle, who affects the worst cockney accent you’ve ever heard. The plan is to hit the vault containing the take from three of the biggest casinos in Vegas, all of which belong to Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), the guy who just happens to be dating Ocean’s ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts). This is one of those films that’s a joy from start to finish, but doesn’t strain the brain for a second. Thankfully, the mechanics of the heist take second place to the glorious interplay of a stellar cast that is clearly having a ball with the sharp, quick-fire dialogue.