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June 20, 2007
FIVE LAME THINGS
I have thought of several very ambitious blogposts, but have given up after they failed to resemble anything like something Chuck Klosterman would write. So now I'm back to just making these inane lists of factoids, reviews, and links.
1. Here are my thoughts on all three Ocean movies.
OCEANS ELEVEN: A pretty typical heist movie highlighted by its style and cast. That said, there were no surprises, and the heist relied on a lot of hi-tech hullabaloo. The rest of the cast acted as a mystified audience to the supersmart hypercool of Msrs. Pitt and Clooney (Matt Damon was particularly boring playing a guy who attacked like a retarded fifteen year old; Bernie Mac and Elliott Gould were wasted). But the movie was a hit precisely because it promised what it delivered: big stars strutting their considerable charisma in outwitting a villian somewhere between Dean Wormer and a James Bond criminal mastermind. Nothing about it was very original (duh, it was a remake), and it coasted without invoking the quirks of its better performers (except for Don Cheadle, whose work in this trilogy is my least favorite thing he's ever done). A mild entertainment that happens to be a disappointment because of the amount of talent involved.
OCEANS TWELVE: There was nothing very typical about this one: from its cool, foreign locales to the casting of Catherine Zeta-Jones as an icy supercop (The best scene in the movie establishes this wordlessly), to its bizarre-bordering-on-absurd scenarios. Where the first movie put its stars through the heist theatrics, this one threw them in a state of extended chaos. The result was much more pleasurable - where we had original seen them in a state of unbroken boffo cool, now they're struggling to remain alive and being outwitted by something called the "Grey Fox." Its funny to see these guys wriggle free from the various imposing grasps, as opposed to winking at each other when the script calls for everything to work perfectly. But mainly, I found this one much funnier, probably because Pitt was the centerpiece of the folly, as opposed to the more stoic Clooney. Many things can be said about Clooney, but a master comedian he is not (its being proven that O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU is turning into an aberration in an otherwise laugh-free career). Also, Damon, Gould, Affleck, Caan, and others are given a chance to use their considerable comic gifts.
OCEANS THIRTEEN: It's better than ELEVEN but not as good as TWELVE. Just like ELEVEN, it's throwaway entertainment with an assumed happy ending. Like TWELVE, the supporting cast gets more opportunities, particularly Casey Affleck who deserves the career his lesser-talented brother blew, and Clooney is allowed to look good in a tux rather than try to wrap his brow around the foreign element of comic timing. Al Pacino is here, which is only a good thing. Bernie Mac has a funny scene, then disappears into the backdrop. Ellen Barkin is wasted and, frankly, embarrassed (as is Eddie Izzard). Andy Garcia is better here than he was in the first two. There are several laughs, and the payoff for the heist is rewarding because of the unlikability of Pacino's character. So its a disappointment that happens to be mild entertainment.
2. Sunday's ENTOURAGE was the best of SEASON 3, and offers hope for the new Season (where the result of the movie they made will make for much more interesting TV than the financing of it). But I'm pretty hooked on the song they played over the opening credits. It's by this mostly unknown band called CHESTER FRENCH, and the song is called SHE LOVES EVERYBODY. It's got this weird Smiths/Interpol/Joy Division/James Bond Opening Credit Song vibe going. You can check out their myspace page here.
3. Finished my first paper on Milton. I took the day off today. Now I will have more to do tomorrow.
4. New CD I got and liked: Spoon's GA GA GA GA (or something like that).
5. Speaking of Pacino, he was honored Monday night with an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award. I am a freaking geek for these celebrity get-togethers (I watch them pretty much every year), and this one was probably my favorite, as Pacino is one of my favorite actors. Jamie Foxx's speech was touching, as was Andy Garcia's. It makes you wish that someone would give Pacino his first good role since THE INSIDER. The last six years have offered him one crap role after another, the lone exception being his interesting (but mostly unseen) take on Shylock in an OK adaptation of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. Two of his films have gone straight to video. He has starred opposite Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell. This just isn't right. Seriously, he and Anthony Hopkins should join forces and kill their agents.
The evening was soured by the appearance of George Lopez, who did an imitation of Tony Montoya (from SCARFACE, perhaps the most overrated movie ever made). For some reason, Lopez thought it would be a good idea to throw in some choice barbs about Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Rosie O'Donnell. It was embarrassing, and it only showed to go you how bad the state of standup comedy is in, when this guy is the best they can get for comic relief.
| By Andytown | 09:48 PM
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Comments
I absolutely agree that Scarface is the most overrated movie ever made. If I ever become an acting teacher, my class will watch this movie and particularly the last scene as the section on "overacting".
Posted by: Harvey at June 21, 2007 09:47 AM
Not to nitpick, but that episode of Entourage was actually the first of season 4, though I couldn't tell you why if you gave me a thousand guesses.
Posted by: Sean at June 22, 2007 04:11 PM
if this is a lame list, then why is the new spoon on it as #4? i think you should create a new list of five grand things, and that the spoon album should be on it, but only preceeded by my own self, who didst hook you up with that (and lots of others) album to begin with... if i made a list of five grand things, you would probably be on it for giving me that vinyl copy of pretzel logic AND pump up the volume (still wow-ing over this one)...
Posted by: bethan at June 25, 2007 02:26 PM