|
Movie Review - Ocean's 11 (2001)
|
|
|
|
|
(What this rating means)
|
|
| |
|
| Director: |
Steven Soderbergh |
| Starring: |
George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon |
| Rated: |
PG-13 (for some language and sexual content) |
| Length: |
116 minutes |
| Genre: |
Thriller/Heist |
| Tagline: |
Are You In Or Out? |
| Studio: |
Warner Bros. |
| Website: |
Ocean's 11 |
|
PLOT
|
Danny Ocean (Clooney) hires ten accomplices to help him rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. Plenty
of heist hijinks and shenanigans ensue.
|
|
JOHNNY'S TAKE
|
I recently saw Ocean's 12, so it's inevitable that people are gonna
ask me what I thought of Ocean's 11. The movie was released in 2001, so chances are if you have
ANY interest in Ocean's 12, then you have seen its predecessor. The
moral of the story? Rather than waste my time with a long, detailed review, I'm gonna make this
short and sweet. Well, I'm not sure if that's technically a moral, but you know what I mean.
I really enjoyed Ocean's 11 when it originally hit the theaters. I love good heist movies, and this
one satisfied me. I remember it being a fun, laid back movie that never took itself too seriously. One of
my favorite scenes was at the beginning when Brad Pitt's character was teaching a bunch of teen idols
(Joshua Jackson, Topher Grace, Barry Watson, etc.) how to play cards. It was this sort of unconventional
humor that grabbed my interest and held it throughout.
So I watched the DVD the other day to see if the movie held up over time. The verdict? Why yes, yes it
does hold up over time! The main weakness of the movie is Julia Roberts. I've never liked her, and her
attempts at talking tough are pretty laughable. But other than that, it's just an entertaining movie.
So there, that's my brief take of Ocean's 11. Happy? Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish
the Ocean's 12 review.
|
|
WHY THIS DVD IS IN MY COLLECTION
|
Actually, I don't own the DVD. My sister borrowed it from her friend, and then I borrowed it
from my sister. It's not a bad one to add to the collection though, especially since you can
find it for under $10.
|
|
SPECIAL FEATURES
|
Unfortunately, the special features are pretty lame.
- Commentary 1 - Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, and Brad Pitt. Commentary 2 - Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter
Ted Griffin. I haven't listened to either of the commentaries. Why? Because I haven't found the time to get
excited about watching 4 hours worth of commentary.
- Cast and Crew - This is a special feature??? Please. You can look this up on IMDb.
- Behind the Scenes - It runs for 14 1/2 minutes and is basically a short "making of" documentary. Each of
the main actors talks about his or her character, and Steven Soderbergh throws in his comments. It's mainly a
detailed plot and character description.
- Trailers - Two teaser trailers and the theatrical trailer. Whoopee. They can be found on the
Internet.
- The Look of the Con - A nearly 9 minute discussion about how important clothing was for each character.
The costume designer talks about how he dressed each actor according to his character's personality. Slightly
interesting but nothing mind-blowing.
- More special features by using your PC's DVD-Rom. I haven't messed with it, and I don't plan to.
This could have been a much better DVD if it included some deleted scenes and a blooper reel. Everybody
seemed to have fun making the movie, so I'd be surprised if there isn't footage of everybody messing up
and goofing around.
|
|
ODDS & ENDS
|
- Budget: $85,000,000
- Domestic Gross: $183,405,771
- Matt Damon's role was originally meant for Mark Wahlberg. That's pretty funny since I've always said
they look alike.
- Luke and Owen Wilson were to play the brothers Virgil and Turk, but they dropped out due to
The Royal Tenenbaums. Man, that would've been cool.
- Bruce Willis was also cast, but he had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts.
- George Clooney was in The Thin Red Line with Nick Nolte and John C. Reilly who were both in
Nightwatch with Josh Brolin who was in Hollow Man with Kevin Bacon. Travis Fine was also
in The Thin Red Line and in The Young Riders with Josh.
|
|
MAMA'S APPROVAL
|
As long as I fast forward through Elliot Gould's first scene (where he says G-d**n about 4 times), then it's
fairly mama friendly. No sex or nudity.
|
|
TRAILER COMPARISON
|
I'd have to say the trailer is pretty representative of the movie. No big surprises here.
|
|
THE GIST
|
Ocean's 11 is a heist movie that actually focuses on the details of the heist. It's funny, the
cast has good chemistry, and the movie never takes itself too seriously. If by some weird chance you've
never seen the movie, then I highly recommend it. Unless you don't like heist movies. But then why would
you be reading this review?
|
|
