Skip to main content

Ocean's Eight Review

What I liked: Oceans 8 actually had all the stages of a heist, no corner cutting for them, take that Solo. The crew was fun, they had funny lines, and the plan was elaborate so they really hit all the bases. The step 4 sneaky twist was less sneaky than you might hope but fairly satisfying. I liked the top off of the team to make 8. Both of them. The first chunk of the movie seemed like she would have been right at home in Catch Me if You Can. I liked the little old ladies and the jar of Nutella. I did not have equal faith in all members of the team. Some of them were really good at their jobs but some of them, especially the designer definitely had issues. And while likely completely unnecessary and very dangerous, I liked the dramatic exit. It was fun to see everyone all done up.
What I didn’t: For being a jewelry heist there was a disappointingly low amount of repelling and
backflips. Pretty much all of the sneaking involved disguises and not you know jumping fences or parachuting
down elevator shafts. So their plan probably worked better but just think how cool they would have
looked. I think that the body guards could have been employed by the Empire. Did we really have to set
up Danny Ocean not being dead? I’m glad he didn’t crash the heist but he’s a con man, so it really
wouldn’t push it too much to say he faked his death. So the sneaky twist was well executed of course,
you have a pretty good idea that it is coming but they clearly pulled it off with precision. But it
definitely made me wonder about the necessity of the dramatic exit. I was glad they all got fancy outfits
and it was a fun sequence but it did seem unnecessarily risky. Also I would like to have seen how
they all snuck in and got changed with the museum in lock-down. It was a short lock down so we
would have to have 6 women sneak in with formal wear, get changed, do their hair and make-up
and join the party without anyone noticing. Very impressive.

Who should watch this? People who like heist movies.

Would I watch it again? Sure.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Titanic

What I liked: Liked is definitely the wrong word for it but the scenes of the sinking of the Titanic were masterful. They were technologically impressive, apparently remarkably accurate, and emotionally gripping. The variety of ways in which different people dealt with a completely hopeless situation was both touching and thought provoking. Especially beautiful was the string quartet. In isolation from the love story, the sinking of the Titanic is a tragic reminder of the cost of hubris and the necessity of regulating emergency procedures and capacities. It carries similar gravitas as a war film. At the 25th anniversary of the film, I can appreciate how Titanic has impacted movies made later.  What I didn't: So here's the thing. I feel very bad for you if you died in the sinking of the Titanic. I feel less bad for you if you managed to get on a lifeboat on the Titanic and then decided to get off. I question all of your decision making and priorities if you decide to get off a...

Vengeance

What I liked: The premise is absurd. A complete dumpster fire of a person from New York teams up with a Texan red neck to avenge the death of the sister. ... by making a podcast. If that approach to revenge is not the most terrible revenge plan I'm not sure what is. Oh wait, it's Dracula kidnapping a historian to catalog his personal book collection, but that is off topic. Along they way the character gets wildly out of his depth and does things that are definitely bad plans. Like meet with a cartel leader alone in a shed, drive a Prius, visit a music producer, more than once, and give an off the cuff eulogy. Certainly at the beginning it carries the awkward discomfort of The Office but it quickly expands to explosions and the conviction to a podcast found only among the certain portion of the coffee shop population. I thought they did a good job of picking fun at both the rural Texans and the big city New Yorkers. I think they really nailed the "intellectual" bros in...

Annihilation

  What I liked: I liked the crystal trees and the creepy people plants. The multi colored lichen and flowers were cool too. I liked how disorienting the loss of time and flashbacks were, they did a good job of maintaining the disquiet and suspense. I liked that they remembered that mutation and evolution has no goal, it's just a thing that happens with all kinds of side effects. I liked their little boat trip in giant crocodile infested swamp. I'm not sure if I loved the silver skin suit but I can't deny that it was interesting.  What I didn't: The heroes are all scientists who go on a mission to find out what is going on inside the "shimmer". For being all scientists they don't draw very well on their test one variable at a time training. If nothing has ever come out of the shimmer, try sticking a stick in and see if you can pull it out. Step inside with a harness on so if you don't come back they can try and pull you back. Walk in a little ways and t...