Home > Blogs > Sir Critic on Cinema > Archives > 2007 > June > 11 > Entry
Memphis, Vegas Indy and Paris: ‘Oceans 13,’ etc.
To paraphrase General MacArthur, I have returned … from Memphis, to bring you a little city-by-city “tour” of movie news/reviews from the past week.
Memphis/Vegas: While in Memphis, I caught Ocean’s 13, which is a significant improvement over its predecessor. To some people, that may not be saying much, but the gang and director Steven Soderbergh remembered to tell a story again rather than just having us witness the great time everyone had on the set. The movie’s a little too loosey-goosey in places because the writers strain too hard to include all of the Ocean crew, making some of the subplots fairly dull. Still, the addition of Al Pacino as the villain is a major plus, and it goes a long way toward restoring the shine on this series. GRADE: B+
PS: Note to the makers of Spider-Man 3 and Pirates 3 - THIS is how you construct a Rubik’s Cube of a plot without bogging your movie down: Keep the action moving at a good clip without constantly throwing stuff at the screen and seeing what sticks. On balance, this is the best of the summer’s big-ticket threequels - which again, isn’t saying much.
PPS: Is it just me, or does Ellen Barkin look a lot like an older Cameron Diaz in this movie?
Barkin ^
Diaz
Indy: There can be no doubt that Sean Connery has more than earned the right to retire. Still, I was very disappointed to find out that he opted out of appearing in the fourth Indiana Jones movie, which is about to start filming. This means that his last movie will be The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Uccch. Ya sure ya don’t wanna go out on a better note, Sean?
Paris: Normally, I would refuse to talk about Paris Hilton. The less attention I or anyone in the media gives that brainless twit (redundant, I know), the better. Still, I couldn’t resist commenting on the headline for this story: Hilton says she will no longer “act dumb.”
(Tries to stifle laugh)
(Fails)
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHH!
HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEEEE!
Oh, I can’t stand it!
OHHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!
(huff, puff)
Whew! Well, at least now I know partly why my brethren in the media follow her so incessantly. She’s sometimes good for a guffaw or two.
Comment on anything here if the spirit moves you. Also, tell me what you guys have seen lately. I’m hearing Surf’s Up actually is pretty clever. True?
(Note: If you see a Marty/Joe post just below this one, ignore it. We’re working out some bugs.)
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Reviews
Comments
By Sir Critic
June 12, 2007 10:16 AM | Link to this
Ya know, I have to admit, I was never into the Speed Racer cartoon. What’s the big deal besides a catchy theme song? But I am curious about the film, especially with the Wachowskis at the helm. I just hope they don’t commission a death metal/techno rewrite of the theme!By Derwood
June 12, 2007 7:46 AM | Link to this
I can hardly wait to hear your review of the Speed Racer movie. Filming began this week.By SRCputt
June 11, 2007 3:02 PM | Link to this
Paris will no longer “act dumb” because… she isn’t acting. [rimshot] Good night everybody!By SRCputt
June 11, 2007 2:58 PM | Link to this
What? You didn’t go see Hostel Part II? I was so looking forward to that review.