OK, so I lied. Next big review will not be Ocean's Eleven because I can't think of enough to say about it and any opinions would be coloured by having recently watched The Sting. Here are the highlights of said review:
This is probably the most slickly edited film you will see this year. It reminds me a little of when my friend and I first went into an editing suite to deal with our film. It was a digital package thing, and we suddenly had hundreds of wipes, effects, silly things which no sensible director could ever get away with. I remember being particularly taken with the sepier effect (how do you spell it?), and spent a long time writing a Western just so we could use it. Anyway, the editors of Ocean's Eleven evidently came down with a serious bout of Lucasitis (ever seen how many fancy transition effects Star Wars contains?) - but luckily enough, it works with marvelous aplomb producing said slick effect.
The plot contained the requisite twists - but somehow they totally failed to engage. Perhaps that was just me...I would have liked it if a little more had gone wrong. They should have been given an oppertunity to think on their feet. I ended up feeling very sorry for our bad guy (was it just me or did he look Pacino-esque? Ever since seeing the Godfather it’s like I’ve just been watching one movie over and over again – wedding scenes become Wedding scenes, and any guy in a black hat automatically becomes suspicious. Was it the costume, the expression, the hair or is it just me?)
The actors were very well picked - an old guy, a Chinese guy, a nerdy guy etc - as to make character recognition easy. Nevertheless I occasionally got confused as to who was who. My entire family were happy – George Clooney for mum, Brad Pitt for me. George was of course wonderful too with that wonderful sad look of his...
But then again, Brad Pitt was also my greatest problem with this film, and I‘m going to tell you why…and this is where all impartiality falls down…I have long thought Mr Pitt resembled my object of admiration, Robert Redford. Sigh, I know…he’s mine! He looks similar, and has some of the same mannerisms. The Movie Book (a terrible book by the way, don’t buy it. It’s a long list of movie-people, with a large colour photograph and a tiny bit of information. Half you’ve never heard of, and the half you might consider looking up you already know that much about. And the pictures are wretched too) describes Mr Pitt as Mr Redford’s “pale echo”, and I want you to focus on that “pale” word. Now the real problem came in the casting – because if you compare The Sting and Ocean’s Eleven you will see that both RR and BP take pretty much the same role – the younger, good looking sidekick of the more experienced wise guy. This was incredibly distracting and despite being exceptionally fond of BP, I spent the entire time wishing he was RR instead.
Finally, this film is cool. Don’t ask me how they managed it but somehow they managed to make it zing with coolness. It’s like a coolness boost. It manages to be cool without being cocky, except that kind of cool cockyness which somepeople find cool. Get the picture?
Overall rating is 3.75 out of 5. Because I gave the Sting 4/5 and I want to make sure people know that if you only watch one...
Last night I watched Intolerable Cruelty - another Clooney movie which involves him using his sad look. It was wonderful! Only dad has recently seen Syriana and he tells me the contrast between the roles was jarring and painful. It was good, with a wonderfully flooring twist in the middle and not too much sentimentality (OK, perhaps's that's wrong...). And of course, it's painful to see the beautiful people pair up - what hope is there for those of us who don't look like Ms Zeta-Jones? A good 3/5.
And that brings me up to the present - almost.
Because I have some news which is not really connected with films but to make it connect with films I have a quote. Genesis fans of the world unite! (Genesis are a band, BTW, they are not religious they are wonderful which is much better!)
First for the quote from American Psycho (the narrator is doing something else at the time, I warn you):
"Do you like Phil Collins? I've been a big Genesis fan ever since the release of their 1980 album, Duke. Before that, I really didn't understand any of their work. Too artsy, too intellectual. It was on Duke where, uh, Phil Collins' presence became more apparent. I think Invisible Touch was the group's undisputed masterpiece. It's an epic meditation on intangibility. At the same time, it deepens and enriches the meaning of the preceding three albums. Christy, take off your robe. Listen to the brilliant ensemble playing of Banks, Collins and Rutherford. You can practically hear every nuance of every instrument. Sabrina, remove your dress. In terms of lyrical craftsmanship, the sheer songwriting, this album hits a new peak of professionalism. Sabrina, why don't you, uh, dance a little. Take the lyrics to Land of Confusion. In this song, Phil Collins addresses the problems of abusive political authority. In Too Deep is the most moving pop song of the 1980s, about monogamy and commitment. The song is extremely uplifting. Their lyrics are as positive and affirmative as, uh, anything I've heard in rock. Christy, get down on your knees so Sabrina can see your ass. Phil Collins' solo career seems to be more commercial and therefore more satisfying, in a narrower way. Especially songs like In the Air Tonight and, uh, Against All Odds. Sabrina, don't just stare at it, eat it. But I also think Phil Collins works best within the confines of the group, than as a solo artist, and I stress the word artist. This is Sussudio, a great, great song, a personal favorite"
Honestly! Invisible Touch their masterpiece? He really is a psycho...
And that brings me onto this: http://contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/genesis%20to%20reform_11_03_2006
I wish I WISH they would stop it with the reunion rumours. Because it's never going to happen, they all hate each other, they're not going to revisit 40yrold music (Jeez that's a long time...) and it's just not going to happen.
I hate it!
Last film watched: I'm half way through the new Pride and Prejudice and half way through A Bridge Too Far.
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