Friday, April 16, 2010

Ocean’s Eleven


Ocean’s Eleven

Ocean’s Eleven is not your typical heist movie.To start with there are eleven people working together all with specific, indispensable jobs to do. Yet the mood is still light hearted which makes it even more compelling to watch.

The inspired direction and flowing script assure that there is never a dull moment and that every scene is important, as is every character. There are also a couple of cameo appearances from some other big names to look out for.

This is a film that will keep you fascinated the entire time you are watching. It does not conform to the conventional values of the genre that we have come to expect. The twists and turns guarantee that by the end you will be sitting there thinking ‘that was really clever’. Perhaps it isn’t quite what you would expect from such a star studded cast and an Oscar winning director. But that is why it is so much better than the archetypal Hollywood blockbusters that we have come to expect.

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Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

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nick and norahs infinite playlist Nick and Norahs Infinite Playlist

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

All right. Listen up out there. You could say this is Juno without the baby…or almost as useless and watered down as a straight to DVD movie…but you would be missing the point–not that every movie has to have a point.

N&N is not trying to sell something or be something–it’s not even trying to be great…because most love stories that try to be great fail. When you see N&N (and if you’re in the mood for a lighthearted enjoyable movie, you should), don’t go with an expectation of grandeur or even for the entire thing to be great. Alexis Diziena is as useless in this film as she is anorexic and whorish–her part is almost explicitly sexual. And there are so many subplots that their lives appear at times to be exaggerated. What matters almost seems to be camouflaged by what should be secondary.

The movie succeeds in a number of understated ways, though. Ari Graynor’s part is by far the funniest character of the bunch and Ari plays the part extremely well. The gay band Michael Cera is a member of adds a quirky afterthought to his character’s back story. And what’s most important–the characters Nick and Norah act like slightly more interesting versions of normal people. They have their flaws and their disagreements but they’re capable of finding the beauty in each other and their story along the way.


Movies should be about the creation and expansion of a spark of magic–not about giving you exactly what you expect or want. The perfection of the movie lives in its imperfections. The love is in the relationships that are real and what is fake gets left behind in a sketchy area near 10th street (that’s not a spoiler). It amplifies grace with its soundtrack and hope with its random culmination of peculiar events over a single-night.

So just let the infinite playlist play and enjoy it already.

Catch Me If You Can

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catch me if you can ver2 Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can

“Catch Me If You Can” is based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, the most successful conman in history. By the age of 19, Frank had already posed as a pilot for Pan Am, paraded around as a medical doctor, and fooled everyone by taking an on-the-side-job as a lawyer. (By the way, he faked a Harvard-graduate diploma to become one.) During this time he cashed fraudulent checks at various banks around the country, and eventually around various places in the world. His is an amazing story, and this film is based on it.

There’s no real plot to go into, as I have already given it to you. Other than telling you that the film opens when Frank is sixteen and runs away from home after his parents (Christopher Walken and Nathalie Baye) have a messy divorce, you pretty much have the setup for a light, fluffy, and altogether fun film.

Frank is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and the man hot on his trail, agent Carl Hanratty, is played by Tom Hanks. There isn’t really a Carl Hanratty in real life, but it adds to the story. Frank, on the run, actually starts to become friends with Hanratty, who realizes Frank is just an adolescent and does not realize the eventual outcomes of what he is doing. Hanratty sort of adopts Frank, even after he is caught and thrown in a French prison. He helps him get transferred to an American prison, and then even gets him a job in the FBI for spotting fraudulent checks.

The film is entirely watchable, and doesn’t try to become an epic. Steven Spielberg creates a real dazzler here; it is effortlessly watchable and even at two and a half hours long, it doesn’t become overbearing. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and, unlike most critics, I thought Tom Hanks did a great job in his role.

I especially like how Spielberg captured the image of the ’60s so well here, and John Williams’ score fits the part of the film very well. And as for the cast, they are all matched perfectly to their characters. I especially liked Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale, Sr., who steals every scene he is in. His performance was worthy of its Oscar nom.

If you just want to sit back and relax, “Catch Me If You Can” is the perfect film for you. There’s nothing all that special in the film, but the film kind of becomes special because it is so easy to watch. I recommend “Catch Me If You Can” to anyone who can enjoy a movie for what it is.

A must watch!!

Ocean’s Eleven

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s 11 Oceans Eleven

Ocean’s Eleven

Ocean’s Eleven is not your typical heist movie.To start with there are eleven people working together all with specific, indispensable jobs to do. Yet the mood is still light hearted which makes it even more compelling to watch.

The inspired direction and flowing script assure that there is never a dull moment and that every scene is important, as is every character. There are also a couple of cameo appearances from some other big names to look out for.

This is a film that will keep you fascinated the entire time you are watching. It does not conform to the conventional values of the genre that we have come to expect. The twists and turns guarantee that by the end you will be sitting there thinking ‘that was really clever’. Perhaps it isn’t quite what you would expect from such a star studded cast and an Oscar winning director. But that is why it is so much better than the archetypal Hollywood blockbusters that we have come to expect.

Clooney plays Danny Ocean with the same self – confidence, composure and unmistakable coll that hasn’t been seen since Sinatra himself. All the other characters are brand new, that is except for the character of Tess Ocean (Julia Roberts). In the 60s original Tess, played by Angie Dickinson, is Ocean’s defender (to some extent). However, Roberts’ re-vamped character is more self assured and unmoved by Ocean’s charm. Rusty (Pitt) is rarely seen without snack in hand and the suit are certainly something to look at. He may be a new character but he is still played in the carefree manner typical of the Rat Pack.

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