Ocean’s Eight (2018)

June 30, 2018

Writer/Director: Gary Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit [2003], Pleasentville)

Producer: Steven Soderbergh (Unsane, Magic Mike, Side Effects, Ocean’s Eleven [2001])

Based on characters created by George Clayton Johnson (Ocean’s Eleven [1960/2001]) & Jack Golden Russell (Ocean’s Eleven [1960/2001])

Time: 110 min.

Studios: Warner Bros. Pictures & Village Roadshow Pictures

PG-13: Language, Drug Use & some Suggestive Content

 

Players: Sandra Bullock (Debbie Ocean), Cate Blanchett (Lou),

Anne Hathaway (Daphne Kluger), Rihanna (Nine-Ball), Mindy Kaling (Amita),

Sarah Paulson (Tammy), Awkwafina (Constance),

Helena Bonham Carter (Rose Weil), Richard Armitage (Claude Becker),

Griffin Dunne (Parole Board Officer), Dakota Fanning (Penelope Stern)

And James Corden (John Frazier)

Special Guest Stars: Elliot Gould (Reuben Tishkoff), Shaobo Qin (Yen)

And George Clooney (Danny Ocean)

As Themselves: Anna Wintour (VOGUE Editor-In-Chief), COMMON, Serena Williams,

Olivia Munn, Kim Kardashian West, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner,

Hailey Baldwin, Katie Holmes, Jamie King, Alexander Wang

And Zac Posen

 

“Who run the world?/Girls!” “Girls” by Beyoncé 

As you noticed I started off with a song lyric but considering the eventful year before we went through (Former Weinstein Company and Miramax Films co-founder Harvey Weinstein and his sexual misdeeds with female actresses in Hollywood, the beginning of the #MeToo movement, and the disgraced fall of actors Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Piven, Louis C. K., and Bill Cosby), this Beyoncé song speaks to me more than ever.

In the mix of all this it was girls that definitely ran the box office from last year’s hit starting 2017 off right with director Ted Melfi’s space race/civil rights drama “Hidden Figures” dominating most of January to last summer’s superhero wonder from director Patty Jenkins “Wonder Woman” starring Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman 1984), Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson (The Circle) as the live-action incarnation of Belle and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” featuring Daisy Ridley (Murder on the Orient Express [2017]) as Rey and the late Carrie Fisher in her final reprisal as General Leia before her death in 2016 were signals that women both on the screen and behind the scenes refused to be the romantic lead or just sex objects.

In every conceivable way, women demand respect both on and off screen.

For five years, eight months and twelve days the estranged sister of Danny Ocean (Oscar-winner George Clooney) the recently paroled Debbie Ocean (Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock, Bird Box) had the ideal heist in her head while being incarcerated.

Uniting seven different women from seven different walks of life from her best friend Lou (Two-time Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett, The House with the Clock in the Walls) who dreams of going west to California on her motorcycle, disgraced fashion designer Rose Weil (Oscar-nominee Helena Bonham Carter, Netflix’s “The Crown: Season Three”), stay-at-home mom Tammy (Primetime Emmy-winner Sarah Paulson, The Post), hacker Nine-Ball (Grammy-winner Rihanna, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), pick-pocket Constance (rapper/comedian Awkwafina, Crazy Rich Asians), movie star Daphne Kluger (Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway, Colossal) and last but not least jeweler Amita (Golden Globe-winner Mindy Kaling, A Wrinkle in Time [2018]).

On the surface, these ladies have nothing in common but they do want better lives for themselves and they are united to do one simple job.

Instead of bank heists, casinos or Fort Knox, their mark is a piece of jewelry that’ll be on the neck of Daphne Kluger who is hosting this year’s Met Gala where a who’s who of Hollywood elite will be coming to the New York annual to have a good time and show off their designer duds on the red carpet.

But when Debbie’s old flame Claude Becker (Richard Armitage, Brain on Fire) becomes Daphne’s date this heist is more than just about money, it’s about payback for Debbie.

Can Debbie separate business from personal and can her crew pull off the impossible plus avoid insurance fraud investigator John Frazier (James Corden, Peter Rabbit) at the same time?

The first blast of comedy fun has arrived this summer and you don’t have to be a girl to enjoy the latest entry in the “Ocean’s Eleven [2001]” movie franchise.

For those that are wondering do Sandra Bullock and her on-screen crew pull off the impossible they do it with ease and glamour.

Writer/director Gary Ross taking over the franchise for the un-retired mastermind behind the “Ocean’s Eleven [2001/2004/2007]” trilogy Academy-Award winning director Steven Soderbergh who sticks around as producer definitely was the right guy for the job.

Despite the jilted lover angle in the movie, this is still a fun and vibrant movie for both genders and all ages.

My final cut: 4 out of 5 stars ****/*****!

“Alright, ramblers let’s get rambling.” Joe Cabot (the late Lawrence Tierney, “Reservoir Dogs”)

Johnny White III

 

Johnny White III recommends these classics on Blu-ray, 4K, DVD & Digital download:

 

Snatch (2000) – Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Stars: Benicio del Toro, Vinnie Jones, Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Dennis Farina,

Lennie James, Ewen Bremner, Jason Flemyng, Rade Sherbedgia, Alan Ford

Writer/Director: Guy Ritchie (The Man from U. N. C. L. E., Sherlock Holmes [2009/2011])

Producer: Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Eddie The Eagle, Kick-Ass, Layer Cake)

Executive Producer: Trudie Styler (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)

 

Ocean’s Eleven (2001) – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment

Stars: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Shaobo Qin,

Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Eddie Jemison, Carl Reiner, Andy Garcia,

Julia Roberts

Special Guest Stars: Lennox Lewis, Jerry Weintraub, Topher Grace, Holly Marie Combs,

Shane West, Barry Watson, Joshua Jackson, Wayne Newton,

Wladimir Klitschko, Angie Dickinson, Jim Lampley, Siegfried & Roy,

Larry Merchant

Director/Cinematographer: Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike, Traffic [2000], Side Effects)

Writer: Ted Griffin (Matchstick Men, Best Laid Plans, Tower Heist)

Based on the 1960 movie written by Harry Brown & Charles Lederer

Producer: Jerry Weintraub (Ocean’s Twelve, The Karate Kid [2010], Beverly Hills Troop)