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[bryant]

Ocean's 12 isn't really a heist movie, unlike Ocean's 11. Rather, like the original Rat Pack film, it's an excuse for a bunch of highly charismatic stars to pal around and crack wise. But hey, they do it really well, so I've got no problem with that. Bonus points for the beautiful scenery, Vincent Cassel's virtuoso martial arts dance, Robbie Coltrane's gangster, and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Then while that's going on, Soderbergh is making one of his indie films. Ocean's 12 has all his trademarks: the over-exposed cinematography, jerky time sequences, offbeat camera angles, and so on. He caps it all off with an extended homage to Full Frontal that almost justifies Julia Roberts' presence in the movie. I got the distinct impression that Soderbergh decided to sneak in his subversive frame-breaking cinematic ideology under the cover of a frothy star vehicle. (See also Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.) Kinda cool.

Comments

[telepresence.livejournal.com]

The whole Julia Roberts bit amused me, but it also kind of pissed me off. I felt as if Soderburgh was trying to have it both ways, making a bit of star-powered fluff on the one hand, and making something...arty? Ironic? On the other, and up to that point in the movie hadn't earned it. I felt the riff on George Clooney's appearance/age served essentially the same purpose, but in a much more palatable fashion.

But then they had the sequence with Cherry Jones and that pretty much saved the last 1/4 of the movie for me. I wish she'd come in sooner and been more prominent.