'Ocean's Eight' Review

After being released from a five year prison sentence, Debbie Ocean sets out to recruit an all-female crew and pull off the heist of a lifetime by stealing a $150 million necklace during New York City's annual Met Gala.

Ocean's Eight functions as an extension of sorts to the pre-existing Ocean's Trilogy, and this is made abundantly clear in the film's opening where it's confirmed that Debbie is Danny Ocean's sister (this is in the trailers). Since I had absolutely no attachment to the Ocean's Trilogy on behalf of never having seen the films prior to a few days ago, I wasn't perturbed when this all-female reboot was announced. In fact, I was somewhat intrigued by the A-list talent assembled for the project and thought the reboot had huge potential. However, I was very surprised not to see a similar backlash which befell 2016's Ghostbusters, since that film was also a gender-swapped reboot. I suppose this is simply because the 1984 Ghostbusters is much more beloved than any Ocean's installment, plus the blowback was lessened by the fact Ocean's Eleven (2001) was already a remake and this spin-off happens in the same universe. 

The lady-led soft reboot was spearheaded by Gary Ross who took up directorial duties, wrote the story treatment solo, and penned the screenplay alongside Olivia Milch. Unfortunately, these are the areas in which I found Ocean's Eight to be the most lacking. While certainly a competently made film, Ocean's Eight lacks its own voice in the ever-growing heist genre and this is largely because Ross seems reluctant to put his own stamp on the film. Where Steven Soderbergh has made an effort to put his own spin on heist films with Logan Lucky and his Ocean's Trilogy, Ross simply retreads old ground with the same franchise blueprints. It's almost as though Warner Bros. saw the toxic fanboy reaction to Ghostbusters (2016) and decided it would be best to play things as safe as possible with a familiar story and nothing new aside from an almost entirely female ensemble. As a result, there's very little to differentiate Ocean's Eight from any of the other installments in the Ocean's franchise or any other heist film for that matter. 

It just felt as though Ocean's Eight was going through the motions of the conventional heist formula. One thing that was particularly bothersome was that **very minor spoiler warning, I guess?**  the heist went off without a hitch. All of the obstacles felt like they were easily overcome in a matter of seconds, so this heist which is supposed to be ridiculously difficult didn't feel like it was much of a challenge for these ladies. Therefore, the heist was devoid of tension and I was never concerned for the characters or their wellbeing (which is another issue altogether). In spite of this, the heist was actually my favorite portion of the film and the section I found to be the most entertaining. There are some decent twists at the end, even though a few were fairly predictable, but the remaining runtime was overinflated with standard setup and an additional twenty-thirty minutes after the heist. Not to mention the wasted time from two scenes that were practically advertisements for Subway and Tinder. They weren't as egregious as the product placement in Power Rangers (2017) or Transformers, but it was enough for me to roll my eyes in the theater. 

Otherwise, the script was lackluster and the characters were underdeveloped and fairly uninteresting. Much of the screen-time is dedicated towards recruiting a crew for the heist, explaining the heist, preparing for the heist, and then executing the heist. Ocean's Eight doesn't dedicate much time towards developing the characters or establishing much camaraderie between the crew so I ultimately didn't care about them. You could also tell that some of the lines that were supposed to be scene-ending zingers didn't really land, and it was really awkward whenever a joke fell flat.

Even though it may seem as if I'm simply ranting about mediocrity, there were elements I appreciated including a couple Ocean's Trilogy cameos, cool transitions effects, the elegant costumes, a funky, upbeat Ocean's-inspired score from Daniel Pemberton, and most importantly, the cast. The film largely works because of the talent it has at its disposal. These actresses elevate their thinly drawn characters and pepper in a little extra personality, but they were mostly typecast to play exaggerated versions of themselves or female versions of their male counterparts from the Ocean's Trilogy. The performances across the board were fine, but there was hardly a standout aside from Anne Hathaway playing a vain actress. When you hear the names Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Awkwafina, and Rihanna, there's a degree of star power associated with those names, and I was mostly disappointed to see so many of these actresses blend into the background.

While not nearly the worst of the Ocean’s franchise, I still felt Ocean's Eight conned me out of two hours. A sequel seems likely based on Ocean's Eight scoring the franchise's highest weekend debut, and I'm actually all in for that regardless of my issues. With a solid ensemble and the potential to easily top this entry, I just hope Warner Bros. lets Ross venture outside the box next time or at least hires someone willing to get their hands dirty and take some risks.

Film Assessment: C+

Throwback Thursday Review: 'The Hunger Games'

The Hunger Games is the first in the popular Hunger Games film franchise based off of novels of the same name. Given that The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, the final film in the Hunger Games franchise, will be released next week I thought I'd go back and review it's predecessors. This week I'm reviewing The Hunger Games and next week will review The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and if I have time will go back and modify my review on The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part One after rewatching it because it was one of my older reviews that didn't go to in-depth and I will add a Film Assessment to that review. I would like to make it a habit that when I re-watch a film that I reviewed a while back before I added the Film Assessment rating, I will go back and at least add that to the review or possibly modify the score if the film doesn't hold up to repeated viewings. 

'The Hunger Games' Review

Gary Ross does a phenomenal job of weaving the cinematography, costuming, production design and visual effects all together to help visualize this dystopian future described in the young adult novel series. Ross and the design teams also do particularly well juxtaposing the different environments of the bleak, dismal District 12 with the lively, bustling Capitol which is a brilliant piece of social commentary. The Arena is also given it's own atmosphere and I like how the film helps place the audience in the character's eyes as once they enter the arena there is a genuine sense of confusion as it feels as though the audience is thrust into the games. However there is a huge blaring problem as soon as the Games begin there is an extensive overuse of shaky cam. I found this to be quite annoying and really distracting to the film and it's probably my largest issue with The Hunger Games. I'm unsure if the filmmakers were trying to create a sense of confusion but the shaky cam just didn't quite work for me. I believe shaky cam can some times help to elevate a film if used correctly but this is not the case as it's used in almost every scene shot in the arena and there are moments where I wonder if they even had  tripod on set while shooting this film. Despite the annoyance of the shaky cam, several of my favorite moments take place in the arena. I liked seeing the tributes utilize basic survival skills, and one scene between Rue and Katniss is just heartbreaking, I won't dive into spoiler territory though as it's a very impactful moment and I wouldn't want that scene to be ruined for anyone prior to viewing the film. The performances across the board aren't too impressive, but there are a few diamonds in the rough figuratively. The true star is Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, the film's lead, and fits perfectly into the role of the tough yet humble heroine. A majority of the scenes that transferred perfectly from the page to the screen were the scenes that focused on Katniss. In particular, the scene in which Katniss volunteers as tribute to save her sister is very emotionally moving and perfectly encapsulated the moment as it registered in my mind whilst reading the book. Other scenes that featured Katniss that just felt cohesive to the film's narrative with Lawrence's performance and maintaining pinpoint accuracy to the way these events unraveled in the book ranged from the scene where Katniss is being evaluated by the and she chooses to fire an arrow into the viewing area to catch their attention showing just how courageous Katniss is to the simple moment when Katniss is being interviewed by Cesar Flickerman and twirls in her dress to have the skirt become engulfed in small flames that earns her the nickname "The girl on fire".
Josh Hutchinson plays Peeta, the other tribute from District 12 and doesn't really bring anything special to the role but is certainly serviceable as the nice sensitive guy who is one of Katniss' love interests, the other being Liam Hemsworth is very underused in the role of Gale with very little screen time but he also doesn't booster too much acting prowess. One actress I was very impressed with was Amanda Stenberg, the child actress who portrayed Rue, as her character has one of the most pivotal emotional core moments in the entire film and the young actress nails it really "hitting the audience in the feels". The main supporting cast consisting of Stanley Tucci as the flamboyant Cesar Flickerman, Elizabeth Banks as the pretentious Effie Trinket, Woody Harrelson as the laid-back mentor Haymitch, and Lenny Kravitz as Katniss' stylist Cinna. Each of which fit quite well in their respective roles and really bring out the exaggerated characteristics of their characters which helps keep the film more interesting in the dialogue heavy scenes. In regards to villains, Wes Bentley is a very sly and smooth as the Gamemaker, Seneca, who designs the Arena and manipulates the situations inside the Hunger Games and Donald Sutherland has a very malevolent presences as the autocratic ruler of Panem, President Snow. Both actors wear out their villainous roles like a glove adding to the bleak dystopian atmosphere when present. Having read all of the books I can say that the film is very faithful to the source material and has fantastic world building onscreen that helps to place the audience in this dystopian future and feel as though they are truly watching the events of the book occur. Overall, the film is quite entertaining with a stellar lead in Jennifer Lawrence, a solid supporting cast, an intriguing narrative and riveting action despite the annoyance of the shaky cam. In spite of all of these elements that are well crafted together I personally prefer the book. If you have yet to see The Hunger Games I strongly recommend you watch it, especially if you have any interest in the book series.

Film Assessment: C+