Ocean's 8 (2018) review

In 1960, Warner Bros. released Ocean’s 11, a heist film set in Las Vegas that was directed by two-time Oscar-winning director Lewis Milestone. The film was notable for featuring a star-studded cast that was headlined by the five men who made up one of the entertainment industry’s most notable ‘groups’, the Rat Pack; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop. And while the film itself wasn’t exactly a big hit with critics, it did do solidly at the box-office and is still considered as one of the group’s most iconic projects. Four decades later, the film was remade by auteur director Steven Soderbergh; like the original, it also featured a star-studded ensemble cast, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts, just to name a few. Upon its release in 2001, the film was a massive commercial hit that was followed by two sequels, Ocean’s Twelve in 2004 and Ocean’s Thirteen in 2007. All three films were commercially successful though critical reception towards them was varied (i.e. many consider Ocean’s Twelve to be the worst installment of the trilogy). One thing for certain, though, was that following the passing of Bernie Mac (who played con-man Frank Catton) in 2008, both Soderbergh and Clooney made it clear that there would not be a fourth Ocean’s film with the original cast. So instead, it was decided about a decade later to take the series in a different direction; thus, here we are now with Ocean’s 8, a female-led spin-off that, true to the franchise’s roots, features an all-star cast headlined by the likes of Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, and Anne Hathaway… and again, that’s just to name a few. This time around, veteran writer/director Gary Ross is behind the camera for this spin-off, though Soderbergh is still involved as a producer. And as crazy as it might seem, Ross somehow manages to surpass several of the highs from Soderbergh’s trilogy even though his film does tend to abide by quite a few of the franchise’s usual trappings.

Following in the footsteps of her late brother Danny, professional thief Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) is released on parole after spending the last five years (and eight months) in prison. As soon as she gets out, she reunites with her best friend and partner-in-crime Lou (Cate Blanchett) with her next planned heist already in the works. Said heist revolves around one of the most famous events in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual Met Gala, which several of the most famous people in the world attend. However, instead of just robbing the Gala itself, Debbie plans on stealing a valuable necklace known as the Touissant that is owned by the famous jeweler Cartier and is valued at around $150 million. To accomplish this heist, Debbie and Lou recruit a group of specialists, including down-on-her-luck fashion designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter), jewelry maker Amita (Mindy Kaling), profiteer Tammy (Sarah Paulson), street hustler Constance (Awkwafina), and tech genius ‘Nine Ball’ (Rihanna). Together, they plan on switching out the necklace for a fake one, with famous actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway) serving as their unsuspecting mule. However, things get a little more complicated once the group learns that one of the main reasons why Debbie has planned this heist is so that she can get revenge against her ex-boyfriend, art dealer Claude Becker (Richard Armitage), who was the one who sent her to prison in the first place.

Now admittedly, it’s safe to say that the plot of Ocean’s 8 has a lot in common with the Ocean’s 11 remake. Both start out with the main protagonist being released from jail and immediately meeting up with their best friend, both have montages where the two recruit their fellow crew members for the heist, and both heists end up getting complicated when it’s revealed that the main protagonist has quite the personal stake in it. Ultimately, though, if there’s one major advantage that Ocean’s 8 has over its three predecessors, it’s that it arguably carries a greater sense of confidence to it when compared to the original trilogy. Now, for the record, I’m not just saying this because this one is headlined by an all-female cast… though with that said, it does sort of play a factor into this (more on that in a bit…). After all, it’s worth noting that Ocean’s 8 ends up sharing a lot more in common with its predecessors than just similar plot-lines. While the film doesn’t necessarily maintain the same exact tight pacing of Soderbergh’s films, its primary heist is carried out in the same effortless manner that defined the heists of the previous films without any major source of conflict to undermine it, something that Debbie even assures her crewmates of before they do it. In other words, Ocean’s 8 does manage to maintain the same type of glitzy aesthetic that the previous films had even with the change in directors. With that said, though, it could be argued that the film loses just a little bit of the visual panache that Soderbergh brought to the table with his three films. And yet, in a way that I just can’t explain, this film ends up flowing a lot smoother than the previous films, and director Gary Ross does a good job of maintaining that flow throughout in this solidly-shot heist flick.   

One of the most common criticisms directed towards the Ocean’s trilogy is that while they do feature a terrific ensemble cast, some have argued that this gave the films an incredibly smug tone that ended up being a major turn-off for some audiences. Thankfully, that isn’t even remotely an issue here, as the terrific chemistry between its collection of female leads is arguably the best aspect of Ocean’s 8. This isn’t a case where one of the actresses tries to hog the limelight from their co-stars or, as John Mulaney pointed out in one of his stand-up routines, two characters go off on their own to ‘talk s***’ about their partners behind their backs. All these women work extremely well together, and just like the Avengers films, every member of the group gets to have her own standout moment, whether its screen veterans like Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett or reliable supporting players like Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling. Because of this, the successes that their characters have during the heist end up being a lot more satisfying when compared to the previous films, and it also helps that the film allows us to connect more with these characters in general when compared to Danny Ocean’s crew. Now, granted, character development in this film is sort of on par with the previous films, where the heist itself is emphasized over everything else. And yet, this film still manages to outdo its predecessors by having a more generally likable group of protagonists who have sympathetic reasons to partake in the heist, whether it’s Debbie’s goal of getting revenge against her ex for deceiving her or Rose and Amita just looking to get out of their dead-end careers.

As I noted in my retrospective of the original trilogy a few months back, I thoroughly enjoyed Steven Soderbergh’s remake of Ocean’s 11 even if I didn’t necessarily see it as one of the best films of its genre. Overall, it was a decently entertaining ‘popcorn flick’; nothing more, nothing less. Unfortunately, I, like many, found Ocean’s 12 to be a vastly disappointing follow-up. While I do recognize why it’s Soderbergh’s personal favorite due to him being able to experiment as a director, it’s ultimately a prime example of what happens when said directorial experimentation goes a bit too far. Thus, Ocean’s 13 ended up going ‘back to basics’, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was my personal favorite of the trilogy due to it having some of the franchise’s best writing and pacing. But as for Ocean’s 8, it may just be my new favorite installment of the Ocean’s franchise. Oh sure, in a lot of ways, it borrows heavily from Ocean’s 11, like having a similarly structured plot that doesn’t necessarily give the main protagonists a lot of opposition during their heist. However, it just ends up working a lot better than what we saw from the previous Ocean’s films, and while I usually don’t try to get into any sort of politically-based discussions when writing these reviews, it’s hard to deny that the fact that this film stars an all-female cast of leads is ultimately one of the biggest contributors to its overall success. The chemistry that these ladies have is far superior to what we got from the predominantly male cast of the original trilogy, and while the film still doesn’t rely too much on character development, these characters are ultimately a more likable group of protagonists by comparison. Thus, while I wouldn’t necessarily call this the ‘best-directed’ or the most ‘well-made’ installment of the Ocean’s franchise, it is quite easily the series’ most satisfying entry to date.  

Rating: 4.5/5

Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016) review

(Disclaimer: The following review of Alice Through the Looking Glass will not be addressing the recent domestic abuse scandal surrounding its star Johnny Depp. Just like the sexual abuse lawsuits that Bryan Singer dealt with prior to the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Depp’s domestic issues are not connected to this film in any way.)

In 2010, Disney released what would become their first big ‘live-action reimagining’ of one of their classic animated films; Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Tim Burton, the film was a ‘sequel’ to the original story of the same name written by Lewis Carroll (which of course served as the basis for Disney’s 1951 animated classic) and followed a teenaged Alice as she returned to the world of Wonderland, or to be more specific, ‘Underland’, as it’s referred to in the film. Upon its initial release, the film received mixed reviews, attracting praise for its visual style but also criticism for its writing. But when it comes to its box-office performance, that’s another story because the film actually managed to join the billion-dollar club. I’m still in shock that it was able to do so given its extremely polarizing reception, though from what I hear this was primarily due to the fact that A.) since it was released in March, there wasn’t much competition in terms of family-friendly releases and B.) it was also released in 3-D, which was still a big deal at the time thanks to James Cameron’s Avatar unlike nowadays where it rarely gets attention anymore. So because of it, we now have a sequel in the form of Alice Through the Looking Glass, though like the previous film, this film is only loosely inspired by the story that shares its name (in this case, Carroll’s 1871 sequel, Through the Looking Glass). Tim Burton isn’t in the director’s chair this time around, however. Instead, in his place is James Bobin, who most recently helmed Disney’s last two Muppets films; 2011’s The Muppets and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted. And like the first Alice, this film has been subjected to generally mixed to negative reviews from critics. It’s clear that when it comes to these films, people either really love them or really hate them. As for me, I’ll admit I lean more towards the former. Because while the film definitely isn’t perfect, there are still some genuinely good things about it that make it worth seeing.

The film opens up three years after the events of the previous film, which ended with young Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) taking up her late father’s business in overseas trade. However, when she returns home to London, she learns that her ‘former’ fiancé, Hamish Ascot (Leo Bill), has taken over his father’s company and plans on buying her father’s ship. Amidst all of this, Alice soon finds herself summoned back to the world of Underland to help deal with a pressing matter regarding the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp). She learns that the Hatter has been in a funk recently, claiming that the rest of his family, who supposedly died during the Jabberwocky attack (as seen in the previous film), is still alive. With his health slowly deteriorating, Alice, following the suggestion of Mirana the White Queen (Anne Hathaway), travels to the castle of the physical manifestation of Time itself (Sacha Baron Cohen) in order for her to travel back in time with the use of his ‘Chronosphere’ device, which powers all of the time in Underland. In doing so, she finds herself traveling through time, back to when the Hatter, the White Queen, and the rest of their Underland friends were young, in order to save the Hatter’s family from their supposed doom. But in doing so, Alice not only runs amok of Time himself but also finds herself once again crossing paths with Iracebeth the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), who seeks to use the Chronosphere herself in order to change a certain event in her past that caused her to become the big-headed (figuratively and literally) tyrant that she is today.

Like the first film, this film definitely deserves recognition for its visuals and overall visual style. Clearly a lot of time went into making all of the film’s intricate visual effects and they do look really nice. With that said, however, like the first film, some might find all of the film’s CGI, which was pretty much done in the same way that the Star Wars prequels were by having the majority of Underland done in CG save for the human cast members, to be a bit overkill at times. And admittedly the writing is about the same as it was in the first film, tending to be rather messy and sometimes even a bit meandering at times in terms of its plot. However, even with that in mind, the film does at least have one major advantage over its predecessor and that is that it carries a much more pleasant color scheme in terms of its visuals. Whereas the previous film was very much a Tim Burton film with all of its gothic designs, this film has a much more vibrant look to it as a whole, which is definitely an upgrade if you ask me. Plus, the film doesn’t pull any of the rather extreme punches that the original did that did make you question if it was right to be rated PG, namely infamous scenes in which the Dormouse takes out one of the Bandersnatch’s eyes and another scene where Alice crosses the Red Queen’s moat on the heads of her unfortunate victims. So because of that, this film will definitely be easier for kids to handle than the first film. And at the very least, regardless of the film’s scriptural flaws, there really are some good messages for younger audiences, like being true to yourself and your friends and the fact that it’s okay to be a little weird sometimes. There’s actually even a few rather effective heartfelt moments.

A good chunk of the film’s heart and strong messages are exemplified by its main female lead Alice. While in the first film she spent a considerable amount of time questioning the fact that she was in Underland, resulting in her being a bit too passive of a protagonist at times, this film’s Alice is much more assertive and as a result actually becomes a pretty great ‘role model’ for young women. There’s a really great sense of confidence to her, not only in how the character is portrayed this time around but also in Wasikowska’s performance. As for Johnny Depp as the Hatter, it’s exactly what you would come to expect nowadays from Johnny Depp whenever he steps into a role that allows him to don quirky costumes, makeup, and/or accents. At this point you’re either fine with it or you’re really sick of it; me I don’t mind it. Plus, the Hatter is much more toned down this time around, though admittedly that’s primarily because he does spend most of the first half of the film in a muted state. In fact, this film definitely feels a bit more toned down in terms of how campy some of the performances are compared to the original. Though with that said, Helena Bonham Carter still relishes her role as the Red Queen, camping it up whenever she’s onscreen. The same goes for Sacha Baron Cohen as Time, although not as much as Carter. In short, I can say that, at the very least, the ensemble cast is a bit stronger this time around, mostly as a result of Bobin not cranking these characters’ personalities up to 11, which is sort of what Burton did with the previous film.

So here’s the deal with these live-action Alice films. As both of their critical receptions clearly suggest, these two films very much have their critics and quite a few of those critics have been very vocal in expressing their dislike of them. However, at the same time, it’s also clear that these films actually do have a pretty decently sized fan-base. This really can partially explain why the first film did as well as it did at the box-office and while this film hasn’t been doing anywhere near as good as the first film did from a commercial standpoint, I can tell that there will still be quite a lot of people who are going to like this film. And as someone who did like the first film, I can see why. Yes, the film does share some of its predecessor’s issues, namely in terms of the writing. Plus, like before, critics of CGI are no doubt going to take issue with the film’s very extravagant use of CG. However, this film really isn’t as bad as its low 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes may suggest. Because despite its flaws, the film definitely deserves merit for its impressive visuals. Visually speaking, this is easily one of the best-looking films of the year. And in some ways the film actually does improve on its predecessor, namely in regards to a much brighter color scheme and a much more confident lead performance courtesy of Mia Wasikowska as Alice. So in short, if you weren’t a fan of the first film, then suffice it to say this film ain’t gonna win you over because it’s very much a sequel to Burton’s original film and fans of the books in particular are most certainly not going to be pleased with how the world and its characters are being portrayed. But if you’re someone who was a fan of the first film, then I’m sure you’re going to like this film just as much.

Rating: 3.5/5

(Closing Note: On a sad note, this film serves as the final performance of Alan Rickman, who reprises his role from the previous film as Absolem the Caterpillar (now a Butterfly). The reason why I didn't bring him up in the review is because, well, he actually isn't in the film that much. He only appears in the scene in which Alice first returns to Underland.)

Cinderella (2015) Review (300th Post!!)

While Disney’s recent live-action fantasy films have gotten a generally mixed reception from critics, they’ve definitely been much more successful with audiences which if you ask me is what matters the most at the end of the day. I for one have generally liked them. I’ll admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ but on the other hand I absolutely loved ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’, to the point where I even listed it as my favorite film of that year. Last year gave us ‘Maleficent’, a retelling of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ from the perspective of its main antagonist. While some may have issues with the fact that the film portrays her more as the protagonist, I did still enjoy it, mainly for Angelina Jolie’s outstanding performance in the role of Maleficent. And now Disney returns with their latest re-imagining, this time revisiting one of the most iconic films in their lineup, ‘Cinderella’. Unlike the previous three major fantasy films, which were a sequel, prequel, and re-telling, respectively, this new ‘Cinderella’, directed by Kenneth Branagh (‘Thor’), instead opts to basically just tell the same story as its animated predecessor. Some may find this to be unnecessary but ultimately this new ‘Cinderella’ does end up being an excellent adaptation of this classic story. That is thanks to not only beautiful production design, classy direction, and a top-notch cast, but also a clear sense of appreciation for the original film while in some ways also updating it for a new generation.

After the death of her mother (Hayley Atwell), young Ella’s (Lily James) father (Ben Chaplin) remarries to Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett), who also has been recently widowed after the death of her husband, who was an old friend of Ella’s father. Unfortunately, not long after this, he dies while on a business trip, leaving Ella in the care of her new stepmother, who ends up revealing her true wicked nature as Ella becomes a horribly mistreated servant to both her stepmother and stepsisters, Anastasia (Holliday Grainger) and Drizella (Sophie McShera), who nickname her ‘Cinderella’ due to the fact that her face was covered in soot one morning after sleeping by the fireplace. One day, while riding in the woods, Ella comes across a nice young man (Richard Madden) named ‘Kit’ who claims to be an apprentice living in the nearby kingdom. In reality, however, he is actually the Prince, who’s being pressured by his dying father (Derek Jacobi) to find a bride, specifically a princess, at an upcoming ball. But because ‘Kit’ is so entranced by Ella, he convinces his father to allow every maiden in the kingdom to attend in the hopes of seeing her again. On the night of the ball, Ella is eager to go but is forbidden by her stepmother to do so because she doesn’t want her to ‘disgrace’ her and her daughters. But with the help of her Fairy Godmother (Helena Bonham Carter), Ella’s fortunes soon begin to change.

This basically is the same general story as the original ‘Cinderella’, save for a few differences that actually do kind of improve on certain elements of that film. For one thing, Cinderella and the Prince do meet before the ball so it isn’t as ‘rushed’ of a romance as it was in the original film. We see Ella with her original parents more than we did in the original and while we don’t get the full details of it all, we even get a little more insight into Lady Tremaine’s back-story, giving us an idea as to why she acts the way she does towards Cinderella. Ultimately though, this film really benefits from just having an overall positive tone. After all, the film begins with Cinderella’s mother giving her the advice to ‘have courage and be kind’ and let’s be honest folks, in the cynical world that we live in today, that is some genuinely good advice to follow. From a technical standpoint, this film is an absolute visual delight thanks to the terrific production design, from the incredible costume design by Sandy Powell to the visually splendid set design. But at the same time, this film also has quite a lot of heart to it as well due to the aforementioned feel-good atmosphere. Branagh’s solid direction shows nothing but respect to the original film while also doing just enough to make it so that it isn’t just a ‘carbon copy’ of the original, which admittedly hasn’t aged very well in some aspects, namely in regards to the main character.

I mean I think it’s safe to say that Cinderella is a rather controversial member of the Disney Princess lineup. This is mainly due to the fact that in the original film, she is viewed by some people as being a rather passive protagonist who doesn’t really do much until she’s rescued in the end by the Prince. However, at the same time, she should be also given a lot of credit for her inner strength, positive attitude and perhaps most of all her ability to put up with all of the s*** that she’s put through by her Stepmother and Stepsister. This new film in some ways may follow the same route as the original but I don’t think that this Cinderella is passive at all. Her kindness really shines through the toughest of times and at one point she even tells Lady Tremaine that she’ll do whatever she can to ‘protect’ the prince, even if it comes at her expense. This results in, in my opinion, a very strong female heroine who is defined not by her actions but because of her overall character and Lily James does a phenomenal job in conveying Ella’s charm, likability, and most importantly, her inner strength and beauty. Because the relationship between Ella and the Prince is expanded upon here, their chemistry feels very genuine and Richard Madden definitely brings the right amount of, for lack of a better term, charm to the role. And of course, Cate Blanchett absolutely owns the role of Lady Tremaine, who’s definitely one of the greatest Disney villains of all time due to how she manages to gain so much control over Cinderella’s life without any special powers, while Helena Bonham Carter is a definite scene-stealer as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother.

‘Cinderella’ may be one of the most iconic Disney films of all time but at the same time it may not exactly be the most ‘pro-feminist’ story out there. And while the same could be argued about this new version of the story as well in certain areas, I don’t think that it’s as prevalent here as it may have been in the original film. The Cinderella in this is not just some damsel in distress who doesn’t do much. This one is more involved in determining her own fate and even if she may still not be the most proactive female protagonist ever, her likability and sweet persona more than make up for it. All in all, director Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Cinderella’ really stands out amongst Disney’s recent fantasy re-imaginings, even if it’s not doing much different when compared to the original animated film. The production design is worth the ticket price alone but the film also succeeds in terms of its heart, showing much appreciation towards its animated predecessor while also maintaining an overall ‘feel-good’ atmosphere even with all that Cinderella goes through while living with her stepfamily. And really, as someone who’s finding that he’s really starting to favor films like this over ones that are much bleaker in tone, I really believe that this film is a must-see, especially if you’re someone who is looking to cheer themselves up. I guarantee you that this film really will put a genuine smile on your face by the end of it. There’s no better way of saying it; this film is pure cinematic magic (pun totally intended) that is absolutely gorgeous both inside and out.

Rating: 5/5!

(P.S. This film is paired in its theatrical release with the short film ‘Frozen Fever’, a follow-up to Disney’s hit animated film ‘Frozen’. Because it’s just a short film, I’m not going to go into too much detail about it. However, what I will say is that if you are a fan of ‘Frozen’ (I know I am), then you’re definitely going to love this short as it brings back all of your favorite characters as well as yet another catchy song a la ‘Let it Go’ in the form of ‘Making Today a Perfect Day’.)