"OCEAN'S THIRTEEN" (2007) Review

"OCEAN'S THIRTEEN" (2007) Review

After the rather disappointing 2004’s "OCEAN'S TWELVE", I really did not expect to even like this third entry into what became a trilogy. I more than liked "OCEAN'S THIRTEEN". I thoroughly enjoyed it. Not only was it better than the second film, I found it just as enjoyable as the first – namely 2001’s "OCEAN'S ELEVEN" 

Directed by Oscar winner, Steven Soderbergh, the movie starts out in a series of flashbacks in which Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould), one of Danny Ocean’s associates from the first two films, makes the mistake of building a hotel with one of Las Vegas’ most hated businessmen, Willy Bank (Al Pacino). He gets cut out of the deal and ends up in the hospital after a heart attack. In an attempt to help his old friend Reuben, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) approaches Bank and asks him to restore Reuben’s share of the hotel. In their exchange, Ocean appeals to the code of honor that applies to those people who have shaken Sinatra's hand - both Reuben and Bank have done so. Bank glibly denies Ocean's request saying of Reuben: "He's made the right choice: roll over and die. Let him be." Ocean and his crew decide to bring down Banks by rigging his new hotel and casino – The Bank – to lose $500 million dollars on the night of its Grand Opening, six months later. When they run out of money, they enlist the help of former nemesis – casino owner Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who wants to settle a score against Bank for creating hotel/casinos that have been taking the spotlight from his casinos.

I could go into detail about the movie’s plot, but I rather not. It happens to be a complicated plot. Do not get me wrong. Brian Koppelman and David Levien’s ("ROUNDERS") plot is not convoluted. Aside from one or two plot points, I perfectly understood what was going on. But I feel that it is too complicated for me to spell it out in details. Instead, I will simply point out the moments that I truly enjoyed:

*I found the gang’s initial plot to kill Willy Bank and dispose of his body in retaliation for Reuben’s condition rather funny and a great moment of ensemble acting from the cast:

*Another moment I enjoyed was when Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) caught Danny watching an episode of Oprah. Great comic moment for both Clooney and Pitt.

*I loved Linus Caldwell’s (Matt Damon) impersonation of a ”mouthpiece” for an Asian real-estate mogul (Yen in disguise); especially when he is called upon to seduce Bank’s assistant, Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin), using artificial pheromones, which act as an aphrodisiac to maximize her attraction to him. Apparently, Linus needed her to get him inside Willy Bank’s Diamond Room.

*There is a great sequence of scenes featuring a hotel reviewer who is treated as “the V.U.P.” (the always great character actor David Paymer) or “Very Unimportant Person”, when Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner) is mistaken as the reviewer. The V.U.P.’s discovery of bed bugs in his room is part-hilarious, part-creepy.

*Don Cheadle as the group’s mechanical genius Basher Tarr gets to shine in a scene in which he impersonates a motorcycle stuntman in order to distract Bank, while Virgil and Turk Malloy (Casey Afflect and Scott Caan)

*Another great moment is when the plot to financially ruin Bank comes together with many of the hotel’s patrons winning large sums of money at most of the gaming tables in the casino. Actually, this entire sequence was done within a montage.

*But my favorite sequences feature featured Virgil Malloy’s (Casey Affleck) efforts to load the casino’s specially designed dice at a factory in Mexico. Virgil is sent there to infiltrate the factory. Instead, he loses sight of his mission when he sees the working conditions at the factory. Instead of fixing the dice, he decides to fix the problem and lead his co-workers in a revolt.

As usual, the cast is great. I especially enjoyed Al Pacino’s performance as the backstabbing casino owner, Willy Bank. He managed to be flamboyant, without going over-the-top. I also enjoyed seeing Ellen Barkin in a memorable role, after all of these years. But I must admit that I especially enjoyed Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, David Paymer, Don Cheadle and Elliot Gould in this film. And Steven Soderbergh did a great job in maintaining the movie’s pace, drawing out memorable performances and especially capturing the flash and glitter of early 21st century Las Vegas. In fact, I think that "OCEAN'S THIRTEEN" is just as good as the first movie, "OCEAN'S ELEVEN" . . . and thankfully, a great improvement over the confusing"OCEAN'S TWELVE".

"OCEAN'S THIRTEEN" (2007) Photo Gallery

Below are images from the 2007 movie, "OCEAN'S THIRTEEN". Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Al Pacino: 


"OCEAN'S THIRTEEN" (2007) Photo Gallery

"THE INFORMANT!" (2009) Review

Below is my review of "THE INFORMANT!", Steven Soderbergh's latest film:


"THE INFORMANT!" (2009) Review

As a rule, I am not particularly fond of whistleblower films. I find them rather boring and unoriginal. Then I saw Steven Soderbergh’s new movie, ”THE INFORMANT!” and realized there might be one whistleblower film that I do like.

Based on true events and the 2000 non-fiction book, ”The Informant”, by journalist Kurt Eichenwald, the movie is about Mark Whitacre, a rising star at Decatur, Illinois based Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s who wound up blowing the whistle on the company’s price-fixing tactics, only after his wife forced him to. Soderbergh cast Matt Damon as Whitacre and Scott Bakula as FBI Special Agent Brian Shephard, the man to whom he ratted out ADM.

The movie began in 1992 when the FBI was brought in to investigate a possible case of corporate espionage against ADM. The espionage case later was found to be groundless, but during their investigation, Mark Whitacre, under pressure from his wife, told an FBI agent named Brian Shephard that he and other ADM executives were involved in a multinational conspiracy to control the price of lysine. So far, this plot struck me as no different than any other whistleblower movie. But what made ”THE INFORMANT!” unique to me was the character of said whistleblower – Mark Whitacre. The movie’s first half portrayed him as an eccentric man and enthusiastic executive who seemed reluctant to expose his superiors at ADM. But he eventually dedicated himself into assisting the FBI into spending years in gathering evidence by clandestinely taping the company’s activity in business meetings at various locations around the globe such as Tokyo, Paris, Mexico City, and Hong Kong, eventually collecting enough evidence of collaboration and conspiracy to warrant a raid. Following the raid, it all went downhill for Whitacre. The stress of being the FBI’s mole for three years led him to react to the media in a bizarre manner. More importantly, the FBI and the public discovered that Whitacre had embezzled millions of dollars from ADM.

When I first saw the billboards for ”THE INFORMANT!”, I thought it would be some kind of espionage film like the Jack Ryan novels or something like 1974’s ”THE CONVERSATION”. I eventually learn that the movie might have more to do with industrial espionage . . . and the fact that it was another whistleblower film. Why I did not bother to skip this film upon hearing this, I do not know. Perhaps I was willing to give it a chance due to the fact that Soderbergh and Damon (who did the three ”OCEAN’S ELEVEN” movies) were working together, again. And you know what? I am so glad that I gave it a chance. What started out as an amusing, yet detailed account of Whitacre’s years as a whistleblower for the FBI, ended in a chaotic character study of a very intelligent man who turned out to be a chronic liar and embezzler. As much as I enjoyed the movie’s first half, I really enjoyed the second half that exposed Whitacre’s crimes. The plot – or should I say Whitacre’s character – began to spiral out of control once the whistleblower tried to deflect himself from fraud charges in hilarious ways. By the time the movie ended, I did not know whether to be astounded or amused by how it all fell apart for Whitacre.

”THE INFORMANT!” featured a pretty good solid cast that included Scott Bakula as the long suffering FBI agent Brian Shephard who had recruited Whitacre to act as an informant for his agency . . . and lived to regret it. Joel McHale portrayed his partner, the more outgoing FBI agent Robert Herndon. It was interesting to see comedians like Thomas F.Wilson, the Smothers Brothers – Tom and Dick, Allan Harvey, Patton Oswalt and Scott Adsit all in serious roles. I enjoyed Tony Hale’s performance as Whitacre’s first attorney, James Epstein. Watching his reaction to the growing chaos that seemed to surround Whitacre was rather funny. And Melanie Lynskey gave a strong performance as Whitacre’s wife, Ginger, who seemed to act as the whistleblower’s conscious and backbone. But who am I kidding? The movie is owned lock, stock and barrel by Matt Damon’s brilliant performance as Mark Whitacre. I cannot even describe how good he was in capturing this complex, deceiving and yet, sympathetic personality. It would be criminal if he fails to snag an Academy Award nomination for this film.

Do I have any quibbles about ”THE INFORMANT!”? Uh . . . I can only think of one or two complaints right now. I found Soderbergh’s cinematography rather uninspiring. Yep . . . that is what I had said. The film’s director had also acted as the photographer. And I found it dull and slightly metallic at times. If Soderbergh honestly considers himself a genuine cinematographer . . . well, I would suggest that he stick to directing and producing. And I must admit that right before the FBI had decided to arrest some of ADM’s executives, the pacing became so slow that it nearly dragged the film. Aside from those complaints, I really enjoyed this movie. But I must warn you . . . if you are expecting it to be another ”THE INSIDER” or ”DEFENSE OF THE REALM”, you are going to be sadly disappointed. ”THE INFORMANT!” struck me as possessing an unusual and highly original story for it to be viewed as another whistleblower film.

"THE INFORMANT!" (2009) Photo Gallery

Below are photos from the new Steven Soderbergh movie about industrial informer Mark Whitacre called "THE INFORMANT!". The movie stars Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Joel Mc Hale and Melanie Lynskey:


"THE INFORMANT!" (2009) Photo Gallery

"CONTAGION" (2011) Review

"CONTAGION" (2011) Review

When I first saw the trailer for Steven Soderbergh's new movie, "CONTAGION", it brought back some old memories. I found myself remembering Wolfgang Peterson' 1995 film, "OUTBREAK", which starred Dustin Hoffman; and the influenza pandemic that terrified the world's population two years ago. With those in mind, I decided to check out Soderbergh's new movie.

"CONTAGION" is a medical thriller about the rapid progress of a lethal contact transmission virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving pandemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. And as the virus spreads around the world, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart. The movie began with a Minnesota woman named Beth Emhoff returning home after a business trip to Hong Kong and a side trip to Chicago to cheat on her second husband with an old flame. Two days later, she collapses from a severe seizure before dying in a hospital. Her husband, Mitch Emhoff, returns home and discovers that his stepson - Beth's son - has died from the same disease. Other people who have had contact with Beth eventually die in China, Great Britain and Chicago, leading medical doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization to investigate the origin of the disease.

While watching "CONTAGION", I noticed that its narrative bore a strong resemblance to the one featured in Soderbergh's 2000 Oscar winning movie, "TRAFFIC". I noticed that "CONTAGION" had failed to generate the same level of interest that the 2000 movie managed to do. And I find this ironic, considering that I seemed to prefer this movie over the Oscar winning film. I do not mean to say that "TRAFFIC" was the inferior movie. As far as I am concerned, it was a superb film. But I simply preferred "CONTAGION" more. It could be that I found a viral pandemic to be a more interesting topic than drug trafficking, due to the events of 2009. And I found that particular subject scarier.

And I cannot deny that "CONTAGION" scared the hell out of me. The idea that a new disease could spring up and spread throughout the world's population so fast practically blows my mind. And I have to say that both Soderbergh and the movie's screenwriter, Scott Burns, did a great job in scaring the hell out of me. What I found even scarier were the various reactions to the disease. Soderburgh and Burns did a great job in conveying factors that drove mass panic and loss of social order, the difficulties in investigating and containing a pathogen and the problems of balancing personal motives and professional responsibilities. Another amazing aspect about "CONTAGION" is that Soderbergh and Burns avoided the usual cliché of portraying the pharmaceutical industry or the military as the villains. Instead, everyone - the government agencies, politicians at every level and even the public at large - are portrayed in an ambiguous light. Looking back on "CONTAGION", I realized that I only had one minor complaint - Soderbergh's direction did come off as a bit too dry at times.

Soderbergh and his casting director managed to gather an exceptional job for the cast. Cast members such as Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow, Bryan Cranston, Elliot Gould, Chin Han, Sanaa Lathan, Jennifer Ehle John Hawkes and Enrico Colantoni gave very solid performances. But I found at least five performances truly memorable. One came from Jude Law, who portrayed an aggressive freelance journalist named Alan Krumwiede, who convinces some of his readers to use a a homeopathic cure based on Forsythia, on behalf of companies producing the treatment. I found Law's character so annoying that I did not realize how skillful his performance was, until several hours after I saw the movie. Kate Winslet gave a very poignant performances as Dr. Erin Mears, a CDC doctor who is forced to face the consequences of the political agendas of a local government and the disease itself. Laurence Fishburne did an exceptional job in conveying the ambiguous situation of his character, CDC spokesman Dr. Ellis Cheever, who found himself torn between his duties with the agency, keeping certain aspects about a possible cure from the public, and his desire to ensure his wife's safety. But I believe the best performance came from Matt Damon, who portrayed the widower of the doomed Beth Emhoff. Damon was superb in portraying the many aspects of Emhoff's emotional state - whether the latter was grieving over his wife's death, dealing with her infidelity, or ensuring that he and his daughter remain alive despite the increasing chaos and death that surrounded them.

I did not know whether I would enjoy "CONTAGION", but I did . . . much to my surprise. Not only did I enjoyed it, the movie scared the hell out of me. And I cannot think of any other director, aside from Steven Soderburgh, who can do that with such a dry directorial style. I do look forward to seeing this movie again when it is released on DVD.

"CONTAGION" (2011) Photo Gallery

Below are images from Steven Soderbergh's new thriller about a pandemic virus called "CONTAGION":



"CONTAGION" (2011) Photo Gallery

Favorite Films Set in Berlin

Below is a list of my favorite films set in Berlin, Germany:


FAVORITE FILMS SET IN BERLIN



1. "Valkyrie" (2008) - Bryan Singer directed this exciting historical thriller about the July 1944 plot by German Army officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country. Tom Cruise starred.






2. "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) - Loosely based upon Robert Ludlum's novel, this sequel continued the story of Jason Bourne, an amnesiac former CIA paramilitary operative and assassin who finds himself caught in a political and financial scandal regarding a C.I.A. executive and a Russian millionaire amidst a personal tragedy. Matt Damon starred in this movie directed by Paul Greengrass.






3. "A Foreign Affair" (1948) - Billy Wilder directed this comedy set in occupied Berlin about an Army captain torn between an ex-Nazi cafe singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her. Jean Arthur, John Lund and Marlene Dietrich starred.






4. "Conspiracy" (2001) - Kenneth Branaugh and Stanley Tucci starred in this fact-based psychological study of Nazi officials involved in the Wannsee Conference about "Final Solution of the Jewish Question" during World War II. Frank Pierson directed.






5. "Unknown" (2011) - Liam Neeson starred in this thriller about an American visiting Berlin, who awakens from a coma, discover that someone has taken on his identity and that no one - including his wife - believes him.






6. "The Big Lift" (1950) - Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas starred in this poignant tale about two U.S. Air Force sergeants who meet and fall in love with two women in Berlin during the 1948-1949 Berlin Airlift.






7. "Octopussy" (1983) - Roger Moore portrayed James Bond in this tale in which the British agent's investigation into the death of a fellow agent and a fake Fabergé egg leads to an international jewel smuggling operation being used to disguise a nuclear attack on NATO forces. Directed by John Glen, the movie also stars Maud Adams, Louis Jordan and Steven Berkhoff.






8. "Torn Curtain" (1966) - Alfred Hitchcock directed this thriller about an American scientist who publicly defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin and figure out a plan to escape back to the West. Paul Newman and Julie Andrews starred.






9. "One, Two, Three" (1961) - Billy Wilder directed this zany tale about a Coca-Cola executive in West Berlin, who may be fired if he cannot keep his American boss's daughter from marrying a Communist. James Cagney starred.






10. "The Good German" - Steven Soderbergh directed this interesting thriller about an American military journalist who is drawn into a murder investigation that involves his former mistress and his driver during the Potsdam Conference. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and Tobey Maguire starred.