Ocean's 13

Well I certainly liked it better than the first, but I still feel the second was the best.

Despite Ocean's 13 not being as good as 12, I still have to say it is a decent movie. Once again not going for the straight heist movie, they do something unique again. So, debts have been paid off in the second movie, the crew has been doing good until one of their members Reuben is double crossed and the poor guy suffers a heart attack from it, spurring the crew to not only steal this casino owner's prized diamond collection but sabotage his newly constructed casino. Good story, got your usual heist stuff, but a bit of sabotage too. I mean thank God for this variety, cause let me tell you something if each movie was essentially the first movie all over again, I would have severely lost my fudge man. But they tried to innovate and do a new thing each time, and that must be applauded. And I'm fully with them tearing this casino to shreds cause Al Pacino is an asshole in this movie! I mean yeah, he plays Al Pacino but he is so...just not nice, and it's very gratifying to see him get his comeuppance. And you know what I noticed? The best character of the whole crew is Linus, Matt Damon because he has an arc. From rookie, to kinda knowing the ropes but not fully trusted to do stuff, to truly being a part of the crew and helping out a lot, that's really cool. You could almost argue this is his story, despite the expansive cast. It was just something I noticed, and I thought it was a neat idea. Really, these movies are okay. Competently written, shot, and edited but nothing too special. Which just leads me to wonder, will I enjoy Ocean's 8? It looks decent, but I guess we will find out tomorrow.

Heat

I'm sorry that I was late, kinda busy yesterday and Heat is an almost 3 hour movie. I got through most of it but not all.

So Heat is one of the best crime drama movies ever put to celluloid directed by Michael Mann, and anything to do with Michael Mann and bank robberies is no bad thing! The story is that a team of expert bank robbers led by Robert De Niro steal millions of dollars in bonds, and a detective played by Al Pacino has to take him down. The whole movie centers around these characters actions and emotions, and it feels completely real, even though Al Pacino chews the scenery a little bit but that only makes it more enjoyable. And yeah, this is the movie with the greatest running firefight ever recorded on film, I'm serious. It goes on for like 10 minutes, there's no music all you hear is gunfire, and the weird thing is it's not even at the finale of the movie, it's about halfway through. But that's not even the best scene of the movie. The real best scene is when Robert De Niro and Al Pacino sit down in a cafe and talk to each other. And the reason why it is a big deal is because it's the hero and the villain sitting down, drinking coffee and talking about why they do what they do. I can't think of a single movie where the hero and villain sit down, have a drink, and just talk to each other. It has never been done, and it's very well written, very well acted, and is just so damn good. The ending is thrilling and yet touching, and is the perfect way to end this amazing film. If you are a fan of bank robberies, complex characters, amazing directing, brilliant writing, and are just a fan of crime dramas then Heat is for you.

And that ends this week of movie reviews. Join me next week when we look at some true love letters to the action hero franchise.

Stand Up Guys

I hope to God when I get old I'm as badass as these guys. They're just awesome!

Yes, another Christopher Walken movie. I love the guy, he is the man! So the plot of Stand Up Guys is Al Pacino's character has just been released from prison after twenty something years, and he wants to get his old gang back together for one last gig. His best friend Doc played by Christopher Walken tells him that the last member of the gang played by Alan Arkin has been ill and placed in a retirement home so they got to go bust him out and have some fun. I don't know why but I love movies where old people go on these adventures or misadventures and they just have fun. And that is what this movie is, fun. You have a blast watching these old friends just do stuff together and kinda get into trouble. Something about it is very endearing and pleasant. And I am serious, they are the coolest old people you will ever meet. I want to do everything they do in this movie when I get old, hang out with my friends, go dancing with pretty girls, have breakfast at like 3 AM in the morning, kick some serious ass, drive around in a muscle car, all that good stuff. And the movie ends exactly the way you want it, I was so damn happy at how the movie ended. It even has emotional moments in it, and you feel what the characters feel. Bottom line, go see this movie. If you like these sort of fun, action, adventure stories with older people, I think you will very much enjoy Stand Up Guys. I aspire to be a stand up guy, and I hope some of you will too.