Amazon.co.uk Review
Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end", and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors and thieves. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVD: Ocean's Eleven on disc is hardly swarming with special features, but just like all good heists it's quality not quantity that counts. Although the DVD-ROM feature is simply a game of computer blackjack, the cast list simply that and the HBO special just a standard Hollywood promo, the two refreshing and honest commentaries more than compensate. The cast commentary is lively and it's nice to hear intelligent comments coming from Hollywood's big league for a change. However, it's the director and writer's commentary that is the real gem; it's funny, enlightening and most of all it allows Ted Griffin to put the case forward for all screenwriters across the world as to the importance of their craft. The main feature has an impressive transfer of sound and visuals, making the suits sharper and David Holmes' soundtrack even funkier. --Nikki Disney
Customer Reviews:
Better after the 2nd.......2007-11-03
One point I would make about this movie is that it seemed to make more sense and enjoyable after seeing 'Ocean's Twelve'. I think this is because a person can see patterns or themes develop such as the connection of winning back the heart of a lost love. This movie is enjoyable and pretty lite.
A over complicated, boring, overated film.......2007-09-29
Hated it. It's a vechile for famous movie stars. It's hopelessly overcomplicted and has put me off the whole series.
Hated it...
It's only got 2 stars because of Matt Damon... he's superb, and I highly recommend his film Bourne Identity.
Had to switch it off before the ending.
This isn't an action movie - there's no action, it's just talking.
Awful!
Enrique Iglesias in Ocean's 14 !!!!!.......2007-09-15
A Super slick, sexy, classy, clever film, beautifully directed, with a really fantastic cast.
I know everyone talks about Don Cheadle's English cockney accent and yes it is as bad as Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins, but in time I got to like Dick Van Dyke's accent and you'll get to love Don's. More importantly though, Don Cheadle is a truly first class actor, who has made some great films with stunning performances, so we will forgive him for his 'Barney Rubble' comment.
Brad Pitt eats a ten course meal during Ocean's 11, but doesn't put an ounce on and looks as sexy as ever. Brad's a great actor. Forget his gorgeous looks for a second...come on...I only said a second it's not that hard, I know the guy is incredibly handsome but just try. Despite his non-stop eating in the film Brad delivers a good performance. I'm still waiting for Brad's dark haired twin brother, the incredibly, stunningly, gorgeous Enrique Iglesias to appear in a film with Brad. Now that would cause a storm in the Ocean. Brad and Enrique in the same film!!!
George Clooney, another great actor, who is one of those lucky men who gets better looking the older he gets. I know he's only in his forties, but George looks gorgeous.
This is a first class film, with a first class cast.
p.s. Note to the director if you make Ocean's 14 and Brad needs any crisps or snacks....I'd be willing to run to the shops for him !!!
oceans eleven.......2007-08-30
WOW, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Eliot Gould and Don Cheadle! a great cast that all have one thing in common: They're all too good for this film. oh soderberg, what have you done!? such a good director: sex lies and videotape, traffic to name a couple, then this commercial, overstretched repetitvie essentialy boring and unengaging movie. the cast is obviously cast to overshaddow the fact that this is a dull movie with not to much going for it. heard before dialogue, annoying unfunny lines and a waste of good talent. this type of film is son not a good fit for soderberg. oh well, at least its better than the sequels and redeemed himself with Syriana and the good German.
A SPECTACULAR HEIST MOVIE.......2007-08-19
Long before Thirteen and Twelve, there was Ocean's Eleven. A salute to Hollywood's golden era where glamor and glory graced the silver screen, Eleven was a cool breathe of pure cinematic fun when it initially hit theaters during the winter of 2001. Being a remake to a forgotten Rat Pack 1960 release only added more glitter to the story - as director Steven Soderbergh managed to recruit some of Hollywood's finest current talents to this intelligent remake. When you come to think of it, there really isn't that much room for mistake when you have living-legends George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia as your main leads.
If plot is of any importance to you, you'll probably want to know this is about Danny Ocean (Clooney), an ex-con who just got out of a 5 year period behind bars. Determined to make a final heist before he retires from crime (yeah right), Ocean finds the perfect target - a casino owner named Terry Benedict (Garcia) who has his eyes out for Ocean's ex, Tess (Roberts). With the help of his ten newly recruited accomplices (each individual specializes in a different field of theft), he plans the perfect crime - simultaneously robbing three Las Vegas casinos owned by Benedict. The suave gang of criminals soon set their plan in motion, working every little detail leading up to their final move.
The slick and sly group hand out a magnificent performance as they make you realize that sometimes, in certain aspects and circumstances, crime does pay - and with an interest. Kudos go to Soderbergh and his gang for this one, as I truly had a ball watching it, as I'm sure they did making it (btw, the sequel, Ocean's Twelve, is a far inferior predecessor to this film - but the threequel, Ocean's Thirteen saves the prestige of the trilogy).
Customer Reviews:
Emotionally Healing.......2005-06-17
Anne Nelson's play wonderfully captured on film runs the gamut of emotions. Sigourney Weaver as a journalist helping out a fire captain (Anthony LaPaglia) writes eulogies for eight different men from his ladder is poignant, funny and eventually heartbreakingly real. The initially awkwardness of the two meeting is overcome by personal anecdotes and touching stories each share to bring about the final product which is to give each fallen hero his accurate due. Weaver and LaPaglia are perfect in their portrayals as two people trying to help each other in a horrific and emotionally draining period which commands them to bring out the best of each man's life. It is essentially a love story. The pain each character feels when discussing each man individually is a rarity in films and this one gets it right. This film acts as a healer for all affected by 9/11.
Amazon.co.uk Review
After a succession of hugely successfully movies of a lower brow nature, Shallow Hal finds the Farrelly Brothers attempting a slightly more thoughtful film, albeit still tied up in their trademark toilet humour. It's an approach that is not unproblematic but not unsuccessful either, resulting in a film that engages the emotions in a manner that the likes of Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin and There's Something About Mary never suggested possible.
Jack Black is the Hal of the title, a man whose less than commendable attitude to women is suddenly altered by the rather credibility-stretching plot device of a chance meeting with a hypnotist. Henceforth Hal is only capable of seeing the beauty within, a development that allows for much humour at the expense of the less fortunate in the name of some sort of social comment. From it all, however, emerges a quite touching love story with Paltrow's character Rosemary and proof that the Farrellys do have something of a sensitive side--no matter how deep it may be buried. The ending may be woefully predictable, but such is the deftness of touch with which the story is told, that it is still the one we are all rooting for. This is a sickly sweet film in the truest terms.
On the DVD: Shallow Hal comes with a plethora of extras on disc, including a series of mini-documentaries and TV specials, all of which plug the film but offer very little insight. That does come, however, from the handily subtitled directors' commentary, which demonstrates clearly the clash of cultures occurring in the movie. As well as commenting on the physical appearance of every female cast member who passes before the camera, the brothers also pay touching tribute to a colleague who passed away during the shoot and seem to know the name of every single extra and crew member who worked on the project, surely a rarity in these days of big budgets and faceless studios. There is also a large selection of deleted scenes, also with added commentary, a perfunctory music video from Shelby Lynne and a documentary on some of the technical aspects of the film. --Phil Udell
Customer Reviews:
Funny, quite predictable but worth watching.......2007-10-04
Shallow Hal is a decent film, quite funny (although not really funny) and worth watching if you can get it for a fiver or less. There are some good jokes and although the storyline isn't particularly good, you won't get bored in it. Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow are good in it, as is Jason Alexander (also in Seinfeld) and the Farrelly Brothers are good directors. Although it isn't the best film ever made, it is funny and as I have said, worth buying for the right price.
consistently funny but characters not very engaging.......2007-06-05
Shallow Hal is interesting to watch and consistently funny.
But it wasn't laugh out loud funny and the characters didn't make a connection with me in such a way that I think I'll remember much about them in a few weeks time if someone asks me about this film.
4 and a half stars.......2007-01-06
I love this movie! Movies that are quite funny, (not likeroad trip)
often attract me to them. This is one of them! A must see for those that love the same sort of thing. I was not so keen on this when first viewing it, though absolutely loved it after second viewing.
great movie.......2006-10-17
This is a great movie, very funny indeed. Gwyneth Paltrow is brilliant in here but Jack Black is SUPERB in here, the RIGHT actor for this type of film! He is just funny from start to finish! Go and buy this film!
Wrong Actor.......2006-09-13
I like the Farrelly the brothers, they can be pretty naughty but their heart is always in the right place. Hal just doesn't work though and the biggest reason for its failure is the miscasting of Jack Black in the title role. Admittedly Black irritates the hell out of me in any circumstances but I think the film would have worked far better if his character had been played by a traditionally handsome Hollywood actor. All of the jokes would have worked better if this had been the case, including the relationship with his geek of a best friend. Anyway, this is just okay...average wait-until-its-on-TV stuff, you've seen it all before and it's as predictable as painting by numbers - and slightly more sloppy.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ocean's Eleven improves on 1960's Rat Pack original with supernova casting, a slickly updated plot and Steven Soderbergh's graceful touch behind the camera. Soderbergh reportedly relished the opportunity "to make a movie that has no desire except to give pleasure from beginning to end", and he succeeds on those terms, blessed by the casting of George Clooney as Danny Ocean, the title role originated by Frank Sinatra. Fresh out of jail, Ocean masterminds a plot to steal $163 million from the seemingly impervious vault of Las Vegas's Bellagio casino, not just for the money but to win his ex-wife (Julia Roberts) back from the casino's ruthless owner (Andy Garcia). Soderbergh doesn't scrimp on the caper's comically intricate strategy, but he finds greater joy in assembling a stellar team (including Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and Carl Reiner) and indulging their strengths as actors and thieves. The result is a film that's as smooth as a silk suit and just as stylish. --Jeff Shannon
On the DVD: Ocean's Eleven on disc is hardly swarming with special features, but just like all good heists it's quality not quantity that counts. Although the DVD-ROM feature is simply a game of computer blackjack, the cast list simply that and the HBO special just a standard Hollywood promo, the two refreshing and honest commentaries more than compensate. The cast commentary is lively and it's nice to hear intelligent comments coming from Hollywood's big league for a change. However, it's the director and writer's commentary that is the real gem; it's funny, enlightening and most of all it allows Ted Griffin to put the case forward for all screenwriters across the world as to the importance of their craft. The main feature has an impressive transfer of sound and visuals, making the suits sharper and David Holmes' soundtrack even funkier. --Nikki Disney
Customer Reviews:
Better after the 2nd.......2007-11-03
One point I would make about this movie is that it seemed to make more sense and enjoyable after seeing 'Ocean's Twelve'. I think this is because a person can see patterns or themes develop such as the connection of winning back the heart of a lost love. This movie is enjoyable and pretty lite.
A over complicated, boring, overated film.......2007-09-29
Hated it. It's a vechile for famous movie stars. It's hopelessly overcomplicted and has put me off the whole series.
Hated it...
It's only got 2 stars because of Matt Damon... he's superb, and I highly recommend his film Bourne Identity.
Had to switch it off before the ending.
This isn't an action movie - there's no action, it's just talking.
Awful!
Enrique Iglesias in Ocean's 14 !!!!!.......2007-09-15
A Super slick, sexy, classy, clever film, beautifully directed, with a really fantastic cast.
I know everyone talks about Don Cheadle's English cockney accent and yes it is as bad as Dick Van Dyke's in Mary Poppins, but in time I got to like Dick Van Dyke's accent and you'll get to love Don's. More importantly though, Don Cheadle is a truly first class actor, who has made some great films with stunning performances, so we will forgive him for his 'Barney Rubble' comment.
Brad Pitt eats a ten course meal during Ocean's 11, but doesn't put an ounce on and looks as sexy as ever. Brad's a great actor. Forget his gorgeous looks for a second...come on...I only said a second it's not that hard, I know the guy is incredibly handsome but just try. Despite his non-stop eating in the film Brad delivers a good performance. I'm still waiting for Brad's dark haired twin brother, the incredibly, stunningly, gorgeous Enrique Iglesias to appear in a film with Brad. Now that would cause a storm in the Ocean. Brad and Enrique in the same film!!!
George Clooney, another great actor, who is one of those lucky men who gets better looking the older he gets. I know he's only in his forties, but George looks gorgeous.
This is a first class film, with a first class cast.
p.s. Note to the director if you make Ocean's 14 and Brad needs any crisps or snacks....I'd be willing to run to the shops for him !!!
oceans eleven.......2007-08-30
WOW, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, Eliot Gould and Don Cheadle! a great cast that all have one thing in common: They're all too good for this film. oh soderberg, what have you done!? such a good director: sex lies and videotape, traffic to name a couple, then this commercial, overstretched repetitvie essentialy boring and unengaging movie. the cast is obviously cast to overshaddow the fact that this is a dull movie with not to much going for it. heard before dialogue, annoying unfunny lines and a waste of good talent. this type of film is son not a good fit for soderberg. oh well, at least its better than the sequels and redeemed himself with Syriana and the good German.
A SPECTACULAR HEIST MOVIE.......2007-08-19
Long before Thirteen and Twelve, there was Ocean's Eleven. A salute to Hollywood's golden era where glamor and glory graced the silver screen, Eleven was a cool breathe of pure cinematic fun when it initially hit theaters during the winter of 2001. Being a remake to a forgotten Rat Pack 1960 release only added more glitter to the story - as director Steven Soderbergh managed to recruit some of Hollywood's finest current talents to this intelligent remake. When you come to think of it, there really isn't that much room for mistake when you have living-legends George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia as your main leads.
If plot is of any importance to you, you'll probably want to know this is about Danny Ocean (Clooney), an ex-con who just got out of a 5 year period behind bars. Determined to make a final heist before he retires from crime (yeah right), Ocean finds the perfect target - a casino owner named Terry Benedict (Garcia) who has his eyes out for Ocean's ex, Tess (Roberts). With the help of his ten newly recruited accomplices (each individual specializes in a different field of theft), he plans the perfect crime - simultaneously robbing three Las Vegas casinos owned by Benedict. The suave gang of criminals soon set their plan in motion, working every little detail leading up to their final move.
The slick and sly group hand out a magnificent performance as they make you realize that sometimes, in certain aspects and circumstances, crime does pay - and with an interest. Kudos go to Soderbergh and his gang for this one, as I truly had a ball watching it, as I'm sure they did making it (btw, the sequel, Ocean's Twelve, is a far inferior predecessor to this film - but the threequel, Ocean's Thirteen saves the prestige of the trilogy).
Customer Reviews:
Don't strain your arm patting your own back.......2006-01-08
After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, CNN positioned a television news team in Baghdad. When the U.S. commenced the First Gulf War in January of the following year, only CNN stayed in the Iraqi capital while all other major news organizations scuttled for cover. The executive producer of the team was Robert Weiner. LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is based on the book of the same title by Robert Weiner. The film's script is by, you guessed it, Robert Weiner. Please forgive my cynicism if I think this film a self-congratulatory spasm.
Perhaps the main reason to view LIVE FROM BAGHDAD is to watch Michael Keaton play Weiner. Keaton's film career began about the same time as that of Tom Hanks, yet the latter has completely eclipsed the former. Yet I wonder why this should be so since Keaton is a fine actor. We don't see enough of him on the Big Screen (much less the Small Screen that hosted this HBO production).
Helena Bonham Carter plays Ingrid Formanek, Weiner's co-producer, a role incorporated into the script for completeness, but which otherwise left me at a loss to appreciate. Early on, Weiner declares to his boss that he and Formanek are bitter rivals. Yet, the two are apparently soft on each other, a state of affairs resulting from the two of them having gotten drunk together in ten different countries while on assignment. But there's never any real chemistry between the two, and Ingrid's occasional brilliant but enigmatic smile just isn't enough to carry the character.
Most of the film is contrived suspense as the CNN team works around, or is manipulated by, the Iraqi Ministry of Information. At one point, Information Minister Naji Al-Hadithi, wonderfully played by David Suchet, cunningly uses Weiner and his crew to refute rumors that Iraqi troops had torn Kuwaiti babies from hospital incubators. (I mention this because that "atrocity" has since been revealed to have been anti-Iraqi war propaganda falsely manufactured by the Kuwaitis.) In any case, most of the film's excitement occurs at the end as CNN correspondents Peter Arnett (Bruce McGill) and John Holliman (John Lynch) eyewitness report U.S. bombing of Baghdad on the first night of the war. The pyrotechnics are spectacular.
History marches on, and America, having since toppled Saddam, is now militarily mired in a wretched place. The biggest problem with this film is that the Second Gulf War has made any news of the First passé. Does anybody care at this late date besides Robert Weiner and CNN?
DVD:
- Crime of Passion [1957] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Dastardly And Muttley - Vol.1
- David Copperfield [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Devil Got My Woman: Blues At Newport 1966
- Disney Princess Party - Vol. 1
- Dogtanian And The Three Muskehounds - Episodes 1 To 9 [1991]
- Dream Street [2002]
- Eyewitness [1970] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Follow the Fleet [1936] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Gene Autry: Riders in the Sky [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
DVD List
DVD
![Close Your Eyes [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21M7PQCH32L.jpg)
All Classics
|
Classics
|
Categories
|
DVD
|
Video
![Last Resort [2001]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005M6QZ.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Last Resort [2001]
![Born Romantic [2001]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005KITN.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Born Romantic [2001]
![Stoned [2005]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000EOTSZ0.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Stoned [2005]
![My Summer Of Love [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00099BJ66.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
My Summer Of Love [2004]
![A Room For Romeo Brass [2000]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000056IFL.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
A Room For Romeo Brass [2000]
![Close Your Eyes [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.bill88.com/buy.gif)
![Joshua [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21R7%2BgyjGRL.jpg)
![The Ultimate Gift [2007] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000QUU7KC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Nativity Story [2006]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000O79FKK.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Amazing Grace [2007]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000PY50SS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Deuces Wild [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21NYZ4X5VEL.jpg)
![Confessions of an American Girl [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0006HBZSS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Tom and Huck [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000089799.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Telling Lies in America [1998]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/1572527188.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Happy Campers [2001]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005V8VC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Ocean's Eleven [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21BSFEXDCML.jpg)
![Ocean's Twelve [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00081MWT8.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Swordfish [2001]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005RDQO.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Italian Job [2003]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000YHJB4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Bourne Identity [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00006LA7P.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Guys [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21TJHHM2XPL.jpg)
![RFK [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/218X9RG05CL.jpg)
![American Experience: RFK [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0002NY8FI.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Falklands Play [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000MGB0VA.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Gathering Storm [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000AZVHL.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Shallow Hal/Me, Myself & Irene [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/213HREYDDQL.jpg)
![Shallow Hal [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/2166WGXJ06L.jpg)
![There's Something About Mary [1998]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004CZNZ.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Envy [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000YN3LWM.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Envy [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00067ISC4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Stuck On You [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001K2L2O.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Orange County [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005UPO9.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Ocean's Eleven [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31eQjOJjaML.jpg)
![Live from Baghdad [2002] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21MAPYS6S5L.jpg)
![Touch And Go [1985]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000085RQI.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Till Human Voices Wake Us [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000163WUI.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Paper [1994]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005N53X.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Margaret's Museum [1997]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000C88M1.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Hysterical Blindness (HBO Films) [2004]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00019HORC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)