The 313 Second Movie Review: "Ocean's Thirteen"

Thought I was gone, eh? Think again. Welcome back to the blog, and also, welcome back to the 313 Second Movie Review. I feel like coming back with an "Ocean's Thirteen" review, how about you? Great. The movie stars George Clooney as Danny Ocean, Brad Pitt as Rusty Ryan, Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell/Lenny Pepperidge, Andy Garcia as Terry Benedict, Scott Caan as Turk Malloy, Don Cheadle as Basher Tarr/Fender Roads, Casey Affleck as Virgil Malloy, Elliott Gould as Reuben Tishkoff, Bernie Mac as Frank Catton, Al Pacino as Willie Bank, Ellen Barkin as Abigail Sponder, and Eddie Izzard as Roman Nagel. Now, I trust you've all seen the previous two "Ocean's" movies, so I feel there is no need to hit rewind. Let's dive right in. Oh, by the way, hate to disappoint, but Julia Roberts and Catherine Zeta-Jones didn't come back for this film. Now then, things start off badly for the Ocean gang, as Reuben, the beloved fixer, suffers a stroke after casino powerhouse Bank informs him that he will not be getting a promised share in the stake of the developing Bank Casino & Hotel, soon to open on the Las Vegas Strip. This brings together Ocean and his crew to get even at Bank. This time, it's not about getting the money, it's about getting revenge. With the assistance of Roman Nagel, the newest member of the crew who knows the in's and out's of the Bank. Of course, taking down a multibillionaire isn't easy, as Bank's right-hand woman Abigail is on hand, making sure the grand opening goes down without a hitch. And while Ocean's 11 would be in trouble without the assistance of loyal members like Saul Bloom, Basher Tarr, The Amazing Yin, Frank Catton, and Turk and Virgil Malloy, the two sidekicks pack the most wallop for Danny. Rusty was busy rigging rooms and the surrounding environment, but Linus got his time to shine posing as what I would call "the World's Greatest Lover," to help remove Abigail from the picture. Of course, you can't bankrupt a casino on its opening night without some outside assistance. So bring back Terry Bendict and Francois Toulour, as Danny's wife's ex-boyfriend and the Night Fox also have their own scores to settle with Bank. One last thing the crew has to do to bring Bank down is to influence the opinion of a critic, whose rating of one to five diamonds could make or break the Bank. Of course, it's because Ocean and Co. that the poor sap has perhaps the most miserable time of his life. You know, I really liked the last two "Ocean's" movies, but this one was a huge upgrade from the last film. It returned to the same premise as the original, and just like the other two films, it never feel short on laughs from our favorite fixers. Another masterfully done movie. Of course, 9 times out of 10, you're likely to say something like that about Steven Soderbergh.

My time's up, you've been great. For the road: The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus "False Pretense"