OCEAN’S 8 (2018) – My rating: 7/10

Ocean’s 8 (stylized onscreen as Ocean’s Eight) is a comedy directed by Gary Ross and written by Ross and Olivia Milch. The film is a spin-off from Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s trilogy and features an ensemble cast.  Ocean’s 8 follows a group of women, led by Debbie Ocean, who plan on robbing a very expensive necklace, after serving time for a crime she actually didn’t commit.

 

**** THIS PLOT HAS SOME SPOILERS **** 

Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock), the younger sister of the late Danny Ocean (character from the previous Oceans 11 through 13), spends five years, eight months and twelve days in prison planning a heist. Debbie convinces her partner-in-crime and friend Lou (Cate Blanchett) to join forces with her while she proceeds to recruit a jewelry maker,  Amita (Mindy Kaling), a profiteer, Tammy (Sarah Paulson), a street hustler, Constance (Awkwafina), a computer cracker, Leslie a.k.a. Nine Ball (Rihanna), and a fashion designer, Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter). The film reveals in a flashback that Debbie’s ex-lover, Claude Becker (Richard Armitage), had involved her in a fraudulent scheme, then testified against her, which resulted in the 5+ years prison sentence she served. However, unbeknownst to Becker and as payback, Debbie chooses him to be the scapegoat for the plot to steal the Toussaint, a $150 million necklace to be worn by Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), at New York City’s star-studded annual Met Gala.

Cast who appeared in a reprised, cameo role:
Dakota Fanning cameos as Penelope Stern
Elliott Gould reprises his role as Reuben Tishkoff
Shaobo Qin reprise his roles as  “The Amazing” Yen
Marlo Thomas, Dana Ivey, Mary Louise Wilson and Elizabeth Ashley cameos as actresses who help the crew shift their stolen gems.

These celebrities make cameo appearances as themselves:
Anna Wintour, Zayn Malik, Katie Holmes, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Kim Kardashian, Adriana Lima, Kylie Jenner, Alexander Wang, Nina Cuso, Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Olivia Munn, Zac Posen, Hailey Baldwin, Derek Blasberg, Heidi Klum and Lauren Santo Domingo.

I didn’t know what to expect from this movie but I have now formed an opinion that Ocean’s 8 was somewhat entertaining and somewhat boring and very unbelievable.  While the premise was okay, the overall execution was ridiculous and sloppy.  I think this film could have been thought out better before presenting it, especially to the Ocean’s trilogy fans.  Speaking of presentation, I thought Cate Blanchett looked fabulously beautiful, I hardly recognized her.  That’s not to say she isn’t beautiful all the time, it’s just to say she was especially beautiful in Ocean’s 8.  My recommendation is to wait for the DVD.  It’ll be an enjoyable night of watching movies at best!

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS (2016) – My rating 7.5/10

This unusual psychological thriller is a story within a story that takes you on a surprising journey. Not knowing what to expect, I was delighted by how well Nocturnal Animals kept the audience fine tuned into the events as they happened, despite the constant flipping between the novel and the real life story of the reader.

Susan Morrow (Amy Adams) received a manuscript written by her x-husband, Edward Sheffield (Jake Gyllenhaal) along with an invitation for dinner during Edward’s upcoming visit to Los Angeles. Susan is currently married to businessman, Hutton Morrow (Armie Hammer) who is unfaithful and currently having an extra marital affair throughout the movie. During her marriage to Edward, Susan deemed Edward a failure as a writer and ended their marriage when she terminated their child by having an abortion without his knowledge, 20 years ago. She is convinced his novel, which he sent to her, asking for an opinion, was nothing more than revenge for her behavior when they were married.

As Susan starts to read the novel titled, Nocturnal Animals, she becomes so engrossed in the story she can’t put the manuscript down. Edward had sent the novel to prove that he was not a failure and that he was quite capable of writing a successful novel. The movie actually flips to the novel about a family man, happily married to India Hastings (Ellie Bamber) with a daughter on family vacation, when they encounter the Ray Marcus gang (Aaron Taylor-Johnson – gang leader; Lou (Karl Glusman – gang member); Turk/Steve Adams (Robert Aramayo – gang member), who forces them off the road. The three thugs beat Tony Hastings, (Jake Gyllenhaal) the family man in the novel, kidnap Tony’s wife and daughter then drive off with Tony and dump him somewhere along side the road, unconscious. With Tony’s wife and child missing, he eventually hooks up with a Lt. Graves (Graham Beckel) who helps him search for his family and the Marcus gang.

Nocturnal Animals continues to flip between the novel and real life showing us and Susan the terrible flaws in her character and judgement. The novel holds you to the edge of your seat and will keeps you guessing about what becomes of Susan, her husband and his affair. I was well entertained, surprised and thrilled — Nocturnal Animals is definitely worth seeing, great performances, great story.

{BTW, Aaron Taylor-Johnson won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture,  for Nocturnal Animals!}

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