'Ocean's 8' is Unabashedly Funny, Dainty and Criminal

Ocean's 8, Photo Credit: "Warner Bros. Pictures."

Everything is a heist for Debbie Ocean, and once she got out of prison, she hasn’t changed her ways. Her intentions on the other hand is another story, as she plans to execute the ultimate robbery 5 years in the making. She plans to rob a jewelry necklace worth $150 million, and she only needs eight to do it. No hims allowed,

The film starts with Sandra Bullock’s Debbie, the sister of the infamous Danny Ocean, trying to trick her way out of prison through her manipulative rhetorics, saying she wants a simpler life after her five years, eight months and 12 days of imprisonment. It's bullshit. She’s the opposite of simple like she claims to be. Good news is we are never led to believe that she's changed and instead, we are encouraged to be with her along her thefty ways. Voila, as soon she gets out of prison, she performs the easiest, funniest and my favorite among the neverending heist in this film, setting the tone of what the film has to offer.

As soon as she gets reunited with her partner-in-crime, Cate Blanchett's Lou, you can just FEEL the star wattage power wearing out on you from the silver screen. Their power is real or it's just me fanning. Bullock and Blanchett together are incredible, even when they do not do much aside from talk, be glamorous, and be unapologetically deceptive as hell. Blanchett in particular doesn’t have the most scene-stealing material, but her chill persona with a calm & collected attitude, is remarkably sexy and regal, enigmatic even. Different from her past roles, but first-rate as always.

Anne Hathaway as Daphne Kluger, and Helena Bonham Carter as Rose Weil
Photo Credit: "Warner Bros. Pictures."

Then there’s Anne Hathaway as the ditzy, narcissistic celebrity Daphne Kluger (are they shading Diane Kruger?), giving one of her best comedic performances to date. As soon as she gets introduced, the film assures that the audience is set for a hilarious ride. Hathaway delivers the sex and the laugh-out-loud laffos while adding beauty and glam to the overall dirtiness of the heist. We get to see what Hathaway is first known for and what she does best. Comedy. And here, she's a hoot.

The rest kick ass, they all do. Rihanna as the group’s hacker, may be silent but her scene stealing shot comes at the peak of their robbery when she is dressed incredibly elegant in the MET gala. How appropriate is that? Sarah Paulson as the team’s insider of the event is also great as expected, and Awkwafina’s comedics make a mark. There's something off about Helena Bonham Carter. She seems a bit out-of-place but okay overall, I guess. It’s Mindy Kaling that gets the least action but some of her one-liners are good enough to be remembered.

The comedy here is non-stop and so are the tricks. It's unabashedly funny, dainty and criminal all throughout the film. The heist, however, may not be as impressive as others, it’s pretty basic. Luckily, this is really a film about the cast and a job well done to Gary Ross and the ensemble for juicing out the best in each of them. No preachy statement needed, this film only wants us to have a good time.

Interstellar

Director: Christopher Nolan

With: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Bill Irwin, Mackenzie Foy, David Gyasi, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace 

I became a fan of Nolan after watching The Dark Knight and Inception, those two films are up there in my favorite movies chart. I even defended The Dark Knight Rises despite its imperfections. In Interstellar, it's official, I want to have Nolan's brain in a jar along with Darren Aronofsky's and Woody Allen's. Not that I am jumping up and down about it, in fact, it's only during the third act when I started to truly appreciate the film. But the first two was kind of lost to me, or it's the other way around.

That's how Nolan's films work (at least for me). It strays you for how intelligent they are and you'll end up not getting all the right details after watching it. It requires you to either rewatch it or just read summaries and explanations in the web. It takes a while for you to fully grasp his movies and Interstellar is no different. In fact, I think it is his most complicated and emotional film to date.

A thought provoker but also a heart tugger, Christopher Nolan's Interstellar will bring your mind far away to the galaxy but will lead your heart back home where it belongs. It's about a former NASA pilot named Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) who had to leave his family behind to travel through a wormwhole in search for a new habitual planet. As what Michael Caine's character said, "We're not meant to save the world, we're meant to leave it."

Oh boy, I didn't expect it to be as ambitious and as metaphorical as I've imagined it would be that I think it's one of the most grandiose films I've ever seen. It's the embodiment of the phrase 'visually stunning' and behind all that is a concept that's rich in Science and a story about a subject everyone could relate to, love and family. Like the usual Nolan fashion though, the action scenes and its climax dominate the overall persona of the film. The climax especially wherein it completely stopped making sense that I think it's the dealbreaker for its haters, but it's the scene that astounded me the most and therefore, it made me lean towards loving it than loathing it. Those scenes, I said to myself, that's amazing imagination and magnificent vision. There's no problem with being ambitious when you could back it up like how Nolan would do in his films.

What made it even more stellar is the ensemble. You have a charismatic lead in Matthew McConaughey, a laughable yet commanding act by Anne Hathaway, touching performances by Jessica Chastain and Mackenzie Foy (Renesmee hehe) as Cooper's daughter Murphy, and more. The cameos are also terrific. Matthew McConaughey would probably end up on top of my best actor list for 2014 films and it's such a shame because if he didn't win Best Actor for Dallas Buyers Club, his performance in this movie would be a jackpot for him. I'd even dare say that his Cooper is probably his best performance. I do not understand how Nolan intended Anne Hathaway's character to be, but everything about her in the film was fun to watch, and for me cringe is equal to funny. My favorite character in the movie is Murphy, and I give credit to the actresses who played her because they're very good and very likable. Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain are equally rootable in the film and they've overcome the most often cheesy script of Christopher Nolan.

It's not the cleanest film there is. The sound mixing is quite terrible especially in the end. The score is overbearing sometimes and this comes from a huge Hans Zimmer fan. Sure it's memorable and iconic, but it's not one of his most appealing compositions. Overall, I do hate and I do love his tracks.

Despite the flaws and the cheesiness, Nolan created a genius sci-fi drama that will remain as one of the memorable films of the year. The climax still resonates to me and I'm still in awe just by thinking about it. It's astonishing!