Ocean's 8 (Bullock, Blanchett, Hathaway)

[Iceman]

Just watched it and I really enjoyed it! Good mindless fun. Rihanna really wasnt given much to work with which may or may not be a good thing but all the characters were fairly enjoyable.

Hoping we get a sequel and something that leads to a massive crossover between the two casts of the Oceans.

An Oceans cinematic universe? A crossover could be cool.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Hoping we get a sequel and something that leads to a massive crossover between the two casts of the Oceans.

I have a feeling that's where they may be ultimately trying to go with this. [BLACKOUT]I don't believe for a second that Danny is actually dead, faking his own death would be such a Danny thing to do in order to go under the radar.[/BLACKOUT]

I can't wait to finally see this tomorrow. t: I'm already obsessed with the chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett's characters and I haven't even seen it yet. Especially after an insider confirmed that the script was originally much more open and direct about the fact that the two had a romantic relationship in the past, but it was made more opaque and subtextual as filming went on. Typical Hollywood, always scared of the lesbians.

 

[Silvermoth]

Oh they totally did. The movie wouldn’t work without lesbianism. As far as I’m aware they were all lesbians or bi.

Anne Hathaway was really good in this! She must be dying for more roles other than goody two shoes when will my prince come types

 

[psylockolussus]

Popcorn flick. It was fun though the story was quite basic. The cast really carried this especially Anne Hathaway! I hope they get another a-lister for the sequel.

 

[Schlosser85]

Saw this today. I thought it was meh. It has all the ingredients of Ocean's 11 but without the style, flair, or panache. Felt very rote.


Thought Blanchett was more charismatic than Bullock. Totally agree there was a lesbian-ish subtext between them.


Anne Hathaway was obviously having fun and Helena Bonham Carter was her usual self. Anyone else think it's in HBC's contract or something that every movie she gets to stick a bunch of stuff in her hair? There's always something going on up there.


Some stuff felt half-baked, like James Corden not showing up until the 11th hour, etc. Armitage was a pretty underdeveloped "villain".



Also the movie totally like goes out of its way to tease Clooney showing up and then doesn't deliver, which is just setting the audience up for disappointment.

 

[flickchick85]

Well, I enjoyed it. Hathaway was clearly having a blast (I loved [blackout]her character's explanation for why she wanted to participate[/blackout]) and Bullock and Blanchett had great chemistry, as did the rest of the group. I'm not sure the lesbian vibes count as "subtext" considering Debbie explicitly said she dated Armitage's character because she and Lou had hit a rough patch. Seemed to spell out that they were exes to me. Either way, they and the rest of the team were fun to watch. It wasn't as good the first Clooney one, but I'd say I at least enjoyed it as much as the sequels, probably a little more.

I'd happily watch a sequel.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Having finally seen it, I'm of two minds. On one hand I really enjoyed it because I love all these actresses so much and they were an absolute delight together, but on the other hand I feel a little underwhelmed because I think with some tweaks it could have been so much more than what it was.

I think my biggest complaint is that Debbie and Lou, the big two of this movie (like Danny and Rusty Ryan were in the original trilogy) seemed pretty underwritten, which is probably the most criminal thing of all going on in this movie when you consider that they're played by two legends like Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett. It felt like: This is Debbie, she's Danny Ocean's hot sister and like him she's also super-amazing at stealing ****. This is Lou, she's Debbie's best friend/former lover, she dresses like a super hot modern day Suzi Quatro and she's also really good at stealing ****. The end. We never really learn anything more about them and what makes them tick. Luckily, both Bullock and Blanchett are great despite the limitations in the script, and the chemistry between them is scorching. How difficult would it have been to show properly that they used to be a couple? It was so obvious anyway (Lou is the most blatantly lesbian character I can remember in a recent movie ), all they had to do was show a little more emotional conflict between the two and give them a proper gay happy ending. t: Imagine Debbie, [BLACKOUT]after visiting Danny's grave[/BLACKOUT], walking out to where Lou is waiting for her on her motorcycle hmr: btw), them sharing a proper kiss and then riding off together? Much more satisfying ending.

As for the other characters, Hathaway was just fab as the spoiled actress with hidden depths, I loved her. Her character felt like the only one that was written with any real personality and had an actual arc to speak of. Sarah Paulson continues to be awesome, her character Tammy was great. I didn't have any high hopes for Rihanna but she was surprisingly good! Bonham Carter's ditzy designer was fun but felt like more like a caricature than an actual person. I'd never heard of Awkwafina before this movie, but she's great! I really enjoyed her pick pocket character, she was a standout in every scene she was in. And poor Mindy Kaling was fun but was barely given anything to do.

So all in all, I had a good time watching it and the film's biggest draw is definitely it's cast. But there are a lot of things that could have been improved on. I'll likely go see it again before it leaves theatres based on my love for the actresses alone.

I'd happily watch a sequel.

Same here, I definitely want to see this gang back together again pulling off another heist. I just hope that next time around (if there is one), they get a slightly better director on board. If they can't make it work with a female director, then I'd be down for Soderbergh coming back to the director's chair again. Oh, and they need to grow some balls and let Debbie and Lou be proper lesbians together next time.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Oh, and they need to grow some balls and let Debbie and Lou be proper lesbians together next time.

I'd rather them be improper lesbians.

 

[Finarfiniel]

I'd rather them be improper lesbians.

Well, yeah... but I'll stop there to prevent myself from dragging this thread into the gutter.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

I did a double feature on Wed. Saw this first and Incredibles after.

I ADORE the first Clooney film. Adore it.


I did not end up adoring this film and I REALLY wanted to to like this movie.

Review with spoilers as follows:

Spoiler

This film has on paper a phenomenal cast. Truly world class in every aspect. While I do feel there were some miscasts throughout (I would have replaces Paulsen with Kristen Wiig, James Corden with Martin Freeman, Armitage with any actor that can muster actual screen presence, and Rhianna with Tessa Thompson) the real issue with this film is a paradoxical two fold issue of what it essentially is as a spin off and furthering of a franchise, and a peculiar one as the Ocean's films are at their heart breezy, cool crime capers based around character interactions and comedic dialog and situations rather than hyperbolic chest thumping macho cliches or Bay-esque visual spectacle.

First issue is... It tries too much to be like the first Ocean film with Pitt and Clooney. Second is... It's not enough like the first Ocean film with Pitt and Clooney.

I have to start off with Bullock as Deb and Blanchett as Lou. I get using the Danny and Rusty relationship and style as a template but I am sorry to say... It didn't work for me with these characters or the actresses playing them. Full stop they should have REALLY retooled these two parts of the film. I of course expect to see echoes of Danny is his sister but... She's an exact copy of Danny right down to how we meet her, though I guess it's ironic given my feelings of the film in total that the early goings of Deb in the film are the best most engaging moments we share with the character. She's a better actor than Danny at her parole hearing and the scam she pulls to get her four star hotel stay was a delight to watch. Bullock sold that because she seemed to have an actual inner light that delighted in her character's actions in those sequences. But then... Then that seems to be all forgotten as in an attempt to duplicate the "cool" manner and vibe of Clooney and Co. Bullock simply goes with a characterization that seems less "cool" and self assured and seems more monotone and aloof. The inner satisfaction that was there when she conned her way out of jail and into a suite just dies and is never seen again. What's worse is... This charisma drain soon infects the other ostensible lead, Blanchett. Cate is sad to say mostly just dull and it comes down to trying to ape Pitt. It doesn't hurt that Pitt and Clooney also had Damon's character to verbally kick around and use to espouse lore and exposition. This led to some deft verbal play and some insight into the characters. Here I will again use the word aloof to describe everything about Lou and Deb. So a perfect example of director Gary Ross and producer Bullock trying too hard to mirror Ocean's 11 with Clooney and the gang and yet missing the mark and delivering something that recreates the surfaces of that movie but misses an essential ingredient each and every time it tries to does so.

As for the issue of Lou and Deb's relationship... They should have gone to 11 with them being in a romantic relationship and dropped the entire jilted lover revenge angle and Armitage's character all together. Overt flirting between the two rather than their monotone too cool for school chit chat would have added a lot more energy to their scenes, and would have for sure differentiated the male and female versions a lot more. I can't blame Bullock... Well... I can I guess. As stated she's not just a hired gun here. Okay... I can't blame Blanchett too much for her portrayal since they didn't give her or Sandra much to play around with. I would rather they be totally bonkers in love and show that but Cate goes minimalist and instead of being alluring and engaging and mysterious the way Rusty was... She's just dull. In fact that's an issue with writing and performances throughout. No one is out and out bad but compare how every single member of Danny's group just registers with you beyond just their general set up and are all given some moment (a few multiple even) to shine. Someone said earlier in this thread that this film lacked panache, and flare, which on so many levels is what the Clooney movie had in spades. Another way to put it is the Ocean's 11 cast as they were handled? They popped. Everyone popped. Here? We barely get a sizzle. I know some might feel I'm bringing up that movie too much in this review but... C'mon, what do you expect given this film's status as a spin off and one that so blatantly tried to reuse the formula from the initial installment in the franchise?

Continuing with the cast... Why are we still trying to make Rhianna happen onscreen Hollywood? She's just dull. She ain't got "it". Let's put it this way... I am no big fan of Lady Gaga, her public persona, her music or her as a person in general... But in the trailer for her remake of A Star Is Born I saw more on screen talent and charisma than all of what Rhianna gave us in this film. Again... Replace her with Tessa Thompson doing her best to Valkyrie this character up and you could have had this film's Basher.

Mindy Kahling had a nice intro and something that could have been played around with, but it's introduced and then maybe subtly hinted at one more time and after that... Does anyone even remember what she does after she disassembles the necklace in this movie? What she contributes in either the plot or as a comedic presence? No? Neither did I.

Nora Lum aka... NO... You know what I refuse to call her by that ridiculous stage name so let's call her Ms. Lum. Again... She's good at comedy and she could have really shined here. In fact I think they missed the mark to have some memorable interactions between her and Mindy. The film wants to be a funny romp but... It sidelines two bona fide comedians for most of it's run time. I mean these two should have been the Caan and Afflecks of this movie.
Supporting characters acting as a duo that add a flavor all their own to the proceedings.


Carter has glimpses here and there of the strange and manic performer she often and for myself often gratingly is. But she seems to have been given the direction to underplay her strengths for the first time in her career here and I can't for the life of me figure it out. Of all the times you want peak Helana Carter it should be as a down on her luck fashion designer. There's absolutley (and no pun intended) when I want things to go to Eleven. Maybe they thought her wardrobe would do all the acting but this was one time I wish Carter had brought the weird and loud.


Sarah Paulsen through it all was just... There. Rhianna was at least noticeably dull. Paulsen was just run of the mill dull. What was written for her again, the con woman posing even to her husband as the stable suburban housewife, needed something with some more spice to it. Which is why I think Wiig would have killed it in this part and I don't even think it would have to be over the top.


The Hathaway twist was while not obvious from the start also not enough of a shock to register as a surprise either, if that makes sense? It was only after the twist came that I understood why she didn't just play a funny over the top version of herself. She couldn't play "Anne Hathaway" with the way it turns out I suppose... On the other hand imagine if they had done JUST THAT? Imagine Anne was playing herself and then joins the crew in the heist? Gimmiky? Yeah. But it would have been even more shocking imo. Still I have to disagree with the character's overall motivation. There's some funny dialog there but it's not something the audience should think about for more than three seconds given how she is set up in the first two reels.


James Corden is brought on board and it feels like it really should have been a part written for Martin Freeman with said character being more liberally woven through the narrative rather than what we ended up with which was Corden doing lukewarm schtick for a very short time. I didn't get enough time to gauge anything of the character. Rather than a last moment and sudden obstacle that is overcome way too easily he should have been a presence throughout the film.


Over all it's not like this was an incompetent movie or an offensively bad time in the theater... But it lacks the panache of the franchise in general and it lacks tension and depth which any good heist movie should have in spades at varying times in it's story. Not a bad film but it never ever soars really.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Life & Style are reporting that a sequel announcement is upcoming:

An Ocean's 8 sequel announcement is inevitable due to its success. At this point, producers are trying to find the right timing because of how busy some of the ladies' impending schedules are, in particular, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway and Cate Blanchett.

I'll wait to properly celebrate until I hear it from a more reliable source but yay nonetheless. t: It's not exactly surprising, it's already fast approaching $200 mil WW (over $100 mil domestic) on a $70 mil budget. It's yet to open in quite a few international markets and I know that the UK's numbers (nearly $6 mil in it's opening week) haven't been formally added yet. It's highly unlikely to outgross Ocean's Eleven, but it has a very good shot of overtaking both Twelve and Thirteen. Not bad for a film that apparently no one was interested in.

 

[harlequinade]

Life & Style are reporting that a sequel announcement is upcoming:


I'll wait to properly celebrate until I hear it from a more reliable source but yay nonetheless. t: It's not exactly surprising, it's already fast approaching $200 mil WW (over $100 mil domestic) on a $70 mil budget. It's yet to open in quite a few international markets and I know that the UK's numbers (nearly $6 mil in it's opening week) haven't been formally added yet. It's highly unlikely to outgross Ocean's Eleven, but it has a very good shot of overtaking both Twelve and Thirteen. Not bad for a film that apparently no one was interested in.

Right? Hathaway was such a delight in this. I hope there's even more of her in the sequel

 

[Finarfiniel]

Right? Hathaway was such a delight in this. I hope there's even more of her in the sequel

Honestly if we get a sequel, all I'm asking for is that they give all the ladies a little more character development (especially Debbie and Lou, I want flashbacks to how they met), include lots of scenes of them all interacting together (the real strength of O8, IMO) and most importantly, stop ****ing around and give Bullock and Blanchett a hot makeout scene. t:

 

[harlequinade]

Honestly if we get a sequel, all I'm asking for is that they give all the ladies a little more character development (especially Debbie and Lou, I want flashbacks to how they met), include lots of scenes of them all interacting together (the real strength of O8, IMO) and most importantly, stop ****ing around and give Bullock and Blanchett a hot makeout scene. t:

That scene where she feeds her cake is all over tumblr I kinda need less Blanchett in next one because I'm going bankrupt trying to replicate her clothes

 

[Finarfiniel]

That scene where she feeds her cake is all over tumblr I kinda need less Blanchett in next one because I'm going bankrupt trying to replicate her clothes

Haha, yeah the whole Debbie/Lou ship is insanely popular on social media, especially amongst the lesbians like myself of course. I'm not even bothering trying to replicate Cate's wardrobe in this film because I know there's no way I could even begin to look that badass and fabulous.

 

[psylockolussus]

I want to see one of the female cast members from Nine, appear in Oceans' 9 as the ninth member!

 

[harlequinade]

Haha, yeah the whole Debbie/Lou ship is insanely popular on social media, especially amongst the lesbians like myself of course. I'm not even bothering trying to replicate Cate's wardrobe in this film because I know there's no way I could even begin to look that badass and fabulous.

I did that last year with Theron in Atomic Blonde, now this....it's a real problem :

I want to see one of the female cast members from Nine, appear in Oceans' 9 as the ninth member!

Kidman would be awesome, it's been a while since I saw her in something light

 

[Ozbridge]

I’m all for lesbian and bisexual representations but they need to avoid the gratuitous kissing/ sex targeting straight men’s threesome fantasies a la Atomic Blond.

 

[harlequinade]

I’m all for lesbian and bisexual representations but they need to avoid the gratuitous kissing/ sex targeting straight men’s threesome fantasies a la Atomic Blond.

Why the assumption that the scene in AB was targeting straight men?

 

[Ozbridge]

Deleted because double post.

 

[Finarfiniel]

Kidman would be awesome, it's been a while since I saw her in something light

I agree that Kidman would be awesome, but I still can't help but think that I'd rather have an older woman like Jane Fonda as a wise, seen it all and knows it all, matriarch type. Then we'd have a gang of badass lady thieves that range from their 20's all the way up to their 80's which would be pretty damn cool.

I’m all for lesbian and bisexual representations but they need to avoid the gratuitous kissing/ sex targeting straight men’s threesome fantasies a la Atomic Blond.

I'm not asking for anything gratuitous (I imagine the sequel will be PG-13 like O8), just a nice, romantic kiss that proves beyond a doubt that they're an item. Straight couples get that all the time in movies without it being seen as gratuitous, why not a lesbian couple? To see that kind of representation in such a mainstream movie and franchise would be awesome.

 

[Ozbridge]

Why the assumption that the scene in AB was targeting straight men?

After Atomic Blond trailer I distinctly remember a member here on SHH commenting “Girl-on-girl action: checked” along with the drool or the hubba emoji, and based on their posts in general (they are actually quite active on SHH) I think they’re a man.

Granted that’s just anecdotal, but I’ve seen some male writers being very generous with bisexual female characters (not lesbians, so their bodies are still available for men), but m/m relationships are avoided like the Plague.

If you're familiar with Tumblr/ AO3/ FFN, you'll notice the same phenomenon that the most popular ship in all fandoms are two white dudes. Every. Single. Fandoms. And the shippers are usually women (though I can't comment on whether they're dominantly straight or not).

Not saying that straight people aren't allowed to have threesome fantasies (what audiences do in private is their business) but I think queer representations should target first and foremost queer people.

I'm not asking for anything gratuitous (I imagine the sequel will be PG-13 like O8), just a nice, romantic kiss that proves beyond a doubt that they're an item. Straight couples get that all the time in movies without it being seen as gratuitous, why not a lesbian couple? To see that kind of representation in such a mainstream movie and franchise would be awesome.

Well if it's PG-13 then it's likely not gratuitous.

But even if it's R rated doesn't mean it's gratuitous though; I find The Handmaiden not gratuitous at all while Atomic Blond (the trailer, because I haven't seen the movie) is much tamer but I find that gratuitous.

 

[Legendver2]

There was lesbianism in this? I didn't get that vibe at all from any of the characters maybe except for Blanchett's more masculine fashion sense.

 

[Finarfiniel]

There was lesbianism in this? I didn't get that vibe at all from any of the characters maybe except for Blanchett's more masculine fashion sense.

...

Really?

It wasn't stated outright in the film, but you honestly didn't catch on to the serious vibes between Debbie and Lou, the characters played by Bullock and Blanchett? The touchy-feeliness and constant physical closeness? The feeding each other? The joking about Debbie proposing to Lou? The constant long, lingering looks? The obvious jealousy from Lou whenever Debbie's *****ebag ex got brought up? Debbie talking about her and Lou 'going through a rough patch' which is why she got together with said *****ebag ex in the first place? Yes, grown women can be close, but it's not usual for them to be that close and have that much sexual chemistry if they're 'just friends'. I guess it's possible to miss if you're not looking for it, but it honestly jumps out of the screen when you're a gay gal like me. t:

One of the costume designers revealed on instagram that the original script made it a lot more clear that Debbie and Lou are exes and not just friends (which played into Lou's dress sense and general characterisation), but for some reason (lol Hollywood ) that element got filtered down as filming went on to make it more ambiguous.

 

[Iceman]

I've booked this for Thursday morning but have to wait to see if I'm totally free and can make it.