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Site created 12/15/97.
page added: 4/22/05
The Spin Sheet
DVD reviews by Adam Jones of The Digital Bits
| The
biggest problem with Ocean's Twelve
is that is suffers by comparison to the film that spawned it. With
Ocean's Eleven, you were
seduced by its appeal, humor and quirky cast of characters. The
twists were original and didn't seem forced, and it was enormously
entertaining. That feeling is missing from this film, which is a
major disappointment considering the amount of talent involved.
Soderbergh has become so good as a director, that it's easy to
overlook that he's being a tad lazy this time. The cast appears so
slap-happy to be back together, that someone forgot to bring the
allure that made them so appealing in the first place. It's all one
big VIP party, except we don't get the VIP passes. Speaking of which, the DVD production is where you really get shysted. There's nothing on this disc in terms of extras but a theatrical trailer. Indeed, it appears that Danny Ocean needed to tap into the Warner Bros. vaults to pay back Benedict as well... and the studio couldn't afford any bonus material. Perhaps everybody also realized that the final result wasn't all that great, and are trying to distance themselves from the project. How else can you explain the absence of bonus material? Picture-wise, the movie looks great in newly mastered anamorphic widescreen video. The film's Dolby Digital 5.1 surround mix is solid as well. Now let's get back to making great movie, shall we? Understand, Ocean's Twelve isn't bad, it's just not very good. Here's hoping it was successful enough to warrant another sequel, because now at least, the filmmakers know what not to do. |
| The
best thing about this movie is its sense of loyalty, honor and
morality. With so many action movies these days, violence erupts in
the story simply to spice up the narrative or jolt the senses. With
Open Range, the violence comes
late in the film, and only because that's the direction the story is
going. Costner takes his sweet time building up the tension, but
when those revolvers start firing... well, you have what I think is
one of the best shoot-outs ever put into a Western. It is obviously
the highlight of the movie, all the more potent because of the way
it's planned and executed (and also because we've grown to know the
main characters and their ways). It's this attention to character
detail that makes the film work. Without it, the gunfight would be
just another gunfight. The only slight misstep is the love story
involving Costner and Annette Bening. Sure, for the story it needs
to be there, but it could have been inferred more than shown.
Sometimes you get the feeling that Costner as a director is just
killing time up until the big showdown. On disc, Open Range looks spectacular. You really get to absorb those rolling plains and expansive vistas. Director of Photography James Muro saturates the screen with rich images, and the anamorphic widescreen transfer carries those images nicely onto your TV screen. I don't really need to mention the sound mix, except that you really want to crank it up during that showdown. Both Dolby Digital and DTS surround sound is available, and with the DTS switched on, the gun shots will roll through your living room like a thunderclap. The bonus material is up to par with the epic scale of the movie. This 2-disc set includes a great documentary on the making of the film. Everybody has a story to tell, and you can witness Costner's passion for the project first hand. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say that the production company went through hell and back to get this movie made. It's a shame more people didn't go see it in theaters. The film disc also includes an audio commentary with Costner that's rife with information. Many times he's switching topics in mid sentence to keep up with the changing scenes, but his enthusiasm is admirable. Costner is hardly in league with some of his other contemporaries (Scorsese, Spielberg, Cameron and Ridley Scott, to name a few), but he certainly knows how to make a great film. Open Range went largely ignored in theaters. Here's your chance to discover a film that deserves to be noticed. |
| DiCaprio
turns in a complex performance as Abagnale, Jr., a smooth operator
of deception who is forced to grow up too fast, due to the break-up
of his parents. DiCaprio manages to keep the character likable and
charming, despite the fact that he engages in criminal behavior and
constant lying to everyone around him. A role like this requires
impeccable charm, and DiCaprio is as effortless in his acting as
Spielberg is with his directing. For all the trouble Abagnale gets
himself into, DiCaprio doesn't miss a beat switching to and from his
various deceptions. In many ways, Hanks has the more difficult role. After all, you like DiCaprio so much that you find yourself wanting him to get away with what he's doing. Hanks portrays Hanratty with such straight-arrow conviction, that he's quite the opposite of DiCaprio's amiable nature. But Hanks can also be deceptive in his subtlety, where he's acting without acting. Never do you feel he's overplaying dialogue or underplaying scenes. Hanks makes you understand Hanratty's convictions and his attitude towards his job. A story like this also requires a superb supporting cast, and you get marvelous performances from everyone, particularly Christopher Walken as DiCaprio's father. He's only in the film for about 25 minutes, but you can see why the son would want to emulate his father. One of most touching scenes occurs with Walken reminiscing over how he met his wife, after she's left him for another man. Broken and beaten down by the system, Walken's speech shows there is a deeper, more painful existence undermining DiCaprio's fun antics on the surface. Like father like son, indeed. Technically, the DVD presentation is of superb caliber. The bright colors of Janusz Kaminski's cinematography glow on this disc, and the Dolby Digital and DTS sound mixes really bring out John Williams' marvelous, jazzy musical score. The special features are sufficient, but from watching the mini-documentaries, you suspect there was a lot more material archived that could have been shown here. And typical of Spielberg, you don't get any audio commentary (he feels the film should speak for itself), which is fine. As fun as it would be to hear him muse over one of his films, he doesn't need to. What Spielberg puts on the screen IS his commentary Adam Jones adamjones@thedigitalbits.com |
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