The 4th part of a 3 part thing?
Explanation please?
Explanation granted.
After the first three films directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney as Danny Ocean were done, both Steven and George felt like they were done and did not want to do a 4th movie.
Well, the movie studio wanted another one and that brings us to 2018 and to Ocean's 8, a continuation and a spin-off from Soderbergh's trilogy, directed by Gary Ross and starring Sandra Bullock as Debbie Ocean, the sister of Danny Ocean, who's following in her brother's footsteps planning a sophisticated heist that will net a lot of money and just as importantly, screw over a son of a bitch who really has it coming.
The cast is an all-star ensemble that includes Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Helena Bonham Carter.
Newly paroled con artist Debbie Ocean, Danny Ocean's younger sister, convinces former partner in crime Lou to join her in a new heist.
Hey, if this sounds like opening of Ocean's Eleven, hey, you go with what works, you know?
By the way, where is older brother Danny in all of this?
Danny Ocean is dead.
He's got a spot in a mausoleum with a plaque with his name on it and everything.
Debbie does express some doubt if Danny's really in there.
Anyway...
Debbie plans to steal the Toussaint, a $150 million Cartier necklace, during the upcoming Met Gala in New York C, using the host, famous film star Daphne Kluger, as an unwitting accomplice.
Debbie's team gets to work, getting someone in Daphne's inner circle, getting a scan of the Toussaint, making a exact duplicate, hacking the security system, creating blind spots and more.
Part of the plan is to manipulate Daphne to invite Claude Becker to the Met Gala.
Who is Claude Becker? He is an art dealer (of a somewhat unscrupulous nature) who betrayed Debbie and sent her to prison for an art theft he set up and left her holding the bag.
Wait! This whole Met Gala heist is a personal vendetta?
Lou confronts Debbie about using the heist as a revenge plan again Becker. Debbie assures Lou that her beef with Becker will not mess up the plan and she's good to go.
Hey, didn't Brad Pitt's Rusty have the same concerns about Danny using the heist for personal revenge reasons back in Ocean's Eleven?
You go with what works.
Speaking of what works, it's the night of the Met Gala and after several days of intense planning and preparation, a complicated plan of many moving parts goes into motion.
Zoinks! The Toussant is gone!
Except....
As is the way with this sort of film, nothing is what it seems.
The Toussaint wasn't the real target.
The real big money to be gained from this heist is elsewhere.
And yes, Debbie Ocean has manipulated events to put the blame squarely on Claude Becker.
I know I made some snarky comments that insinuate Ocean's 8 is lifting stuff from Ocean's Eleven but damn, if it works, it works. And Ocean's 8 works just fine.
The ensemble here works well together; it's a cast that is funny and charming, absolutely on the ball.
Tomorrow, we have another movie where things are not always what they seem. Alfred Hitchcock month continues on Cinema Sunday with an iconic classic, North By Northwest.
As for Cinema Saturday, how am I going to wrap up a month that is focused on a submarine spy thriller, a rampaging bear jacked up on cocaine and a twisty heist caper?
Next week, two men sit down to dinner and talk.
For the whole damn movie.
Next week, buckle your seat belts for My Dinner With Andre.
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