DVD Collectors Online

Ocean's 13, a review by Dragonfire

It's bolder. Riskier. The most dazzling heist yet. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and more reteam with director Steven Soderbergh for a split-second caper that stacks the deck with wit, style and cool.

Danny Ocean again runs the game, so no rough stuff. No one gets hurt. Except for double-crossing Vegas kingpin Willy Bank (Al Pacino). Ocean's crew will hit him where it hurts: in his wallet. On opening night of Bank's posh new casino tower The Bank, every turn of a card and roll of the dice will come up a winner for bettors. And they'll hit him in his pride, making sure the tower doesn't receive a coveted Five Diamond Award. That's just the start of the flimflams. The boys are out to break The Bank. Place your bets!

My Thoughts

I loved the first movie and enjoyed the second one overall even though it wasn't as good as the first.  I thought this one was more like the first one.  The reason for them all getting together again and pulling the job was more believable since they were doing it for Reuben.  Wally Bank was a good villain for the story and I think I ended up liking him less than I did Benedict in the first one.  I liked the planning and plotting that they were doing and thought it made for a very entertaining movie, especially with how everything worked out.  The cast was great.  Brad Pitt and George Clooney work very well together and seemed believable as friends.  Overall, this was a very entertaining movie.

 

I posted a review on Epinions after I saw the movie in the theater if anyone is interested.

Ocean's Thirteen

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on March 1st, 2009)

Occupation, a review by Jon

Occupation

Three British soldiers who served together in Iraq, return to Basra for different reasons; one for love, one for money and the other believes he can help the stricken country. Over the next few years they are tested beyond breaking point.

Occupation is a BBC TV drama that has been shown in one hour episodes over the last three nights. It's a stark, human drama that happens to be set in Iraq. Unapologetically brutal, it is also strangely unassuming. Events unfold without embellishment. Shit happens? No, not really, it is far more measured and clever than just a simple tale of combat, and the characters have great depth. The plot doesn't hang about on any particular moment and sometimes jars as it jumps forward several months at a time, covering the bulk of the occupation over years, but this reinforces the sense of madness; nothing changes, nothing moves on, not really.

Often in reviews of Taxi Driver, it is described as a "circle of hell" in the tradition of Dante, and that is a perfect description of this story as the characters are tied to each other and the enigmatic, terrifying situation that is yet strangely comforting. The threads are straightforward, but twist together to cause consequence upon ironies, upon torments. As a drama it is superb and worth watching just to see how good TV can be, because it's hard to predict anything when the situation is always one step ahead ready to undo any sort of good intention. In a way, it's a kind of Karma, except nothing good happens.

Take the opening scene, where Mike (James Nesbitt) rescues a girl injured in a grenade attack. He becomes a hero, the image of him charging across the street with her in his arms is splashed across the papers. But he's immediately caught up in political manoeuvring: "you're the hero, but I could get fired", an aide tells him when warning him to keep his mouth shut about opinions on Iraq. Later he begins an affair with an Iraqi doctor (Lubna Azabal). It has it's sweet moments, but bloody hell, they come at a hefty price.

If you come into this looking for some kind of enlightened view of the occupation, or some answers, you won't get any. By the end, many characters seem to have this bewildered expression, where all the arguments have been ran dry, but they are still there and the country is still tearing itself apart. Each of the main three characters have a huge part to play in each episode, but it's possibly Stephen Graham's very last line that sums up the whole thing. All three gave spellbinding performances, but somehow his seems to have the most resonance in that one comment.

It's easily the best story I've yet seen about Iraq and one of the best war dramas, full stop. There is action and convincing battle sequences, but no show-boating, no manly brothers in arms, no wisecracking sergeant majors calling troops "numbnuts". It's real and essential. A tough watch, but I really hope you seek it out.

Trailer



(From Occupation on June 19th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl: Staffel 1 (1982/Germany) IMDb | Wikipedia (Germany) Length: 630 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles:

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Meister Eder und sein Pumuckl
Season 1.01 Spuk in der Werkstatt
Writer: )
Director:
Cast: Gustl Bayrhammer (Meister Eder), Hans Clarin (Pumuckl (voice))

A childhood favorite of mine. And a TV series which can be enjoyed by both kids and adults. Still 40 years later, it really holds up and is a joy to watch as an adult. Also something my son enjoys.
It is a show about a cobold, who is stuck to live with an old man (Eder) in his workshop. It is a mix between animation (Pumuckl) and live-action (everything else). And for a forty year old German TV show this mix holds up suprisingly well.
I like how Eder and Pumuckl are immediate friends. In my memory Pumuckl always annoyed Eder, but that isn't so. Eder is really happy to have Pumuckl as a companion. And Pumuckl really respects Eder and mostly listens to him.



(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on February 21st, 2022)