kate_nepveu | Ocean's 8

I enjoyed this as a bit of pretty, competent fluff, and I hope they picked 8 as the title so they can do a full trilogy without repeating numbers.

SPOILERS:

But I feel extremely robbed of Debbie and Lou riding off into the sunset together. "Is this a proposal / I don't have a diamond yet"; "Lou and I were in a rough patch" when she took up with loser-snitch-guy! Come ON.

(I go back and forth on it's too much to ask the movie to break this extra ground past its predecessors, in light of what it's already doing, or if it's 20 fucking 18 and it's past time.)

Also: Cate Blanchett in motorcycle gear. Whew.

I guess that maybe the movie claims that Danny is dead so that we don't expect him to show up? But I can't believe that anyone would believe that he's really dead, so while I didn't expect him to show up, because that would totally distort the movie, it just felt weird.

I should be mad that Yen came back, because A Man, but I can't be, it was a fun little touch. The movie had no surprises overall — I was sure Anne Hathaway's character would turn out to be in on it, I was sure that they would successfully frame her ex, I was sure that they were going after the rest of the exhibit — so that's a bit suboptimal, but there was still pleasure in the unfolding. (I'll always have a soft spot for (the modern) Ocean's Eleven because the caper was so delightful, but I didn't like the treatment of Tess then and I'm sure I'd have even less patience for it now.)

Ooooh. Maybe one of the sequels could have Tess but in Julia-Roberts-in-Duplicity mode, sort of like Maggie in Leverage.

I feel like I ought to say something about its use of celebrity culture and the Cinderella fantasy, but I'm very tired so I'm just going to point to this gifset and say that I knew exactly what this sequence was doing and yet it was still very satisfying.

Trailers:

A Star Is Born: this looks dreadful, but you can see Anthony Ramos (who originated Laurens/Phillip in Hamilton) in the background, and awww I'm so happy for him!

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. Well, it has more reason to exist than Beauty and the Beast?

Widows. This had me ready to follow Viola Davis anywhere.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald: I continue in my indifference to all of J.K. Rowling's post-Deathly Hallows Potterverse stuff.

Peppermint (with a few prefatory seconds that weren't shown in the theater, which is vexing because it messes with the structure). Jennifer Garner does parent-turned-vigilante. I'm glad that women are getting this type of movie but, uh, pass. (It's possible that my reaction to this compared to Widows is a matter of the lead actors, but also I don't think Widows is trying to sell their actions as righteous, just survival.)

Edit: missed one, The Girl in the Spider's Web, I knew there was one more on IMDB that had extra stuff at the beginning. This is a Lisbeth Salander movie, I don't think I need to say anything else.

Bonus: this poster shows Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in The Spy Who Dumped Me and I am so, so sad to report that one of them had not dumped the other.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

kore

I am SO FUCKING PSYCHED for Ocean's 8, and have been unable to see it in the theatre both weekends so far. Bleah. Yes yes, bring back Tess in a sequel!

Widows looks amazing.

Peppermint - I enjoy Garner in action mode, but the plot looks like a giant turnoff. Might catch it on Netflix later or something.

From:

kate_nepveu

Yeah, I have no feelings about Garner except a generalized "well done" at her post-Affleck PR management, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

From:

sovay

this poster shows Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in The Spy Who Dumped Me and I am so, so sad to report that one of them had not dumped the other.

THAT IS FALSE ADVERTISING.

From:

kate_nepveu

I KNOW.

It is extremely unlikely that the movie will end with _them_ riding off into the sunset, either, but if I hear otherwise I will be there like a shot.

From:

genarti

YES. It was so much fun! I really wish they had ridden off into the sunset together -- ideally with also actually having the queerness explicit, instead of tons of hints that stopped just short? Come on, Hollywood! -- but I found the film delightful from start to finish, all the same.

(Exchange we have had repeatedly around these parts:

FRIEND: "Ooh, how was it?"
ME: "It was so good!!"
BECCA: "I mean, I'm not sure good is quite the word..."
ME: "IT WAS SO MUCH FUN."
BECCA: "IT WAS SO MUCH FUN.")

From:

genarti

Trailers: We got The Nutcracker and the Four Realms too, and cackled in silent hilarity and delight all through. Do I think it's going to be good? No idea! Am I going to go, and cackle through the fun and/or the melodramatic hot mess? ABSOLUTELY.

This is doubly true because the previous trailers had been, like, Mission Impossible The Whateverth and Widows and other things about GRITTINESS and DEATH and EXPLOSIONS, and many of them looked good (not Mission Impossible, but definitely Widows), but I was not in the mood for grit (and rarely am). I was in the mood for capers and ridiculousness. And then this baffling sequin-fest of The Nutcracker As A Ya Novel Or Something exploded onto the screen, and it was great.

(I liked the aesthetics of the Fantastic Beasts trailers, but I also do not care that much about the continued world of HP, so a trailer or perhaps a later fanvid is about the length of time I'm especially interested in spending hanging out there. So I enjoyed the trailer, but in the way where I feel no need to see the movie it was trying to advertise to me.)

From:

kate_nepveu

Oh your talk about GRITTINESS and DEATH and EXPLOSIONS reminds me of the one I somehow failed to include, the latest Lisbeth Salander!

Honestly on rewatching I can't believe I missed that it was the Nutcracker music, the tunnel into a winter wonderland had me thinking "Alice? Narnia? Surely I'd have heard if they were redoing those, again?" Also I was extremely distracted trying to figure out where I'd seen the girl before (per IMDB, probably _Interstellar_).

I generally judge kid-targeted movies on how long it takes me to reach for my phone, or how long it's likely going to be, and that looks pretty promising on that front! (E.g.: the Captain Underpants movie: surprisingly long! The Hotel Transylvania franchise: I never put that sucker away.)

Edited Date: 2018-06-25 12:08 pm (UTC)

From:

genarti

Oh man, yes, we had that one too. The Nutcracker ridiculousness was such a breath of fresh air! I did recognize the music, and between Princess Tutu and general ballet exposure I was going "Is this...?!?" from the opening party scene, so I was delighted when it did indeed turn out to be that.

Your rubric for kid-targeted movies sounds like a very solid one, though! Especially for someone who's often in the position of watching something with kids, whereas I'm usually only watching them because I've heard them recommended as fun for adults too.

From:

kate_nepveu

Right, yeah, I am totally not interested in engaging with it on goodness/not. It was fun! That's what I wanted it to be.

From:

genarti

Right! It knew exactly what kind of movie it wanted to be, and committed gleefully to being that.

From:

lilysea

Bonus: this poster shows Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in The Spy Who Dumped Me and I am so, so sad to report that one of them had not dumped the other.

I would totally watch this movie! ^_^ <3

Also if Rihanna had dumped Kate McKinnon!

From:

kate_nepveu

or if she's Kate McKinnon's rebound . . .

From:

minoanmiss

*takes notes*

They're remaking A Star Is Born AGAIN? I thought Magic Mike (the first) covered that territory for "our generation".

From:

kate_nepveu

Goodness. That is a lot of remakes, isn't it. How depressing.

From: (Anonymous)

This was the first Ocean # I've seen, so I didn't know what was a call back. If the guy at the end was from a previous film, I'm not at sad that they didn't stick with the all-female crew. I figured Danny had faked his death in a previous Ocean, so it's interesting to see that's not spelled out.

I agree that it was a fun movie, although it turns out that my teen-aged son and I are both sticklers who disapprove in principle of theft and framing.