Cutaways

I saw "Ocean's Twelve" this weekend, the Steven Soderbergh-directed sequel to his 2001 effort, "Ocean's Eleven," which in itself reworked the Rat Pack's clunky 1960 caper movie. As you might expect from the sequel to a remake of a film not very good to begin with, "Ocean's Twelve" doesn't have much in the way of staying power.

Not that the tongue-in-cheek heist hijinks don't have some appealing moments. Soderbergh gives the proceedings a clubby charm; there is something to be said for the entertainment value of beautiful people indulging extravagant pursuits in exotic locales such as Rome and Amsterdam. But the film's airy charms ultimately rely on the star power of its cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, etc. etc. Watching movie stars crack wise and strike sexy poses can be fun, but "Ocean's Twelve" is a bit too much in love with itself. The movie abounds in self-reflexive games of celebrity that are as clever as they are infuriating. The result comes perilously close to making the leap from self-congratulatory to masturbatory.

Even the babe-obsessed Bullz-Eye.com, in its review of "Ocean's Twelve," scoffs at all the outlandish plot points that are tossed like rose petals before the feet of the star-studded cast. "Those moments are wasted on a script with a non-linear timeline that seems structured for the express purpose of distracting the viewer from asking some very relevant questions about the motives of the characters and the plausibility of nearly every outcome," writes reviewer David Medsker. "The third act, in particular, is a mess; it features stunt casting, shameless self-parody, and a tearful reunion that has no place whatsoever within these walls. It all seemed stitched together from text messages in someone's Blackberry."

Again, it seems like Miami Herald movie critic Rene Rodriguez is right on-target in her review, which you can read here.

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Alexander Payne's masterpiece, "Sideways," continues to earn justifiable praise. The latest plaudits come from the Los Angeles Film Critics honoring it as the year's best movie. The L.A. critics awarded Payne as best director and recognized he and collaborator Jim Taylor for best screenplay. "Sideways"'s Virginia Madsen won best supporting actress and Thomas Haden Church won for best supporting actor. The only bummer was Paul Giamatti losing best actor honors to Liam Neeson for "Kinsey."

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Speaking of "Sideways," some Golden Globes observers are expecting it to rack up plenty of nods from the awards folks when nominations are announced tomorrow (Monday, Dec.13) morning. Others likely to garner several nominations include Clint Eastwood's "Million Dollar Baby," Marc Forster's "Finding Neverland" and Bill Condon's "Kinsey" (calm down, Red Dirt).