Who's carrying the swag?

The Movie: Ocean's Thirteen, directed by Stephen Soderberg
Recommendation: Nobody, are you joking?
Reason: Continuing in the fun tradition of the first two, I'd heard that Ocean's Thirteen was expected to be pretty good.

I like the Ocean's movies because I like the chemistry between George Clooney and Brad Pitt. The smooth ease with which they played the first movie guarantees that my butt's going to be in the seats whenever the next installment comes out. These movies aren't easy to make, either-eleven moderate to high profile stars have to be snagged from other potential projects and popped up on screen in a movie that's clever without slipping into pretentiousness, and funny without getting stupid. It's always and accomplishment, and it's a joy to watch.

The sequels have had big shoes to fill. Ocean's Eleven was almost seamless, a slick, stylishly smooth piece that hit the screen with panache. It's one of my favorite movies. The second movie wobbled, but hit enough right notes that it wasn't bad, and so the third was in a precarious position. Instead of plummeting from the leave-off of the second, it rose. I was glad to see that. Despite some early issues with pace and setup, the second act through the climax went nicely. The actors hit their stride, the jokes started to flow and it seemed that not a single part went forgotten. There were some 'blink and you'll miss them' cameos and unfortunately Julia Roberts couldn't participate in the mayhem (God, never thought I'd regret her absence).

The movie was good-it sold popcorn without being too heavy. It was fun, light and summery, and I won't be ashamed to say I enjoyed it. I laughed, I looked back nostalgically on the first two movies, and I was glad I stuck with the series. I don't know if a fourth is merited-the cleverness could fade. For now, it's still good.

-129/365 down, 236/365 to go