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The Films of Gary Ross

Pleasantville

Seabiscuit

The Hunger Games

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Free State of Jones

Ocean's Eight (June 27/18)

Directed by Gary Ross, Ocean's Eight follows Sandra Bullock's Debbie Ocean as she emerges from prison with a plan to steal a diamond necklace worth $150 million - with the scheme eventually leading Ocean towards a ragtag team of criminals (including Cate Blanchett's Lou, Mindy Kaling's Amita, Rihanna's Nine Ball, and Sarah Paulson's Tammy). There's little doubt that Ocean's Eight comes off as a far more erratic and hit-and-miss endeavor than its Steven Soderbergh-helmed predecessors, as the movie, though faithful to the template established in the previous entries, contains a number of ineffective elements that effectively (and consistently) prevent one from wholeheartedly connecting to the material - with the most obvious example of this a distinct paucity of compelling, sympathetic characters worth rooting for. (Bullock's oddly flat turn as the central protagonist is certainly indicative of director Gary Ross' inability to create and cultivate charismatic heroes.) Such concerns become relatively easy to overlook once the heist-centric midsection rolls around, as Ross, working from a script cowritten with Olivia Milch, does an effective job of peppering this portion of the proceedings with several almost inherently compelling sequences (eg the gang attempts to copy the aforementioned necklace, etc). And although the caper itself is handled well and boasts plenty of agreeably engaging moments, Ocean's Eight concludes with a palpably padded-out final stretch, involving the exploits of a determined insurance investigator, that ensures it ends with more of a whimper than a bang - which confirms the picture's place as a pervasively uneven followup that could (and should) have been better.

out of

© David Nusair