For my passion blog this semester, I have decided to veer slightly away from my previous topic. Last semester I chose to feature some of my top artists and my favorite songs. This semester I will stick in the media realm and talk about 5 of my most loved movies. I have always been enamored by pop culture and I pride myself on my knowledge of social happenings and culture.
Music and film are two large components of the media field, so it feels only natural that those should be my two passion blog threads. I have seen many movies during my days, but there have only been a few that I continually want to go back and rewatch time after time. This first post will focus on probably my favorite film ever, Ocean’s Eleven. There are two versions of this film, one that was released in 1960, and one in 2001. I would like to specify that I am talking about the Oceans franchise from 2001.
Ocean’s Eleven follows a crew of thieves that set out to carry out elaborate heists. The first movie focuses on Danny Ocean, portrayed by George Clooney, being fresh out of prison, where he drew up an idea to rob three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas. Ocean enlists the help of his close friend Rusty, played by Brad Pitt, to partner with him and bring the heist into reality. Together, the friends create a group of highly talented individuals, with each person being specialized in one area.
This ensemble is made up of many other very well known actors. For example, Matt Damon plays a character that is very skilled at pickpocketing. As hinted at in the title, when the group is finalized it is made up of 11 people.
It is later revealed in the plot that Ocean is motivated to steal from the three specific casinos because they are owned by his ex-wife’s (Julia Roberts) boyfriend. There is some friction that is then created among the group when they find this out. Just when you think they are going to give up, the plot surprises you.
What I find most enjoyable about this film is the way it ends. I find it to be so satisfying how everything works out in the end. As soon as you think they got caught, they somehow get out of it. I will not go into complete detail just in case you would like to see it play out for yourself for the first time.
Also, I love it when a large system runs due to each player being an integral part of the plan, each character bringing something new to the table. This concept is something that, perhaps oddly, has always been very intriguing to me. For example, the body runs on each organ and features carrying out a task, or in an animal/plant cell, each structure has a specific function that they are responsible for. I think that is one of the main reasons why I love watching this movie over and over again- it never gets old!