Last week, my son’s school year was finally done and I had a one-evening reprieve from my killer workload. A group of 7 female colleagues from my office went to its first movie night (of many, I hope), choosing to see Ocean’s 8. We tried for a group of 8 in the spirit of the movie, but in the end one of the women had to miss out on the fun.
I actually found myself with a spare hour before meeting up with the others. What better thing to do than buy some shoes! Okay, well they are not Ocean’s 8 attire, but with my sprained ankles (six weeks in, now) these flats at 30% to 50% off were a great find. Yes, there’s a theme… black shoes go with pretty much anything… and I’ve got some options now. (I really miss wearing heals, though.)
After stowing away my purchases in the back of my car, I headed up to the movie theatre. One of my friends had thrown in some coupons, so we each only ended up paying $10 per ticket. Armed with popcorn and a diet cherry Coke for oh-so-healthy dinner, I joined my work buddies in the last row of the cinema and settled in for the show.
I had been a bit skeptical about the movie, mainly because some of the Sandra Bullock movies I’ve seen have been duds, while others have been good. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have picked this movie if not for the “movie-boyfriend factor”. (Only two of my colleagues knew my main reason for being there.)
What a pleasant surprise! The movie was really good and we all enjoyed it. Right from the opening scene, it is obvious that the film had a decent budget and is well put-together. It is a good example of the heist genre and fits in well with the other films in the Ocean’s series, with the slick buddy-film tone and the snappy dialogue and humour. A good steady pace is maintained throughout the planning, execution, and aftermath of the heist and there are even a couple of hidden twists thrown in. For those who enjoy celebrity cameos and Met Gala-worthy fashion, they are both plentiful.
The best part of the movie for me, though, is watching these eight women work together doing something they are good at while thoroughly enjoying each others’ company. And this is obviously true for the actresses, as well as for the characters. Despite being in a heist plot that for most of us is not our every-day lives, the characters and relationships are very realistic. All of the female characters have their defined personalities and special skills, and the performances are all good. I especially enjoyed the interactions between Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) and Lou (Cate Blanchett). The two characters work well together, and yet they are not afraid to call each other on their “shit”. In my opinion, the dialogue leaves it ambiguous as to whether they are only partners in crime or whether they had also been partners in life before Debbie got herself mixed up with Claude Becker (Richard Armitage).
Speaking of Armitage, it was really nice to see him back on the big screen. The last time I saw him on screen in the cinema was at last year’s Canadian screening of The Crucible. That was a fabulous experience, to see the filmed stage performance, with the larger-than-life Armitage excelling in the role of John Proctor. Of course, a supporting movie role is a very different and lower-key performance. He has quite a bit of screen time, although much of it is in shorter scenes, where he doesn’t really get to explore the character fully. He does, though, manage quite well to show Becker to be a very shallow and narcissistic man. And in fact he does have the only scene where I (not being a laugh-out-louder) actually laughed out loud. He had me laughing just with the look on his face during the scene pictured above.
I didn’t find the James Corden scenes at the end particularly funny. I do like his Carpool Karaoke, but I thought these scenes were just unnecessary. Anne Hathaway is very good as the insecure diva movie star, and I enjoyed her scenes with Richard Armitage and with the others involved in the caper. I actually hate to single out just a few of the women, as they all brought something unique to their scenes.
I’m looking forward to being able to see this again on the small screen, so that I can pause and rewind to really check out Armitage’s performance. But on the evening itself, my group of 7 thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie and we are looking forward to our next two planned outings — Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in July and Crazy Rich Asians in August.
I'm Feeling This 
That sounds like fun – great thing to do with a bunch of colleagues!
I also made a ‘girl’s night’ out of my trip to see O8. Went with my daughter and my RL RA friend in Berlin. We had a ball!
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Yes,it was really fun. You have a RL RA friend? That’s fun! Mine is more of a solitary pursuit.
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Yep – she’s not active in the fandom at all but has accompanied me to the Berlin premiere and generally likes chatting about our movie boyfriend. The funny thing is that we have been friends for about 12 years. She discovered RA before me, but we only found out way into my own obsession with RA that we were both interested in the same actor…
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Ah that’s cool. So maybe I even know some closeted RA fans. You never know.
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Haha I like that my movie boyfriend my sis says what’s up w your Brit!
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Okay, those shoes are CUTE! Hoping your ankles heal and you’ll be back in heels! Har har!
Oh a girl’s night out sound delish. I miss those. I really don’t have any girl friends here. I should make some! I should prolly reach out to the woman in my Sunday School class who actually went out with my Date from Hell 2 months after I did. We giggled all though class.
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Thanks! It was fun to have the girls’ night. I don’t have enough of those. Usually I go to see shows by myself or with my son. My best friend is my sister, but she’s 2,700 miles away.
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My sister is 350 miles away. It’s still too far. I sent her a care box with clothes I bought her or clothes I have that I can’t wear for various reasons (too low, doesn’t look right, etc) along with some books and a few magazines. Otherwise, I’m like you – I go by myself or with my son. I could so use a girl’s night out!
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I’m going to Toronto for a niece’s wedding in August so I’ll have a nice visit with my sister then.
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I probably won’t see my sister again until October, when my brother gets married. I MIGHT try to make a last minute summer run home weekend after next for a few days (and to see if my mom will take up a couple of dresses – damn this losing weight!)
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Good for you that your doing so well with your weight. After I get back from next week’s beach trip I have to get back to it.
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I don’t know if my weight is going down or not. I just know I’m losing inches! Sheesh.
Oh and you didn’t hear this from ME of all people, but fullbeauty dot com Comfortview shoes is having a BOGO on a large selection of shoes. The code is FBCVFSFR but again, you didn’t hear this from me.
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Inches are the important thing! Not sure if I can find anything that will fit on line. I seem to have a hard time finding shoes that are comfy. Thanks, though.
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I have a duck foot – regular heel and a double wide across the toes. PRetty much every shoe I own now is a Comfortview because they carry WW and the prices are REALLY affordable! Just a thought! I have a lot of slings and I buy pads from Wally World to put in the back of the flats with a back.
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Thanks. I may take a look. The links you showed me do look cute.
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Sounds like a perfect movie night evening.. Glad you enjoyed the movie so! Yes, I laughed out loud at that RA scene as well. 🙂
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I only wish that some of his scenes were a bit longer!
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Yes! And some more depth for the other ladies as well.
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Really good point about how production value affects one’s perception of what is happening — it was also something I had noted and then didn’t include in my review. I only saw one continuity error in this whole film, for instance, and the variety of interiors and exteriors added to the film — every aspect of it was professional and when I look at all the creatives involved who have been interviewed, they all made significant contributions, down to the smallest detail. (Admittedly they weren’t doing fake blood which is often one of my pet peeves). It does make a difference. As Daphne says in the scene at Lou’s place, “it’s attention to the small things that really makes something sing.”
I loved that scene where Claude just stares at Daphne, too. I’d never seen that look on Armitage’s face before, for one thing.
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That was definitely a new facial expression for Armitage. Just shows that he can manage comedy, even with little prep time. Imagine if he had a longer lead up and a bigger comedic role!
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