This movie was another great casino movie with an all-star cast, Clooney, Damon, Pitt, Julie Roberts, Garcia and the list goes on… This film is a remake of the rat pack film from the 60’s by the same name. This film is full of action as Danny Ocean is released from prison it doesn’t take him long to plot a way to rob the vault of the Bellagio hotel and casino, as the movie progresses you find out more about how he plans to do this.
Eventually towards the end how all this happened is truly revealed and it is a really cool ending, at least I thought it was a cool twist on what you thought was happening until it is almost over. Overall this movie is very good with a nice surprise towards the end. I never seen it coming, well enjoy the film I don’t want to spoil it for you.
This Bond Film brings James Bond 007 to Las Vegas, following some Diamonds that where heisted Sean Connery (007) arrives in Las Vegas and uncovers a much deeper plot. Number 7 in the Bond installments Lucky 7 I guess right? Well not so, some of the reviews rate Sean Connery as “Old Looking” in this film, it still not with out its Bond-ish charm.
I loved this film for the simple fact you get some glimpse into how the “old school” Las Vegas Strip used to look. I mean even in the elevator cut screen Bond is on the external elevator of the now demolished Landmark Hotel and Casino. The chase scenes in the movie speed past some legendary casinos: Golden Nugget, Horseshoe, from the old Las Vegas when you could actually walk across the street at the stop lights. Now everything is above the strip level.
Overall I enjoyed this film and would watch them all once a year, I haven’t had time recently but this one brings back some memories on the old Las Vegas. One thing I always loved about the Bond Series is the clever names Ian used for his Bond girls here is a quote from the trailer:
Plenty: Hi, I’m Plenty.
Bond: But, of course you are.
Plenty: Plenty O’ Toole.
Bond: Named after your father, perhaps.
Anyways here is a link to the trailer if you would like to preview it.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the performance of Daniel Craig, He takes on the tough roll of James Bond 007 and nails it. This film starts off with James Bond attempting to qualify for double-o status, upon success of this mission he will be licensed to kill.
This film was very action packed from start to finish. The opening scenes grabbed a hold of me and kept me interested though out the film. As the film progresses Bond eventually gets involved a high stakes pokers game of Texas Hold’em. If you ever watched the WSOP on ESPN, this is a real intense version of what you see at the final table of the event. If you are a Poker buff you can truly appreciate the poker scenes in this movie.
Over all, Daniel Craig is a great addition to the Bonds, It was a relief for me to have a new 007 besides Remington Steele, nothing against him he had all the right makings of a good Bond but I remember him as the quirky Remington Steele, so it was hard for me to embrace him as a Bond.
If you haven’t seen this movie and are a fan of the Bond series I definitely recommend this one.
Casino was released in 1995, this film is loosely based on actual factual events that happened at the Las Vegas Casino and Sports Book the StarDust. The movie itself is based on a book “Casino” by Nicholas Pileggi and Larry Shandling. Directed by Martin Scorsese this film isn’t for the feint of heart it uses the F-bomb a whopping 398 times.
The all-star cast in this movie involves some of my favorites of all time including, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and “my sweetheart” Sharon Stone. Although this film doesn’t contain a lot of actual gambling, most of the film is in the Casino or on the Las Vegas strip.
If you want to see a film based loosely on the inner workings of “the Mob” and how the cut throat casino business was run before corporate America took over, then this film is for you. It has plenty of action from start to finish, even though it’s a long movie, it grabs you from the beginning and holds you to the very end.
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