question: Ocean's Thirteen reverts to the formula of the first installment, and the result is another slick and entertaining heist film.

numbered reviews: 1. Though "Ocean's Thirteen" sticks to Las Vegas, rather than the lush palazzos of European cities, the atmosphere is still a privileged one where our heroes carry out another ultra-hip caper.
2. The gang's back in Vegas, and back in top form.
3. Clooney, Pitt and Damon have now worked together long enough that they've found a delightful sense of synchronicity that makes even the throwaway lines worth catching.
4. There is one small bit of good news about Ocean's Thirteen: it's not as bad as Ocean's Twelve. But when you consider just how dismal the latter was, this nugget will hardly be cause for rejoicing.
5. Steven Soderbergh's film is smooth, pleasing and lively. It's also completely devoid of genuine dramatic tension.
6. Why put so much sheen on a movie that warrants and provokes nothing more than mild diversion? It's like serving sloppy joes on fine china.
7. Acknowledging that service employees and factory workers make casinos tick - and factoring them into the plan - is a welcome wrinkle in pressed-suit professionalism that's on display in this thrillingly exciting franchise revival.
8. This might be the first piece of escapism to have a whiff of public service at its heart.
9. A fast-paced lark of a movie that makes it clear that in this cruel and crafty world, friends have to stick together.
10. Returning to Las Vegas but losing its winning streak, Ocean's Thirteen lets Soderbergh and the boys take a final bow while proving it is possible to have too much of a good thing.


question: Though featuring a talented cast, August Rush cannot overcome the flimsy direction and schmaltzy plot.

numbered reviews: 1. Nauseating drama with poor direction, dodgy performances and a sappy, cliche-laden script.
2. An honorable failure -- maybe even a noble one. Certainly, it's an ambitious one. But it is a failure.
3. More fable than film, there is no earthly reason why August Rush should work. But it does.
4. It's far-fetched and a leap of faith of Olympic proportions is required to keep abreast of the plot, but August Rush does deliver some charming moments, largely due to charismatic performances from Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
5. Uplifting and heart warming, this is a perfect date movie.
6. A lot like a conventional musical, but the story is not conventional, it is mystically romantic.
7. The excellent actors and good music make you think the movie will get better as it progresses, but it never does.
8. "August Rush" is a familiar, yet entertaining experience that works mostly because of the wonderful cast and the haunting mix of music.
9. However predictable, a good ol' fashioned happy ending is always welcome. But bring a box of tissues: A good cry is to be expected as well.
10. If it weren't for the wonderful soundtrack, Nick Castle and James Hart's screenplay wouldn't have made it past the slush pile.


question: Gosling commands the screen with a raw, electrifying performance.

numbered reviews: 1. Mr. Bean's diagnosis of Jewish self-hatred in The Believer may be misdirected in the present circumstances.
2. Valiente cinta, bien lograda y de soberbia actuación, aunque el tema será muy cuestionado y habrá quien la cuestione por lidiar con las temáticas de lo injustificable.
3. Gosling's performance at times achieves a Nietzschean grandeur.
4. An amazing and incendiary movie that dives straight into the rough waters of contradiction.
5. Definitely worth seeing.
6. It hits a few false notes when it overplays the violence committed by Danny's skinhead sidekicks, but most of the movie is chillingly understated, if that's the right term for such a heart-stopping narrative.
7. Gosling creates a staggeringly compelling character, a young man whose sharp intellect is at the very root of his contradictory, self-hating, self-destructive ways.
8. It is a challenging film, if not always a narratively cohesive one.
9. This fiery and imperfect feature shines as a demonstration of independent filmmaking at its most uncompromising.
10. A bad movie -- really a terrible movie -- with a daring idea behind it.


question: Witless, unfocused, and arguably misogynistic, Playing for Keeps is a dispiriting, lowest-common-denominator Hollywood rom-com.

numbered reviews:
1. Playing For Keeps unfolds like a metaphorical deconstruction of his charms: a meandering, formulaic look at a former sports star confronted by an uncertain future as he continues to exploit the superficial things the world still seems to want from him.
2. Smarmy. Dopey. Sloppy. Lazy. Creepy. Tone-deaf. Predictable. Embarrassing. Lousy.
3. Like undercooked leftovers, it makes you wish they had spent a little more time getting some heat into it.
4. It won't be up for any Oscars, nor will it score points for originality, but it's harmless enough fare for its target audience.
5. Another day at the Romantic Comedy Factory: '...Pull me down a Gerard Butler and a Jessica Biel, will ya?'
6. Ho-hum sports romcom lacks both laughs and chemistry.
7. It could be just the kind of pleasant surprise that leaves your inner cynic at a momentary loss for words.
8. I'll long be haunted by Dennis Quaid's manic performance as a palm-greasing dad who seems to be under the influence of bath salts ...
9. Playing for Keeps takes place in a tonally incoherent universe, constantly shifting between rom-com farce and mawkish family drama.
10. As the old saying goes, 'Well, that's two hours of my life I'll never get back.' Time is precious. Don't waste yours on a film like this. (Full Content Review for Parents also available)