Movie title: 'Ocean's Thirteen'

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Rating: One star (out of five)

Who's in it: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Ellen Barkin, Al Pacino.

Bonus features: Additional Scenes, Vegas: An Opulent Illusion - Las Vegas' Influential Design Sense, Jerry Weintraub Walk and Talk: The producer takes us on a Casino Tour.

What it's about: What is it about? What is it about? May as well ask the question twice, since the answer is the same. Or, to put it like that those famous mice, "What are we going to do, Danny Ocean?" And he replies: "Same thing we do every couple years, rob some Las Vegas casinos." So the movie series of brainy, non-violent robberies continues with Ocean's Thirteen and I am as unsuperstitious as a man tossing bricks at mirrors, it is an unlucky number for the caper flicks.

The problem is not the cast (hey, look back up to 'Who's In It') or the mix of drama, action and comedy. After all, it worked like a charm before. Aha! That's it! We have seen it before, where Danny Ocean (George Clooney) hatches a plot to knock over a casino and calls together the ultimate crew for the job. OK, so this time the reason is different, as Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) is shafted on a casino construction deal by Willy Bank (Al Pacino) and gets a heart attack as a result. So Ocean is determined to rob the casino (which just happens to have the best of the best security system) and tells Bank of his plan (after all, there should be some honour among men who shook Frank Sinatra's hand, Ocean reminds him).

After that come the details: the acquisition of some powerful thinagajimmy to knock out the power system, 'The Amazing Yen' (Shaobo Qin) folding himself into an impossible human pretzel (or Beetle, after he has been walloped by Sarge), the roach and runs (not feet, behind) of the reviewer who determines the five diamond award that Bank so desperately wants. Yeah, and there is the scented seduction of the stereotypical blonde bch, Bank's right-hand woman, Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin). The escape (of sorts) is from the roof (where a gun - gasp! - comes into play but is not fired), but I kept hearing a slight adjustment to Tanya Stephens in my head. "Why do I get the feeling I've seen this all before? It's because I've seen it before."

The real low-down: See last sentence above. The details are not fresh and intriguing and funny enough to get rid of that 'heated up leftovers' feeling. If you liked Ocean's Eleven (the remake, that is) and other heist capers you will probably like this one. If you liked the Matrix and Lord of the Rings trilogies (or the whatever number Harry Potter will get to) you will hate this, because you will have seen just how movies surrounding basically the same characters can be similar but oh so different.

DVD courtesy of CariHome DVD.

- Mel Cooke