Ocean’s Eleven was actually a pretty darn good movie. George Clooney and Julia Roberts spoken parts were pretty minimal, so no damage done there, and it features a good, and in some cases quite amusing, cast of relative unknowns. Take it for what it is – a decent caper with some great parts. Not a very deep movie, but shot in a 1960s fashion (it’s an old ’60s movie) and keeps you guessing. Andy Garcia was also excellent as the billionaire owner of three casinos.
I’ve been listening more and more to Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and while I still think that Jeff Tweedy is trying to be too artsy for his own good, there are three or four pretty stunning songs on there. What you should really be buying, as I mentioned before, is the Jay Bennett & Edward Burch album, called The Palace At 4am. Bennett was actually in Wilco when they made Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but left the band before the album was released and made this one, and it’s waaaaaaay better. This is probably the first time I’ve liked an album so much that I’ve actually posted a link to it twice.
I watched Will Ferrell’s last performance on Saturday Night Live last night, and it was bittersweet – he did his usual great bits, and at the end, the cast was visibly moved by his departure – a few were in tears. That guy is amazing. He’s the only one who I can remember (been watching since the mid-80s) who makes the cast members laugh out-of-character so much during skits –even Belushi and Eddie Murphy couldn’t do that. I really hope Ferrell doesn’t end up in second-rate comedies like most of the old SNL people do. I hope he picks his roles carefully, because that dude is a major talent.
I’ve gotta buy the new Weezer album soon – that song “Dope Nose” that I’ve been hearing is kick-ass.