Out of Sight

Stefen · February 18, 2009, 02:47:06 PM

This movie is fucking awesome. I think it's 10 times better than any of the Ocean's flicks. Everyone is spot on and it doesn't get too cutesy cool for it's own good the way the Ocean's flicks do.

I wanted to get some opinions on what others thought of it.

Gold Trumpet · February 18, 2009, 03:11:46 PM

It's a perennial favorite of mine. It's a movie that has been in my movie collection forever and seems to be watched at least once a year. It's not like L'Avventura where i plan yearly viewings, but I'm always finding myself going back to it. More importantly, it's one of my staple films to recommend to new people. Since I don't believe anyone would like most of the films I like, I always consider Out of Sight to be a good recommendation because most people can enjoy it.

It comes from the same mold of Ocean's Eleven, but yea, it's a lot better. The new Oceans film was fun, but it catered so much to the heist of the film that that became an anchoring plot. Out of Sight does have a plot, but it is so loose and free with it. The story has many tempos and always takes a lot of fun turns. It's funny, but the Out of Sight reminds me of the original Ocean's Eleven more than the remake does. The original Ocean's doesn't have the back and forth story structure, but it is pretty loose and fun with the story like Out of Sight. It was a shame to see how compact the scenes in the remake were.

Another thing I like how the film tempors the casual cool aspect of the characters. All of them display a David Gordon Green kind of awkwardness. Considering the light hearted humor of the film, it works pretty well and is one of the few times I noticed a more mainstream film risk making full fledged stars look not only goofy, but also vulnerable at peak moments. It works for the slim psychological interest that the film has in the characters. Overall, it's a comedy and piece of entertainment, but this nice touch was refreshing.

Also, for good ancedotes, the editor of Out of Sight was Anne V. Coates. She won an Oscar for editing Lawrence of Arabia and still works today (her last film being the Golden Compass), but Out of Sight is one of the few films on her recent filmography.

modage · February 18, 2009, 03:15:16 PM

its great. i used to enjoy soderbergh, what happened to that?

polkablues · February 18, 2009, 05:50:46 PM

Quote from: modage on February 18, 2009, 03:15:16 PM
its great. i used to enjoy soderbergh, what happened to that?

He decided that making lots of movies was more important than making great movies.

picolas · February 18, 2009, 07:01:23 PM

i don't buy that because before he could make lots of great movies.

polkablues · February 18, 2009, 07:07:43 PM

Sure, when he was only making one or two per year. Now he's up to three or four.

SiliasRuby · February 18, 2009, 08:12:14 PM

This film is in my top 100 and what a great little crime one it is. It's tarantino-like in the best way.

JG · February 18, 2009, 09:47:43 PM

out of sight is great. schizopolis is an awesome movie as well.

picolas · February 19, 2009, 12:46:45 AM

Quote from: polkablues on February 18, 2009, 07:07:43 PM
Sure, when he was only making one or two per year. Now he's up to three or four.

hmm.. according to 'db, if you count che as one huge movie, he's been down to one movie a year since 2005. i dunno. maybe they're just getting released like that, but it looks like he was more prolific in the five years before.

i need to rewatch Out of Sight btw. thanks for the reminder, thread.

MacGuffin · February 19, 2009, 01:22:07 AM

Quote from: Gold Trumpet on February 18, 2009, 03:11:46 PMAlso, for good ancedotes, the editor of Out of Sight was Anne V. Coates. She won an Oscar for editing Lawrence of Arabia and still works today (her last film being the Golden Compass), but Out of Sight is one of the few films on her recent filmography.

I wholeheartly believe that this is one the best edited/structured films ever. The bar pick-up/lovemaking scene alone is to be studied.

bonanzataz · February 19, 2009, 12:16:33 PM

i have a big out of sight poster in my room (this one: http://www.impawards.com/1998/out_of_sight.html) and it's funny to me that people who see it are like, why do you have a j lo george clooney movie poster in your room?

i loaned the movie (and ratcatcher) to my friend three years ago and then she moved to LA. i went to la to visit and saw them on her shelf. i took them back home. scratched to shit. both completely unwatchable. i need to return them to netflix asap.

Gold Trumpet · February 21, 2009, 02:09:50 PM

Watched Out of Sight again last night. I had a friend over and she said we should watch a movie, but when she looked at my book cases of DVDs, she didn't recognize anything. When she asked if I had any comedies, I lowballed her with American Pie 2 (yes, I own it on VHS) but she wasn't interested so I mentioned Out of Sight and talked it up a little bit. Worked out well because she liked it and wondered why the movie wasn't more popular.

Stefen · February 21, 2009, 03:50:34 PM

^That's what I get from everyone I show it to. They say, "Why haven't I heard of this?"

pete · February 21, 2009, 04:29:03 PM

this was like the first great movie that I saw on my own will, knowing that it would be great. this was sodeburgh's best film, and steve zahn and don cheadle were so great in it. it was just a flawless movie, great soundtrack, editing, cinematography...etc. I was seeing a girl who suddenly decided to take a low-paying job in detroit for the good of the nation, and these days I picture her in those out of sight detroit shots a lot.
I'll never let anybody talk shit about j lo because of the movie. fuck I have to buy it now and I'm broke.
Don Cheadle's delivery of "nah, these my suits." was one of the greatest lines ever delivered.