The Movie: Ocean's Eleven has got to be the coolest, slickest Vegas movie made to date. The first time I watched this movie I was actually in Las Vegas, and it was on the opening day of this movie, and the whole time watching it, it's hard not to think "damn this movie is just so cool!". And it's pretty amazing how well developed even the most minor of the characters are. The huge ensemble cast (including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, et al.) is just so entertaining to watch in their roles.

If you don't know what it's about, well, basically, Danny Ocean is just out of jail, and looking to rob the three biggest casinos in Vegas, and get his ex-wife back in the process. It's high tech, it's low tech, and it's incredibly fun to watch!

This film was directed by Steven Soderbergh who also directed Clooney in Out of Sight, and the Academy Award winning Traffic. This film didn't get nominated for any Oscars, but I'd say it's way cooler than Traffic! And oh yeah, in case you also didn't know, this film is a (loose) remake of the 1960 film Ocean's 11 starring Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, which I have also reviewed on this site, where I talk about the differences and similarities between the original and the remake.

Anyway, if you couldn't tell by now, I highly recommend this movie... it's one of my new favorites!

On a side note -- Jerry Weintraub produced this movie and appeared briefly as a high roller at the Bellagio. He also appeared as "Jilly from Philly", a high roller at the Mirage in one of my other favorite Vegas movies, Vegas Vacation, which he also produced. He must really love making (and being in) movies in Vegas! In fact, a major reason these two Vegas movies are so cool is unprecedented level of access they were able to get through Mr. Weintraub's connections!

The DVD: Warner Brothers elected to release pan and scan and anamorphic widescreen versions of this film, each sold separately, so when you're in the store, make sure you get the version you want! I am, however, specifically reviewing the widescreen edition.

The video transfer is very clean -- no noise or dirt or dust or anything like that, but it just seemed to be missing some ooomph somewhere. But it was still an above average transfer that leaves very little to complain about. I feel the same way about the audio as well -- although it's crisp and clean, there just isn't a whole lot of surround placement going on.

There's some cool features though, including two separate commentary tracks, one with the director and writer, and the other with Matt Damon, Andy Garcia and Brad Pitt. The actor's commentary is more entertaining overall, but at times they are enjoying watching the movie so much that they forget to talk. There are some pretty interesting tidbits on the director/writer commentary as well.

Other features include HBO's "The Making of Ocean's Eleven", and also "The Look of the Con" which is a featurette on the costume design of this movie. Finally you get three theatrical trailers with anamorphic widescreen transfers plus some DVD-ROM stuff in there. Overall a pretty well rounded disc for a great movie.