BLU-RAY REVIEW: OCEAN'S 8
9/10/2018

OVERVIEW: Having this much fun is a crime. Team up in the action adventure when “Ocean’s 8” arrives on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD Special Edition and Digital.

“Ocean’s 8” will be available on 4K UHD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Packand DVD Special Edition. The 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack features an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with the film in 4K with HDR, a Blu-ray disc of the film and special features and a Digital version of the movie. The Blu-ray Combo Pack features a Blu-ray disc of the film and special features in hi-definition, a DVD with the film in standard definition and a Digital version of the movie. The DVD Special Edition features a DVD with the film in standard definition and a second DVD with special features in standard definition.

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of “Ocean’s 8” will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame. The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc of “Ocean’s 8” will also feature a Dolby Atmos® soundtrack remixed specifically for the home theater environment to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead. To experience Dolby Atmos at home, a Dolby Atmos enabled AV receiver and additional speakers are required, or a Dolby Atmos enabled sound bar. Dolby Atmos soundtracks are also fully backward compatible with traditional audio configurations and legacy home entertainment equipment.

“Ocean’s 8” will also be available on Movies Anywhere. Using the free Movies Anywhere app and website, consumers can access all their eligible movies by connecting their Movies Anywhere account with their participating digital retailer accounts.

SYNOPSIS: Five years, eight months, 12 days...and counting. That’s how long Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock)—just released from prison—has been concocting the greatest heist of her storied career.

She knows what it’s going to take—a team of the best in their field, starting with her former partner-in-crime Lou (Cate Blanchett). Together, they recruit a crew of specialists: jeweler Amita (Mindy Kaling), street con Constance (Awkwafina), expert fence Tammy (Sarah Paulson), hacker Nine Ball (Rihanna) and fashion designer Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter).

The target is $150 million in diamonds—diamonds that will adorn the neck of world-famous actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), who will be center stage at the event of the year, the Met Gala. Their plan appears rock solid, but it will need to be flawless if the team is to get in and get away—all in plain sight.

FILM REVIEW: YES! YES! YES! YES! x 2 = 8 YES!'s. You get the point. That was my initial reaction to an all female version of the Ocean's Trilogy (OT). Anyone that knows me well knows that the OT is one of my favorite movie series of all time. I mean the cast, the story, the quality heist, the comedy, the intellect, the script, the acting, the directing, the target/score, the swag, the location, and did I mention the cast? All this is true for all 3 of them in some degree. So now we jump to the other gender, and most importantly we must first assemble an amazing female cast . . . check. It needs to be a good story behind the heist . . . meh, good enough, a quality heist . . . check, good comedy . . . okay (OT was a little more amusing), good performances . . . well I mean with this cast how could it not be, did they have swag . . . very much check, a good location . . . very much check again, an impressive target or score of this heist . . . BREATH TAKING and it surpasses the OT (well at least the first one), and it must be very well directed . . . Gary Ross, check. Now if you're keeping score, I left out 2 features on purpose because I felt they were lacking a bit, of course compared to the OT. It is inevitable, a comparison is required and unfortunately for Ocean's 8, the OT is a very tough act to follow and the bar is set quite high. The OT had more intellect, especially in the script, compared to O 8. This film seemed a little more simplistic in its narrative. I felt the character development in the OT was stronger than in this one too. You know what my initial reaction was to hearing about this film, my post reaction on the other hand was more like, okay, it's okay, you know, pretty good.

From the very onset of the film, there are a lot of similarities between O 8 and O 11. Some of you might like this, some of you might not. I for one liked it because I enjoy the homage. The film is definitely fast, funny, suspenseful, and thrilling, about as much as the OT. This is a very good thing. I already mentioned the amazing cast of actors, but how did they fit in their respective roles you ask? Quite appropriately I would say. The easiest observation is that at a minimum, Sandra Bullock could pass as George Clooney's sister so that worked well and also, it's freakin Sandra Bullock. I must say honestly however, I was expecting a little more umph from Cate Blanchett. She is the counterpart to Brad Pitt's role and he is just as big a character in the OT as Clooney. I didn't find her character to be that big. Now the two others besides Sandra that stood out to me were Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway. Helena gave us a wacky and spacey character that was just so bizarre it was entertaining. Anne was probably the biggest treat of the show. She delighted us with such a stereotypical character that has a lot more to her than just the front we see. In other words, there is depth in the midst of her shallowness. 

Another real treat of the film is the major event that it revolves around, the MET Gala. Priscilla was giddy during all those scenes. Speaking of which, the cinematography was well done as a movie of this genre would require. Even though I would struggle very much to say that this film is as good as its OT counterparts, I do have to say that it is still a quality film. With Director Gary Ross at the helm (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, Hunger Games, Free State of Jones) it has to be. Steven Soderbergh was brilliant with the OT, so again it's a tough act to follow, but Gary holds his own and does the franchise justice. I'm not disappointed and I don't think you'll be either.

Review By  Cine Marcos  
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound Ocean's 8 is good, a 5.1 Master Audio in English that provides a good complement to the picture. Ocean's 8 also includes  English and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) 16x9

AUDIO:

English DTS-HD Dolby Atoms Master Audio 5.1, Latin American Spanish Canadian French, Brazilian Portuguese DTS Digital Surround 5.1

Subtitles - English SDH, Latin Spanish, Parisian French, Canadian French, Brazilian Portuguese

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

Movies Anywhere Digital App simplifies and enhances the digital movie collection and viewing experience by allowing consumers to access their favorite digital movies in one place when purchased or redeemed through participating digital retailers. Consumers can also redeem digital copy codes found in eligible Blu-rayTM and DVD disc packages from participating studios and stream or download them through Movies Anywhere. Movies Anywhere is available only in the United States..

A Heist in Heels

Ocean’s Team 3.0

Reimagining the Met Gala

Deleted Scenes