Ocean's 11 - PG-13\nStarring: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts\nDirected by: Steven Soderbergh\nShowing: Showplace West 12\nA remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film starring Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, "Ocean's Eleven" tantalizes the eyes with gorgeous, high-dollar movie stars carrying out a nearly impossible casino heist that boggles the mind. But while both eyes and brain are pleasured, this pretty movie by Steven Soderbergh ("Erin Brockovich," "Traffic") falls flat in true star power.\nGeorge Clooney updates the Sinatra role as Danny Ocean, a high-brow thief finishing up a prison sentence for a dozen different offenses. Once released, Ocean persuades his pal Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to knock off Las Vegas' three biggest casinos. Ryan isn't so sure it'll work, and as if to parallel his uncertainty, the first 20-some minutes of the film drag on unnecessarily.\nThings pick up as Ocean recruits a motley crew of flawed characters to help him pull it off. They include a tiny, Gumby-like Chinese gymnast, obnoxious Mormon brothers who play with monster trucks (Casey Affleck and Scott Caan) and Soderbegh veteran Don Cheadle ("Out of Sight," "Traffic") butchering a British accent.\nAlthough they stick out in the star-studded cast, the henchmen provide more laughs and excitement than Clooney and company. Overall, it's the obscenely complicated casino heist that truly draws viewers in -- not the smart-talking, nice-dressing pretty boys (and girl). Forget about Brad Pitt, who munches on popcorn and jumbo shrimp. It's all about the benjamins.\nOcean plans to hit Terry Benedict's (Andy Garcia) lavish casino, garnering at least $150 million on a fight night (with brief guest appearances from real-life boxers Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko). Of course, he and his rat pack have to get past an elevator shaft of motion detectors, fingerprint identification and the thickest vault door anywhere. To see how they do it keeps things fascinating -- because the actors' bland characters sure don't. Ocean practically disappears from the robbery as he tries to win back his ex-wife Tess (an ultra-cold Julia Roberts). Also failing to excite are usual studs like Matt Damon. Garcia and Roberts have to act mature and boring among the glittering lights of Vegas.\nDespite a practically all-male cast that enjoys expensive suits and cigars, and replace the cash they steal with call girl ads, "Ocean's Eleven" doesn't remain true to its masculine appearance. After all, Ocean doesn't really want Benedict's loot, he wants his girl -- ultimately allowing a woman to control what happens.\nToo bad the cavalcade of stars is far less entertaining than the complicated burglary, keeping "Ocean's Eleven" from being a must-see. See it once -- on video, if you're patient and want to save some money -- because this hep cat can wait.\n
