Ocean's Eleven (2001)

This week, every good team needs a greaseman, and boy do we have one, as we're putting a team together to knock down three Vegas casinos in one night, in a movie that is just as clever and funny as it is slick and stylish. It's 2001's Ocean's Eleven, directed by Steven Soderbergh, written by Ted Griffin, and starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Andy Garcia, Julia Roberts, Elliott Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Carl Reiner, Eddie Jemison, Shaobo Qin and Topher Grace. Soderbergh is clearly having a ball bringing this material to life with an all-star cast of capital-M capital-S Movie Stars, but the movie is more understated than its more dazzling sequels, and never loses sight of the human heart at its core that makes all the action matter in the first place. It's a beautiful film, visually and emotionally, and feels like the kind of adult-oriented entertainment that Hollywood seems hard-pressed to cook up these day. Plus: J Mo's been to theatre to see Soderbergh's first of two new entries in 2025, and is back with a theatrical field report on the POV ghost story Presence. If you'd like to watch the movie before listening along to our conversation, Ocean's Eleven is currently streaming on Crave in Canada and Max in the United States. Other works discussed on this episode include Heartburn, Longlegs, Seven, The Silence of the Lambs, Black Bag, Kimi, Gladiator II, Jaws, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, Michael Clayton, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part I, Hulk, Saturday Night, Man of Steel, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Go, Marie Antoinette, The Last Showgirl, Ocean's 12, Ocean's 13, Out of Sight, Erin Brockovich, Traffic, Fight Club, The Long Goodbye and countless more. Next week, we're kicking off another February of wall-to-wall rom-coms as Love Month kicks off with Steve Martin's L.A. Story, which is currently free to stream in Canada at the time of publication of the CTV app. On Valentine's Day, it's Nicolas Cage and Cher in Moonstruck, followed by Jerry Maguire on the 21st. And we'll close out the month with another Hayley selection in the podcast canon as we induct 1999's 10 Things I Hate About You. Until then, we'll see you at the movies!!