Ocean's 13 review

Ocean’s Thirteen is a sequel; that should pretty much send a waft your way as to how the movie fared in front of reviewers. And as with the majority of sequels aired recently, Shrek The Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and the like, the hype and the level of expectations have comfortably taken top spot, even if the cast includes Brad Pitt, George Clooney and, for the first time in the series, Al Pacino.

The idea behind Ocean’s Thirteen is slightly different this time round; the gang re-assembles for the second time but not to rob anybody. Instead, they plan on scamming hotel magnate Willie Banks (Al Pacino) who has just double-crossed their very own Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould). While Reuben takes to the bed in his mansion for the bulk of the duration, his cronies take up the task of not only enjoying the glamorous life that is Vegas (its panache and zeal rendered marvelously by director Steven Soderbergh), but also flim-flamming their ardent foe Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) into lending them a helping hand - and more.

Ocean’s Thirteen lacks heavily on female cast. There is no Julia Roberts or Catherine Zeta-Jones this time round. Not physically at least. Though Danny Ocean (Clooney) does throw in a reference to the latter during the initial phase of the film with a “it’s not her fight”, the void is filled substantially by the well-presented Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin) who plays assistant to the despot Banks and plays an involuntary aid to the men at a later stage.

While Danny and Rusty (Brad Pitt) play ringleaders once again, there is hardly a detailed role for any of the crew members due to the deployment of a massive cast. As with its predecessors, the film offers short cameos for its lead cast including Danny and Rusty. Frank Catton (Bernie Mac) gets confided to the tables, Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon) plays a slightly non-serious role this time round and even has time for a padded-nosed seduction persona as Yen (Shaobo Qin) finds himself jumping around amongst the elevators.

With such a star-studded crew, however, Soderbergh’s work is pretty much done for him as far as the action is concerned. It is only because of that, he can indulge in the lavishness of portraying the mighty Vegas as mentioned above as well as a bit of Mexico, due to the dice requirements at the Banks casino. Ocean’sThirteen is an action-packed film: there's imagination, intellect, tenderness, awe as well as ample serving of wittiness to be admired. However, low on the challenge offered by the opposition, be it physical or the noetic constraints levied onto the thirteen in order to complete the mission, the film glides mostly one-way.

The moral of the story, as worded plainly by Kit Bowen, is: Mess with an Ocean, you get pummeled by the waves. The waves might be the strongest out in the market, but with the creativity and deftness on display, a spare weekend can only benefit from this offering. As does a charity with Benedict’s generosity.

© Faras Ghani 2007

Published in Images (Dawn) 22nd Jul 2007

Swapping countries, a monkey attack, and Monty's flavour

Pitching for a place in the team

Everybody's doing it - in rugby, in football, the Kolpak players, Ed Joyce. Next, suitably inspired, Saqlain Mushtaq? The master offspinner and termed by many as the inventor of the doosra recently took to the field in Sussex whites after qualifying as a British citizen. England's search for a world-class performer in the spin department and Saqlain's craving for international action could see him don the three lions shirt as early as next year. "It now depends how desperate I am for the big comeback," he said. By the looks of things, very.

Had enough of cricket? Here, have some more

There's good news for cricket followers in the UK. Following the series against West Indies and India, Britain is set to host the 2007 Indoor Cricket World Cup. The event, to be held in Bristol during the last week of September, was launched last week and has confirmed participation from nine countries. The sixth version of the biennial tournament is slated to be the biggest, with junior teams also competing for a trophy of their own. "You can play indoor cricket during the off season to keep your skills sharp," commented Syd Lawrence, president of the England Indoor Cricket Association. Well, at least with this version there won't be rain stoppages as a result of the wonderful "summer" we've seen so far.

Monty adds to his artillery

Adding to the joy of cricket fans in the UK, Walkers have announced a new flavour of crisps - chilli and lemon. The product, specially designed for the UK's growing south Asian population, boasts packaging that features information in Hindi. And considering that the likes of Gary Lineker - who has been the face of Walkers since 1995 - surely won't be able to stand all that spice, Walkers have looked for an alternative and found ... Monty Panesar! The new crisps will be launched with a massive marketing campaign featuring radio ad spots with Monty, an appearance at the Asian Lifestyle Show, and giveaways at cricket matches. Monty himself described the whole thing as a new challenge and predicted its success with the UK's Asian communities.

Continue reading this on Cricinfo

© Faras Ghani 2007
Published on Cricinfo 16th Jul 2007

Naved-ul-Hasan surprised at Twenty20 omission

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, the Sussex and Pakistan swing bowler, has said that he was surprised at his omission from Pakistan's 30-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship. The squad will be trimmed to 15 by mid-August and includes Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar and Mohammad Sami in the fast bowling department.

Naved-ul-Hasan, who is enjoying yet another successful season with Sussex, last played for Pakistan in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup against West Indies and was not only dropped for the subsequent matches but also omitted for the tours to Abu Dhabi and Scotland. In between the tours, the team had one training and fitness camp and is currently involved in another, with neither squad involving Naved-ul-Hasan.

"I have not been told anything by anyone," Naved told Cricinfo. "After playing that World Cup match against West Indies, I was told that I will be rested for the following match and I've been unable to get back into the team ever since."

Naved-ul-Hasan, with 40 wickets for Sussex this season, was termed Pakistan's main strike weapon in ODIs during the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. "I'm definitely disappointed at getting the snub from the selectors especially after getting the Man-of-the-Series award against West Indies [December 2006]. I didn't perform too well on the South Africa tour and had one bad match in the World Cup. However, I don't think that is reason enough for me to be left out altogether."

Continue reading this on Cricinfo

© Faras Ghani 2007
Published on Cricinfo 15th Jul 2007

It's match-on in the stands

Rahul Dravid in his press conference on Monday made a point that the Glasgow crowd will not be as vociferous and dynamic, in size and activity, as, say, Kolkata or Karachi. He was right, in one way at least. Clyesdale Cricket Club in Glasgow is no Eden Gardens or National Stadium; in size, in capacity and noise levels.

However, bring an Indian team and a Pakistani team to any ground in the world and you will see the colours and hear the noise rarely witnessed outside the subcontinent. The lineup includes blowhorns, face painting and dhol with dedicated cronies performing their bhangra while dancing away. Witnessed regularly in India, Pakistan, England, and even Canada, the cricket fever has now gripped Scotland.

And while the start of the match was pushed back, it was left to the fervent crowd, that had braved heavy rain and puddles en route the stadium, to have a contest of their own. Pakistan and India were playing each other on Scottish soil for the first time and hence their respective followers pitted against each other for the first time as well.

From the pavilion end, it is the Indian attack - equipped with a dhol and donning replica jerseys and greeting their squad announcements done on the PA with drumrolls, dholrolls rather. Seated on the opposite end of the ground, it was the green contingent. No talented dhol-bangers spotted there but just an array of blowhorns and plenty of boos in reply to the Indian cheers, as the Pakistani support took guard.

Match on.

Continue reading this on Cricinfo

© Faras Ghani 2007
Published on Cricinfo 3rd Jul 2007

Rusty Pakistan ready for buoyant India

It may be termed The Friendship Cup and it may be organised by a group of charities while celebrating two nations' 60 years of independence but, when the likes of Tendulkar, Akhtar, Dravid and Afridi emerge from their respective dressing rooms on Tuesday, the word "friendship" will surely be forgotten.

The teams last met in the scorching heat of Abu Dhabi, where honours were shared. Fourteen months on, however, the teams assemble in unknown territory (neither side have played an international match in Glasgow), in conditions very different to Abu Dhabi (damp and below 20C) and with contrasting run-ups to the showdown.

The Pakistan team is severely lacking in match practice. Their last competitive outing was in May against Sri Lanka. Since then, they've had a two-week conditioning camp in order to work on the players' fitness levels as well as a few practice matches. Their one-off ODI against Scotland was washed out on Sunday, depriving them of yet another opportunity to gear up for Tuesday's game.

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan's captain, is nervous about facing India for the first time at the helm and is also worried about his team's lack of competitive opportunities. "India obviously have an advantage over us as they have had the opportunity to play in the last month or so. However, we have experienced players like Younis Khan and Shoaib Akhtar and their return is a good sign for our young team."

While refusing to comment on the drugs ban issue, Malik welcomed the prospect of seeing Akhtar partner Mohammed Asif with the new ball once again. "Both Akhtar and Asif are our best bowlers and the conditions will be ideal for fast bowling. Hopefully, these two will deliver what is required of them."

Continue reading this on Cricinfo

© Faras Ghani 2007
Published on Cricinfo 2nd Jul 2007

Play abandoned after intermittent rain

The one-off ODI between Scotland and Pakistan was abandoned due to persistent rain without a ball being bowled. The match was due to start at 10:45am local time but was delayed due to a wet outfield caused by overnight rain. As the teams arrived, the officials decided to have an inspection at 12noon local time after which the playing conditions were to be decided.

Minutes before the inspection, however, heavy rain resulted in an early lunch that never finished as the umpires and the match referee deemed that the outfield and the weather would not improve in time to get in the minimum requirement of 20 overs.

Continue reading this on Cricinfo

© Faras Ghani 2007
Published on Cricinfo 1st Jul 2007