8. Ocean's Twelve (2004)
The Ensemble: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck This shouldn't have gone so horribly wrong, should it? I mean, it's not like the movie was missing a great director: one of the best directors working today (or not today, given that he's "retired") actually returned to the fray to tackle a sequel to his wildly successful remake of
Ocean's Eleven. This movie, which gets slumped with the awkward title
Ocean's Twelve, should have been a solid smash, in the sense that the appeal of the stars alone - teamed with Soderbergh's competent direction - should have ensured this was
passable, at least. And if there's one movie that proves that no movie can simply coast on the star power of the Hollywood elite, it's this one. There are some people out there who might say that this is overtly glossy and showy on purpose, as to comment on the nature of "pointless" sequels like this one, but I'm not buying that. The thin plot isn't even
Ocean's Twelve's worst problem: it's the smugness that surrounds the entire picture, and the "I've been paid, let's get this over with" attitude of its bored cast. Clooney plus Pitt plus Damon ain't always certifiable, see?