Weeks melt into one and before I know it, another Thursday is around the corner. This week we’re looking into numbers – oooooo, numbers in movie titles (not sequels though)! I don’t know why I’m making this so strange, it’s just numbers. Here are my picks with a surprise twist at the end.
1. SE7EN (1995)
One of my favourite Fincher movies (Zodiac is number one!) is the 1995’s Se7en that has Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt hunting for a serial killer. Some of you mentioned this during the gluttony theme but I kept it for this week. Mostly because I love this title, Se7en, the number in the middle. I think it’s clever and effective, especially since the movie centres around the seven deadly sins. Oh, and the tone is fabulous and the acting by Freeman and Pitt is great. The intro is also amazing, I raved about it here years ago!
2. THREE KINGS (1999)
Then we have Three Kings with George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube. A strange bunch but it all comes together in an entertaining way. It’s basically about three soldiers (technically four I guess but anyway) who go to steal some gold. It’s adventure and action and humour all in one. I saw this ages ago and for some reason I only have fond memories of it. It’s also super easy to just be pulled into by Clooney’s charm!
3. OCEAN’S ELEVEN (2001)
See what I did here? I myself am very proud of this and I hope this twist on the theme worked out. Anyway, here we have Brad Pitt and George Clooney coming together and making magic. Ocean’s Eleven is one of my favourite heist movies. I know there could be better ones but this is it for me. It also has a lot of characters that could make the movie a little muddled. Doesn’t happen here. Some do get more attention but overall, Ocean’s Eleven is great! It’s also one of those movies I think works completely as a trilogy too. Not counting the female version that didn’t have half the charm the Clooney/Pitt trilogy had in my opinion. Plus, Pitt and Clooney – a bromance for the ages!
THIS AMAZING SERIES IS CREATED BYΒ WANDERING THROUGH THE SHELVES
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I almost picked the Oceans movies too! I love them, even the not so great one. I had Seven on my list as well. Nice picks this week!
Yeah! I think third one is not as good but it’s still more entertaining than most if not all Netflix movies. π
I like how you pulled them all together by a connecting thread!
Se7en is a very fine film but I don’t honestly think I’ve watched it since I saw it in the theatre. Too grisly but great acting and sharp direction.
Three Kings was alright but nothing I’d watch again.
I LOVE this version of Oceans Eleven!! The original Rat Pack one is a good idea in search of a film but this one cleans up the mess and sharpens the execution. The entire cast is on point (I would have rather seen someone else in Julia Roberts part but she’s fine) but it does really boil down to the chemistry between Pitt and Clooney. I did not like Oceans 12 but they steadied the ship in 13 but the first is the gold standard.
I was going to tie mine together with the number 5 but realized I’d used one of the three before so I just went with one of those initial picks and two other faves.
5 Card Stud (1968)-In the town of Rincon, Colorado in 1880 a gambler is caught cheating by his tablemates and in the heat of the moment lynched despite the efforts of one of their number Van Morgan (Dean Martin) to stop it. Disgusted Morgan leaves town but returns when he hears that some of the other players have been killed in grisly fashion. Upon his arrival he finds the hamlet taut with tensions and a somewhat sinister Baptist minister Rev. Rudd (Robert Mitchum) who carries a pistol in his bible. The situation only becomes more fraught as others of the lynch mob fall victim one by one and Morgan races to solve the mystery. Superior western with a great cast which beside the leads includes Inger Stevens and Roddy McDowell.
11 Harrowhouse (1974)-Small-time diamond merchant Howard Chesser (Charles Grodin) is offered the chance to purchase and cut a large diamond by its owner Clyde Massey (Trevor Howard). But when the diamond is stolen he is blackmailed into pulling off a heist at “The System,” located in London at 11 Harrowhouse with the help of his girlfriend Maren (a stunning Candice Bergen). Assisted by inside man, Watts (James Mason) they navigate an elaborate network of defenses to carry out the robbery. Sleek, stylish caper film.
45 Years (2015)-Kate Mercer (an extraordinary Charlotte Rampling) and her husband Geoff (an almost as fine Tom Courtenay) are planning a party to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary. One week before the celebration a letter arrives for Geoff with news that the body of Katya, his first love has been discovered frozen in an icy glacier of the Swiss Alps where she had fallen 50 years ago. Disquieted by the news both start to reexamine the entirety of their relationship and as the party nears there might not be a marriage left to celebrate.
I think Ocean’s 11 is one of the few remakes that works so much better (I haven’t seen the original but I’ve heard about it) so it’s great to hear you liked it as well. Ah, connecting thread is a way to put it, I didn’t knot what to call it when I came up with the idea. π
I really need to watch Se7en! I’ve been hearing nothing but good things about that movie!
It’s great. It has great twists and it’s just, brilliant.
I love Se7en SO MUCH. It being so popular today just makes me want to watch it again.
Same. But I also really want to rewatch Ocean’s 11 too. π
Nice choice of gifs here π I love Ocean’s trilogy, especially for the music. They are all such suave and cool films with plenty of charm
The soundtracks are great, so recognisable for me too, I hear a song, and I can instantly feel like going to a robbery or something. π
I haven’t seen Three Kings and probably never will because of the cast but the other two, especially Se7en are excellent films and picks!
Can’t say I wouldn’t watch Three Kings again, it’s fun. π
Holy shit, I’ve actually seen all three movies…and even better, I straight up love each one of them (probably in the order you selected them, if I was forced into a ranking). Each one of these films have such tremendous a tremendous cast, it’s almost ridiculous.
So, if you had to pick between Pitt and Clooney, who would you take?
I think that’s the right order.. although Se7en kinda works better to me than Three Kings, so I’d switch them. But I would pick PITT always and every single time. π
I love your thread and no 6 degrees needed here. I like all 3 films from the intense Se7en to the better than I thought 3 Kings and the entertaining Oceanβs 11
Three Kings …there was a fourth soldier? Who was it? I haven’t seen this in the longest time but I remember liking it.