A movie as retro hip as this summer’s .php>Ocean’s Thirteen deserves an equally hip soundtrack. Fortunately, right from the very beginning of the very first song, the Ocean’s Thirteen soundtrack is every bit as smooth and hip as the movie itself.
Nineteen of the album’s 20 tracks are entirely instrumental. And they’re really short, too—most of them just a minute or two. They all have a kind of loungey, retro feel, reminiscent of old Bond movies—or, if you prefer, those crazy musical interludes between scenes in Austin Powers movies. They’re playful and mysterious, heavy with psychedelic organs—and occasionally some bongos and horns thrown in to turn up the cool factor.
From the smooth yet energetic “Trapdoor Man” to the heavier, sexier “The Nose,” everything on the Ocean’s Thirteen soundtrack is totally groovy—with just one exception. Track 13, “Suite Bergamasque, Claire de Lune, No. 3,” is a soft, sleepy track that just doesn’t fit with the rest of the album. At six minutes long, it feels like a painfully long intermission in the middle of an otherwise dynamic album. That’s not to say it isn’t a beautiful song. But it doesn’t fit—and after listening to it a couple of times, I’ve taken to skipping track 13 whenever I hear those first hypnotic notes.
The only vocal track on the album is “This Town” by (who else?) Frank Sinatra. It’s the perfect song to tie everything together—to sum up the movie and to connect it back to the original Ocean’s Eleven. And, well, it’s just fun to snap your fingers and croon along.
The Ocean’s Thirteen soundtrack does an excellent job of putting the spirit of the Ocean’s movies on CD. Like the movie, the soundtrack is playful and cool, and it’s got a great sense of humor. It’s George-Clooney-in-a-Suit smooth. And it’s Rat Pack hip. When you listen to this soundtrack, you can’t help but imagine yourself strutting down the neon streets of Old Vegas.
If I were going to pull off a giant heist in Vegas, I’d want this to be my soundtrack, too.
Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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Kristin Dreyer Kramer has been writing in some form or another (usually when she was supposed to be doing something else) since the ripe old age of ten—when she, her cousin, and their two Cabbage Patch Dolls formed the Poo Authors’ Club. After a short career in advertising, Kristin got sick of always saying nice things about stuff that didn’t deserve it—so now she spends her days criticizing things, and she’s much happier for it.
Since creating NightsAndWeekends.com in February of 2002, Kristin has spent her life surrounded by piles and piles of books and movies—so many that her office has become a kind of entertainment obstacle course.
As if her writing and editing responsibilities for N&W.com weren’t enough to keep her out of trouble, Kristin also hosts a number of weekly radio shows: Reel Discovery, Shelf Discovery, and On the Marquee. She’s also a proud member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association (CriticsChoice.com), the Central Ohio Film Critics Association (COFCA.org), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS.org), and the Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC.Wordpress.com).
Kristin lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband, Paul, and their daughter, Anna. She welcomes questions, comments, and fan mail at kdk@nightsandweekends.com.
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