New on DVD

'Ocean's Thirteen' gets the crowd together for one more all-star casino caper. And 'Sicko' hammers out a simple point: The American healthcare system is broken. Can Michael Moore fix it?

from the November 9, 2007 edition

Ocean's Thirteen (PG-13)

Talk about ensemble. It's hard to go wrong when Danny Ocean (George Clooney) assembles his entourage (Brad Pitt, Matt Damon) for another casino caper. Sometimes it's also hard not to miss a more linear narrative. But director Steven Soderbergh's latest installment, like its cast, is easy on the eyes. And this time it's about avenging one of their own, the hapless Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould). Al Pacino as the villainous casino owner and Ellen Barkin as his assistant round out the cast. Extras include a romp through Vegas's history and a less memorable tour of the set with producer Jerry Weintraub. Grade: B+

– Teresa Méndez

Sicko (PG-13)

The downside of any Michael Moore film is viewing one facet of American politics – in this case, healthcare – through Moore's lens, which doesn't always take an objective tack. "Sicko" isn't any different: histrionics and rage loom large. But why shouldn't they? As Moore explains, millions of Americans go without insurance every year, and the healthcare industry, mired in a decades-long Capitol Hill tug of war, is irretrievably broken. Writing about "Sicko" in the New York Post, one critic called it "political slapstick that could have been made by a third Farrelly brother or a fourth Stooge." In truth, this "slapstick" arrives in service of a larger point: The current system ain't working. The best DVD feature is a reel of unseen footage – roughly 80 minutes in length. Grade: B+ – Matthew Shaer