Sahara tells the story of Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and his buddy Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) as they travel to a country called Mali in search for what the locals call “The Ship of Death”. This “Ship of Death” is a lost Civil War ship named the CSS Texas that has a huge cargo of what was thought to be gold. Once there, Dirk and his buddy run into Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) who’s about to be executed for muddling in business that is, well, none of her business.

This “business” turns out to ...e rather huge, with ruler General Kazim (Lennie James) wanting to rid the ocean of all of its life. He figures that he will accomplish this by releasing this virus into the water system and, as it flows downstream, it will eventually reach the ocean. Why exactly Kazim wants to do this involves a standard for films such as this… for money. Dirk, Steve, and Doctor Rojas must investigate this disease and decide why it is not only infecting the water system, but causing a vast amount of pollution to the area and its surroundings. Add in a few explosions, chase scenes, and a pretty cool ending battle sequence and there you have Sahara

The 2003 remake of The Italian Job is about five men named Charlie Croker (Marc Wahlberg), Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), Lyle (Seth Green), Steve (Edward Norton), and Left Ear (Mos Def) who are all part of a group that pull off elaborate heists. The leader of the pack, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), has decided he wants to quit the game presumably to spend more time with his daughter Stella (Charlize Theron). The only thing is that he wants to commit one last going-away theft so that he can not only secure ...is spot in the hall of fame, but also secure his retirement. The job in question revolves around the city of Venice, Italy and a heck of a lot of gold (Try $35 Million). The plan goes off without many problems but what occurs next is somewhat of a shocker and helps to outline the rest of the film.

The first obvious comparison that this film had to deal with was the comparison with the film Ocean’s Eleven. While not as star-packed or explosive as that film, The Italian Job does a fine job at telling a somewhat ordinary story in a manner that makes the film interesting and charming at the same time. While Ocean’s Eleven had the star-punching power of George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts to name a few, The Italian Job rather focuses on stars not as huge, but most that rival the stars of Eleven in terms of quality of acting (don’t get me wrong, Damon and Clooney are fine actors). With the likes of Edward Norton, ‘Marky’ Mark Whalberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Seth Green, and the funny Jason Statham, the film’s characters make the film enjoyable mainly because these actors turn their roles into characters you’ll hate (Norton), characters you’ll laugh at (Green), and character’s you’ll laugh with (Statham).