JohnDoe
Bryn
BrentonSmokin' Aces (2007) - Trailer Included
March 29th 2007 04:38
Smokin Aces
Coming Soon to DVD: Released in Australia June 6 2007
“What do you see right now? You see exactly and only what I choose to show you. That is illusion Ivy that is the lie that I tell your eyes. Makin' the magic happen in the moment, in that split second. I can shape it, I can shift it, I can make it as real as this room. That is why I am valuable here Ivy and that is why you are not. I am sorry, I love you, I never wanted it to be like this, you know that.” - Buddy
Director Joe Carnahan follows up his gritty cop thriller Narc, unleashing the tongue in cheek Smokin’ Aces. A loud and obnoxious exercise in ultra violent comedy, adrenalin injected action and machine gun dialogue.
Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is the scum bag, drug addicted, showman who lets success go to his head and like Frank Sinatra is seduced by the allure of a mob life. A talented illusionist and once 5 time Vegas entertainer of the year, he is now in the middle of a gang war he initiated.
The result is that Mobster boss Primo Sparazza (Joeseph Ruskin) has put a million dollar bounty out for his heart in a box. Inevitably the hefty price tag attracts a swarm of top level assassins who are willing to kill each other to get to their prize.
The feds are onto it and cut a deal to put Buddy in the witness protection program if he will rat out his compadres and enemies. Hiding out in a Lake Tahoe penthouse suite with a constant stream of hookers and coke, he is crumbling and begins melting down.
“Damnit! I didn't realize how fucked up I was till I just saw your ass, girl. You went from Beyonce to Bigfoot in less than 6 fucking hours!” – Alfonso
As the assorted Hit men and women close in fast on their prey a pair of FBI agents, Messner (Ryan Reynolds) and Carruthers (Ray Liotta) race to reach the target first, heading towards and inevitable showdown of bloody carnage.
La Femme Alicia
A film that throws in everything including the kitchen sink and all the plumbing, its a tsunami of visual and audio information. The story opens at 100MPH and then after 20 minutes of exposition puts the foot to the floor, achieving terminal velocity and hurtling at Mach 1 towards a brick wall finale.
Director Carnahan has nothing but visceral entertainment on his mind. Organised mayhem best describes the frenzied filmmaking style, the viewer is attacked by the scorching soundtrack and forever morphing lens.
The camera is constantly moving and blended with the sound design ends up achieving a perpetual motion. Teetering dangerously close to becoming just a hodge podge of music video style vignettes, somehow the whole thing remains coherent while being edited to cram as much overlapping lines and obtuse angles as possible.
The chaotic plot and quotable dialogue mean that the screenplay also only gives you time to react to what’s happening, seldom process it. Relentlessly humorous, you don’t really care about the characters just enjoy there antics and wonder which ones going to die next. Death is sudden, abrupt and consistently bloody and viscious.
Most of the well known players are cast against type and they all enjoy rendering their own eccentric parts. Jeremy Piven (Singles, Entourage, Grosse Point Blank) shines brightest, going “deep” and convincing that he has been on a 30 day bender of sex, drugs and danger.
Ray Liotta (Narc, Goodfellas) and Ryan Reynolds(Waiting, Blade Trinity) bounce off each other well and Alicia Keyes looks great as La femme killer. Chris Pine as Darwin, one the deadly trio known as the Tremor Brothers is just so kooky you can’t take your eyes off him.
Curtis Armstrong (Moonlighting, Revenge of The Nerds, Better of Dead) also turns up as Israels lawyer and Jason Bateman continues to excel since his Arrested Development comeback.
John Doe was really hyped for this because he absolutely worshipped the powerful Narc. Though it didn’t meet expectations Smokin' Aces did end up registering as a guilty pleasure and he has watched it a few times since.
It’s not a good film but surprisingly enjoyable for JD, considering that the twists are obvious and it is all so over the top. Even though on the surface it can be described as a bastard meld of Domino (bad) and Snatch (good) he found himself laughing along but knows deep down that it is mostly style over substance that is to cool for its own good.
DVD Released in Australia June 6 2007
The Trailer
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so, Narc was good?
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But plot discussions I think should always be minimal and the best scene in a fim should remain a surprise for viewers.
As for Narc, there is a link to my review of it......for me it's one of the best cop thrillers ever made, alongside the likes of the French Connection, Live and Die In LA, Serpico, Heat and Rush etc. Did you read my review?
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