Geophyrd
04-Feb-2007, 02:23 PM
Saw Smokin' Aces last night and cannot get it out of my mind.
Don't get me wrong...there's no brilliance for anything but style in this movie. Its all overly styled. And the violence goes so far over the hill that its a couple of mountains over.
But I liked it. It had a style and kinetic energy that I haven't seen since Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. There's a liberal does of Tarantino thrown into the mix as well.
The story is simple. You've got a guy (Jeremy Piven, who gives another great performance) who's a rat who the mob wants dead. Actually, they need him dead and they put a big price tag on his head (and heart) and killers (never the most tactful or taciturn group of people; they're real freaks in this movie) start showing up to kill him.
The FBI needs him alive. Mob wants him dead. That's it. I've seen musical videos with more story.
Then about halfway in, you realize that what you're watching is pretty damned complex and there's ALOT going on. In fact, there's too much going on. It doesn't stop accelerating from the minute it starts and when its over, you're left breathless.
The characters aren't cardboard. I can reasonably believe that a few of them aren't made out of a material that can be found on Earth. But they are all interesting, even those that are looked at in a 'really-glad-I-don't-know-that-guy' way.
Its worth seeing and what's more, its worth seeing in the movies on a big screen. I'm not sure if my television wouldn't explode watching it (although I will try when it comes on TV).
Two sidenotes:
1). The movie curiously had ALOT of women in it. Not sure if they were there to see Ryan Reynolds (who is really coming into his own as an interesting actor), Ray Liota, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck or any of the dozen or so cameos that pop up. BTW, Jason Bateman was great in this movie, even if he only had 2 minutes of screen time. But the movie is violent, really violent. If anyone plays Dead Rising and knows what happened to the clown, its that kind of violence. So bring your significant others at your own risk. My own hated it...she said there was nothing redeeming or enjoyable about the movie. I agreed (silently) to disagree.
2). Right in the middle of our movie, someone had a seizure and the paramedics had to be called. They stopped the movie for 45 minutes while they evacuated the poor girl but no one left. The movie remained full. Everyone wanted to see what happened at the end, myself included. My wife, on the other hand, wanted to see that it was over so she'd never have to watch it again.
Don't get me wrong...there's no brilliance for anything but style in this movie. Its all overly styled. And the violence goes so far over the hill that its a couple of mountains over.
But I liked it. It had a style and kinetic energy that I haven't seen since Guy Ritchie's Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. There's a liberal does of Tarantino thrown into the mix as well.
The story is simple. You've got a guy (Jeremy Piven, who gives another great performance) who's a rat who the mob wants dead. Actually, they need him dead and they put a big price tag on his head (and heart) and killers (never the most tactful or taciturn group of people; they're real freaks in this movie) start showing up to kill him.
The FBI needs him alive. Mob wants him dead. That's it. I've seen musical videos with more story.
Then about halfway in, you realize that what you're watching is pretty damned complex and there's ALOT going on. In fact, there's too much going on. It doesn't stop accelerating from the minute it starts and when its over, you're left breathless.
The characters aren't cardboard. I can reasonably believe that a few of them aren't made out of a material that can be found on Earth. But they are all interesting, even those that are looked at in a 'really-glad-I-don't-know-that-guy' way.
Its worth seeing and what's more, its worth seeing in the movies on a big screen. I'm not sure if my television wouldn't explode watching it (although I will try when it comes on TV).
Two sidenotes:
1). The movie curiously had ALOT of women in it. Not sure if they were there to see Ryan Reynolds (who is really coming into his own as an interesting actor), Ray Liota, Andy Garcia, Ben Affleck or any of the dozen or so cameos that pop up. BTW, Jason Bateman was great in this movie, even if he only had 2 minutes of screen time. But the movie is violent, really violent. If anyone plays Dead Rising and knows what happened to the clown, its that kind of violence. So bring your significant others at your own risk. My own hated it...she said there was nothing redeeming or enjoyable about the movie. I agreed (silently) to disagree.
2). Right in the middle of our movie, someone had a seizure and the paramedics had to be called. They stopped the movie for 45 minutes while they evacuated the poor girl but no one left. The movie remained full. Everyone wanted to see what happened at the end, myself included. My wife, on the other hand, wanted to see that it was over so she'd never have to watch it again.