When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel decides to turn state's evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he's no longer breathing.
Hords of insane assassins (2 cute) gather in or near a bar waiting to kill an insignificant FBI pencil pusher at 3AM and collect $3M. He's kept in a safe house/bunker nearby surrounded by FBI agents. Action awaits.
Director:
P.J. Pesce
Stars:
Tom Berenger,
Clayne Crawford,
Tommy Flanagan
A hard-luck limo driver struggles to go straight and pay off a debt to his bookie. He takes on a job with a crazed passenger, whose sought-after ledger implicates some seriously dangerous criminals.
A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
Director:
Daniel Espinosa
Stars:
Denzel Washington,
Ryan Reynolds,
Robert Patrick
A case of mistaken identity lands Slevin into the middle of a war being plotted by two of the city's most rival crime bosses: The Rabbi and The Boss. Slevin is under constant surveillance by relentless Detective Brikowski as well as the infamous assassin Goodkat and finds himself having to hatch his own ingenious plot to get them before they get him.
Director:
Paul McGuigan
Stars:
Josh Hartnett,
Ben Kingsley,
Morgan Freeman
A group of Iraq War veterans look to clear their name with the U.S. Military, who suspect the four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.
The story of what happens one day in New York City, when a young lawyer and a businessman share a small automobile accident on F.D.R. Drive, and their mutual road rage escalates into a feud.
Director:
Roger Michell
Stars:
Ben Affleck,
Samuel L. Jackson,
Kim Staunton
After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.
An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody, and only the L.A.P.D.'s Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it.
Director:
Clark Johnson
Stars:
Samuel L. Jackson,
Colin Farrell,
Michelle Rodriguez
Mob boss Primo Sparazza has taken out a hefty contract on Buddy "Aces" Israel, a sleazy magician who has agreed to turn state's evidence against the Vegas mob. The FBI, sensing a chance to use this small-time con to bring down big-target Sparazza, places Aces into protective custody-under the supervision of two agents dispatched to Aces' Lake Tahoe hideout. When the word of the price on Aces' head spreads into the community of ex-cons and cons-to-be, it entices bounty hunters, thugs-for-hire, deadly vixens and double-crossing mobsters to join in the hunt. With all eyes on Tahoe, this rogues' gallery collides in a comic race to hit the jackpot and rub out Aces.Written by
Anthony Pereyra {hypersonic91@yahoo.com}
Joe Carnahan stated on the DVD commentary, that the one shot of the movie is from his television pilot Faceless (2006). It is the shot of the ceiling light turning on in the Grandma's house. See more »
Goofs
When Agent Messner unloads his duty weapon in the hospital, he ejects a live round. The sound of the round hitting the floor, though, is that of empty brass. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Donald Carruthers:
You've got to be careful when doing your stakeouts. I did one for... I was on one for six months. I gained, like, 20, 25 pounds. You keep eating this crap...
Richard Messner:
Well, that's not my problem, though. I don't gain weight. I tried.
Donald Carruthers:
That's 'cause you're 12 years old.
See more »
Down On The Street
Written by David Alexander (as Dave Alexander), Ron Asheton (as Ronald Asheton), Scott Asheton, and Iggy Pop (as James Osterberg)
Performed by The Stooges
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group/Rhino US
By Arrangement with Warner Music UK See more »
Buddy "Aces" Israel is in trouble. A Vegas entertainer once, he got to know the local mob and was taken by the lifestyle to the point that he began his own crew. Unfortunately for him and everyone he knows, it has caught up with him and he now finds himself targeted by all sides and in the hands of the FBI, desperately trying to make a deal with them from the security of the penthouse floor of a luxury hotel. However the FBI pick up wind of a hit called in by Sparazza with a strict time limit, a $1,000,000 bounty and cut out Buddy's heart. It is not long before a handful of bounty hunters are heading towards the hotel with one aim to be the first.
On a transatlantic flight during the day I had time for one more film before landing. As I was just trying to relax I was looking for undemanding stuff just to distract and entertain me. The film I watched first was Shooter and I mention this deliberately. Shooter was only an OK film but what it did was lay out its stall and make it very clear what it was going to do and how it was going to do it not necessarily in terms of plotting but more in terms of style and approach. It wasn't great but it worked. I assumed that Smokin' Aces would do the same as the trailer made it look like a comic hit-man film with hyper filming, lots of stars and lots of action.
Now, if you're thinking that I shouldn't assume then you're right, but this is how the film starts and it is how it is at various stages across the film. However it goes from being a bit like Guy Richie (freeze frames, names on screen etc) to being an all out action fest, with guns everywhere and people surviving the way that they only do in action films. The suddenly in the final third it decides that it not going to be superficially comic or superficially action-packed and suddenly seemed to have an emotional side and expected me to care about the characters and their plights like it had been a serious drama all along (although I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take the ADD kid with the erection in that context).
In doing this it does still do just about enough to keep a story going but to be honest I started to get bored as it changed tone based on whatever it want to do. Another problem I had with it was the violence it was very brutal throughout, which I don't have a problem with but the mixed tone meant it was confused. With the comic feel the violent death of characters is really jarring, likewise with the action section it just seemed too much and made it hard to enjoy. The final turn of tone actually makes the violence work because the extent of it works when you actually are expected to feel it however by then it was too little too late.
Keeping this in mind it is no surprise that nobody is really that good. Piven goes from ham to tragic figure; it is a nice try but the film doesn't go with him and he is left exposed. Reynolds is reasonably good on the level he works on, a good presence I've never seen him in anything that good but I generally like him when I see him. Affleck, Berg, Garcia, Liotta and a few others are solid enough but not anything special. Keys is good-looking but she is helped by Henson who is sassy and cute at the same time. The real stand out for me was Common. He dropped out of a big tour to make this and I felt bad that he seemed to be going down the "rapper goes to Hollywood to be in action movie" path. However he is actually one of the few who impressed me; not throughout the film perhaps but in the one scene he has with Piven in the bathroom I did think that he showed potential to do more than just be in this sort of thing. Time will tell if he can move away form just being a good looking guy with a deep voice, but he did seem in touch with his character here.
Overall though, the film is nothing to write home about. With an inconsistent approach that sees approach markedly changed abruptly not once but twice, the film is hard to stick with. It probably offers enough noise and narrative to please those looking for noise and violence but personally I was disappointed and found it hard to care that much about.
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Buddy "Aces" Israel is in trouble. A Vegas entertainer once, he got to know the local mob and was taken by the lifestyle to the point that he began his own crew. Unfortunately for him and everyone he knows, it has caught up with him and he now finds himself targeted by all sides and in the hands of the FBI, desperately trying to make a deal with them from the security of the penthouse floor of a luxury hotel. However the FBI pick up wind of a hit called in by Sparazza with a strict time limit, a $1,000,000 bounty and cut out Buddy's heart. It is not long before a handful of bounty hunters are heading towards the hotel with one aim to be the first.
On a transatlantic flight during the day I had time for one more film before landing. As I was just trying to relax I was looking for undemanding stuff just to distract and entertain me. The film I watched first was Shooter and I mention this deliberately. Shooter was only an OK film but what it did was lay out its stall and make it very clear what it was going to do and how it was going to do it not necessarily in terms of plotting but more in terms of style and approach. It wasn't great but it worked. I assumed that Smokin' Aces would do the same as the trailer made it look like a comic hit-man film with hyper filming, lots of stars and lots of action.
Now, if you're thinking that I shouldn't assume then you're right, but this is how the film starts and it is how it is at various stages across the film. However it goes from being a bit like Guy Richie (freeze frames, names on screen etc) to being an all out action fest, with guns everywhere and people surviving the way that they only do in action films. The suddenly in the final third it decides that it not going to be superficially comic or superficially action-packed and suddenly seemed to have an emotional side and expected me to care about the characters and their plights like it had been a serious drama all along (although I'm not sure how I'm supposed to take the ADD kid with the erection in that context).
In doing this it does still do just about enough to keep a story going but to be honest I started to get bored as it changed tone based on whatever it want to do. Another problem I had with it was the violence it was very brutal throughout, which I don't have a problem with but the mixed tone meant it was confused. With the comic feel the violent death of characters is really jarring, likewise with the action section it just seemed too much and made it hard to enjoy. The final turn of tone actually makes the violence work because the extent of it works when you actually are expected to feel it however by then it was too little too late.
Keeping this in mind it is no surprise that nobody is really that good. Piven goes from ham to tragic figure; it is a nice try but the film doesn't go with him and he is left exposed. Reynolds is reasonably good on the level he works on, a good presence I've never seen him in anything that good but I generally like him when I see him. Affleck, Berg, Garcia, Liotta and a few others are solid enough but not anything special. Keys is good-looking but she is helped by Henson who is sassy and cute at the same time. The real stand out for me was Common. He dropped out of a big tour to make this and I felt bad that he seemed to be going down the "rapper goes to Hollywood to be in action movie" path. However he is actually one of the few who impressed me; not throughout the film perhaps but in the one scene he has with Piven in the bathroom I did think that he showed potential to do more than just be in this sort of thing. Time will tell if he can move away form just being a good looking guy with a deep voice, but he did seem in touch with his character here.
Overall though, the film is nothing to write home about. With an inconsistent approach that sees approach markedly changed abruptly not once but twice, the film is hard to stick with. It probably offers enough noise and narrative to please those looking for noise and violence but personally I was disappointed and found it hard to care that much about.