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Jan. 28th, 2007 06:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
charloweenI'll tell you straight up: Smokin' Aces is not the movie you think it is. The trailers will have you believe it's another Tarantino knock-off, an orgy of violence, the truest and purest form of exploitation, cinematic anarchy without consequences. It is that movie, kind of, and it's another movie all together. It's stylish (a bit arch at times, but I'll allow it), well shot, well-light, edited with the same rapid-fire you'd expect, but they make good choices and don't cut shit up for the sake of cutting shit up... it actually makes sense to the story. The dialogue is fun (I'm going to have to see it again just to catch all of Jason Bateman's speed-freak monologue), and the characters all manage to have distinctive voices. None of it's particularly original, but that isn't as much of a problem as you'd think.
True, juggling an ensemble cast with a pledge to deliver cutting-edge violence is an impossible task. Even a great film by a great director can barely hope to strike any balance there. Actually, the violence itself in this film is rather mundane. There's not a lot that you haven't seen before. Explosions, guns, flying bodies, blood. But in some ways, playing to those conventions is what makes the film work so well. You know going in to the film that shit's going to go down, and shit goes down in spades.
The reason to see this movie is (surprisingly) for the characters. No one is particularly nuanced, from the good-hearted young FBI agent to the trio of redneck neo-Nazis to the strung-out Vegas showman turned Mob target... it's all broad strokes and types you've seen before. Where the payoff comes (and this is where the film is unexpectedly brilliant) is in how much you're led to care for all the people you meet on screen. Every character swaggers into the story, top of their game, riding high, going to get this killer bounty. But then, you're quickly told what each character wants the most and over the film, watch it get taken away. It's textbook, but it works, so that's why it's in the textbook in the first place. Is this making sense? You meet a cast of cocky people, see just enough of their humanity to give a rat's ass about them, and then watch their worlds end. Not because of the gunplay (or chainsaw-play...) but because they're betrayed. The attack comes from an angle they didn't expect, so it's the side of them they've never shielded.
And that's what the movie's about. Getting royally fucked. Screwed over by your friends, those you've trusted, been loyal to. It's not that all bets are off when there's a big enough bounty, it's that they never had your back in the first place. It's a really dark film (...no shit) and even the moments when you're laughing at some of the more weird shit, you're still asked about what kind of a fucked-up world we're living in where shit like this is allowed to happen. And like I said, you'd allowed to see just enough of these people - like, 9 or 10 characters, minimum - to be able to give a damn when circumstances largely beyond their control get them over a barrel but good. So even if it's not the most original film, it throws together a whole lot of different people, and makes you watch theirs lives get shot to shit over the course of a few hours.
The best part about the casting is that they got some great people who can make you care and make your heart bleed for them, even when his or her cameo barely lasts five minutes. Most everyone's playing against type (except for Ray Liotta, but whatever), which makes it fun to actor-spot. We had to wait for the credits to find out the that-guy-whose-voice-I-recognize was Matthew Fox. Even when they're not asked to do much, you still know, deep down, that no human deserves to be kicked when they're down and bleeding. If you like movies where a guy's at the end of his rope and in tears, you'll be impressed with this film.
If that made any sense. Maybe I'm just too sensitive, but there's a moment part of the way through the film where I got a bit choked up.
Without being spoilery, some performances that were awesome:
What about Mr. Top Billing? Welp. I'll say that Ben Affleck did his best work in Dogma and leave it at that. Though I did like how Jason Bateman's character managed to pull one over on him. Pure fannish glee, right there. And further evidence of how there's no one in the movie who doesn't get shafted somehow.
...so for being different and better than I expected, this movie is totally recommended. Even if I did call one of the plot twists after 20 minutes, the payoff was actually totally worth it.
...and before the movie, one of the previews was for Sunshine. I bounced in my seat and *squeed* the entire time the trailer was playing. Danny Boyle doing science fiction! WOO! I wonder how he'll make this one into a happy ending. He's one of my favourite directors because he'll make things all dark and twisted but can't resist giving you lollypops at the end of the movie. Zombie apocalypse? No! Finland will save you! ♥ 28 Days Later.
I most enjoyed how they say the film is "from the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later", not "from the director of A Life Less Ordinary and Millions and/or The Beach." Because zombies and druggies are exactly the kind of CV that qualifies you for space-sf. I am SO looking forward to that movie. Not in the least because it stars Cillian Murphy. :D
The other trailer that looks interesting is The Kingdom. The trailer was kind of *meeeh* for the most part (Americans killed in Saudi Arabia! Could terrorists be involved??? OMG! Jennifer Garner will save the day!), but at the end of the trailer, when they tell you the big name people in the film, up comes... JASON BATEMAN! Woo! I watched the trailer again, and Bateman's playing the "Intelligence Analyst" member of the elite FBI team that figures they can waltz in to a foreign country and knock heads until they get "justice". (But in the trailer, it's good Americans doing what they have a god-given right to be doing). And at the end of the trailer it looks like there's a clip of him all stolen by the bad guys, tied up with duct tape and shit. :D
The trailer makes the film look pretty bad, mostly for committing the mortal sin of using the same damn Dead Can Dance song from the 80s ("Host of Seraphim", if you're interested) as the trailer for Partition. I mean, what does it say about what a film thinks of the culture it's representing when those in charge can't be bothered to get actual Indian or Middle Eastern music? Dead Can Dance was a pair of goth-hippie white Australians! *argh* Speaking of trailer music, the trailer for Sunshine features a John Williams-y version of the "Lux Aeterna" theme written by Clint Mansell for Requiem for a Dream. More trivia: Clint Mansell scored Smokin' Aces. (I knew I recognized that name from somewhere...). But we know the movie'll be pretty bad, because for a Serious Movie, it'd be coming out before Christmas if they thought it'd have a chance in hell of winning an Oscar, not shoving it in at the end of April. They want to be Syriana, but there's an odor of jingoism coming off this one that's hard to disguise.
Further research indicates that Jeremy Piven is also in The Kingdom. Sounds like a wacky good time if you switch to fannish-brain. Except for Jamie Foxx, who'll probably be running around, *acting* the hell out of shit, it could be lots of fun. Explosions! Jason Bateman! Jeremy Piven! Win!
True, juggling an ensemble cast with a pledge to deliver cutting-edge violence is an impossible task. Even a great film by a great director can barely hope to strike any balance there. Actually, the violence itself in this film is rather mundane. There's not a lot that you haven't seen before. Explosions, guns, flying bodies, blood. But in some ways, playing to those conventions is what makes the film work so well. You know going in to the film that shit's going to go down, and shit goes down in spades.
The reason to see this movie is (surprisingly) for the characters. No one is particularly nuanced, from the good-hearted young FBI agent to the trio of redneck neo-Nazis to the strung-out Vegas showman turned Mob target... it's all broad strokes and types you've seen before. Where the payoff comes (and this is where the film is unexpectedly brilliant) is in how much you're led to care for all the people you meet on screen. Every character swaggers into the story, top of their game, riding high, going to get this killer bounty. But then, you're quickly told what each character wants the most and over the film, watch it get taken away. It's textbook, but it works, so that's why it's in the textbook in the first place. Is this making sense? You meet a cast of cocky people, see just enough of their humanity to give a rat's ass about them, and then watch their worlds end. Not because of the gunplay (or chainsaw-play...) but because they're betrayed. The attack comes from an angle they didn't expect, so it's the side of them they've never shielded.
And that's what the movie's about. Getting royally fucked. Screwed over by your friends, those you've trusted, been loyal to. It's not that all bets are off when there's a big enough bounty, it's that they never had your back in the first place. It's a really dark film (...no shit) and even the moments when you're laughing at some of the more weird shit, you're still asked about what kind of a fucked-up world we're living in where shit like this is allowed to happen. And like I said, you'd allowed to see just enough of these people - like, 9 or 10 characters, minimum - to be able to give a damn when circumstances largely beyond their control get them over a barrel but good. So even if it's not the most original film, it throws together a whole lot of different people, and makes you watch theirs lives get shot to shit over the course of a few hours.
The best part about the casting is that they got some great people who can make you care and make your heart bleed for them, even when his or her cameo barely lasts five minutes. Most everyone's playing against type (except for Ray Liotta, but whatever), which makes it fun to actor-spot. We had to wait for the credits to find out the that-guy-whose-voice-I-recognize was Matthew Fox. Even when they're not asked to do much, you still know, deep down, that no human deserves to be kicked when they're down and bleeding. If you like movies where a guy's at the end of his rope and in tears, you'll be impressed with this film.
If that made any sense. Maybe I'm just too sensitive, but there's a moment part of the way through the film where I got a bit choked up.
Without being spoilery, some performances that were awesome:
- Ryan Reynolds: I'm used to seeing him in comedies (Just Friends!), doing broader acting than what this demands, and he delivers. Like the rest of the characters, you've seen this type of guy before, but that doesn't make the performance any more credible or his character any less likable.
- Jason Bateman: OMFG HOLY CHRIST. I'd see the movie again just for his part. CLASSIC. I didn't know he could talk so fast. In Arrested Development most of his laughs came from his reactions (playing the straight man), but here he's pretty damn funny in his own right. Speed-freak with a raspy voice and lots of skeletons in the closet. Part of the genius of the script is you get a pretty full sense of who this guy is just from one scene. One scene that's about a full page or page-and-a-half of rapid-fire monologuing, but still. And don't touch the bunny. That's not yours. ♥ so very much.
- Matthew Fox: Your heart will bleed. *sniffle*. He's barely in the film (and totally unrecognizable except for his voice) but he's one of the characters who'll stick with you.
- Jeremy Piven: Like Jason Bateman's character, Buddy Israel doesn't seem to like wearing pants. And you do feel for the poor guy. Yeah, he was a scummy Mobster-wannabe, but like all the other killers, theives and lawyers in the film you get enough of what makes him tick to want to see him catch a break. About 3/4 of the way through the film I was trying to figure out all the different ways he could get out of the whole mess relatively unscathed. Yeah, he got himself into the shit, but you can't look at someone who's hit absolute rock bottom and not feel something for them.
- Taraji Henson: She plays half of a two-woman team of assassins along with Alicia Keys. Hers is the other character that you'll be thinking about when you leave the theatre.
What about Mr. Top Billing? Welp. I'll say that Ben Affleck did his best work in Dogma and leave it at that. Though I did like how Jason Bateman's character managed to pull one over on him. Pure fannish glee, right there. And further evidence of how there's no one in the movie who doesn't get shafted somehow.
...so for being different and better than I expected, this movie is totally recommended. Even if I did call one of the plot twists after 20 minutes, the payoff was actually totally worth it.
...and before the movie, one of the previews was for Sunshine. I bounced in my seat and *squeed* the entire time the trailer was playing. Danny Boyle doing science fiction! WOO! I wonder how he'll make this one into a happy ending. He's one of my favourite directors because he'll make things all dark and twisted but can't resist giving you lollypops at the end of the movie. Zombie apocalypse? No! Finland will save you! ♥ 28 Days Later.
I most enjoyed how they say the film is "from the director of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later", not "from the director of A Life Less Ordinary and Millions and/or The Beach." Because zombies and druggies are exactly the kind of CV that qualifies you for space-sf. I am SO looking forward to that movie. Not in the least because it stars Cillian Murphy. :D
The other trailer that looks interesting is The Kingdom. The trailer was kind of *meeeh* for the most part (Americans killed in Saudi Arabia! Could terrorists be involved??? OMG! Jennifer Garner will save the day!), but at the end of the trailer, when they tell you the big name people in the film, up comes... JASON BATEMAN! Woo! I watched the trailer again, and Bateman's playing the "Intelligence Analyst" member of the elite FBI team that figures they can waltz in to a foreign country and knock heads until they get "justice". (But in the trailer, it's good Americans doing what they have a god-given right to be doing). And at the end of the trailer it looks like there's a clip of him all stolen by the bad guys, tied up with duct tape and shit. :D
The trailer makes the film look pretty bad, mostly for committing the mortal sin of using the same damn Dead Can Dance song from the 80s ("Host of Seraphim", if you're interested) as the trailer for Partition. I mean, what does it say about what a film thinks of the culture it's representing when those in charge can't be bothered to get actual Indian or Middle Eastern music? Dead Can Dance was a pair of goth-hippie white Australians! *argh* Speaking of trailer music, the trailer for Sunshine features a John Williams-y version of the "Lux Aeterna" theme written by Clint Mansell for Requiem for a Dream. More trivia: Clint Mansell scored Smokin' Aces. (I knew I recognized that name from somewhere...). But we know the movie'll be pretty bad, because for a Serious Movie, it'd be coming out before Christmas if they thought it'd have a chance in hell of winning an Oscar, not shoving it in at the end of April. They want to be Syriana, but there's an odor of jingoism coming off this one that's hard to disguise.
Further research indicates that Jeremy Piven is also in The Kingdom. Sounds like a wacky good time if you switch to fannish-brain. Except for Jamie Foxx, who'll probably be running around, *acting* the hell out of shit, it could be lots of fun. Explosions! Jason Bateman! Jeremy Piven! Win!
