MySpace Movie and a Profile: Smokin' Aces

Ever seen a movie that gets better the more you see it? You could see a movie in theaters and be on the fence about how you felt, but if you see it again you start to like something more, until eventually it becomes your favorite film. Well that is exactly how I felt when I saw the Joe Carnahan directed film, “Smokin’ Aces.” I originally had only a couple reasons to like this film, but after seeing it a couple more times it has become my favorite film so far. This is why the MySpace Movie and a Profile is proud to review: “Smokin’ Aces!”

The story of “Smokin’ Aces” revolves around sleazy Las Vegas magician Buddy “Aces” Israel played by Jeremy Piven. When Israel decides to testify against the last great Mafioso Primo Sparazza, a slew of hitmen come out to collect a million dollar bounty, these various characters range from a simple bail bondsman and his friends played by Ben Affleck and Martin Henderson, to a contract killer played by Alicia Keyes. All the while two FBI agents played by Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta race to get to their key witness before he’s taken out.

Now as mentioned above, I originally didn’t like “Smokin’ Aces.” In fact, my mother stands by her assertions that this movie “was horrible.” Now this film has gotten some sub par reviews, mostly for the same reasons I will state later on. Now on the pros side of the argument, “Smokin’ Aces” is an incredibly unique film. The film style and overall story is just something I hadn’t seen in a movie before. The movie itself is a fast film, at an hour an forty-eight minutes it seems to fly by.

The acting and characters is another thing that makes this movie watchable and enjoyable as well. Jeremy Piven walks away with the greatest performance in the film. I love him as Ari Gold on “Entourage” and he just nails the role of Israel. One minute he’s having a tirade that makes you bust out laughing and the next he’s giving a dramatic speech that will take your breath away. Ryan Reynolds also does amazing work in his first of many future dramatic roles. He has some amazing scenes with Ray Liotta that just makes you wish for the best.

Another surprising turn comes from the two singers making their big screen debuts in this film. Alicia Keyes starts out a string of movie roles with this film and nails it as Georgia Sykes, a contract killer who has to masquerade as a prostitute. While most female singers turned actors tend to overact, Keyes is a natural. Another natural performance comes from rapper Common as Israel’s bodyguard Ivy. Common and Piven have amazing chemistry in this film that you see as their relationship starts to decorate. Look for more film roles from these two as they gave amazing performances.

Sadly, “Smokin’ Aces” does suffer from way too many underdeveloped characters and a twist that will leave you cursing the theater. Sadly, Carnahan tries to include way too many characters in this film and ends up focusing on only four of them. Ben Affleck is barely used in this film, being only in the first half. Various characters could have had very interesting stories, including Israel, but were left by the wayside towards the end. The twist will also make you angry, I know I was and its one of the reasons I hated this film upon first viewing. The twist is unique, but could never pan out making even the stupidest person angry as they could see the holes in the twist.

Now I do stick by my fact that “Smokin’ Aces” is a movie you have to watch again to enjoy. One first viewing, you just follow the action and get disappointed with the story. The second viewing, you notice more of the story and can enjoy it for what it is, a gangster film with a lot of shooting. I would give “Smokin’ Aces” 8 out of 10, give it another shot and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Now in terms of MySpace coverage, “Smokin’ Aces” delivers in spades. There’s an official “Smokin’ Aces” soundtrack page which tells the release date of the soundtrack (Feb. 6th) and has a lot of good tracks from the movie for you to listen to. This film has an amazing soundtrack from Clint Mansell who scored “Requiem for a Dream” so stop by and give the tracks a listen. There is also a “Smokin’ Aces” page run by rapper Common that has a blog and some interesting tidbits. By far the funniest page to visit is Buddy “Aces” Israel’s MySpace. There are a lot of pictures and information on his character that just made me laugh, especially if you’ve seen his character in the film.

Overall, the MySpace pages give you a little something extra if you need a “Smokin’ Aces” fix and I’ll admit it, I’ve become a junkie for this film. It’s one of those movies that have a little something special that needs a repeat viewing to grasp it all. So, if you have a free day during the week or upcoming weekend, take in a viewing of “Smokin’ Aces.” If you’ve seen it once, be sure to see it again to enjoy it further.

Now, I know I said “Little Miss Sunshine” would be reviewed next, but this had to be mentioned before nobody saw it. So look for that next review soon. Hope you enjoyed this edition of “MySpace Movie and a Profile.” Now go out and watch a movie, but hopefully not something I wouldn’t recommend.

Links

Buddy “Aces” Israel’s page

Common’s page

Soundtrack page