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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 21194
Released: April 17, 2007 |
| Our Price: $7.34 |
| Used Price: $2.92 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: HD DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Universal Pictures Smokin' Aces (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD)A frantic and frequently amusing cocktail of Tarantino cool and Hong Kong bullet ballet, Joe (Narc) Carnahan's Smokin' Aces delivers some inspired moments of action and dark comedy in its dizzying-comicbook plot about a rogue's gallery of killers on the hunt for a mob informer. At the core of Carnahan's bloody shaggy-dog tale is Buddy Israel (JeremyPiven, offering a more desperate take on his standard hustler persona), a Vegas magician who's turned informant against the mobsters who have treatedhim as their personal entertainment. Wishing to close Buddy's overactive mouth permanently, the mobcapo puts a bounty on the two-bit showman's head,and a horde of hitmen descends on Buddy's digs toclaim the prize. The unholy crew of gunmen offer the movie's most inspired (and outlandish) moments, with R&B singer Alicia Keys (as a cool, Foxy Brown-esque assassin), Nestor Carbonell (as a torture-minded sadist), Ben Affleck and Peter Berg (low-key bail bondsmen) and Chris Pine (the leader of a trio of semi-savage brothers) among the more memorable villains. Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and AndyGarcia represent the other side of the coin as FBI agents determined to get to Buddy before the legion of doom, and the clashes between both factionsproduce some eye-popping gunplay.
Description of Smokin' Aces (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]:
A frantic and frequently amusing cocktail of Tarantino cool and Hong Kong bullet ballet, Joe (Narc) Carnahan's Smokin' Aces delivers some inspired moments of action and dark comedy in its dizzying-comic book plot about a rogue's gallery of killers on the hunt for a mob informer. At the core of Carnahan's bloody shaggy-dog tale is Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven, offering a more desperate take on his standard hustler persona), a Vegas magician who's turned informant against the mobsters who have treated him as their personal entertainment. Wishing to close Buddy's overactive mouth permanently, the mob capo puts a bounty on the two-bit showman's head, and a horde of hitmen descends on Buddy's digs to claim the prize. The unholy crew of gunmen offer the movie's most inspired (and outlandish) moments, with R&B singer Alicia Keys (as a cool, Foxy Brown-esque assassin), Nestor Carbonell (as a torture-minded sadist), Ben Affleck and Peter Berg (low-key bail bondsmen) and Chris Pine (the leader of a trio of semi-savage brothers) among the more memorable villains. Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Andy Garcia represent the other side of the coin as FBI agents determined to get to Buddy before the legion of doom, and the clashes between both factions produce some eye-popping gunplay. If there's any complaint to be made about Smokin' Aces, it's that the tone shifts between action-drama and hipster comedy feel forced (Carnahan struck a firmer balance between the two in his 1998 indie effort, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane), but the performances and shootout set pieces, as well as Carnahan's hyperactive camera work, do much to make those transitions palatable. Eagle-eyed audience members will note the presence veteran scene stealers Curtis Armstrong (Ray), David Proval (The Sopranos), and Alex Rocco (The Godfather's Moe Green) in supporting roles. -- Paul Gaita
Smokin' Aces (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Reviews:
Empathyless 
2009-12-26 - If you're looking for gore and gunplay, you'll find it in spades here (pun intended). But you won't find a good script. You will find virtually no character development. The actors all did their best, but they had very little to work with. I wonder how many viewers cared about what happened to Buddy Israel, portrayed by Jeremy Pivin. Israel was a star Vegas illusionist. (Surprisingly, there's very little about his performance skills here.) Israel has close ties to the mob, and took part in mob capers. He knows a lot, and is willing to inform on his mob associates to evade prosecution himself. The FBI offers him protection in exchange for his testimony that will apparently deal a mortal blow to organized crime, or something like that.
There's a million dollar contract out. Motley crews of assassins make their way to Lake Tahoe, where Israel holes up. Of course, similar tales have been told on the big screen with great skill. But the only strong thing I saw about this was the cinematography: the shots stayed in focus as the story line got more and more blurry. I had no empathy for any of the characters. The good guys were flat; the bad guys seemed to be amoral cartoon figures. The victims seemed to just be hapless, in the wrong place at the wrong time. It seemed to me that virtually everyone who was on the screen for more than a minute got shot or stabbed. I assume the ending was supposed to be a surprise. I was just happy it ended.
Fun Action Film 
2009-12-14 - Not a movie that you will watch over and over, but it is fun the first time through.
Buy used and you won't be disappointed.
crazy cool movie 
2009-09-12 - This is a guy movie all around. There are a lot of one liners, crazy over the top action, and if you take your action movies too serious well you problably won't like it. Good looking guys and hot babes all around. Ray Layota is superb. Everybody has a even amount of play time. The weapons are really cool too.
Shoot `Em Up 
2009-07-03 - Smokin' Aces is definitely a rock `em, sock `em ensemble-type film. The story line comes off as a backdrop for the multitude of good and great performances.
Taraji Henson delivers a character role that deserves an award. As Sharice Watters, a hit-woman, she belts out dialogue with panache, worth the DVD viewing time, alone. I was reminded of Mercedes Ruell, as Anne Napolitano, in The Fisher King; a role that won Ms. Ruell an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1991. It would make sense to me that Ms. Henson would be nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in her 2008 role of Queenie, in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. This woman can act!
Not all the characters fit the bill: Ryan Reynolds, as Richard Messner, FBI agent, is more of a bumbling, likable guy that is given too many lines and too much camera time. He doesn't stand a chance letting it rip with Andy Garcia.
The list of quirky and over-the-top characters goes on. It's bloody violent, and lots of everything that would be consider "over-the-top". Actually, Smokin' Aces is much more "Shoot `Em Up" than the 2007 film starring Clive Owen, another film you wouldn't want to take seriously.
Fantastic!
2009-02-18 - I was able to buy this movie at a terrific price! The movie arrived very quickly and it was brand new as described. I couldn't be happier! Thank you very much! A+++++++!!!!!!!!
