Smokin' Aces

[rustikof]

Was actually WAY better than I thought it would be...I thought it was just gunna be a big goofy murderfest a-kin to the likes of a tarantino/robert rodriguez type of film....but I was pleasantly surprised, there was actually a few really well shot moments that had some really powerful dramatic intensity goin on.

GO SEE! GO SEE!

[jrr]

i refuse to give money to any movie with jeremy piven in it. it looks like a tony scottesk/ michael bay color book crazy mucksuck movie.

[timpaatkins]

I just saw it, I thought it was a really construed attemt at making a a "cool" film. Snatch did it because it was fresh when it came out. This is just filled with tired stereotypes (especially all the hit men, its like the writer thought "hmm, what would be the mostestest collestes dudes and bichees with comedy gold moments and fast tounges that we can put in there? Ohh yea...) that left me cringing and wincing in my seat and dialog that is worse than anything from Kill Bill. Skincrawlingly annoying that comes of as a washed out Snatch. And Jeremy Piven just does his fast talking Ari Gold character from Entourage.
Pure trite.

Just my opinion though!

[DavePalumbo]

two slights at Tarantino here, I just don't think that's fair. I know his stuff is mostly just attitude and style-over-substance, but damn dude, he does it so well. The thing is that most of these new action movies that want so badly to be fast and cool like a Tarantino or Guy Richie movie fail completely because they don't understand what cool is. They know Pulp Fiction was cool, they know Kill Bill was cool, but they have no real taste or sense of style and so they can't work it themselves. I know it's kind of silly to call a movie on ripping off the guy who rips off everybody, but damn dude, Tarantino knows how to do it right! The guy is a living encyclopedia of film, including exploitation which he seems to love particularly much, and he has good taste, which is why he pulls it off.

[rustikof]

i liked the movie almost completely based around the guy from Sin City and the Tremor Brothers and the 50mm....I thought it was over the top and gritty and and..i mean, seriously, were you expecting Citizen Kane? "Cool" is constantly changing socially, and completely objective...I mean, you could think War and Peace is rad and Tarantino sucks balls....so I think saying someone "attempts" to be cool is like not sitting with someone in the lunch room because you think you're better than them somehow. Which, you have the right to do, but come off as a arrogant assbutt.

Trust me, you go into something unbiased, you'll be happy every time. Only THEN can you truly reach shitty movie zen, ala when you do so and then watch like Dickie Roberts: Child Star, or something. Because that ACTUALLY sucks balls.

[DavePalumbo]

so I think saying someone "attempts" to be cool is like not sitting with someone in the lunch room because you think you're better than them somehow

I'm sorry, but I really disagree. Some people try to be cool and some people just are. The reason that the other people aren't is because they're trying too hard, you know? And maybe it's not always cool, but genuine. Being yourself and loving who you are is so much better than insecurity and blind conformity. Insincerity can be subtle or overt, but it's generally going to hurt and that's why so sooo many Hollywood movies totally blow, because they're funded by a mega machine which cares dick about artistic vision. If your ultimate aim is just the bottom line, you've killed creativity. Why else in the world would you re-make a movie like, say, Texas Chainsaw Massacre? I think the original is a brilliant film in so many ways and not one of those ways could be improved by remaking it with (and I'm not exadgerating) a budget of over 100x the original. It's never going to even be as good, let alone better, because there's no heart and soul, and no reason besides financial profit.

I haven't seen Smokin Aces myself (my post was in response to the Tarrantino comments) so i can't comment on this specific film. I have got a pretty good idea what I'm missing, but I really don't know and can't say for certain. Be that as it may, my point is that, yes, "cool" is subjective and style and taste are highly debatable, but as far as I'm concerned some things are genuine and some are false. A false artist, one who is trying to please by doing what they think will be most popular instead of doing what they actually enjoy, is compromised. They can only hope to be mediocre. I think that love and passion are things that one can see in a movie just as you can see it in a painting, and I love and respect movies where the creator was passionate about his work. When you see the genuine touch in art, that mystery which makes something unique to its creator and nobody else, is when something becomes exceptional.

[jcaffoe]

anyone who looked for more than a popcorn flick from this really shouldn't have bothered to go see it in the first place.

It was a fantastic cast, with everyone doing what they do best. The downfall was when the film tried to take itself seriously.

[JAG.]

shit i thought it was friggin great! it was just a good time movie. and im a sucker for gun fights [long live John Woo] and this had attitude AND gunfights.. i wasnt expecting it to top anything, i wasnt really sure what to expect at all other than some crazy action. turned out a bit slower than i woulda liked but it made up for it. 4/5 stars.. - JAG