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Original Essays | December 24, 2009

The New Science of Rapid Change

0 comments By Richard Wiseman

Want to improve your life? Perhaps lose weight, find your perfect partner, or obtain your dream job? Try this simple exercise... Close your eyes and... Continue »

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1. 
   $16.80 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

   59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot

   Richard Wiseman

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Grady Harp, April 26, 2007

Busy, Blustery, Noisy, and Overpopulated

Trying to keep track of the huge cast of characters, keeping their various allegiances to the plethora of participating assailants, requires a scorecard in the film SMOKIN' ACES. Writer/Director Joe Carnahan has style and the film's similarity to the many other cop/mob caper movies is evident, but Carnahan like to blitz the eye of the viewer with so much visual information (multiple tracks, quick scene flashes, unexplained flashbacks, etc) that when coupled with a soundtrack that is burdened with overlapping voices and very loud 'music' makes the story confusing.

The last remnant of the Mafia lies in Las Vegas, and the FBI, various gangs, and detectives are out to either court the supposed willing informer, lounge comedian Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven), or kill him before he squeals his apparent vital information. Israel is hiding out in Tahoe in a penthouse papered with drugs, prostitutes, bodyguards, and pursing him are hired assassins, cops, FBI agents, and competing mobs. In the course of the film nearly everyone gets shot, tortured, killed, or maimed and the blood and set destruction are a primary ingredients. The large cast includes Ben Affleck (in a very quick role), Ryan Reynolds (who is actually the star), Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman, Alicia Keys, Ray Liotta, Peter Berg, Martin Henderson, Davenia McFadden, Loretta Wyman, Nestor Carbonell, Joel Edgerton and a host of others who parade by or die so quickly that their character names are difficult to remember.

The script has moments of crude comedy, a lot of toilet talk, and an ending that tries to make the entire ride meaningful. It is worth a watch for the pyrotechnics of camera and sound work (and if the viewer has a high tolerance for violence), but renting it first to test your taste is advisable. Grady Harp

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