Febmaiy 28,2007
Features
High Life Page 9
“Aces” fails to fulfill vast potential
Numerous problems arise in
Joe Carnahan’s overly stylized,
poorly written “Smokin’ Aces.”
BYALEX/\SHE
Features Editor
Ever since the breakthrough suc
cess of Quentin Tarantino's first two
lilms, "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp
Fiction," there have been a plethora
of imitators attempting to equafthe
films' magnitude on the stylish crime
genre. "Post-Tarantino" has even be
come a semi-legitimate genre. Last
year's most notable addition to the
group of copycats was "Lucky Num
ber Slevin," a worthy effort that ulti
mately did not match up to the clas
sics of the 90's. The latest film to fit
into this categoiy is Joe Carnahan's
"Smokin' Aces" which has the
premise of "Rat Race" mixed with
the action of a Schw-arzenegger
movie and eventually, like
"Lucky Number Slevin," tries des
perately to replicate t he revolution
ary twist-ending of '],995's "The
Usual Suspects."
Like the aforementioned classics,
"Smokin' Aces" is an ensemble film,
boasting a cast of stars including Jer
emy Piven, Ben Affleck, Ryan
Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Andy Garda,
Jason Bateman, as well as music art
ists Alicia Keys and Common, both
making their film debuts. The plot
revolves around inob witness/Vegas
entertainer Buddy "Aces" Israel
(Piven) and the mafia's million-dol-
lar bounty' tor the hitman rvho kills
him. Several parties of hitmen (in
cluding Keys) head to Lake Tahoe in
hopes of assassinating the dcized Is
rael who has been holed up in his
penthouse suite. Liotta, who starred
in Carnahan's previous directorial
effort, 2002's "Niirc," and Reynolds
turn in solid performmrces as FBI
agents trying to get to Israel before
the potential hitmen, hoping he will
turn in his corrupt entourage (which
includes Common) and subse
quently enter the Witness Protection
Progrcrm. As unoriginal as the plot
seems, there is potential for it to be
compelling. However, the movie
often goes on long, unfocused tan
gents that eventually lead to
"Smokin' Aces" becoming a
complete mess of a film.
Among the laundry-list of prob
lems with "Smokin' Aces" is that it
has no sense of identity. From a co-
medic standpoint, there are some
moments of witty' dialogue a la "Pulp
Fiction," but at other times, the in
tended humor is borderline-slapstick
and unfunny'. The film's score fs of
ten ill-suited, as it tries to create a
di cmiatic, tragic mood during parts
where doing so just does not make
sense. The remainder of the film is
full of fast-paced action, which is
entertaining at first, but soon grows
old. Hurting the film even more is
a
Omemetpmto
In the action-packed “Smokin’.Aces,” Jeremy Piven makes a turn from the
L'omedic roles of “Entourage” and “Old School” that made him famous.
its lack of credibility^ as some times
the bullets seem to be made of plas
tic. Many characters are completely
unnecessary' and merety appear to be
attempts to fit as many stars as pos
sible into the movie. As the story
drifts aw'ay from the original
premise, the movie becomes focused
on keeping the audience guessing
about who lives and dies. However,
the film's useless and uninteresting
tvHst ending tops the long list of
maladies. Unlike last y'ear's "The Il
lusionist," the plot Iwst is forced,
insignificant and unsatisfying, and
it seems as if Carnahan threw in the
twist simply to complicate the story.
Unfortunately, since "The Usual Sus
pects," a twist ending in films of this
genre is considered mandatoiy, and
instead of being a huge surprise, this
one just makes the view'er feel like
the whole movie was a waste of time.
There is an immediate letdown, as
there is nothing that the audience is
obligated to care about.
What made "Pulp Fiction" so
unique and stylish was Tcwantino's
cleverness as a director and wTiler.
"Smokin' Aces" misses the mark in
this regard, showing minimal evi
dence of any creativity or intelli
gence. Ultimately, the movie is high
on slvle and short on substance
Unique bands’ upcoming albums flourish
BYALEXMITE
Features Editor
Mreade Hre
Neon Bible
fiSisw.'ifii
(eiilolS)
Best Track;
“Windowslir
Merge Becords
But March 6th
Seemingly coming
from nowhere, the
Montreal-based Arcade
Fire started the diverse-
instrument phenom
enon with their master
piece debut LP, "Fu
neral," in 2004. Along
with skyrocketing to
one of alternative
music's hottest com
modities, the band
pav'ed the way' to suc
cess for fellow Canadian
outfit Broken Social
Scene, as well as last
y'ear's indie darlings,
the Raleigh-based An
nuals. Fittingly, the
Arcade Fire's second
album, "Neon Bible,"
is one of 2007's most
anticipated releases,
and just becau.se it does
not quite equal its pre
decessor, the record
proves to be worth the
wait and the hype.
"Black Mirror," the
album's first single, is
somewhat evocative of
"Neighborhood #2
(Laika)" from "Fu
neral," as it starts off
"Neon Bible" on an
upbeat note, which
carries over to the next
track, "Keep the Car
Running." The strong,
melodic title track fol
lows, but unfortu
nately', it only' runs
slightly over the two-
minute maj'k.
The grandiose fourth
track, "Intervention,"
sounds like the begin
ning of a church ser-
v'ice, thanks to its ex
tremely' heavy organ
use, Sonically, the
band has not changed
very' much since "Fu
neral," but if anything.
their sound has become
a bit darker. Appropri
ately, this alteration is
most evident on the
fifth track, 'Black
Waves/Bad Vibra
tions," which initially
sounds similar to early
Scrnic Youth.
"Windowsill," in
w'hich frontman Win
Butler asks, "MTV,
what have y'ou done to
me / Save my soul, set
me free," is more
simple than the other
tracks on " Neon Bible,"
but it manages to estab
lish itself as the best of
the bunch. The tenth
track, "No Cars Go," is
a spiritual epic that
rises and falls like a
Beethoven symphony.
The morose "My Body'
is a Cage" serves as a
perfect closing track to
the album, finishing
with Butler shouting,
"Set my spirit free / Set
my body free."
Not every track on
"Neon Bible" is a mas
terpiece, but that
doesn't stop it from be
ing a terrific follow-up
to "Funeral" and a su
perb display of the Ar
cade Fire's creativitu
and originality.
11
Mmi Takes
■A _A t A
'K’WWw
(outof5)
Best Track:
“Yadnus”
WarpBecords
Out March 6th
Embarking on a ca
reer as a rock star is
surely exciting, but life
must be ten times more
exhilarating if you're in
a bmid named !!! (pro
nounced chk-chk-chk).
On the bright side, your
band is easily recogniz
able because of its
name. However, y'our
group's name rarely'
appears in conversa
tions because of its
awkward pronuncia-
ticm and "Spin" labels
you the "hardest band
to Google." Such set
backs have not stopped
the c\mbitious dance-
punk outfit from gar
nering a cult following
and the opening spot
for the Red Hot Chili
Peppers' latest Euro
pean tour. Following
the success of 2004's
"Louden Up Now," !!!
has returned with their
fresh blend of disco,
funk, new-wave, and
rock tor a third album,
"Myth Takes."
Living up to its
reputation as a dance
bcmd,!!! incorporates a
surf-rock guitcir into tlie
brief yet impressive,
foot-tapping title track
to begin the record. The
band tries a different
approach on the next
track, "All My' Heroes
Are Weirdos," which
sounds like it features a
drum line. "Heart of
Hearts," which will
serve as the album's
first single, is the six-
minute-long fifth track.
The song provides the
album's catchiest cho
rus before unexpect
edly del ving into a two
minute prog-rock
outro. On "Sweet life,"
the band throws a curve
ball, focusing mainly
on vocals instead of
hectic instrumen tals.
One could theorize
that hearing the Chili
Peppers' "Cair't Stop"
so mmy times last sum
mer inspired the open
ing drum beat of the
seventh track,
"Yadnus." However,
instead of a half-ex
pected John Frusdante
guitar riff, one reminis
cent of Funkadelic
axeman Eddie Hazel
follows, creating the
base tor the strong,
funky number. The
tenth and final song,
"Intinitold," features a
much different pace
from the other nine
tracks and ends the al
bum on a delicate note.
Excluding the clos
ing track, every' song on
"Myth Takes" is dance-
provoking, which is a
testament to!!! staying
faithful to its genre.
Some moments of rep
etition and others of
mild monotony do oc
cur, but "Mvth Takes"
establishes itself as
an expansive, rock-
solid effort from one
of indie-rock's more
unique acts.