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.

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