Walter Weed (Tom Berenger) is an unassuming desk jockey at the FBI when the Bureau uncovers a plot to assassinate him. A team of degenerate, psychotic assassins dispatched by mystery man Hal Leuco to win a huge bounty includes a resourceful beauty who has a unique method of killing her prey (Martha Higareda), a power-tool wielding psychopath (Vinnie Jones) and a deadly master of disguise (Tommy Flanagan).

The film is out on DVD on 19th January 2010.

Well I never saw this coming…and being that its a straight-to-DVD sequel prequel, I know why.  I saw this on Wednesday and pondered whether or not to post it, then said “what the hell“, it’s Friday.  Just a little empty entertainment to get us to the weekend.  But really, how many of us were asking for anything more from Aces?  I know I was content when the movie ended (and the end was pretty sweet I’ll admit).  Smokin’ Aces was moderately entertaining and a fun movie, however it did fall way short of the Snatch doppelganger it was trying to be.

Now as film fans, we really should expect more from the studios.  Yet whenever there’s a “well” that the studios can dive back into, there’s really nothing we can do to stop them – these days, it seems like anything is fodder for a follow up.  So, much like the Carlito’s Way prequel (that no one asked for and no one wanted) this is yet another addition to the heap of unwanted and unremarkable prequels/sequels out there.  This looks to follow that ill-fated formula.  Have a look and let me know your thoughts…

You may have noticed that I have omitted the ‘Sweet‘ that’s usually included in our trailer posts and for good reason.  I really don’t think this is ‘Sweet’ at all.  To be fair to fans of the original, this may be right up your alley and you may be “on board” for this.  Me, I’m just “bored”…little play on words action for ya.  Also while not to sound totally negative, I do own the first Aces, but I don’t watch it regularly at all.  It’s what I throw in if I want empty action and brainless fun. Unfortunately, this looks like it will do nothing to compliment or advance the original in a positive way…sad really.  With Vinnie Jones, this prequel looks like a rent at best but who knows, maybe it will surprise me, but I wouldn’t bet on it.  If I have to, I’d put my money on the other upcoming movie about ‘assassins’ …The Tournament.  Check out that trailer if you’re so inclined…

This prequel to Joe Carnahan’s original film is directed by P.J. Pesce and going straight to DVD.

Walter Weed (Tom Berenger) is an unassuming desk jockey at the FBI when the Bureau uncovers a plot to assassinate him. A team of degenerate, psychotic assassins dispatched by mystery man Hal Leuco to win a huge bounty includes a resourceful beauty who has a unique method of killing her prey (Martha Higareda), a power-tool wielding psychopath (Vinnie Jones) and a deadly master of disguise (Tommy Flanagan). Also in the hunt is the fan-favorite Tremor family from the original film, featuring nymphomaniacal gun-nut (Autumn Reeser) and her lethal kinfolk (Maury Sterling, Michael Parks and C. Ernst Harth). Baker (Clayne Crawford), the agent in charge of the operation, puts himself and his team in the line of fire to defend Weed, but it’s not until the smoke clears on the film’s explosive climax that the surprising identity of the plot’s mastermind is revealed.

Source: Crave Online

Gerade habe ich den Film Smokin’ Aces geschaut. Ich weiß, nicht gerade neu, aber mir ist er halt eben erst unter die Augen gekommen. Seltsamerweise ist mir an 2 oder 3 Stellen im Film der Gedanke an ein Lied gekommen, das an den jeweiligen Stellen gut gepasst hätte.

Ich erinnerte mich an ein Lied aus dem Film Requiem for a dream – ein sehr drastischer Drogen-Film mit einem, wie ich finde, einmaligen Soundtrack. Dummerweise fiel mir der Komponist nicht mehr ein, aber die Melodie steckt fest in meinem Kopf und dürften wohl die meisten Film-Fans schon einmal gehört haben. Es handelt sich um Lux Aeterna, gespielt vom Kronos Quartett.
Was eigentlich seltsam ist, denn der Film ähnelt nicht wirklich Requiem for a dream. Er versucht vielmehr eine Mischung aus cooler Action, freakigen Charakteren und cleveren Wendungen zu sein. Eine Kreuzung aus Shoot ‘em Up und den Ocean’s-Filmen.

Gerade die End-Sequenz von Smokin’ Aces ist jedoch so geschnitten, dass sie fantastisch mit Lux Aeterna harmonieren würde. Was ich dann im Abspann sah, sorgte dann doch für einen kleinen Moment des Schocks. “Music by Clint Mansell”. Also dem Mann, der Lux Aeterna für Requiem for a dream geschrieben hat.

Creepy, huh?

Click here (Myspace page for Clint Mansell). Listen to “Lux Aeterna.” Sound familiar? Listen to “Death Is The Road To Awe.” Ditto?

Mansell, formerly of Pop Will Eat Itself, has since earned himself some pretty snappy composer credits. “Lux Aeterna” appeared in Requiem For a Dream. “Death Is The Road To Awe,” in The Fountain. Internet Movie Database lists scores for nearly three dozen films or television episodes. Here’s a sip, from Smokin’ Aces:

Browsing through the internet found some old trailer work. Smokin’ Aces teaser trailer and the Breakfast on Pluto trailer. I believe the Smokin Aces trailer was nominated for a Promax award. Low res versions.

Der August begann für mich mit einem Kinobesuch und zwei Filmen aus dem guten alten Fernsehen

Maria, ihm schmeckt’s nicht

Smokin’ Aces

Solange du da bist

Maria, ihm schmeckt’s nicht @ Rex Filmpalast, Pforzheim

Nicht zum ersten Mal hatte ich es hier mit einer Buchverfilmung zu tun, ohne die Vorlage auch nur ansatzweise zu kennen. Vielleicht aber auch okay so, mir wurde geflüstert dass das Buch, im Gegensatz zum Film, im Episodenformat geschrieben ist, also ein Vergleich die Bewertung des Films eh nur erschwert hätte.

Der Streifen mit dem komisch anmutenden Titel ist eine so genannte “Culture-Clash”-Komödie, soll bedeuten dass vor allem die sich bei aufeinanderprallenden Kulturen ergebenden Situationen für die Lacher herhalten. In diesem Fall wären da italienisches Temperament, Heimatverbundenheit und Sprachbarrieren aufseiten von Sara und ihrer Familie; und deutscher Ordnungssinn und “Spießbürgertum” bei Jan und seiner Sippe.

Jan und Sara wollen heiraten, und da dem lieben Papa der Braut nicht widersprochen wird, findet die Zeremonie inklusive Drumherum im süditalienischen Heimatdorf des Clans statt.

Aus dieser Grundsituation entspinnt sich dann eine Komödie, die einiges gut und nett macht, über den Status der “netten Komödie” aber eben nicht herauszukommen vermag. Natürlich gibt es den üblichen “Deutscher spricht italienisches Wort falsch aus, Gelächter”-Gag, natürlich geht das Paar zwischenzeitlich auseinander. Alles ein wenig vorhersehbar und wenig besonders, aber doch immer wieder mit netten Szenen gespickt.

Diese Lichtblicke werden zum Einen von Christian Ulmen, den ich als Schauspieler und Komiker sehr schätze, vor allem aber von Lino Banfi in der Rolle des italienischen Familienoberhaupts getragen. Er kommt immer charmant und lustig herüber, zum Beispiel wenn er Jans Vater (ein Philosophie-Professor) weismachen will, dass Machiavelli und Freud gute Freunde waren, oder wenn sich bei ihm immer wieder Parallelen zur deutschen Denkweise zeigen.

Mehr wird aber leider nicht unbedingt geboten, es reiht sich weder Knallerwitz an Knallerwitz noch entsteht eine großartig begeisternde Atmosphäre, die etwa das italienische Flair rüberbringen würde.

Bleibt also eine charmante, aber wenig begeisternde Sommerkomödie, die durch die männlichen Hauptdarsteller zu einem Film wird, den man sich ruhig einmal anschauen kann, wenn man nach netter Unterhaltung sucht.

Reicht dann doch für ganze

6,5/10 Punkte    Filmstarts.de-Kritik: 6/10    Bei filmszene.de: 5/10

Bei den nächsten beiden Filmen mach ich’s kurz:

Smokin’ Aces @ Pro7

Schneller, verworrener, abgefahrener Actionfilm mit unglaublich gutem Handlungstwist. Interessante und verrückte Charaktere, die aber, wie o oft bei zahlreichem Aufkommen, (zu) wenig einzeln behandelt werden. Guter, teils derber Humor und einfach eine gut ausgearbeitete, straffe Storyline. Trotz der Straffheit aber noch ein paar unnötige Szenen, die von der Regie und vom Drehbuch anders hätten gelöst werden können, da ich mich nach dem Film doch teilweise fragte, was dieser Handlungsfaden oder jener Charakter nun sollte.  Und nochmal: wirklich toller Twist am Ende!

Da ich Filme dieser Art mag:

7,5/10 Punkte    Filmstarts.de-Kritik: 7/10    Bei filmszene.de: 7/10

Solange du da bist @ ARD

Um es mit den Worten der Nachrichtensprecherin zu sagen, die “Solange du da bist” im Rahmen des ARD-Sommerkinos ankündigte: Ein wirklich süßer Film. Das ist er auch wirklich, Reese Witherspoon ist einfach zum knutschen. Eine für RomComs interessante Storyline ist vorhanden: Mann zieht in ein Haus ein und sieht den Geist einer verunglückten, im Koma liegenden Frau. Nur er kann sie sehen, will ihr helfen, beide kommen sich näher. Die Idee mit dem Geist birgt aber auch reichlich Platz für Logiklöcher (Geist läuft durch Tisch, kann aber darauf sitzen etc), außerdem driftet alles sehr stark ins Romantische-Komödien-Einerlei ab, kommt dort eigentlich nie heraus. Schade für die Idee, die eigentlich soliden Hauptdarsteller und Jon Heder in der Rolle des (positiv) nerdig-ulkigen Geistersehers.

Würde gerne mehr geben, aber

5/10 Punkte     Filmstarts.de-Kritik: 6/10     filmszene.de: 7/10

Jeremy Piven had just finished an interview for It’s On with Alexa Chung when he met Christ Kattan backstage.  NY Daily News says it went like this:

Kattan – who’s been in town talking up his IFC miniseries “Bollywood Hero” – greeted Piven with a snarky, “So, what are you here to promote, your Broadway play?”

Piven, who famously dropped out of “Speed the Plow” in December, is in a legal battle with producers who believe the actor fabricated his illness in order to get out of completing his contract, and was none too happy to be reminded of the incident.

The actor sniped back irritably, “Well, what are you here to promote? Mango?” – a reference to Kattan’s swishy “Saturday Night Live” stripper character.

The actors continued to bark for a few minutes, but while Kattan thought the argument was in jest, Piven did not.

Says an insider, “After some back and forth, Jeremy said something really personal to Chris that basically attacked his career. He said ‘Whoa, man  -  I thought we were just fooling around here.’”

Not the right thing to say to the man who plays Ari Gold, apparently. “I’m getting sued for that s–t!” the actor shouted. “It’s not funny!”

Our source adds, “Jeremy slammed the green room door right in Chris’ face, and about 20 people in the hallway outside could hear him yelling obscenities. He was furious.

“Chris felt really badly about the whole thing, so about 15 minutes later he tried to approach Jeremy again to apologize, to tell him he was just kidding and that he didn’t mean to offend in any way. But Jeremy wasn’t having it at all. He slammed the door in Chris’ face AGAIN.”

Whoa there Piv.  Relax a little bit.  While I’m pretty sure Entourage is an entirely unsalvageable douche-fest, Ari Gold is it’s one shining beacon of hilarity.  This old dude must be PMS-ing though.  Kattan’s entire career is a joke.  Getting mad at him is like punching a baby.  It’s just pathetic.  You don’t get any respect for it.

And I don’t see where Piven gets the balls to act like a Prima Donna.  It’s not like he’s some fantastic actor.  He has one character and he plays it well but God knows he’ll never be a leading man (except for, I guess, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, if that counts).  Save the temper tantrums for when you can get a better role than coked out Ari Gold in Smokin’ Aces.  And who is Chris Kattan again?

I was leaning towards Bradley Cooper to be honest. Reynolds seems like the safe choice and I mean, come on, he’s already Deadpool.

It’s no question whether he can pull off the Hal Jordan/Green Lantern look, but the attitude… from what we’ve seen in his other movies he’s been too snarky and not arrogant enough.

Oh, well, I loved Reynolds in Smokin’ Aces and I think he should be able to pull it off, it’s just a matter of overcoming the prejudices cast by her previous performances. That’s not to say I disliked all his previous work, I think he’s great, but I’ve yet to see him in a Green Lantern-esque role.

I’m pumped regardless, though. I’ve been on a huge Green Lantern kick this summer in preparation for Blackest Night so the confirmation of a lead for the film is nice. Progress = good news. That being said, Green Lantern is awesome and here’s a couple dates to keep an eye out for:

Wednesday July 15, 2009: Blackest Night #1 released

January 2010: Projected date for beginning of filming for Green Lantern

July 2011: Projected release date for Green Lantern

In brightest day/In blackest night/No evil shall escape my sight/Let those who worship evil’s might/Beware my power/Green Lantern’s light!

Agent Carruthers (Ray Liotta) offers Agent Messner (Ryan Reynolds) an approved FBI Field Urination Receptacle in Smokin’ Aces.

Quite a few wins recently, see how you do with this one – place your answers in the comments below, please

ETA:

Scunnert has got it right – it’s Smokin’ Aces, with Alicia Keys getting scoped.

Smokin' Aces

Directed by Joe Carnahan
With Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, Joseph Ruskin, Ben Affleck, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, Chris Pine, Matthew Fox, ect…

La misión proteger al corrupto mago de Las Vegas (Ases) del jefe mafioso Primo Sparazza contra el que Ases va a testificar para salvarse el pellejo.

Pero la mafia se entera de la traición y ofrecen un millón de dólares por la cabeza de Ases. No importa quién lo mate siempre que sea lo antes posible. De ahí en más un auténtico zoo de mercenarios, matones y asesinas a sueldo se dirijirá hacia Lake Tahoe para encontrar a Ases.

Asesinos a sueldo por todos lados, rifle sniper calibre 50, una locura

After yesterday’s announcement that Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) was in talks to join the “A-Team”, it appears as though Liam Neeson is in talks as well.  Neeson would play Col. John “Hannibal” Smith in the update of the classic TV series. 

Joe Carnahan is directing, and plans to make the tone of the film closer to “Ocean’s 11″ rather than the campy tone of the series.  Neeson is currently filming “Clash of the Titans” and starred in “Taken”. 

Lukas Eggen

A big, unorganized roundup of news and items we didn’t feel deserved a full blog post.

Well, so much for October. Here comes November right on its heels as always, the month with bitter cold, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and the beginning of the Christmas season. October wasn’t much of a month for film, unless you’re a horror fan, in which case you got yet another part of the seemingly endless Saw franchise. You mabe even participated in the Paranormal Activity phenomenon/marketing blitz.

We spent a good part of the month not trekking through the chilly rain to see whatever else was in the theatres, but instead stayed home and watched film noirs and some classic 70s cinema. What follows below is stuff from the outside world that caught our diminished attention, assembled in no particular order of importance.

1. If you’re one of the thousands of visitors this month who got here looking for our picture of Grace Park, welcome and please enjoy the rest of our articles. We hope you stuck around and didn’t just right click and run, but read our whole piece about casting the long-in-Development-Hell Flash movie. We’ll have a comparable article for the far-more-definite Green Lantern project published right here later in November. You should also check out our mission statement, located on the task before just this entry.

2. A few idle thoughts about how Mad Men might end its third season. Last season Don Draper’s (John Hamm) nemesis Duck Phillips (Mark Moses) left the company in a snit after learning Draper had no contract at Sterling Cooper. This season Phillips has joined an aggressive rival agency apparently eager to expand its work force. With Sterling Cooper up for sale by its British parents, Draper could find himself working for Phillips once again if Phillips’ new agency buys his old one out. The difference is that this time Draper would find himself hemmed in by the contract boss Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) blackmailed him into signing. The walls are closing in on Don from all sides, and we can’t wait to see how this freight train of a season reaches its conclusion.

3. Warner Brothers used to release their Film Noir Classic Collection box sets once a year, giving fans of America’s most hallowed film genre a fresh crop of famous and not-so-famous crime and detective movies to pore over. They stopped that last year, though, with Chapter4 in the series containing relatively obscure gems like Act of Violence and Crime Wave, and the long-awaited cult favorite Decoy. But there are lots of other noir favorites to bring to the DVD format, including works by some of the era’s biggest directors and actors. Who do we beg, nag, or offer to bribe for a fifth volume in the series? And on that subject, is Fox no longer releasing titles under its “Fox Film Noir” imprint?

Watch this show.

4. Are you one of the hundreds of Americans watching NBC this season? The troubled network sees the ratings of its much-trumpeted The Jay Leno Show continue to erode, while once-mighty ratings earners Heroes and Law & Order circle the drain. Actually, the ratings attrition of Heroes has been going on for years, but it seems now the network may be ready to wrap things up with a finale to air next spring. Meanwhile the promising hour-long drama Trauma, which would’ve stood a fair chance in one of the 10 PM berths currently monopolized by the Leno show, won’t get its full season order.

5. While we’re on the subject, the network’s freshman comedy Community continues to get better and better as it finds its comic momentum, turning out one inspired episode after another even while its ratings remain wanting. The pilot was a bit stiff, admittedly hurting its first impressions, but subsequent episodes have focused on what works (the comic chemistry between stars Joel McHale and Chevy Chase; Yvette Nicole Brown’s irresistable charm) and downplayed what doesn’t. It’s TV you can’t wait to quote to your friends the next day, espcially just about anything that comes out of Spanish instructor Senor Chang’s (Ken Jeong) mouth.

6. Why are they only now making sequels to films that Gen X’ers loved in college? Both Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans have releases just around the corner, even though expectations for either one haven’t exactly set the world afire. Actually, director Warner Herzog swears his Bad Lieutenant isn’t a remake or sequel to Abel Ferrara’s notorious 1992 neo-noir, but the comparisons are inevitable and probably at least a little bit deserved. We want to get excited about the new Bad Lieutanant, though we’re skeptical about Nicolas Cage tackling the fine subtleties of New Orleans life and culture. (Remember his last attempt at filmmaking in the Crescent City? Most people don’t.)

7. Also something presumably for Generation X members, the first official cast photo from the upcoming A-Team movie was released earlier this week. That’s Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) as Face, UFC star Rampage Jackson as B.A. Baracus, Sharlto Copley (District 9) as Howling Mad Murdock, and the great Liam Neeson as Hannibal Smith. Jessica Biel and Omari Hardwick (Deep Blue) also star.

We’d be less enthused about this, yet another 80s show getting the movie treatment, if not for Joe Carnahan’s place in the director’s seat. The original series was impossible to take completely seriously, much like Carnahan’s own bullet fest Smokin’ Aces. So much like its inspiration, we can likely enjoy the A-Team movie best if we don’t expect too much from it.

8. Ridley Scott says he says he wants to make a prequel to Alien, setting its story a full thirty years before the events of the classic 1979 original, which he also directed. That’s fine and all, but we can’t help but think it’s going to push back his adaptation of Joe Haldeman’s brilliant science fiction novel The Forever War, which he announced about a year ago.

We’d bet anything that there’s more story potential in Haldeman’s tale of soldiers fighting the same space war over millenia than there is in going to the Alien well a seventh time. The novel is a long time coming to film – Scott himself said he waited 25 years to get the rights – and its many, many admirers deserve to see a director of Scott’s caliber handle the project. So here’s hoping.

9. Finally, the trailer below previews the new comedy Pirate Radio, based on the true story of the outlaw radio station that broadcast off the coast of England in the 1960s. Retitled from its earlier international release name The Boat That Rocked, the film’s had a troubled production history, including many edits to trim it down from an original three-hour runtime. Just the same, we remain optimistic if only for the presence of Bill Nighy, an actor so versatile and charming he could probably sell sand in the desert.

Pirate Radio opens nationwisde November 13.

- Michael Kabel

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