A summary and review of Smokin' Aces

The movie begins showing an FBI stake-out of the Mob Boss, Primo Sparazza. The FBI discovers that he is calling a million dollar hit on a Vegas Showster known as Buddy "Aces" Israel. Then the viewer is introduced to each of six groups of people after Israel, including a group of three neo-nazis, two female assassins, "the Swede", "the Plague", Lazlo Soot, and a group of three bail bondsmen. As the story progresses, the neo-nazis kill off most of the bail bondsmen, and most of Israel's henchmen are killed off by Soot. One of the women is nearly captured by the FBI agents, and her partner snipes many of them with a 50 caliber rifle from across the street.

The plague kills one of the main two FBI agents in an elevator, and is severely wounded himself. Israel's last remaining henchmen escapes with non-sniper female assassin from a fight with the neo-nazis, in which two of them are killed. Soot manages to drug Aces into a coma, and the FBI takes both Aces and Primo into custody. Plague escapes on a stretcher, and the last bail bondsman kills the last neo-nazi. Finally, the viewer finds out that Primo Sparazzi is actually an ex-undercover FBI agent, and Aces is his son, and the only possible donor for a heart which he is in dire need of, and "the Swede" is actually the doctor who is to perform the operation. The FBI is going to allow this to happen, and then use Sparazzi to bring down the last of the mob in Vegas. In the final scene, the last main FBI agent locks the hospital door, takes them both off of life support, and surrenders his badge and gun, and puts his face in his hands.

This movie is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life, including documentaries I was forced to watch in middle school. Even the sex education one. It almost beats out Alexander for the worst movie ever, but not quite. It's an A.D.D. action movie, with very little plot development that tries to make a deep ending but fails horribly, and ends up making utterly no sense. The main FBI character, played by Ryan Reynolds, doesnt have enough depth or development to let you comprehend his reasons for the actions he takes in the conclusion of the movie. The only entertainment value this movie holds is pure violence, and
the only unique thing it has is people being hit by a 50-caliber sniper rifle.

Summary of A Damnation of a Canyon

This is a summary of The Damnation of a Canyon by Edward Abbey. The heart of the canyonlands is Glen Canyon and the Colorado River. The author went on a rafting trip in the summer of 1959 with a friend, and greatly enjoyed the experience and scenery that the unspoiled river offered. In 1967, he worked as a park ranger at the new “Glen Canyon National Recreation Area”, which is what the government named the area around the Glen Canyon Dam.

He claims that “Having thus seen Glen Canyon both before and after what we may fairly call its damnation, I feel that I am in a position to evaluate the transformation of the region caused by construction of the dam.” He admits a certain bias towards being a “googly eyed bleeding heart” and a “wild conservative”. There is an implication that the dam is part of a “thoroughly urbanized, elegantly computerized social system [which] is not suitable for human habitation”.

He states that Lake Powell, which is formed by Glen Canyon Dam, is not a lake but is a reservoir. This means that there is a constantly fluctuating water level based on the power needs of the system that the Dam is connected to. Also, this power need is the primary focus of the orchestrators of the dam, not the recreational possibilities that they publicize.

The drastic change of environment around the river, and the continuous changes of water level, had huge negative impacts on wildlife that were settled near it. The only thing noticeable around the edge of the water is the bathtub ring left by the change of water level. The author suggests for those who think he is exaggerating is to take a trip around the lake, then float down the remaining unaltered river below the Dam.

He continues on to argue that the true benefit of the Dam is only to the upper middle class, who are capable of taking power boat trips of some kind. He says that the loss of wild life, and ruins, and beautiful scenery is not outweighed by the ability to powerboat to a landmark, where previously anyone could have walked 6 miles. The dam has removed the possibility of cheap float trips to see the beautiful heart of the canyonlands, replaced by expensive powerboating which does not make up for the loss.

His solution is that as alternative power methods be discovered, the dam should be taken out of commission, and that nature should be allowed to restore the river to the way it was before, which would admittedly take some time.