Joe Carnahan Movies

Smokin' Aces director Joe Carnahan takes the helm for this adaptation of James Ellroy's novel concerning a corrupt LAPD lieutenant assigned to a high-profile case just as his notoriously debauched department is singled out for investigation. White Jazz is a screen adaptation of the fourth and final installment of author Ellroy's popular "L.A. Quartet" series of crime novels (which also includes L.A. Confidential, The Big Nowhere, and The Black Dahlia). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

After appearing in the director's 2007 shootem-up Smokin' Aces, Jason Bateman again teams with filmmaker Joe Carnahan for this action comedy. From an idea concocted by Bateman himself, Remarkable Fellows follows the adventures of a pair of brothers who elaborately exact revenge at the behest of their high-priced clients. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

Filmmakers Jonathan Walls and Mark Johnson combine the work of musicians on four continents into one global song in an inspirational tribute to the remarkable power of music. Over the course of one year, Walls and Johnson traveled the globe in order to explore the concept of music as a tool in promoting peace. From the traditional music of South African freedom fighters who used song to fight apartheid to the religious songs of the Zuni in New Mexico, music has been bringing people together ever since that fateful first note was sung. Interviews with such acclaimed musicians as Manu Chao highlight the ways in which music unifies mankind while bringing out the best in humanity, while a unique version of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me" recorded on four continents offers firsthand testament to the theory of song as an international language. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a shifty magician turns state's evidence against a Las Vegas underworld heavy, the high price placed on his head sparks a fevered race to rub the snitch out and collect a tidy paycheck in Narc director Joe Carnahan's dark action comedy. Buddy "Aces" Israel (Jeremy Piven) is a small-time scammer who has somehow managed to get the goods on big-time mobster Primo Sparazza. Upon discovering that Buddy is about to deliver the evidence needed to get him thrown in jail for life, Primo takes out a sizable contract on Buddy that entices every two-bit thug, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly vixen, skilled assassin, and ladder-climbing Mafioso within a hundred-mile radius into taking a shot at the prize. Now holed up in his luxurious Lake Tahoe hideout with only two FBI agents (Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta) standing between him from a virtual army of money-hungry rogues, Buddy is about to find out just how far this motley crew of killers is willing to go in order to take him out and hit the jackpot. Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Andy Garcia, Alicia Keys, and Martin Henderson co-star in a bullet-strewn, ensemble crime comedy that never stops to reload. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Sid (director Joe Carnahan) and Bob (Dan Leis) are two down-on-their-luck, very fast-talking used car salesmen with a lot full of lemons and a gaping hole in their finances, when, at their most vulnerable, they are offered a deal: Park a cherry Pontiac LeMans convertible for two days...and they get $250,000. The catch is, "don't look, don't touch." The trunk is rigged to explode if they try to open it, and a sniper awaits them if they attempt to run off with it. On top of that is a trail of bodies stretching from South America to the car's delivery. Living in the shadow of Dan Woo (Dan Harlan), the giant car dealer down the street for whom Sid and Bob used to work, the boys have little choice. Hilarity and the FBI ensue. In the '90s it's Quentin Tarantino's world, we just watch the footage. Like a low-rent Faust on too much caffeine, director Joe Carnahan, armed with his car, his friends, and less than $8000, has made an energetic, eager-to-please debut to serve as his calling card to Hollywood. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide