The Gambler

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source: The Gambler

A really terrible script, poor direction and awful soundtrack. Good performances by Wahlberg, Lange and Goodman ALMOST make up for this - the worst movie of 2014; particularly Lange and Goodman. They were better than the script. When the lights went up after the movie the whole audience was questioning why they made this movie. I was really, really surprised how bad the script was for this POS. Overly wordy - at times non-sensical. It seemed like a film someone made in College - except it had some major stars in it. Someone must have bankrolled this. My only guess is that (like his character) M. Wahlberg owed someone in Hollywood a lot of money and this was his way of paying it back.

I found this movie to be very gripping, but like others have said it requires some connection with the main character. For me it was there and I thoroughly enjoyed it (as did my wife who insisted we watch it again a week later). I really enjoyed the brief table dialogues, one of my favorite succinct quotes being something along the lines of: Walhberg: (Pushes a 10k stack onto the blackjack table) Dealer: That is $10,000 dollars, are you sure... Walhberg: Are you a financial adviser or a dealer? Walhbergs character is pretty unique, and borders on unbelievable, but it very consistent and represents very real emotions.

I was able to see this early as part of a sneak preview, and I almost walked out of the movie it was so bad. Briefly, and I don't think I'm giving anything away, but I ticked the "spoiler box" just in case: Marky Mark said he "prepared his life for this role"...it doesn't show. A lot of laconic acting coupled with forced "teacher dynamics". I guess I haven't been in college recently, because his professor character is atrocious. He's a gambler, yet we don't see anything to indicate history, addiction, etc. He plays blackjack, and in the opening scene we are expected to experience the roller coaster that is his life in 6 hands? Nope. He's issues with his mom. And while Jessica Lange kills it, she can't prop up the fill-in lead singer of Steel Dragon. Another bright spot is Omar from "The Wire". Michael K. Williams actually demonstrates acting ability and character immersion...maybe he should have been the lead. I just realized I've spend way too long on a movie I was about to walk out of. Here's the short version: The main character is a Lit Teacher so he can have soliloquies to demonstrate depth. That device doesn't work. The main character is a "loser" gambler who keeps chasing and making poor decisions to draw in the audience to his plight. That doesn't work. The main character ruins relationships in a quest for the "rush of winning"--which we never actually see. And in the end, when it of course ends favorable for our hero (OK, I guess that's a "spoiler"), the main character demonstrates hubris and altruism by, literally, walking away...and then running for hours (without sweating a drop, btw) to see the only person he cares about--His Elizabeth Shue, 'Leaving Las Vegas' wannabe, student who is the only person who "gets him". Yeeech! OK, I'm changing my rating from 3 to 2.

I found this movie to be a delightful surprise. I hadn't heard much about this movie so I went in expecting it to be a sort of run-of-the- mill movie about gambling. This movie is really not about gambling, or at least not in the sense that you would think. This is definitely a movie I feel is one people will leave theaters with different opinions. Mark Wahlberg gives a great performance, maybe even the best he's ever given. I think he gave a lot to the role and created a character that should be disliked, and probably would be if played by other actors. Jessica Lange, John Goodman, Michael Kenneth Williams, Brie Larson, Anthony Kelley, and George Kennedy all give good performances as well, no matter how big or small of a part they had they gave their characters life. The direction was good and the script had some really great dialogue, but something was missing that I really could not give it five stars. Certain scenes could have been more tense, while others I feel could have been left out. Highly recommend to anybody who enjoys a good character study.

This was a truly fantastic film. Good enough to see twice in theaters (I never do this). I suspect the reason why so many people dislike the movie is because of how subtle and demanding it is on the concentration of the audience. This isn't a movie that you can tie half your brain behind your back and still know what's going on. I find it funny that our protagonist is a Literature professor. Now, not too many people LIKE actual literature. This movie is like that. A very "literary" type of film that deserves serious consideration. It's not Ninja Turtles or Terminator 6. It is a film that tells us something about human nature, about what it means to be alive, and needs to be approached the same way you might read "The Stranger" featured in the film or Shakespeare. Maybe boring to some, but deep and rewarding for those with the head for it.

I like Walhberg as an actor, and I think he's a good actor. This role was a different step for him. I would not have imagined Mark as a one hit wonder novelist turned lit professor from a wealthy background who seems on the road to self destruction due to his gambling habit. He's pulling on his ability to drive a movie, and it works. It's good that Wahlberg's performance was great (despite being very out of content form what we'd expected from him). The movie in itself was not really that good. I felt it acted too much like a sitcom with all our problems being fixed and wrapped up in a thirty minute format (or in this case two hours). Mark Wahlberg made you believe in how real this guy's problems were only for the story itself to contradict that. Mark was not alone in carrying the movie as he also had help from the always great John Goodman, who could have used a lot more time in the film, and Micheal Williams who played a great antagonist to Mark's protagonist For the most part, the movie was humorous and charming all thinks to the acting chops of Markie Mark. I don't know if the academy will take notice, but we all should.