Not bad at all
Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer going nowhere fast. To make ends meet, and against his better judgement, he takes a job as a croupier. He finds himself drawn into the casino world and the job gradually takes over his life; his relationship with girlfriend Marion begins to deteriorate. One gambler in particular catches his attention: Jani, whom he starts to see outside of working hours - a serious violation of casino rules. Jani is down on her luck; under pressure from her creditors she approaches Jack, asking him to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. Jack carefully considers the odds; it all looks so simple, but even a professional like Jack can't predict the cards he will be dealt.
Jack Manfred is an aspiring writer going nowhere fast. To make ends meet, and against his better judgement, he takes a job as a croupier. He finds himself drawn into the casino world and the job gradually takes over his life; his relationship with girlfriend Marion begins to deteriorate. One gambler in particular catches his attention: Jani, whom he starts to see outside of working hours - a serious violation of casino rules. Jani is down on her luck; under pressure from her creditors she approaches Jack, asking him to be the inside man for a planned heist at the casino. Jack carefully considers the odds; it all looks so simple, but even a professional like Jack can't predict the cards he will be dealt.
Dan Mahowny was a rising star at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. At twenty-four he was assistant manager of a major branch in the heart of Toronto's financial district. To his colleagues he was a workaholic. To his customers, he was astute, decisive and helpful. To his friends, he was a quiet, but humorous man who enjoyed watching sports on television. To his girlfriend, he was shy but engaging. None of them knew the other side of Dan Mahowny--the side that executed the largest single-handed bank fraud in Canadian history, grossing over $10 million in eighteen months to feed his gambling obsession.
Watch Monster if you want to have nightmares about a very ugly Charlize Theron. Something I thought was impossible, but the make-up manages to turn her into a real monster. The movie has been on sattelite lately and I can't get through the whole thing. Another recent release Mystic River while pretty grim, is actually very watchable. Tim Robbins' academy award winning performance is outstanding. Sean Penn less so but still notable.
wil.
wil.
Hoodlum is also a decent movie. Lawrence Fishbourne is excellent as Bumpy Johnson. This is the movie where he coins the phrase "give me a few ticks" when he asks anyone for a minute. Garcia wasted as Lucky, but Tim Roth makes up for it as a villinous Dutch Shultz. Worth a look for sure.
wil.
wil.
The Cooler was almost as good as advertised, and has excellent performances by Baldwin, Macy, and Bello..they outperform the story and script in my review, but still a classic all the way around.
Hard Eight, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, California Split, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The Gambler, Cincinnati Kid , Rounders, Croupier, Maverick, Let It Ride, The Deli, The Color Of Money, The Hustler, Pool Hall Junkies, The Heist, Honeymoon In Vegas, Eight Men Out, Miller's Crossing, Owning Mahoney, Things Change, The Cooler, House Of Games..the last 3 of which have William H Macy..with Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, & Steve Goldstein in both Things Change & House Of Games.
Shade & The Runner blow!...House Of Games, Eight Men Out, Owning Mahoney, Let It Ride, & HBO's The Heist are all much more enjoyable of the lesser known/smaller budget gambling genre.
Hard Eight, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, California Split, The Man with the Golden Arm, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The Gambler, Cincinnati Kid , Rounders, Croupier, Maverick, Let It Ride, The Deli, The Color Of Money, The Hustler, Pool Hall Junkies, The Heist, Honeymoon In Vegas, Eight Men Out, Miller's Crossing, Owning Mahoney, Things Change, The Cooler, House Of Games..the last 3 of which have William H Macy..with Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, & Steve Goldstein in both Things Change & House Of Games.
Shade & The Runner blow!...House Of Games, Eight Men Out, Owning Mahoney, Let It Ride, & HBO's The Heist are all much more enjoyable of the lesser known/smaller budget gambling genre.
I found "The Cooler" unwatchable. I was tempted to turn it off during the pre-credit/credit sequence.
The script's premise is unbelievably stupid.
Actually, not just stupid but STOOOPID - that casinos employ unlucky people who go over to winning players and jinx them.
(That wasn't a spoiler - this is revealed at the very beginning of the film. And calling this premise "stupid" is being generous. "Moronic" would be more appropriate).
There's not one moment in the first 40 minutes of this film of interest - nor any that resembles life on planet Earth in the least.
Not only that - the director and the screenwriter have obviously never been inside a casino in their life. Although again - it appears that neither has experienced life anywhere on this planet. Perhaps they were kept in a box with their heads in a vise for most of their lives, forced to watch television 24 hours a day.
I mention the 1st 40 minutes because that's all I could take.
The anachronisms and absurdities are constant.
E.g.: (PS - You may not want to read this if you are intending to watch this piece of sh*t) -
A)A cocktail waitress walks from the bar through the casino several times to deliver a single drink. The casino is crowded. Apparently in this casino the cw's are only permitted to carry one drink at a time. (Probably cuts down on breakage).
The talentless director of this film has not only never been in a casino - he's never observed a cw/waiter/busperson, whose first rule is "Minimize trips".
B) A man is brutally beaten and stomped inside the casino. This goes on for awhile.
Not one security guard shows up.
This casino has no security guards during certain hours - or they are instructed to stay away whenever they see a customer being brutalized.
C) The casino gm introduces himself personally to a hooker at the bar. And does this in front of some employees.
No doubt Steve Wynn will be seen doing this daily once Wynn Las Vegas opens.
D)An attractive young woman is dying to give a blow job to a homely crippled older man who she has just met. (They just met, even though they both work the same shift inside a small casino).
She - of course - doesn't consider a condom, when she blows him and when they f*ck.
Nor is she insulted in the least when he lets her know that he thinks she is a whore.
(Nor does she show any reaction later in the film when the man's son thinks she is a whore. Hey - like father like son).
And he is also fearless, going down on her.
E) The gm of a dumpy downtown Vegas casino believes that dumpy downtown casinos are "the real Vegas".
This is utter nonsense - any downtown casino owner would trade in an instant for a new strip casino if they could.
F) The "cooler" - the casino employee who works as a jinx - is crippled because the casino gm broke his leg/kneecap with a baseball bat.
Of course, just like you or me, he's not upset by this in the least, but considers the gm a best friend, and feels that the man did him a favor.
Etc., etc.
I suffered through about 40 minutes, only due to the film's incomprehensible reputation.
Truly awful in every way.
The script's premise is unbelievably stupid.
Actually, not just stupid but STOOOPID - that casinos employ unlucky people who go over to winning players and jinx them.
(That wasn't a spoiler - this is revealed at the very beginning of the film. And calling this premise "stupid" is being generous. "Moronic" would be more appropriate).
There's not one moment in the first 40 minutes of this film of interest - nor any that resembles life on planet Earth in the least.
Not only that - the director and the screenwriter have obviously never been inside a casino in their life. Although again - it appears that neither has experienced life anywhere on this planet. Perhaps they were kept in a box with their heads in a vise for most of their lives, forced to watch television 24 hours a day.
I mention the 1st 40 minutes because that's all I could take.
The anachronisms and absurdities are constant.
E.g.: (PS - You may not want to read this if you are intending to watch this piece of sh*t) -
A)A cocktail waitress walks from the bar through the casino several times to deliver a single drink. The casino is crowded. Apparently in this casino the cw's are only permitted to carry one drink at a time. (Probably cuts down on breakage).
The talentless director of this film has not only never been in a casino - he's never observed a cw/waiter/busperson, whose first rule is "Minimize trips".
B) A man is brutally beaten and stomped inside the casino. This goes on for awhile.
Not one security guard shows up.
This casino has no security guards during certain hours - or they are instructed to stay away whenever they see a customer being brutalized.
C) The casino gm introduces himself personally to a hooker at the bar. And does this in front of some employees.
No doubt Steve Wynn will be seen doing this daily once Wynn Las Vegas opens.
D)An attractive young woman is dying to give a blow job to a homely crippled older man who she has just met. (They just met, even though they both work the same shift inside a small casino).
She - of course - doesn't consider a condom, when she blows him and when they f*ck.
Nor is she insulted in the least when he lets her know that he thinks she is a whore.
(Nor does she show any reaction later in the film when the man's son thinks she is a whore. Hey - like father like son).
And he is also fearless, going down on her.
E) The gm of a dumpy downtown Vegas casino believes that dumpy downtown casinos are "the real Vegas".
This is utter nonsense - any downtown casino owner would trade in an instant for a new strip casino if they could.
F) The "cooler" - the casino employee who works as a jinx - is crippled because the casino gm broke his leg/kneecap with a baseball bat.
Of course, just like you or me, he's not upset by this in the least, but considers the gm a best friend, and feels that the man did him a favor.
Etc., etc.
I suffered through about 40 minutes, only due to the film's incomprehensible reputation.
Truly awful in every way.
