Plot: What’s it about?
A story that isn’t really told much these days. This doesn’t have much violence, no bombs or terrorists, no expolsions or gunfire. What it does have is a great story with a very well-defined cast.
Matt Damon, one of my favorite actors, heads the stroy as a third year law student who is something most other law students aren’t…a rounder. What is a rounder, you ask? Basically a good card (poker) player, not only good, but considered a professional.
The movie starts by showing Mike (Matt Damon) basically losing all his money (that he has) to Teddy KGB (John Malkovich). The movie then cuts to nearly a year later, where Mike has re-immeresed himself in his law studies and has not gambled since. Everything’s fine…until his friend “Worm” (Edward Norton) gets out of prision.
Worm is exactly what his name implies. He is sneaky, underhanded, dishonest and totally lacking in morailty. It is through Worm that Mike gets re-involved in gambling. Worm accumulates a hefty debt, that he cannot pay off, and Mike has to “vouch” for him (which is saying that if he can’t pay, the person who vouches will) and they go on a binge to try and get Worm’s money to the proper “people”.
Like I said earlier, this movie isn’t all about action or explosions, but it has a good central plot. It reminds me a lot of “The Color of Money” which also dealt with things like this. It shows that a story can move just as fast if the characters and acting is good. Which it is…in both cases.
My only complaint is that you might have to have some previous knowledge of cards and/or poker in general before watching this. Other than that, it’s a great couple of hours to see if Mike can get his “Three stacks of high-society” back…
Video: How does it look?
Being a new movie and a new transfer, means that the picture looks really good. Not really great, but good. The picture is not 16:9 enhanced. The people look kind of flushed out and pasty, but I suspect that’s how it was supposed to look rather than the fault of the transfer. It wants to make the characters kind of look like lowlifes. Other than that, the transfer is clean with good sharp edges and nice detail throughout.
Audio: How does it sound?
The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, but the action is mainly limited to the “front three”. The front three being the center channel, and front two speakers. There are some occasional rear effects (such as a few casino scenes), but other than that, none. The dialogue is nice and clear and the whole soundtrack sounds good. A very nice mix.
Supplements: What are the extras?
Not many here. You get a trailer, which is good to watch to get you psyched for the movie, but not much other than that. Too bad, too…this would make a great addition to Miramax’s Collector’s Series line…
