Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

dromasca The vice of gambling inspired quite a number of literary and cinematographic works, starting maybe with Dostoevsky's novel which shares the name with the films that it inspired, until the almost masterpiece movie "House of Games" written and directed by David Mamet. "The Gambler" directed by Rupert Wyatt is not an adaptation of the great Russian writer's short novel but rather a remake of a 1974 film that featured James Caan in the lead role. There are enough reasons to watch this 2014 version of the story with Mark Wahlberg in the lead role, even if you have seen or not the older film.The film history does not lack heroes (or anti-heroes) who lead a more than honorable life and/or have a respected profession at day, while spending their nights in vices of all sorts. Most of the characters of this kind are women, but there are also men like Jim Bennett, a decent and passionate professor of literature and novel writer who spends his free time in gambling crazily money that he does not have, borrowing from all possible bad guys, ruining the trust of his mother and of his girlfriend. At some point in time the viewers ask themselves whether he is playing a survival or a suicidal game, as he invites trouble and seems immune to the any danger or concern as soon as he walks the door of a gambling place. The response is in the character of gamblers which escapes reason (there are a few lines that I suspect were borrowed from Dostoevsky). His chance to survive depends upon getting rid of the addiction.Rupert Wyatt's "The Gambler" is written more like an action movie than as a character study. At some point in time the hero borrows money from three different mob groups, and uses the cash to cheat each other in order to try to save his skin. The influence of the gangsters movies of the 70s and 80s is visible, with reverences to Coppola or Sidney Lumet. The atmosphere, the darkness and even the humor are present in the right doses. While the action is quite satisfying the quality of the film derives mostly from the actor work of Mark Wahlberg who succeeds in this film to deliver one of the best roles in his career, with an intense rendition of the combination of the emptiness and despair of the intelligent hero who is aware about the falling spiral path of his life, but has a hard time fighting to prevent it. Supporting roles are played by fine actors like Jessica Lange, John Goodman, and George Kennedy (his last movie!). I liked less the very final which may be a little to conventional cinema relative to the rest of the film, but the overall impression is better than expected.

kekscss The plot of the film is quite interesting, it's easy to watch. This film is about a man who loves to gamble. The situation goes so far that once at stake is not the amount of money, but his life. The most interesting thing is that during the day he is an ordinary literature teacher who teaches young people life, and at the same time does it quite unreasonably with her. Excitement - that's what he can not live without. Jim absolutely does not care what happens to him, his motto is "all or nothing". In the title role, one of my favorite actors of our time is Mark Wahlberg. He perfectly entered the image and opened the character. Also worth noting is Bree Larson, who played his apprentice, who knows about his second life and is trying to help him in some way. Such a life may seem cheerful, but sooner or later everything comes to an end and it is necessary to make a choice: to stop or make a risk that may be the last. I liked this movie so much that I watched it a second time. The most important point and for what I'm ready to watch it again and again is the ending. She keeps in suspense and then lets go. There is nothing superfluous in the film. I advise everyone to watch this movie.

Asif Khan (asifahsankhan) You can't accuse me of The-Original-Is-Always-Bettering director Rupert Wyatt's remake of "The Gambler." I've seen Karel Reisz's 1974 original with James Caan but Mark Wahlberg's version doesn't disappointed all on its own. One thing I will say, though, is that Wahlberg is as good as his Oscar-nominated role in The Departed."The Gambler" - Rather than just be a simple thriller against inevitability, however, The Gambler does a great job showing how low Jim is and the allure of addiction that put him there. Toback wrote how his original script spoke to many who were caught in the lifestyle just like he was and if Monahan's version is even half as effective I believe it. There's a palpable danger underlying each frame and not just because of the hardened criminals popping in regularly to flex muscle. When Lange's Roberta returns to buy her son out of trouble one last time you can't help get the wind knocked out of you as a result of her heartbreaking performance. This is the sight of a loved one helpless to do anything when the only solution she can provide is a huge part of the problem.It's crazy to think someone so ill-equipped to be a teacher in The Happening can believably pull it off in The Gambler, but here we are. A lot of it has to do with the type of person the character is because Wahlberg excels at troubled, fast-talking con men like the Jim Bennett behind his nameplate's occupation. It's one thing to be innocently excited about science and bees and a complete other to engage a room of co-eds with straight talk to humanise star tennis player Dexter (Emory Cohen) and basketball prodigy Lamar (Anthony Kelley) while also admitting the world's commodification of them. There's little Gray area for Jim, you either have it or you don't no matter the vocation. Life has always been all or nothing for him, gambling simply dis-tills it to a starker black and white.

gradyharp Screenwriter and self confessed compulsive gambler James Toback joined William Monahan to concoct this rather bizarre but ultimately fascinating film about a very bright English Literature Associate Professor who is an inveterate gambler. Rupert Wyatt directs this cross between philosophy of life and the dangers of the life of gambling. Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman in a superb performance), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett's future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance.The strange admixture of classroom teaching with students whose views of learning vary from creativity to going pro-basketball (Anthony Kelley) bring out some interesting philosophical comments from Jim the teacher to the underworld of crime and gambling that is complicated by Jim's addiction to the 'sport' ultimately makes for a thought provoking film. There are some fine supporting roles by Andre Braugher, George Kennedy, Alvin Ing, Richard Schiff, but in the end the performances by John Goodman and Mark Wahlberg are the focus of the odd but compelling drama.