Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Fluentiama Perfect cast and a good story

LouHomey From my favorite movies..

Bessie Smyth Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

SnoopyStyle It's one day in 1976 Council Bluffs, Iowa. Agnes (Jennifer Lawrence) is a 14 year old living in a dysfunctional house. Her family escaped her abusive preacher father. Her sister Bee hopes to get into a foster home. Her youngest sister Cammie (Chloë Grace Moretz) sleeps at a friend's and spends her day at a bar with drunk Stymie (David Alan Grier). Her mother Sarah (Selma Blair) has fallen into prostitution and drug-abuse. She considers her mother's pimp Duval (Bokeem Woodbine) as her boyfriend. The house is a gathering place for criminals to play poker and known locally as the Poker House.Director Lori Petty brings her personal story to the screen. It's a harrowing story. It needs an expert to focus the story onto Agnes. It's a bit scattered. It's got some great young future stars and has great potential. JLaw does some big acting. She is always compelling. Petty really needs a professional writer to focus this material more.

leonblackwood Review: This is quite a deep drama about a young girl (Lawrence), who looks after her young sister while her drug taking mum is getting pimped out by her boyfriend. The movie follows her struggle to keep it together while her mum is holding parties in her house with various men coming in and out of her house. She's also an inspiring basketball player who wants to make a better life for herself but her day to day life at home, with hardly anything to eat, really gets her down. The acting from a young Jennifer Lawrence, was great and she made her character seem very realistic. The storyline was quite deep and emotional and you can't help but feel for these young girls who really don't get any love from there mum. I didn't quite get the story about Chloe Grace Moretz but she also put in a great performance, at such a young age. Its a shame that you don't get to visually see how Agnes's life turned out, especially as it's based on a true story, but it's a watchable, small movie which got its point across well. Watchable! Round-Up: I think that the main problem with this film is that we have seen this type of story, many times before. The main draw to the movie, for me, is the fact that that Jennifer Lawrence is in it and I haven't really seen her play a role like this before. It does show that the girl can really act and that she can do other roles away from the famous Katniss in the Hunger Games. Although the movie was only made 7 years ago, Lawrence and Moretz look extremely young and it's amazing how far they have come since this movie. Selma Blair, whose been in the Hellboy franchise and Legally Blonde, played the drug taking mum quite well and she also had some emotional alongside Lawrence. Anyway, the movie is a decent watch but it's quite predictable, with no frills.I recommend this movie to people who are into their emotional dramas about a young girl whose trying to find a way out because her mums on drugs and gets pimped out by her boyfriend. 4/10

smrusk Spoilers, so don't read if you want to experience the movie as I did!I find it obnoxious how other people who reviewed this movie compare it to a bad HS play or use their one film class as a basis to think they could do a better job telling a memoir that doesn't belong to them. I had no idea that the director was telling her own story. Had I known that, I feel I would have been less critical throughout. I found myself pulling for these kids to get out in some way, realizing that so many children simply don't. The few things that I did not enjoy included some characters like the one played by David Alan Grier. While humorous, I'm not sure his role except to be a character. The narration seemed spotty- I wish it had either been more consistent or taken out completely.I thought Jennifer Lawrence was brilliant as always. Selma Blair blew me away- she was effective in playing a broken woman you struggle to empathize with. The other two girls were whimsical and you can tell how much their older sister works to protect them, allowing them to keep what little childhood they might have while Agnes literally has hers stolen away.

Jayden933 The Poker House is a dramatic independent film starring the young Jennifer Lawrence. As usual, Lawrence's performance was gripping. Personally, I liked The Poker House better than Lawrence's Oscar-nominated role in Winter's Bone, which was also nominated for Best Picture. The Poker House has a major drawback as the first half of the film is very slow and unrevealing story-wise, yet it managed to keep me intrigued. Then, it all turns around after the dramatic climax of the film. The scene, which stands out as one of Jennifer Lawrence's most chilling and petrifying performances, is immediately followed by what is perhaps one of the most beautifully crafted and spectacularly shot monologues I've ever seen, given by Selma Blair. While the timing seems odd, it is a powerful and emotional moment capitalized by the two actresses' talent. The remainder of the film continues to satisfy to its jaw-dropping conclusion. 6.9/10