StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

merklekranz "The Winner" could be the "gold standard" example of a movie that cheats the audience. Enticing you in with capable actors, Rebecca DeMornay, Vincent D'Onofrio, Delray Lindo, Michael Madsen, and Billy Bob Thornton, and then giving them an absolutely worthless script to work with. This thing is so scatter shot, so talky, and so ridiculous, that describing a plot would be futile. It also might give the mistaken impression that there is one. The set up of a guy who can't lose at the casino is never explored beyond the initial idea, and there is absolutely no payoff for the long suffering audience. "The Winner" is definitely a loser. - MERK

dimitiii A finely tuned and taut script may have been laid to waste here by careless, directoral miscues.Philip (Vincent D'Onofrio) goes on a roulette winning streak in Las Vegas and discovers some hard lessons about faithfulness and betrayal. One of the central themes -- what happens to a person when he finds himself suddenly in the grips of material and financial wealth, and just as importantly, what happens to the recipient's so-called friends and acquaintances in relation to that recipient -- is worth conveying and, as a viewer, exploring in all its nuance and implications. The script certainly seems ready to achieve that -- not to mention there's a near-all-star cast to boot -- but in the hands of director Alex Cox, all the talent (both in terms of cast and script) seems to have been for naught. Cox directs with an uneven hand so that the movie lacks the tonal consistency it deserves. He also exhibits schmaltzy tendencies that move us away from the essence of the script -- it speaks volumes that the movie, which was originally titled "A Darker Purpose" (an acclaimed play by Wendy Riss, who also wrote the screenplay) got turned into a movie titled, well, "The Winner." One can't help but wonder then what would have become of this script if it had fallen into the right director's hands.

astridlee What a disappointment - with such good actors like D'Onofrio and director - Cox - we were all primed for, if not a great thriller, at least a decent gambling, Vegas movie. It was hard to maintain any interest in the insipid and one-dimensional characters and uninvolving story line. It looks like it was adapted from a play by the author and perhaps she needed more help structuring it. The actors try but seem to be directing themselves. Give it a miss.

dennis4 What could the concept have been for this muddled, laughable "thriller?" Oceans 11 meets Pulp Fiction? Ouch! What a misfire. I kept wondering what ARE all those crazies doing up there on my screen?