Rounders (1998)

Simply Perfect

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

best movie i've ever seen.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The rapidly growing numbers of Matt Damon fans have probably been anxiously awaiting the release of his latest film Rounders. This is a film that really is worth waiting for. That is, I would recommend waiting until it comes to video, cable, or network (this is one film that might actually be improved by being dismembered to accommodate commercials). The good news for Matt Damon is "it's not your fault, it's not your fault."The acting is one of the better ingredients in this somewhat predictable and poorly written film. Matt Damon and Edward Norton Jr. both turn in solid performances as two friends who were hustling card sharks until Worm (Edward Norton Jr.) gets sent to prison. While Worm is in prison Mike McDermott (Matt Damon) loses his law school tuition, rent money, and everything else when he gambles $30,000 dollars in a high-stakes poker game. McDermott's girlfriend convinces him to give up gambling and walk the straight and narrow. When Worm gets out of prison, McDermott discovers that his friend is deep in debt and in serious trouble with loan sharks. This sets up the central tension of the movie. Should he be faithful to his friend and exercise his gift with cards to help him out or should be keep his promise to his girlfriend and let Worm fend for himself?This is also the point at which those betting on the film would be wise to fold. When McDermott's girlfriend leaves him, nobody really seems to care, including the couple themselves. Plot points and characters are seriously underdeveloped so that the suspense and drama comes in bits and pieces. There are moments of writing that are inspired. There are even more moments that are seriously flawed. The central theme of the movie is provided by one of McDermott's law school professors (played by Martin Landau) who tells him "you don't choose your destiny, your destiny chooses you." It is hard to resist comparing this to another Matt Damon film where he has an unusual gift. In Good Will Hunting Damon is a mathematical genius that minimizes his gift as his way of being loyal to his friends. In the end he must choose between capitalizing on his gift or pursuing love. Here Damon's gift is poker, and he must choose between poker on the one hand and love and law school on the other. The themes of the films are almost antithetical, and Good Will Hunting is so much better written.If you must have a fix of Matt Damon, I would recommend another look at Good Will Hunting, Rainmaker or Saving Private Ryan. In spite of some great performances here, when all is said and done Rounders is quite a bit short of a full house.

Well,IMDb states that Rounders 2 is on development.Matt Damon have already stated numerous times that Rounders 2 is going to happen.He already said in an interview that he has talked to the writers about it and that the popularity of poker will definitely increase interest in it unlike when the prequel - Rounders - was released back in 1998.What was Rounders all about?Rounder is a 1998 film about a Law student named Mike McDermott who also happens to be a poker prodigy. It stars Damon and Edward Norton together with talented cast that includes John Turturro,Gretchen Mol,John Malkovich and the late Martin Landau.The film begins when Mike McDermott decides to change his gambling habits and decided to play in high stakes poker in the underworld casino that is connected to the Russian mob named Teddy KGB.He decided to gamble all his winnings - $30,000 - but unfortunately lost everything to the owner.This made him stop gambling and focus in finishing his Law degree and his relationship with his girlfriend Jo,who happens to be a fellow Law student.Then things change when his friend Lester "Worm" Murphy,played magnificently by Edward Norton, was released from prison.Their activities brought Mike back into poker and he definitely started to get his back life into it.With more time playing cards considering that Mike has vouched for Worm's gambling debt from loan sharks,Mike's passion for playing poker was definitely reignited to the point that he could no longer escape it. Then it came to a point that Jo broke up with him and he was no longer interested in pursuing Law School as he wanted to play in Vegas particularly the WSOP (World Series of Poker) at the conclusion of the film.No wonder that it definitely was a great film.I am aware that the story is definitely incomparable to other great films like "The Godfather" as its film was more about Mike and Worm's activities on card tables playing poker and how Mike regained his winnings from Teddy KGB which just gave the viewers a simple story.But what made it great are many other things.No question that the performances on the cast was great.Damon and Norton have given life to their characters as Mike and Worm respectively.They kept the movie going from the time they met until the time they were punched by the state troopers.The rest of the cast were also good enough like John Malkovich,who was a scene stealer as Teddy KGB,despite his awkward Russian accent; and the late Martin Landau,who played the Law Dean that pursued Mike not to escape from his identity.Another reason is poker.No question that the film revolved around poker particularly with Mike's experience in the card table from beginning to end.The viewer gets to learn more about the game as well as the familiar terms that are involved in it.It also tried to move poker away from gambling in a sense that it is a definitely a game of skills and not a game of luck.This was obviously was the central argument between Mike and Jo which ended their relationship.Aside from that,it was also presented that Mike's experience with Teddy KGB at the beginning when he lost and the end when he regained his winnings back.Finally,it also presented that poker is indeed worthy of one's time as it was presented in Mike and Worm's characters and their activities.No question that it never earned a lot of money - $22 million - when it was released back in 1998.Aside from the fact that both Matt Damon and Edward Norton aren't yet established actors when it was released,poker hasn't yet became popular unlike today with the many online poker sites existing in the internet.But when poker became popular,it became a cult poker film. I expect interest to be renewed in it after almost 20 years when it was released when Rounder 2 is about to be released in the theaters.

Rounders 2 is actually on development.When Matt Damon was interviewed,he stated that he has already committed to the project and so has Edward Norton.He also said that he has already talked to the writers about it.This new movie serves as a sequel to the 1998 movie known as Rounders.The 1998 film stars Damon and Norton together with John Turturro,Gretchen Mol,John Malkovich and the late Martin Landau.It tells the story of Michael McDermott,a poker prodigy who intends to complete in Las Vegas,got himself cleaned out in the underworld casino by the owner Teddy KGB.After losing all his winnings,he decided to become a full-time Law student and a truck worker.He also never played poker for 9 months.But things began to change when his friend Lester "Worm" Murphy got released from prison.They started playing cards and this reignited his passion for poker.Then he found himself playing more after Worm got into more gambling debts from loan sharks.In the process,he became a full-time poker player until he got another poker match with Teddy KGB.This time,he was able to beat him.This led him to pursue his dreams in Vegas and left being a Law student.No question that storywise,this movie cannot never be considered a masterpiece despite giving it a perfect 10/10 rating.It is just a typical underdog sports film.What made it deserve that rating are many other reasons.First,we have great performances from Damon and Norton as well as the rest of the cast particularly Malkovich, Landau,Turturro and Mol.They gave life to their characters.Second,we get to see more of a sports film rather than a gambling film as the movie tried to make poker more a skills game and not a form of game of gambling.They made the characters support it from Landau's Abe Petrovsky,who encouraged Mike McDermott to pursue becoming a poker player.Anyone who isn't is somehow painted as a bitch particularly Mike's girlfriend Jo,who left him abruptly after she discovered as she once again is playing cards.Third,the writers definitely made Mike extremely passionate towards poker.Passionate in the sense that Mike was able to overcome negative situations in life - losing his winnings,getting dump by his girlfriend,failing in his Law class particularly his mock trial,getting used and manipulated by his sycophant friend Worm,being unable to sleep for 2-3 days, and many others - as long as he is playing poker.The movie really painted that there is joy in playing cards.It was definitely a pro-Cards or pro-Poker movie. No question that even professional poker players competing in the WSOP (World Series of Poker) have made this film a reference as far as what led them to becoming poker players.After saying these things,it would be safe to conclude that a person would be motivated to play poker after watching this film.After watching it once again after many years,I definitely look forward to the sequel - Rounders 2 - now that they probably would have the setting -as Damon stated - at the WSOP in Vegas.

I don't particularly like poker. It's fine but not my favorite card game or ideal choice for the premise of a film. But damn this a great drama. The story pulls you in from glitzy casinos to underground card games. The cast is top notch and deliver fantastic performances all around (even Matt Damon). You don't need to like poker or know anything about it to enjoy this film. It's that good