The Gambler (2014)

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Great cast, Great cinematography, Great musical score....don't get why this film never received the respect it deserved. Mark, Brie and Goodman at their best.

The Gambler is another one of my favorite Los Angeles tales. It centers about a wealthy professor who's gambling addiction gets him deep with the sharks, and he could care less. It's a great vehicle for Mark Wahlberg, as a take away from his straight action movies, to one that is more deep in thought and just outright cool.This is a great watch for movie fans. It's very funny at times, and goes pretty low and deep as well. Very dark movie. It deserves 8 in my book, but I guess 7 works too.7 Stars

To say that this film is a work of fiction is an atrocity. To say it is the work of a visionary writer would simply be wrong. The simple compelling aspect of this work of art is that it tells the truth. The truth about society, business, power, and most importantly-the human mind. In short, I myself am not able to adequately explain the beautifully written truths of this movie. After all, i'm no genius.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Jim Bennett, a university professor and novelist with an addiction to gambling. Wahlberg is uncharismatic and unconvincing in a tiresome role in which he has to harangue his students on the subject of true genius. He isn't much of the problem, though since he is the central character, his character was awful in many sense and made it worse to root for him to win. On his personal time, he loses a fortune at blackjack, and finally stakes everything on a plan to persuade one of his students to throw a high-stakes college basketball game. The film contained more crude language than needed, and in a film as this it was taken too serious for certain enjoyment. It was more dark in a sense than expected. Had they made the film more light hearted, perhaps it would have been better. Altogether the Gambler did poorly at the box office (mainly due to a bad release date- Christmas 2014), and since then, it appears this film has become quite forgotten.