The Poker Club (2008)

A Masterpiece!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

All of the good reviews I've seen on here make me think that none of them have read Ed Gorman's book that the movie was adapted from. I think they got the idea and the character's names right, but it stopped right there. The Poker Club was a great book, I don't know why they didn't just keep to the original story and not make it predictable and stupid, like they did. Schaech needs to stick with acting and forget about screen-writing. Glad I just rented this pile of crap and didn't buy it. The whole part of the movie about both Jan and Aaron both having affairs was just pointless. I understand a movie can't be made as detailed as a book, but come on! If your'e going to adapt a movie from a book, at least stick to the story or come up with your own damn idea.

Four friends in a weekly poker game. A burglar breaks in. They kill him. It looks bad (they tied his hands; he tried to escape and one of them baseball-batted him). They don't report it and dump the body.Then things get really bad.From a novel by Ed Gorman, Johnathon Schaech produces, co-screenplays and stars in the tight thriller, THE POKER CLUB. If you're looking for poker action, go watch ROUNDERS or 21. Despite its title, in this movie, you'll get exactly five minutes of poker as an establishing shot, then the movie concerns itself with how the burglar's death affects the four friends of The Poker Club (quaky Loren Dean, beanstem Michael Risley, dynamic Johnathon Schaech and Chippendaler Johnny Messner).Part psychological thriller, part gore-fest, all indie film-making.A couple of twists you can see coming and a couple you can't, some good acting and some bad acting, motivations which seem untidy and some which we can buy; all in all, the most fun you can have watching a poker movie without actually watching a poker movie.--Review by Poffy The Cucumber (for Poffy's Movie Mania).

"The Poker Club", which I saw at a film festival, examines the bad choices we make when we take our life for granted, and shows how they can come back to haunt us. It is a thriller that, for the most part, keeps a strong momentum going, and has a lively cast of characters (although it is an unrealistically good looking group). It's a lot of fun to watch, is not going to strain anyone's braincells, but is much more emotionally involving than most films of this kind. Judy Reyes, who is from the TV show Scrubs, plays a detective. It's a much different role for her, and she gives a standout performance. Also, Lori Huering is very impressive.

Action right out of the gate on this one. The main character, Aaron, has several friends over his house for a poker game. A burglar breaks in, and they kill the guy by mistake. They decide, since they've been doing drugs and drinking, to dump the body instead of report it. If you can get past this bad move, you're in for some fast moving fun. The story shows Aaron's world falling apart, the result of jealousy, infidelity, and tensions already going on his in life boiling to the surface. There are several bloody action sequences (this film is not for kids!). Finally, Aaron realizes how all of the violence happened because of a decision he had made during a careless moment. All in all, a very good film. There's tension from start to finish, very good acting, and finally a moral point to pull it all together. Highly recommended.