The Gambler
Published 2015-06-06
Film info
- Title The Gambler
- Director Rupert Wyatt
- Year 2014
- Run time 1hr 51m
- Genres Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Tagline The only way out is all in
- Cast Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Brie Larson
Jim Bennett - English professor by day, high-stakes gambler by night - bets it all when he borrows from a gangster and offers his own life as collateral. Bennett enters an illicit, underground world and takes the ultimate risk for a second chance.
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 0:26 | Love it when they tweak the idents to fit the film. Gambler. |
| 3:28 | Can't imagine how distracting it is to try and watch a device on the passenger seat, whilst driving. Especially sports that demand attention occasionally! |
| 7:11 | It's super useful the guy is saying "Player wins." because I don't understand most of the gambling. |
| 12:18 | 240,000! Eeek. |
| 16:30 | I guess it would have been a short film if he'd just managed to win all the money and pay everyone back. Job done, bye! |
| 19:06 | "Rage of an unequal distribution of talent." |
| 24:38 | I was veering towards thinking this was an awesome class, but now it's the worst. |
| 28:46 | "I don't want to know the nature of your problem, I just want you to not have it anymore." |
| 32:01 | John Goodman is so brilliant. |
| 42:22 | If you're putting it on silent, gotta remember to turn off vibration as well! |
| 47:51 | That's a heck of a slap mid-cereal. |
| 54:06 | "There's no relative degree of suffering." |
| 56:15 | "Are you a dealer or an investment counseller?" |
| 58:22 | Gambling timelapse. |
| 1:02:22 | Bamboozled the loan shark. |
| 1:08:21 | Love the haggling, can't help himself |
| 1:18:18 | I Can't Handle My Drink by Mr Crybaby. |
| 1:33:23 | Can't believe I didn't see that coming. |
| 1:42:28 | Genuinely couldn't breathe while the wheel was spinning. Gambling is awful! |
| 1:44:54 | I hope they only had to shoot this running scene once, jeez. |
Thoughts
I was surprised with how much I enjoyed this one, although it had bonus John Goodman in it, so it was bound to be a hit. Marky Mark was great, I can't say I related to his gambling side, given that I wouldn't bet more than a tenner on anything, and his teacher side was downright terrifying. Somehow I still liked him though and wanted him to succeed.
It was a good story, and I liked the arty style - strong music, great cinematography, and some really nice lighting to show how the seedier night life was drifting into his day. I thought the ending was great too, a good pay off that was a happy ending without him drifting off into the sunset as a rich man.
Rating: 4 / 5