|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
07-14-2006, 12:24 PM
|
#1 (permalink) |
|
SBR MVP
Join Date: 11-16-05
Posts: 2,085
|
Best and worst movies dealing with gambling.
Here are a few I came up with that are pretty good or bad.Did anyone see the movie about 3 time World Series poker champ Stuey Unger that's been running on Starz?Michael Imperiolli the guy from the Sopranos plays him.Pretty darn good movie.
How about Rounders?That was a good movie that was pretty realistic.Not like those 2 crap movies where some rich guy risks a million bucks to win a night with the slutty wifes of two different guys when he could have found better on the street for $50.Matt Damon's girlfriend in Rounders was the anal retentive bitch of all time though.Pitty the poor guy that likes to even bet a parlay card for $5 if he has that bitch as his wife.Worm was a pretty coool and likable character.KGB played by John Mulkovich was good. The movie Boiler Room wasn't really about gambling directly but what the hell do you call investing in penny stock.I liked that one.Did anyone see the real life story on the broker from England working in Singapore who lost a billion bucks gambling on commodities with the firm's money.I can't remember the name of these movies because most are considered grad B movies but they beat the hell out of the crappy mainstream movies Hollywood touts. Did anyone see the movie Bookies about those college kids operating a sportsbook out of their dorm?The concept was good but it fell short in so many areas that made it unbelievable.It featured another anal retentive bitch girlfriend who was pissed because her boyfriend was taking bets. Then you have Goodfellas which was great and casino was good too except it focused on another bitch Sharon Stone too much. The moral of my story is that crabby bitchy women and gambling don't mix well.hehe! Has anyone read the book called No Limit about former Vegas casino owner Bob Stupak's life story?He's the guy that started the stratosphere tower but went bust and ripped off a ton of people who invested in it.He is the lovable con man type sort of like Angel on The Rockford Files.The book was great and they should make it into a movie starring Christopher Walkin who's a dead ringer for Stupak. I know this is kind of an off topic matter for the gambling posts but does anyone have any others to add to the list? Has anyone been to Vegas or another casino and actually seen a divorce in the making because the guy was gambling and the wife was pissed.I have seen 100 of those cases where I'm sure when they got back to the hotel room the guys balls were detached.It never seems to work the other way where some old hag is burning $$$$$ on the slots and her husband who doesn't gamble much gets bent all out of shape over it.And they say men have it all over on women when it comes to who calls the shots in a marriage.hehe! Hell,the guys should purposely lose their wives to a rich guy in a poker game just to get rid of them so they can spend time alone in Vegas gambling without a woman going balistic on them.hehe! Last edited by BrentCrude : 07-14-2006 at 12:33 PM. |
|
|
07-14-2006, 12:33 PM
|
#2 (permalink) |
|
SBR Sharp
Join Date: 01-03-06
Posts: 327
|
other movies
Croupier was solid. The protagonist is an aspiring writer who gets a job as a croupier (roulette) at a casino.
Owning Mahony was good too. Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a Toronto banker that would take money from his bank and go to Atlantic City on weekend binges. Based on a true story. The Sting has to be one of the best movies of all time. I have heard that the Cincinnati Kid is excellent but I haven't seen it... And who could forget How To Win At Slots starring James Coburn (just kidding).
__________________
Free monthly handicapping contest @ illegalcurve.com - first prize $50 credit at one of their "recommended sportsbooks". "You win some, you lose most." - Kyle "It's never too late to say it's still early" - Pops |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 12:36 PM
|
#4 (permalink) |
|
Moderator
Join Date: 08-10-05
Posts: 2,657
|
Wow, both of you have hit on a lot of my favorites. Ira, Croupier is pretty obscure, am impressed, I like that movie too.
I would add: California Split. A 1970s movie now on DVD, that has to one of the first to ever show a Californai poker room. Elliot Gould does a great job. Let It Ride does lucky runs and horses pretty well. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 12:38 PM
|
#5 (permalink) |
|
Moderator
Join Date: 08-10-05
Posts: 2,657
|
Brent,
Boiler Room is one of my favorites. Captures a lot of themes I like. The hustle, gambling, mob, corruption, sales (my old days in college doing telemarketing), hip hop as soundtrack to youth, woman. A real coming of age story. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 12:45 PM
|
#6 (permalink) |
|
SBR File Clerk
Join Date: 02-14-06
Posts: 8,549
|
The Sting is one of my favorite movies of any genre. Not sure if others would think of it as a 'gambling movie,' but it fits for me. The Cincinnati Kid is another good one, can't think of a McQueen flick I didn't like. The most recent movie along these lines that I enjoyed was Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.
Casino did nothing for me.
__________________
But you have to remember that a worm, with very few exceptions, is not a human being. - - - Dr. Frederick Frankenstein. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 01:57 PM
|
#8 (permalink) | |
|
SBR MVP
Join Date: 01-10-06
Location: Kakapoopoopeepeeshire
Posts: 1,271
|
Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 02:52 PM
|
#11 (permalink) |
|
SBR Hall of Famer
Join Date: 08-22-05
Location: Alabama
Posts: 5,682
|
I'll give credit to Imperioli, though he doesn't look like Stuey, he did a very credible job with the part - plus Mr. Miyagi was in it, so that spells instant classic.
Among books, Positively Fifth Street is my favorite. You have to pay very close attention the book - it's not a book you can read and watch TV at the same time - but if you "get it," you like it a lot. By that I mean some people think it was a complete waste, and some think it was a fabulous book. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 03:11 PM
|
#12 (permalink) |
|
SBR High Roller
Join Date: 05-15-06
Posts: 180
|
I could hardly watch Two for the money...the one with Pacino and Mathew McConeaheay. Damn shame to since I was pumped when I first saw the previews.
Rounders was a great movie. When it first came out poker wasnt mainstream so those guys had the hard task of explaining poker terminology to a mass audience. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 03:20 PM
|
#13 (permalink) |
|
SBR Hall of Famer
Join Date: 07-21-05
Location: Canada
Posts: 5,622
|
Does the Simpsons episode where Lisa caps the games for Homer count? It had the classic appearance of Professor Frink's Gambletron 2000 computer which boldly picked Cincy to beat Miami by 200 points.
__________________
Help me. I am trapped on the roof by a plastic bag stuck on a shingle that is flapping in a threatening way. |
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 03:47 PM
|
#14 (permalink) |
|
SBR Hall of Famer
Join Date: 12-14-05
Posts: 7,249
|
The Good Thief with Nick Nolte. Saw most of the others. Together with Rounders, this one is head and shoulders above the rest. Great dialogue.
Sting was good, but I don't consider it a gambling movie. One-dimensional flicks like the Gambler and Two for the Money fill the typecasting void, but I never was aware there was such a void.
__________________
"Fumble! No he caught it!! But ... it went off!!!" Excerpt from 'The Plaxico Penalty +3.5' ======================================== = Bettors lose because they place too many bets. As the quality of wagers drops, the house edge increases. |
|
|
|
07-15-2006, 01:11 AM
|
#17 (permalink) |
|
Moderator
Join Date: 08-28-05
Location: Forest Hills, NY, Home of the Blitzkrieg Bop
Posts: 4,813
|
Check out Paul Thomas Anderson's Hard Eight.
__________________
|
|
|