Rounders

And a great rondy-vooze for the sporting men, politicians, and rounders of the town, if I do say it. I noticed nothing of the kind, and, besides, Mr.

Rounders would have found it out immediately. Teddy KGB John Malkovich , whose nickname refers to his high position in the Russian mafia, owns a strange underground poker facility that you won't find in the yellow pages.

And the creme-de-la-creme is "Worm", played with angst and nervous energy by Edward Norton, who is both a brilliant poker player but a reckless cheat who deals "hangars" even when he's winning.

A hangar" is a cheated deal in which certain cards are dealt from the bottom of the deck to a particular player or players to either advantage or disadvantage their hand s.

Much of the film is about their relationship, and how a scam got Worm busted before the story begins and how the two have to fight to get out of a much larger predicament than governmental authorities.

The world of the law students, which ends up playing second fiddle to the poker world, includes McDermott's girlfriend and one of the professors, played by Martin Landau.

The glimpses of the more refined world of the law school acts as an excellent reflection on the seedier poker universe to better define McDermott and how he fits into both.

But as the movie progresses, the poker world monopolizes larger and larger amounts of his time, energy and attention. Briefly, the film begins with a devastating poker heads-up hand between McDermott and none other than Teddy KGB, the most feared man of the movie, down in KGB's own "poker casino" that looks like an underground detention center.

The story fast-forwards several months later as McDermott tries to reconcile himself vowing to quit poker forever, like an alcoholic vows to stop drinking, and devote all his energy to studying law.

But when he picks up Worm from prison, McDermott ends up getting sucked back into the game. And the more he plays, the more his law studies and his girlfriend take a back seat.

Simultaneously, a sub-plot is brewing in which we learn that Worm has many obligations awaiting him when he was released from custody, and simultaneously, he has not shaken his "interesting" ways of winning poker hands which starts becoming a very dangerous game.

Eventually, Worm's situations, both past and present, McDermott's willingness to get back into poker intersect providing an incredible tale of twists and turns that will keep you wondering who's got the hand and who's bluffing.

Rounders is a gem of movie. The acting is absolutely first rate all around, particularly from the supporting cast.

The movie has elements of a suspense thriller with high intelligence and yet always reminds you that this is about poker players.

Johnny Chan, the twice champion of the World Series of Poker, makes an unexpected cameo. And of course, the highest acclaim for Matt Damon and Edward Norton.

You might be able to bluff a bad hand but the acting and script is the real deal. Many people have never heard of it. But it should be a lot more popular than it is because it's fantastic.

Its got an all star cast. It's well acted. It's an interesting story. Matt Damon plays a kid who to be a card hustler. He turns his life around and is on the way to becoming a lawyer when he gets sucked back into the underworld of card sharking.

Matt Damon makes you like his character. Ed Norton makes you hate his. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

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Zagosh Mal Z. Irving Lenny Clarke Savino Peter Yoshida Henry Lin Jay Boryea Russian Thug 2 Lenny Venito Moogie Martin Landau Edit Did You Know?

Among them was, "She crossed her legs too fast," which is a quote from Chinatown Quotes Mike McDermott : [ Narrating a quote from a gambling maxim ] You can shear a sheep many times, but skin him only once.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report this. Wouldn't that have meant his debt would be paid? Country: USA. Language: English Hebrew Russian.

Runtime: min. Color: Color. Edit page. This ode to the allure of clipping suckers and psyching out the competition is richly atmospheric but thin in the character department.

Maitland McDonagh. In his first non-noir film, John Dahl, assisted by the great French lenser Jean-Yves Escoffier, gives New York's underground gambling scene a vivid atmopshere, with special attention to its particular rituals and fast macho talk.

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Rounders Critics Consensus Richly atmospheric and colorful performances contributed to the movie's entertainment value.

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