Rounders

Directed by: John Dahl

Written by: David Levein, Brian Koppelman










There was a point - namely, the late 1990s - when Matt Damon could basically do whatever he wanted and still be king of the hill.  "Rounders" comes out of that time period.

Mike (Damon) has traded in his poker chips for a girlfriend (Mol) and law school.  But when his best friend Worm (Norton) gets out of prison, the allure of the high stakes table draws him back in to the game.  But things go suddenly wrong, and the stakes become even higher, until he has to lay it all on the line and go all-in against notorious underground poker champ Teddy KGB (Malkovich).

(If anyone can fit in any more cliches into that summary, I'll be happy to add it in!)

There's not a whole lot wrong with this movie.  I'm not saying it's great, but it definitely wears its flaws well and plays to its strengths.  And its strengths are in its principle actors - Matt Damon and Edward Norton.  Damon gives his standard performance as the lovable sinner-with-the-heart-of-gold.  Norton shines as the aptly named Worm; he exudes his character's sliminess.  Even Malkovich does a fantastic job.  (The less we say about Gretchen Mol in this film, the better.  Her part was so small that it was almost negligible.  I'm not quite sure how she ended up on the poster.)

The movie had a few pacing issues, mostly occurring when the story turned back to Damon's personal life.  Those scenes just didn't have quite the tension or drama of the poker story line, nor did they really add to Damon's character in any meaningful way.  Also, the final poker game was a bit anti-climactic.  If you don't know how that game is going to turn out, you really haven't been watching the movie at all.

"Rounders" is entertaining, and a bit of a time piece.  It shows Matt Damon before he became a caricature of himself, Edward Norton at the top of his game, and poker when it was still a bit of underground novelty outside the Vegas city line.

The Big Lebowski

Directed by: Joel Coen

Written by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

The Coen brothers are known for making comedies which are both dark and surreal. It's films like "The Big Lebowski" - following up "Fargo" - which helped them to earn this reputation.

When Jeffrey Lebowski, aka The Dude (Bridges) is the ultimate lowlife who spends his time drinking White Russians, bowling with his buddies, and wearing a robe. When the wife of multimillionaire businessman Jeffrey Lebowski goes missing, The Dude is brought in to solve the case. Through the meddling of his friend Walter (Goodman) and his "ladyfriend" (Moore), The Dude gets drawn deeper and deeper in a case that goes far beyond a kidnapping.

The plot, loosely based on the old noir mysteries of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, simply serves as a backdrop for the incredibly interesting characters. Without going too over-the-top, the characters come off as both surreal and hyper-real. For example, we all know someone like Walter, who is just a hair away from totally crazy, and we all know someone like Donny (Buscemi), who never seems to fit in - even as a misfit. Yet, nobody in real life is quite as off-base as any of the characters. Overall, it's the performances - especially the supporting cast - which bring this film to life.

Although the movie was whimsical and abstract with randomness as a premium, I still felt like there was a lot of fat that could have been trimmed, or at least tweaked. For example, I totally enjoyed Julianne Moore's character, but many of her scenes failed to add anything meaningful to the film beyond giving The Dude something to do. Sam Elliot's appearance as The Stranger is a perfect example of a character who, without being central to the story, was made into an essential feature of the movie.

Over the years, "The Big Lebowski" has become a cult classic, and it's easy to see why. It's not a typical plot or action driven movie. The main character would struggle to even be an anti-hero. And there are random dream and dance sequences. But put them all together, and there's a charming synergy which appeals to the Big Lebowski in all of us.