The Card Counter is a new movie with Oscar Isaac as an ex-military gambler who travels around to card games and teams up with Tiffany Haddish; I like both actors so this was really a fun movie to watch.
More reviews of the film from other bloggers here:
There's plenty of card games in the film, and afterwards, I felt like rewatching The Sting, which is one of my favorite movies and rewatch it from time to time. The plot is so detailed and each time I rewatch I pick up on some new things I missed the last time. I love how the characters pull off the cons in the movie. And also love the music, sets (some scenes filmed in Chicago), and costumes as well.
I wondered why I enjoy this movie so much. The two main leads are criminals, liars, and thieves. But there's a likability about them; their personalities really connect with me. Even though they are so conniving, Paul Newman's behavior and mannerisms make me laugh. I like how the gang all cares about each other's families, especially when Luther (Robert Earl Jones) gets killed, and how they come together to avenge his death.
I also was curious about The Sting II so I rented it from Netflix to give it a try. It's horrible. I couldn't even finish watching the whole movie, it's so bad. What were they thinking when they made this movie? The dialogue (by the same writer as the first movie, unbelievably) is atrocious, and features some homophobic slurs by Karl Malden, presumably an attempt to make his character more loathsome. He must have needed the paycheck. This has got to be the worst comedy sequels of the 80s. It makes Caddyshack II look way better in comparison.
And finally, to close out my gambling-themed movie kick, I tried watching Atlantic City (1980) with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, but I didn't like it so not much to say about it.
