Molly's Game (2017)

Powerful

Memorable, crazy movie

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I always look forward to anything Jessica chastain and Idris Elba do next and this film doesn't change that thought at all. These two work tremendous off each other making the conversations feel so really that it doesn't feel like a film most times even Kevin Costner was brilliant as mollys father. The directing was on point and the script was never boring or slowed down even with a 2 hour and 20 min runtime. If you liked films such as I'Tonya and the social network then this one will not disappoint

Excellent story and well acted. Was a little dry at times and could have been a tad shorter.

I had high hopes for this flick cause I'd heard a lot about the book and the plot. However, there wasn't too much focus on her setting up the games.. and even less on the players so they're unremarkable and you couldn't care less about them.Of course, since the movie is recent, we MUST have some misandric exchanges, right? Molly is having an argument with Matt Serra's character and he calls her on her BS.. and she does what most women do these days: tell the guy what to do. So he leaves and basically dismantles her game. She get depressed blames the misogynistic man.. oh poor girl. Later on, when she's meeting 2 blokes at the 4 seasons, she needs to make some condescending remarks.. of course, had it been reversed, the harpies would flip if a man were to be making misogynstic comments.. oh well..Let's not forget the annoying narration. Oh boy, it hindered the pace and it was unnecessary. And last but no least.. Jessica Chastain's cleavage. I think there were only a couple of scenes where she wasn't showing the twins. Guess they should've received top billing for such screen time.

When I heard of a poker story with more than 7/10 on imdb, I had to check it out. Most poker movies are inaccurate and overdramatized with no clue as to how the game is really played.Guess what. This movie is no different.First, I cracked up laughing at Molly cracking up her spine at the ski slope.My first facepalm came when Molly was talking about a guy folding the "mathematically the best hand, which in poker is called the nuts". For those of you who don't know, the "nuts" means the best possible combination of cards currently on the table. It's not the "mathematically best hand", it is absolutely the best hand possible according to the rules of the game. If you've ever watched a few minutes of ESPN poker since 1998, you would know this. If you're writing a movie about poker, is it really acceptable to have this level of incompetence regarding the game itself?I guess Aaron Sorkin doesn't play poker, or simply doesn't care. At this point I was ready to stop watching, but Idris Elba's character kept me engaged for a while longer.Speaking of Idris Elba, let's talk about character motivation. The movie starts with Molly getting arrested. Then suddenly she's heading into Idris Elba's office, who doesn't want to help her, but then does. Why? Why is Idris Elba's daughter in his office? We don't know but Elba draws a triangle on a flatboard with Molly's name in the middle, so that proves something.Then we learn your laptop takes backups of your text messages when you hook your phone up. I had to watch that part twice to check if I heard that correctly, but I guess these people live in a world where technology is magic and that sort of stuff happens.Then we have a supposed poker pro completely going on manic life-tilt after losing ONE hand. Dramatic purposes surely, but a rational human being does not act that way, much less a poker pro.When the one lady started collecting rake in the middle of a hand with illegal bet sizings, I stopped watching.Boring overdramatized garbage. Go watch "Rounders" or that one Eric Bana-flick if you want a poker movie. They're not great, but at least you can watch without rolling your eyes.