The Gambler (2014)

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A Major Disappointment

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Jim Bennett, a university professor and novelist with an addiction to gambling. Wahlberg is uncharismatic and unconvincing in a tiresome role in which he has to harangue his students on the subject of true genius. He isn't much of the problem, though since he is the central character, his character was awful in many sense and made it worse to root for him to win. On his personal time, he loses a fortune at blackjack, and finally stakes everything on a plan to persuade one of his students to throw a high-stakes college basketball game. The film contained more crude language than needed, and in a film as this it was taken too serious for certain enjoyment. It was more dark in a sense than expected. Had they made the film more light hearted, perhaps it would have been better. Altogether the Gambler did poorly at the box office (mainly due to a bad release date- Christmas 2014), and since then, it appears this film has become quite forgotten.

Screenwriter and self confessed compulsive gambler James Toback joined William Monahan to concoct this rather bizarre but ultimately fascinating film about a very bright English Literature Associate Professor who is an inveterate gambler. Rupert Wyatt directs this cross between philosophy of life and the dangers of the life of gambling. Jim Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman in a superb performance), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett's future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance.The strange admixture of classroom teaching with students whose views of learning vary from creativity to going pro-basketball (Anthony Kelley) bring out some interesting philosophical comments from Jim the teacher to the underworld of crime and gambling that is complicated by Jim's addiction to the 'sport' ultimately makes for a thought provoking film. There are some fine supporting roles by Andre Braugher, George Kennedy, Alvin Ing, Richard Schiff, but in the end the performances by John Goodman and Mark Wahlberg are the focus of the odd but compelling drama.

If you're expecting anyone to get murdered in this film, you're going to be very disappointed. There's almost no violence which is something i expected after seeing the trailer. i honestly think you could watch the trailer and be more satisfied than actually watching the film. the only good part about the movie was john Goodman. it almost seems like the movie will be good within the first ten minutes but it just goes downhill from there. I expect to see a lot more crime going on when i see a movie like this. HUGE let down. I almost stopped watching but i was sure someone was going to be murdered toward the end. it never happened. it was a waste of two hours. don't watch it.

It took me three sittings to get through this movie, partly due to boredom, and partly because I stopped caring what happened to Mark Wahlberg's character.THE GAMBLER is about Jim Bennett, who lives a double life as a college professor and a degenerate gambler. He quickly finds himself out of control, and in debt to more than one shady character. Even with his mother bailing him out, he proceeds to blow more money, seemingly not caring about the result.The problem with this movie is twofold: First, the script is written in a very theatrical way, with long soliloquies more befitting a Shakespearean character than a movie actor. Nobody in real life talks like that. Second, Mark Walhberg does not have the depth or ability to deliver these long speeches in any other way than a monotonous mumble. In addition, his character shows little emotional range, making the audience share his ambivalence, not caring whether or not he finds redemption in the end.The only entertaining contribution to this movie comes from John Goodman, one of the loan sharks to whom Mark Wahlberg's character is deeply indebted. Unfortunately, Goodman only plays a small role in an otherwise forgettable movie.