Cold Deck (2015)

Very Cool!!!

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

A few yeas ago I used to play a lot of poker, online and otherwise, so I may have a different take on this movie than most. To start off, I liked the movie overall. I'm not too sure what all the negative reviews are about.Let's start with the lead actor, Stefano Gallo. He plays Bobby, a down on his luck player who just can't seen to do anything right. He steal from his sick mother in order to play more poker. He is an unlikable character, but guess what, there are plenty of unlikable people in the gambling world. Not all movies characters have to be likable. If Paul Rudd was in the lead this would probably be a different film.And Gallo does an admirable job; it is really hard to root for his character because he plays a bastard so well.Next, let's talk about the plot. Yes, it is similar to many other "gambling films" that have come out in the past. Rounders, 21, Runner Runner, etc; they all have similar plots. What Cold Deck does not have is their budget. For a small budget film director, Zack Bernbaum, does a solid job. Paul Sorvino delivers a great performance as Chips, the "kingpin" of this particular group of lowlifes. He is essentially playing the Teddy KGB role in this film.Nearly all gambling films share many of the same plot points so aspects of this film will seem familiar. The only difference between Cold Deck and the others is the budget. So, I will recommend this film for those of us who like gambling stories and who like seeing character who are flawed but still human.

A movie about poker which is not actually about poker. With a lead that is a brilliant poker player -- only he's not. This film wants to do everything, while succeeding at nearly nothing. The writing is mostly flaws, clichés and fraudulent ambitions. It's all there: the handsome lead, the pretty damsel, the goofy friend, the go-crazy villain with his trademark axe-musket (?), and a plot which tricks you into thinking is about cards, while it's all about plot holes, bad dialogues, scenes we've seen a thousand times before and, mainly, plot gimmicks failing at the start line.If this movie contains even a hint of authenticity, it's because of Paul Sorvino and Robert Knepper. Given the script they had to work with, they did the best they had.

I recently had the pleasure of screening a Canadian independent film called "Cold Deck". I must say that it is a definite recommend."Cold Deck" follows a down on his luck poker player who has time and time again come up short in his underground playing pursuits, so much so that he has wrecked his sick mother's bank account. In an effort to win back his losses, help his mother and leave the game for good, he takes the offer of a boss to completely unravel a high stakes, underground game with a can't lose plan.Initially, one would liken this to other high stakes card game films like "21" or "Rounders", but "Cold Deck" stands on its own, mostly due to lead actor and co-writer Stefano Gallo. His portrayal as the everyman is authentic and seemingly effortless. Often, an actor playing this type of character would be persuaded to overact or play with an unrealistic degree of intensity. Gallo does not succumb to that pressure. I was unfamiliar with his previous work before viewing this film, but I am definitely planning to seek out ways to watch his other performances.Gallo is aided by top talent Paul Sorvino, who fans will recognize from "Good Fellas", "Romeo + Juliet" and "Law & Order". Sorvino plays the character Chip, who offers Gallo's character a way to cash in with one last score. The writing is intelligent, the acting is superb and the drama and suspense is plentiful in this high stakes thriller. I definitely recommend anyone who is a fan of good movies to seek this one out.

I had to edit this review at my absolute disgust at the IMDb rating of 8 out of 10 given to this lacklustre, clichéd movie. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) got 8.3/10 -a masterpiece. It is disgraceful that people are blatantly lying on this website and falsely boosting the ratings to make people think this is some poker genre masterpiece. I have changed my rating to one, to express my annoyance. First off, I was pleased and thanked God this movie only ran for 80 minutes, it was an extremely flimsy attempt at cashing in on the whole poker genre.The story line was extremely weak with no substance. Similar to the movie The Gambler, we are introduced to a complete loser, a loser so bad, he steals his mother's life savings in order to play in a high stakes poker game. He loses of course to the owner of a gambling club where he has lost all his money. This guy (Paul Sorvino) wins $250,000 that night, is a rich man, but somehow persuades the loser to break into the game later and steal the $250,000 on offer, for which he will get $100,000. Are you getting this ? You take all the risk, break the law, risk getting killed or arrested and then after, hand over $150,000 to somebody who suggested you should do a robbery ! No sense at all. This loser has a smoking hot blonde babe girlfriend ,who loves him despite being a total loser, a mum who forgives him. A deceased dad who was a loser gambler as well. The finale was ridiculous in so many ways, somehow everyone dies, and he just escapes scot free from the situation in order to reform himself and suddenly decide to enrol in college and do a degree in electrical engineering or something. No questions about his debts, his mother's huge medical bills and nursing costs. No, just one big happy ending. Personally, I would have been happier to see the guy die. As before I give this movie 1/10 for the blatant lies of reviewers trying to boost this movies ratings.