*Rounders* - first time watch of the 1998 poker drama, directed by John Dahl.
This is *exactly* the film that you think it is, sight-unseen.
A late-90s Miramax, set in New York?
With Matt Damon as the mostly-honest card player, and Edward Norton as his mostly-scummy hanger on?
With debts owed to mobsters and holes that keep getting bigger?
With Johns Malkovich and Turturro, Famke Janssen and Martin Landau filling out a respectable 90s cast?
With no major excitement, but…
*Dinner In America* - first time watch of the 2020 black comedy, in which a bond develops between a punk on the run from police, and the geekiest girl in the suburbs.
Added to the rental list because of how much i enjoyed Snack Shack, the subsequent film from writer/director Adam Rehmeier.
This ended up being good fun; from slightly unsure beginnings (when it neither seemed punk enough or sweet enough), the central relationship ended up being nicely effective, managing to thread the needle between punk edginess and sweet chemistry in the final act.
3/5
Seems like all of the worst tropes of modern studio movies are here together...
- The YA-ification of modern media
- The 'let's call back to that moment you loved' moment instead of actually creating any moments you love
- The latest installment of You Recognise This, The Movie!
- The sequel that's actually a stealth remake
- The sequel that ignores all of the other non-Part 1 pre-existing media as if it never existed
- Quips and snark, but…
Nice to have a brand new film to be evangelical about. It won't be for everyone, but this was entirely my jam.
To me, every single part was a craft at the top of their game: actors, script, direction, cinematography, sound design, score, editing...
Still some way to go, but expect to see this very highly placed in my end of year list.
