If you can catch the vibe it is a nice movie with great acting. I like the mood and the flow.
The movie was slow and boring. People are calling Isaac's acting award worthy but I would call it "one note". He literally has one tone, one look and little to no actually acting. He doesn't act but instead moves through the movie like an emotionless zombie. It's not a casino heist movie and has little to no actually gambling suspense or action. At its core its actually a movie about military torture but ultimately fails at having a worthwhile message about the subject because the main characters just want to continue the cycle of torture and revenge. I just didn't dig it at all. Also the music and score just didn't work for me. Moments that needed some score were totally silent and random moments had bad music that didn't fit at all and had random breathing noises overplayed throughout.
Good acting by Isaac here. Slow building story, but worth your time if you want a to go on a sometimes gritty psychological journey w his character. Far too many slow moments for me with some interesting character choices as well. Not a great execution for me, but was happy I watched. 6.3
Not sure I can make it through this one. It's like Rounders meets Mississippi Grind, except it is void of an engaging storyline.
20 minutes in the director adds a cameo by Willem Defoe followed by a dream sequence, ya I'm done.
Like green felt on a casino table: risky, dangerous and smooth.
A traumatized veteran who's become a professional gambler finds himself being pushed outside of the walls he's carefully constructed around him.
Sadly, the female lead is as clunky as the romance they force into the film, but Oscar Isaac and the soundtrack are diamonds that club my heart in spades.
I'm not really certain what I just watched, but the acting is top-notch. The story is esoteric, and it doesn't flow particularly well. It seems as if the movie is made of constituent components that were retrofitted w/ one another. Oscar Isaac was tremendous, and Tiffany Haddish was notable in her role, as well. I thought that they had strong chemistry w/ one another, so the movie kept pace, even when it wasn't overtly clear what was going on.
Fairly straightforward plot but very well acted. The acting and the score carries the movie to an incredibly messy yet absolutely realistic ending. Oscar Isaac’s shot at the Oscars.
Damn when I see the reviews of this movie I feel isolated lol
The film is an internal drama about the US military. The layers here are inserted quite silently, as the story itself asks. I noticed here some ideological confusions about the film. I personally don't believe this movie is about US imperialism. But about men believing they are doing good things when they are actually doing horrible things. It is important to emphasize that I do not agree with all the decisions of the film, but I have to emphasize that this film is not an expository film, but a reflective film and after the drama comes the suspense. This film uses irony to talk about things and its biggest opponent is an American poker idol. In this sense, I have the impression that the film was successful in the message it carries and I think it is courageous to show that everyone has a second chance and that in the raw of things, whether in war or westerns, everything is about carrying and making use of your emotions. own words.
Don't get confused this movie is about a bad guy trying to do something good with his life.
For much of this movie I was enjoying the rather minimalist approach to the movie. There was a fairly simple story being acted out by some good actors... it seemed as though we were set up for a good ending. And then the ending came.... I was underwhelmed. I get that there is more meat on the proverbial bone here when you compare the resolution with some of what had been said earlier in the movie. I also know that the "hero" is a complicated here not unlike De Niro's character in Taxi Driver (also written by the writer/director of this movie). I wanted to love it but just couldn't get there.
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Welp. I'm bored. Very slow paced boring movie. Too bad I wasted the night watching this.
Paul Schrader builds another of his characters that draw from Bresson's sources, the camera that doesn't film, but writes a relationship between image and sound. The routine in which William includes himself is almost monastic, religious like many of the author's characters. The cleanliness of the image is the representation of the impurity of his soul, because the memories of Abu Ghraib are anamorphic, distorted.
Episode 10x04
Director Paul Schrader has returned to sign this great work of contemporary cinema. Oscar Isaac embodies the role of the tormented protagonist, with a slow and analytical character in search of his personal redemption through the poker tables.
From the writer of Taxi Driver, and he’s kinda riffing on his own material here.
I liked it from a writing standpoint, the acting is pretty good and the characters are well developed.
It really is all about Oscar Isaac’s character arc, which also happens to be the good stuff (and unpredictable I found).
The ending is great, though I find the final shot a little too cheesy for a movie this nihilistic (I would’ve cut it off about a minute earlier).
I also feel like it was a mistake to focus so much on the poker playing without attempting to make us care about that stuff.
The cinematography is average and the score kinda feels like it tries to rip-off a Nicolas Winding-Refn film.
The licensed music felt like something you’d hear in a trailer from the 2010s, lots of slowed down tempos and moany vocals, which wasn’t the most subtle approach for setting the mood.
It’s decent, but I’ve seen better versions of this.
6/10
A great character study in redemption, if that's possible given the situation. Excellent portrayal by Isaac Oscar.
Despite the story being a bit nonsensical, it’s certainly Oscar worthy, or rather, it’s a great role for Oscar Isaac. I can’t really recommend the film, but if you like seeing what Oscar can do then this is a decent film.
While it has many noticeable issues, it’s mainly the excellent leading performance and tone that are most importantly accounted for in making a generally very good film.
Didn't finished it, as an non-american person, this made even less sense to me than for American watchers, don't waste your time on this at least that you are a movie critique because apparently for them is one of the best things of 2021
I thought it would be a movie focused on card games... but it's just a mere filler. I didn't expect this film being about what it's about, and I didn't like that turn or how it was done.
On the other hand, the characters are flat, their actions don't make sense, and the plot doesn't fit either.
Also, expect gratuitous disturbing images.
Boring as hellllllll, nothing to enjoy don't waste your time
And what is the use of counting cards if in the end you play poker (and we better not talk about real life).
Man, I really did try to enjoy it but couldn't. Didn't keep me engaged and seemed really slow and boring. I actually would rather watch paint dry for 8 hours then watch this movie.
This starts out somewhat interesting, but then is seems to warp into two different films that just don't gel at all. Scenes are held for far too long in an attempt to be artistic maybe? I'm not really sure why.
The central premise is also a bit hmmmm, i mean if that's what you wanna explore then okay, but do we always have to center every film around American protagonists and make them be the good guys when obviously they are not.
Maybe of the film explored more of the can horrific deeds ever be forgiven, and the actual impact of those acts it would have had more meaning. As it is it's all just a bit what was the point.
There are some good moments here but it's a bit of a muddle. Revenge drama? Satire of American patriotism? Gambling flick? Indictment of torture? Its all of these things but they don't cohere well. Top notch acting though.
I’m torn on how to feel of the movie. It definitely does what it intends to do, but too often did it feel dull to me. As someone that went in not super familiar with Paul Schrader or his work, I was not sure what to expect. I caught myself saying “this feels oddly like Taxi Driver” and come to find out he wrote/co-wrote that movie many moons ago. These types of movies are very much a “does it work for you”, and I don’t think this one does even if I didn’t dislike it. Objectively, it’s good. And I’m sure it will work for many others.
Rating: 2.5/5 - 7/10 - Worth Watching
I’m not sure what I just watched. Or even what the purpose of this movie was. The ending left me wondering why I bothered to make it to the end. Complete waste of time. Don’t even bother watching it.
The only person who knows acting here is Dafoe (surprise, he-he), but he is given only10 minutes on screen. Otherwise - big plans and their helpless implementation.
That time Rain Man hitched a ride home in Travis Bickle's cab.
The movie is interesting but the ending is literally SHIT . I would give this movie 8/10 but got so mad at the ending that I gave it a 1.
The only thing that works in this movie is Oscar Isaac's performance. All other things are dull and dumb. To name two: there's no chemistry between characters and the story (if you can even call it that) is super boring. This was a big waste of time.
Review by cutecruelBlockedParentSpoilers2021-10-08T22:07:45Z
I can't even put into words my distaste for this movie. Only Americans will ask you to feel bad for their war criminals. The quote by Frankie Boyle describes this film perfectly, “Not only will America go to your country and kill all your people, they’ll come back twenty years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad.” The whole point of The Card Counter is to try to get you to sympathize with a war criminal who tortured, killed, terrorized people. Not only that but it's extremely unrealistic to ask the viewer to believe that anyone responsible for Abu Ghraib faced meaningful consequences. Like, come on, now!
This movie followed the most boring protagonists, who are as dull as they can get. Zero chemistry between any member of the cast. Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, and Tye Sheridan are basically in 3 different movies and each one of them is total garbage:
"Abu Ghraib torturer, but make him seeeexy" How? Oh, cast hot actor with beautiful eyes. Plus, he did his time, 8 years for the most vile crimes you can possibly imagine. But he is a good guy now. He fucks girls and support college kids. For someone I guess we're supposed to dislike (?), the movie spends a lot of time showing how cool he is.
Tiffany Haddish must’ve been the only actress to audition for the role of La Linda because she was radically miscast. She is not ready for dramatic acting. As for her character – she is independent and has connections with rich folks … that’s it. Wow, so interesting, right?! The 'chemistry' between her and Isaac was weird. It wasn’t seductive, it just felt like watching high schoolers flirt, but even more painful.
Cirk seemed like he is dumb as rocks. To expect us to care so much about a kid who we don't even know is irresponsible. I couldn't care less about his death or revenge killing.
Oh, and there is another character introduced like "USA!" guy with no point. But he was born in Ukraine, so he is not American. Oscar Isaac was born in Guatemala, grew up in USA and plays an American dude, while people born in Ukraine who grew up in USA are only Ukrainian. Even if you want to follow American rules, you just can’t because the Yanks are very inconsistent and hypocritical.
Most bad movies have some redeeming qualities. I can’t think of anything with this, everything just felt so bland to me:
Nothing is happening, and the movie is sooo repetitive . Oscar Isaac looking serious and walking in a casino,with suspenseful music - this is like 80% of the movie.
Almost every scene is an end in itself, nothing is explored, and doesn’t progress the story at all scene to scene.
The music. Oh, the music, which mainly featured vapid, brooding indie/electronic songs, is just all over the place here. I hated it!
There is basically no concept of tension or mystery, which is pretty important when you’re watching a fake game of poker.
The philosophy was so juvenile, and the movie lacks anything interesting to say. We are supposed to believe the main character is very mysterious and smart but he is one of the most boring, dull and flat characters I have ever seen.
The dialogue is godawful, no exaggeration here! "I have no goals", "Have you ever read a book", "What is your story" etc. It felt so awkward and as if the characters aren’t even talking to each other.
Why is it called The Card Counter when the main character counted cards once onscreen and then spends the entire movie playing poker?
Did I see a different movie than all of these people rating it high?