Melville’s Bob le Flambeur

Forget about An American in Paris and Amélie. Bob Montagné knows the real Montmartre. It is a place where you can find dodgy night clubs and all-night card games. The latter have always been Montagné’s bread and butter, but he has been on a ruinous losing streak lately. Out of desperation he will revert to his old criminal ways in Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic caper film, Bob le Flambeur (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York, freshly restored in 4K.

Twenty years ago, Montagné did time for a hold-up, but he has been straight ever since. As a professional gambler, he still rubs shoulders with the underground, but he keeps his nose clean and maintains a non-snitching friendship with Inspector Ledru, a cop whose life Montagné once saved. For years, “Bob the High-Roller” made a good living off cards and dice, but his luck has turned. However, a casual conversation with his former safe-cracker crony gives him an idea.

An old associate now working as a croupier at the Deauville casino puts them onto the perfect time the hit the cash-rich safe. It will be a complicated job, requiring a large crew, but Montagné knows people. His first recruit will be his protégé, Paolo, but the aspiring dissolute character is distracted by his desire for Anne, a pretty but selfish femme fatale-runaway Montagné saved from Montmartre’s more exploitative elements. Marc the pimp, Ledru’s sleazy new informant is also sniffing around for something to satisfy the copper.

Flambeur is partly a heist film and partly a gambling movie, but it is all pure noir. Originally, Melville wanted Jean Gabin for the title role, but he settled for journeyman thesp Roger Duchesne, who is now best-remembered for Montagné—and justly so. It is a terrific, career-defining performance, filled with the sort of jaded, world weary insouciance only a middle-aged French leading man at the peak of his power could carry off. The mane is gray, but he is still cooler than Fonzie or even James Dean.

Isabelle Corey is also quite something else as Anne. She debuted in Flambeur, immediately becoming the French “It Girl” of the late 1950s, but after Vadim’s …And God Created Woman, nearly all of her subsequent work would be in Italian productions. Regardless, she and Duchesne have some wonderfully potent non-romantic chemistry going on.

Henri Decaë’s ultra-noir black-and-white cinematography is a joy to soak in. Plus, the moody soundtrack, heavy on vibes and boudoir saxophone, composed by French jazz musician and record label founder Eddie Barclay with bandleader Jo Boyer, is right on the money. The twists are deliciously ironic but perfectly fitting, so it seems bizarre in retrospect it was not an immediate hit in France and did not score a proper American release until 1982, especially since it is now considered a key influence for the French Nouvelle Vague. Very highly recommended, Bob le Flambeur opens this Friday (1/5) in New York, at Film Forum.

One Night Only: There’s Always Something Left to Lose

Hong Kong cinema gave the world Ko Chun, the Mr. Lucky who can’t lose in the God of Gamblers/From Vegas to Macao franchises. Now Taiwan offers up a corrective in this new Chinese co-production. Gao Ye once had wealth and social position, but he lost it all and kept on losing. He will try to win back some redemption during a long dark night of the soul, but the game is rigged against him in Matt Wu’s One Night Only (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

The audience will know within seconds Gao Ye has seen the inside of a prison cell and has some nasty credits on his case. At this point, he doesn’t much care. Being cashless, he is rather surprised when an attractive prostitute loudly knocks on his door, expecting to do business. Unable to shake the strangely innocent Momo, Gao Ye convinces her to stake him instead. That works out about as well as we expect. Thus begins a series of nocturnal misadventures in the tradition of Scorsese’s After Hours (a lesser work in his filmography), until things take a radically tragic turn.

In fact, that is when the film really starts getting good. Frankly, the first act is a bit of a slog, focusing on Gao Ye’s jerkheel behavior. Yet, Wu and screenwriter Ren Peng also lay the groundwork for future payoffs at this time. Of course, that also means the second act will get pretty darn dark, taking us through the world of indentured prostitution and underground cage-fighting. Still, it crescendos with a romantic crescendo worthy of Camille that miraculously ties up all the suspicious loose ends lying about.

Yang Zishan (who just so happens to be married to Wu) really breaks out of her rom-com So Young/20 Once Again pigeon-holing as the relentlessly sad yet hopeful Momo. This film just wouldn’t work without her. Of course, Aaron Kwok is plenty believable as the dissolute Gao Ye, but he also turns on the star wattage for the big redemptive moments. For extra added heartache, Hao Lei is deeply compelling as Gao Y’s long suffering wife, seen in flashbacks.

Although set in a fictional, gaming-inspired city, One Night Only practically reeks of low life atmosphere. Cinematographer Charlie Lam takes full advantage of all the neon to give it a stylishly urban noir look. It is the sort of film you have to stick with through a long set-up, but it is ultimately worth it. Recommended for those who enjoy gambling dramas and tearjerkers, One Night Only opens this Friday (7/22) in New York, at the AMC Empire.

The Squeeze: Wrist Breaks and Other Golf Dangers

Augie Baccus has a heck of a swing and a solid short game, but he makes Happy Gilmore look like a genius. Unfortunately, he also lacks the popular Adam Sandler character’s toughness. That will become a serious problem when he gets entangled with some dodgy professional gamblers in Terry Jastrow’s The Squeeze (trailer here), which opens this Friday in select cities.

Baccus is a dirt poor, but amiable young kid, going nowhere in rural Texas. However, he can shoot the lights out on a golf course. When the slicker-than-slick gambler known as Riverboat happens to hear his impossibly low scoring amateur tourney victory on the radio while passing through town, he recognizes an opportunity worth taking a detour. With the backing of his lover-accomplice, “The Bank,” Riverboat convinces Baccus to play for him in a series of high-stakes money games, sort of like Cruise and Newman in The Color of Money, but without the grit.

Of course, Baccus’s girlfriend Natalie is against the arrangement from the start, for moral reasons as well as the waves of bad vibes cascading off Riverboat. Baccus jumps in anyway, hoping to score some money for his battered mother and his beloved little sister. Inconveniently, Natalie’s concerns are soon justified in Las Vegas, where both Riverboat and mobbed-up gambler Jimmy Diamonds put the titular squeeze on Baccus before his million dollar match with the top-ranked youth-amateur.

Tin Cup was such a great golf film because it captured the inviting feeling of a lush green course on a sunny day that is not too hot and has a pleasant breeze blowing. The Squeeze does not do that, but at least it honestly seems to enjoy the game, beyond using it as a plot device.

Reportedly, Jeremy Sumpter was cast as Baccus because of his golf skills, which makes sense, because his bland white-bread screen presence doesn’t do much to move the needle. While the film is ostensibly about Baccus (modeled on the real life Texas Phenom Keith Flatt), it is much more interested in Riverboat’s Cheshire cat grin and Natalie’s legs. As the latter, Jillian Murray (from Cabin Fever: Patient Zero) certainly looks the part and expresses Natalie’s ethical and religious reservations without sounding hopelessly moralistic, which is something.

Nevertheless, Christopher McDonald is the real show. Essentially, he revisits his Shooter McGavin persona from Happy Gilmore, but takes delight in upping the villainous ante. He is consistently fun to watch, but Michael Nouri looks kind of weird as the bleach blond Diamonds. What was that all about?

Jastrow and his wife, co-producer Anne Archer have been dubbed “Super Scientologists” in the media, but it is hard to pick up on any overt references to Overlord Xenu or “Suppressive People” in The Squeeze. Frankly, it is largely rather by-the-numbers stuff, but McDonald makes it worth watching on cable or Netflix streaming. He can slyly turn a witty line and then pull off a goofy bit of physical comedy. Honorary Oscars ought to go to character actor mainstays like him, but instead they are determined by Hollywood popularity contests. Mostly just a harmless time-kill, golf movie fans can safely wait when The Squeeze opens Friday (4/17) in Denver at the AMC Highlands Ranch and Los Angeles at the Laemmle Playhouse.

Sundance ’15: Mississippi Grind

Apparently, Gerry never heard the old Kenny Rogers song. He is the sort of gambler you bet against and feel fine about doing so. He might win for a while, because he spends every spare moment studying various games of chance, but he reeks of losing. However, he believes his fortunes have turned when he teams up with a younger, luckier gambler in Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck’s Mississippi Grind, which screens during the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

Curtis is just passing through. That’s what he does. Gerry really ought to be leaving soon. He owes a lot of people a lot of money, but just keeps digging a bigger hole for himself. Strangely enough, he wins when playing at Curtis’s table, but he promptly blows all his takings on an ill-advised bet shortly thereafter. When fate subsequently brings them together again, Gerry recognizes a good thing. Determined to keep it going, Gerry convinces Curtis to join forces to play regional games and hole-in-the-wall casinos as they work their way down the Mississippi towards a high stakes poker game in New Orleans.

It sounds like a winning proposition, but the “sign”-obsessed Gerry cannot change his spots. He is still a crummy person and when Curtis is not around, he keeps finding ways to lose. In contrast, Curtis might be slightly commitment-phobic, but he is dramatically healthier than Gerry, often preferring to visit the local blues club over a tacky gambling den. It is really quite considerate of him, since it justifies Grind’s savory blues soundtrack (and some original themes scored by Scott Bomar).

Although Gerry, the aggressive screw-up, is the flashier role, Grind still might prove to be a career pivot for Ryan Reynolds. As Curtis, he plays with and against his pretty-boy type-casting, showing surprising grit down the stretch. Although Ben Mendelsohn is relatively restrained compared to some of his scenery-chomping villainous turns, he fully embraces Gerry’s pathetic, self-deluding, self-centered nature. Frankly, sometimes it is painful to watch his debasement.

Granted, anyone who has seen a gambling road movie will have a general idea where Grind is headed, but Fleck & Boden give the material a few nice twists, including the ironic but wholly fitting third act source of the title. They exhibit a strong sense of place, grounding the film in picturesque Southern-border state locales. It is also certainly safe to say they never glamorize gambling. In fact, the film could almost be a PSA for Gamblers Anonymous and a seedier, more naturalistic corrective to noir-ish The Gambler and Chow Yun-fat’s heroic God of Gamblers franchise. Recommended for fans of gambling films with local flavor, Mississippi Grind screens again tomorrow (1/31) in Park City, as part of this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Wild Card: Statham Happens in Vegas

It is not exactly a critic’s dream come true, but it rises to one of our frequent challenges. We often lament studios remake classic movies, making them considerably worse, rather than redoing and hopefully improving less than great films. That sort of happens here when Jason Statham steps into a role originated by Burt Reynolds. It’s already sounding better, isn’t it? In fact, Statham is much more convincing as the lethal bodyguard with a gambling problem in Simon West’s Wild Card (trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Like the somewhat notorious 1986 film Heat, Wild Card was adapted by screenwriter William Goldman from his own novel. On the screen, it follows much the same structure, but off-screen, hopefully there will be far less litigation. Nick Wild has an uneasy truce with the mafia. He stays on good terms with the mega-connected Baby, but for the most part, he does not bother them and they do not bother him. Most of his jobs are a little demeaning, like babysitting nickel-and-dime gambler Cyrus Kinnick, but he keeps hoping to hit it big at the tables and run off to Corsica (it was Venice before).

This equilibrium is disrupted when a visiting gangster brutalizes Holly, a prostitute Wild was formerly involved with. She wants him to get the creep’s name, so she can pursue legal action. However, Wild wants no part of anything connected to the Golden Nugget, which must be thrilled to be so explicitly identified as a mobster resort. Of course, as a good guy, Wild can’t help himself. Despite his hesitation, he lays quite a beating on the entitled Danny DeMarco and his henchmen and facilitates their further humiliation at Holly’s hands. From there, one thing leads to another.

Wild Card has a handful of spectacular fights (choreographed by Cory Yuen), sprinkled throughout long stretches of compulsive gambling and macho brooding. The gimmick for Wild (or Nick “Mex” Escalante as he was once known) is his facility for using commonplace items, such as credit cards and poker chips, as deadly weapons. Needless to say, this works so much better with Statham than Reynolds. Dominik García-Lorido (Andy Garcia’s daughter in the excellent Lost City and in real life) and Stanley Tucci also represent considerable upgrades as Holly and Baby, respectively. Indeed, the casting is nearly perfect this time around. Unfortunately, the Kinnick character still gums up the works with his unnecessary subplot.

Unlike the previous film’s revolving door-battery of directors, West keeps Wild Card moving along at a decent clip, even though it is more about gambling and gangster power games than action, per se. He also maintains a relatively upbeat mood, nicely underscored by some classic licensed blues and R&B tunes from artists like Magic Slim, Albert King, and Charles Brown. It still isn’t perfect but it is better, which is something. You could even say it’s not bad—but nowhere near Statham’s best work in The Bank Job and Redemption. For fans of old school Vegas, Wild Card opens this Friday (1/30) in New York.

The Gambler: Goodman Trumps Wahlberg’s Chump

They say gambling is a victimless crime, but not in Jim Bennett’s case. Anyone too closely linked to the degenerate literature professor could find themselves in a world of collateral hurt. The same goes without saying for Bennett, but that seems to be part of his wildly self-destructive plans. Several very large debts will inevitably come due in Rupert Wyatt’s Christmas Day release, The Gambler (trailer here), a loose remake of the moody 1970s James Caan vehicle considered to be partially inspired by the Dostoyevsky novel of the same name.

Bennett’s beloved grandfather has just passed away, leaving him nothing, because he is a total mess. He shouldn’t an inheritance, as a gainfully employed academic with one reasonably well received novel under his belt. Unfortunately, Bennett can rack up debt quicker than a president with no private sector experience. We will see him do it during the first of many trips to an underground casino.

Bennett has amassed $240,000 in gambling debts to the Korean mob, led by the severe Mr. Lee. You really do not want to owe him money. To keep playing and keep losing, Bennett borrows fifty K from loanshark Neville Baraka. You really, really do not want to owe him money. He is up briefly, but eventually he blows through that as well. After being rebuffed by his wealthy mother, Bennett explores the possibility of yet another loan from Russian mobster “Frank,” who is a real character. You really, really, really do not want to owe him money. In fact, Frank is so hardcore, he even gives Bennett pause. Nevertheless, it is only a matter of time before they do business together.

Wyatt’s Gambler is way better than you would expect, but it is almost entirely due to the villains. John Goodman’s Frank gets a good number of laughs throughout the film, but he is still scary as all get-out. Given his record of memorable supporting turns in award-contending films (Argo, The Artist, Inside Llewyn Davis), Goodman arguably deserves an honorary Oscar by now. As usual, he makes the film. Likewise, Michael Kenneth Williams regularly upstages his more famous co-star as the flamboyantly ruthless Baraka, while Alvin Ing also makes quite an impression as the icily intense Mr. Lee. Even Anthony Kelley earns some notice as Lamar Allen, Bennett’s star basketball player student, who may or may not shave some points for his prof.

To an extent, Mark Wahlberg convincingly falls apart as Bennett. However, he conspicuously overplays screenwriter William Monahan’s vastly overwritten bombastic, self-loathing classroom lectures. You’d think he was trying to be Meryl Streep in Osage County, but at least he is not half as embarrassing. On the other hand, the role of Amy Phillips, Bennett’s student-slash-potential love interest-slash-witness to his implosion is not exactly what you would might similarly describe as overwritten. Frankly, Brie Larsen, last year’s indie sensation in Short Term 12, looks like she regrets every minute playing her.

Regardless, Wyatt keeps the pace brisk and cinematographer Greig Fraser gives it all a hazy City of Angels noir sheen. It is often quite visually dynamic and whenever he needs help, Wyatt can count on Goodman for an injection of adrenaline through the film’s breastplate. Recommended for those who enjoy distinctive heavies, The Gambler opens nationwide today (12/25), including the Regal Union Square in New York.

HK Cinema at SFFS ’14: From Vegas to Macau

Chow Yun-fat is one of the biggest Hong Kong movie stars ever, especially when he plays a gambler. His latest Mr. Lucky character is quite a team player, assisting the Hong Kong, Chinese, and Macanese police take down an international money launderer. However, it might suddenly become difficult to watch on the Mainland following Chow’s statement of support for Hong Kong’s intrepid pro-democracy protestors. Even if he is banned in Chinese cinemas, Chow is an icon of HK cinema, perhaps even more so now. Fittingly, his latest gambling romp, Wong Jing’s From Vegas to Macau (trailer here), opens the San Francisco Film Society’s annual Hong Kong Cinema film series.

“Magic Hands” Ken is a reportedly unbeatable gambler and former Vegas casino security expert who has just made a splashy return to Macau. He invites his old crony Benz, the patriarch of a family of conmen, to his lavish birthday partner. Sparks soon fly between Ken’s daughter Rainbow and Benz’s son cool, despite nephew Karl’s awkward attempts at seduction.

Unfortunately, Benz’s undercover cop stepson Lionel’s cover is about to be blown. He was investigating the shadowy Mr. Ko, whose henchmen are now looking for the evidence he furtively recorded. That will bring them into conflict with Benz’s family and Magic Hands, in due turn. Naturally, he prefers to handle such matters alone, but he will start to coordinate somewhat with Lionel’s Chinese colleague, Det. Luo Xin, for obvious reasons.

In FVTM, Chow is a lot like vintage Burt Reynolds. He is having fun and he does not care how we take that. He still looks great in a tux, so more power to him. He definitely does his ring-a-ding-ding Rat Pack thing, leaving most of the fighting to Nicholas Tse’s brooding Cool. Tse doesn’t mug—period. However, Chow’s larger than life presence still provides the film’s jet fuel.

Jing Tian shows off her first class chops again as Luo Xin, but does not have the same featured spotlight that let her elevate Special I.D. above its functional ambitions. She makes an impression nonetheless as the hard-charging detective. While most of the comedy is broad but digestible, Chapman To gets a wee bit shticky as Karl, but he has also been rather outspoken in his support of the democracy movement, so we’ll give him a pass anyway.

Wong keeps the mood upbeat and the action skipping along, even though some pretty terrible tribulations befall several supporting characters. He also gives enough winking allusions to the God of Gamblers franchise to keep fans amused, before formally joining them together in a Marvel-style denouement.

FVTM certainly delivers the expected quota of action, slapstick, high living, and attractive cast members. Frankly, it ought to be an utterly apolitical film, but given the predictable invective aimed at Chow, patrons can feel strangely good about enjoying it. Recommended for fans of Chow and gambling/con game films, From Vegas to Macau opens the SFFS’s 2014 Hong Kong Cinema showcase this Friday (11/14) and screens again on Saturday (11/15).

Tazza: The Hidden Card—a New Generation of Rounders

Just like the old Kenny Rogers song, Kim Go-ni knew when to walk away. He went out on top, retiring from the gambler’s life after winning a large pot. However, he had a nephew. Unfortunately, Ham Dae-gil inherits one of his uncle’s old enemies along with his luck and dexterity in Kang Hyeong-cheol’s Tazza: the Hidden Card (a.k.a. Tazza 2, trailer here), which opens this Friday in the Tri-State area.

Ham might be comfortable with a deck of cards, but he still has much to learn about human nature. He tasted a bit of success playing for gambling den proprietor Kko-jang, until he is taken by his own mark, the rather merry widow Woo. With his boss flat-busted, Ham tries to raise some cash in loan-shark Jang Dong-sik’s private game, but once again he is set up. This time, it is his hometown crush Heo Mi-na who plays him. Deeply in debt to Jang (and suddenly short one kidney), Ham manages to escape his clutches thanks to Heo’s intervention, but it will cost her dearly.

Regrouping in the exurbs, Ham convinces his uncle’s former mentor to take him under his wing. Returning character Ko Kwang-ryeol knows all the high-rollers, but he prefers to keep a low profile, eking out a modest living in low stakes games. Of course, lying low will not be much of an option, given Ham’s unfinished business with Jang and Heo. Eventually, his path will also cross that of Aw-kwi, a mysterious gambler of almost mythic ferocity, who holds a grudge against Uncle Go-ni.

With not one but two femme fatales and shadowy nemeses in the mix, Taz 2 has no shortage of double-crosses and shifting alliances. There is a lot of picaresque bluffing and cheating, but it is considerably darker than The Sting or even Rounders. It is tough to be a woman in this film, even (or especially) for Woo, the jaded seductress. Frankly, some of the scenes in question kill the buzz of the caperish conning and backstabbing.

Although he made quite a credible action lead as the North Korean high school sleeper assassin in Commitment, rapper T.O.P. seems far too light weight for a cat like Ham. Fortunately, he is surrounded by a first rate supporting cast, who chew up all the scenery he disdains to touch. Yu Hae-jin is a particularly nice surprise as Ko, Ham’s Obiwon. While he has played his share broadly shticky characters before (see The Pirates as an example), he balances humor with a good deal of world weary wisdom, while crafty veteran Lee Kyoung-young adds some class as Kko-jang.

Yet, Taz 2 is really all about its villains. Former Miss Korea (Honey) Lee Ha-nui is appropriately sultry and disconcertingly dangerous as Woo, even when her character’s decisions defy all sense. Yet, the real battle is between Kwak Do-won’s Jang and Kim Yun-seok’s Aw-kwi to see which can outdo the other’s stone cold malevolence.

Despite callbacks to the original Korean box-office smash, Taz 2 is easily accessible for audiences walking in cold. Kang keeps it moving along briskly, nimbly juggling the large cast of characters. It is fully stocked with appealingly devious twists and turns, but at times it is a little too gritty for its own good. Recommended for fans of gambler and grifter movies, Tazza: the Hidden Card opens this Friday (9/26) at the AMC Bay Terrace in Flushing and the Edgewater Multiplex in New Jersey.

All In: the Poker Doc

It is thought that the city of New Orleans introduced the game of poker to America, just like jazz, another enduring staple of Americana often associated with vice. Fittingly, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band provides the soundtrack for All In (trailer here), Douglas Tirola’s brisk and informative poker documentary, which opens this Friday in New York.

For poker players, April 15th is a date of infamy, even beyond its tax implications. It was on that date last year that the government indicted three of the largest online-poker sites, effectively ceasing their operations (funny, this Justice Department was supposedly not in the business of enforcing morality). The ripple effect was tremendous, leading to the cancelation of the poker television shows that fueled the game’s spike in mainstream popularity.

If the so-called “Black Friday” is All In’s key date than Chris Moneymaker is its touchstone figure. Often perilously broke due to a bad sports book habit, the average looking accountant reached the World Series of Poker through an internet tournament. When he was randomly assigned to the televised table, his underdog performance made him a star.

Black Friday was so significant to this subculture or industry (call it what you will), it sent Tirola and his team scrambling to re-cut and update what had been a much more upbeat All In. Ironically, some of his interview subjects, including big name players like Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer (son of linguist Richard), have been implicated in the more serious charges surrounding Full Tilt Poker. To his credit, Tirola acknowledges the fact forthrightly.

The net effect leaves All In hanging in a rather interesting but precarious position. It still gives a pretty good nutshell overview of poker’s history and cultural significance, but assumes an actual explanation of the game would be unnecessary. Hey, the best way to learn the game is just by sitting down at the table, right? Indeed, some of the most amusing sequences involve professional players’ reactions to John Dahl’s entertaining Rounders, which they thank for bringing millions of sucker dollars into the game.

It is great to hear the Preservation Hall Band throughout All In. Indeed, their swinging sounds are even more important now, preserving the jauntiness appropriate to a film celebrating the country’s rakish gambling tradition. (They do not play “The Saints” though, presumably because that costs extra.) All told, All In is a pretty fascinating look at game that was riding high mere hours ago but will always appeal to players looking to bluff their way ahead. Though seemingly tailored-made for a high profile cable broadcast, it is still recommended for the curious when it opens this Friday (3/23) in New York at the Cinema Village.