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Movies / On DVD / Rounders
Rounders

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Rounders (1998)

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Reviews Counted:74

Fresh:47

Rotten:27

Average Rating:6.1/10

Consensus: Richly atmospheric and colorful performances contributed to the movie's entertainment value.

Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of New York's high-stakes underground poker world, Roundersis the tale of Mike McDermott, a master card player who trades the poker-playing rounds for law school and a shot... Set against the backdrop of New York's high-stakes underground poker world, Roundersis the tale of Mike McDermott, a master card player who trades the poker-playing rounds for law school and a shot at a new life with his girlfriend Jo. For Mike, the new life he's staking out seems like a legitimate road to success, but it's short on the thrills and excitement of back room poker games. But when Mike's longtime friend Worm is released from prison, Mike is faced with the high-stakes dilemma of his life: to keep on the straight and narrow, or deal himself back into the world of the Rounders. Rounders also stars John Malkovich as the seedy Russian card shark Teddy KGB, who runs the biggest and most dangerous game in town; John Turturroas Joey Knish, Mike's old-time poker mentor, and Martin Landau as Professor Petrovsky, Mike's law school dean. As the stakes rise, each one of these men also deals a hand in Mike's ultimate fate. [More]

Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen

Starring: Matt Damon, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, Gretchen Mol, John Malkovich, Martin Landau, Chris Young

Director: John Dahl

Director: John Dahl
Screenwriter: David Levien, Brian Koppelman
Producer: Ted Demme, Joel Stillerman
Composer: Christopher Young

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Feb 9, 1999

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Reviews for Rounders

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
10/18/08
Mac Verstandig
Mac Verstandig
rec.arts.movies.reviews

John Dahl creates an intelligent and character-driven crime-drama built around solid performances by Damon and Norton.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
03/25/08
Jon Fortgang
Jon Fortgang
Channel 4 Film

The wholesome pup's poker face alone, however, hardly accounts for the film's failure to thrill. Damon's character doesn't really have that much stake in the story's outcome.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment 1 Comment
03/25/08
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Intermittently engaging but dramatically slack.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/25/08
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This ode to the allure of clipping suckers and psyching out the competition is richly atmospheric but thin in the character department.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/25/08
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Gretchen Mol, Edward Norton, John Turturro, Martin Landau, and Famke Janssen costar; they're all pretty good, but not good enough to make this 1998 feature worth seeing.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/25/08
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

In his first non-noir film, John Dahl, assisted by the great French lenser Jean-Yves Escoffier, gives New York's underground gambling scene a vivid atmopshere, with special attention to its particular rituals and fast macho talk.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
01/14/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

"Rounders" makes you feel the suspense and thrive in the thrill of the moment, always coming up aces.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
12/17/06
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

The end result is still short of a winning hand, since the screenplay is so utterly predictable.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Trevor Johnston
Trevor Johnston
Time Out

Other directors simply pay homage to film noir and their movies come across as copies or throwbacks, but Dahl's movies work because he seems to understand the inner workings of film noir, and the absurd situations that people can get into.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

It's too bad with all of the poker action there wasn't enough time to establish the relationships between characters.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Ron Wells
Ron Wells
Film Threat

It's a likable movie and a solid follow up for Damon.

Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
04/02/05
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

The fact that I was so motivated by the movie to put all that money on the table speaks positively of the picture.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
10/31/04
Bradley Null
Bradley Null
Filmcritic.com

[Provides] a lot of entertainment as well as some food for thought.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
10/05/04
Dragan Antulov
Dragan Antulov
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The "good buddy, bad buddy" symmetry harkens back to the days of James Cagney-Pat O'Brien pictures, but this is stylish enough to make us forgive the narrative conventions.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
09/15/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

Takes you into a grungy underworld of high-stakes poker in New York City.

Full Review Source: Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) | comment Comment
07/01/04
Judith Egerton
Judith Egerton
Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY)

For every good thing about Rounders there is a flaw.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/22/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

Damon proves once again that he's not just a face, and he does wonders with his inner and outer conflicts. Norton is wickedly sleazy as a barely-in-control low life who will undoubtedly end up back in the slammer.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/14/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

Too lightweight!

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment 1 Comment
04/21/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
 
 
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