A true "Darkhorse"
Added 3/12/2010
I had never heard anything about this movie, zip. Watched it at a friends house and had to buy it for my own.
Alec Baldwin plays a totally convincing, brutal mobster. William H. Macy is always a treat to watch. It has
humor and some very serious moments. Well worth the price.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Interesting!
Added 2/22/2010
Someone said this was a repeat of Hard Eight, which I never saw. I thought this was interesting and very well acted. I love Vegas movies! Yes, we have seen people get beat up before, etc. But there were twists and surprises, great acting. I do cringe at William Macy having sex (oy!) but Alec Baldwin was great as a hotel guy who wanted to keep things old a school. Great movie overall.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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What really happens in Vegas...
Added 1/16/2010
The Cooler is one of those movies that isn't afraid to show Vegas for what it is, a huge illusion hiding an ugly and ultimately empty core. I dislike Las Vegas for many reasons, and I'll admit that some aren't fair. However, I do know a fraud when I see one and I do believe beyond a doubt that Las Vegas perfectly represents America's good (capitalism at its rawest), bad (the Disney-fied casinos), and ugly (the tourists). It's funny that whenever I have travelled or met people from other countries, the one city in America that makes them salivate more than any other is Las Vegas. Even foreigners seem to know that Las Vegas is where gluttony, greed, sex, and utter irresponsibility reign supreme. Even the insipid slogan begs you to go there and do all the stupid things you'd never even think about doing in your hometown. Las Vegas is ground zero for obedient drones to act out their most ridiculous fantasies guilt free. If only it were that easy...
The Cooler isn't so much about Las Vegas, however, as much as it is about two beat-up people trying to escape it. Nonetheless, the writers hit several solid base hits when they attack the "Epcot" that new Vegas aspires to, overrun with flip-flop wearing, buffet gorging, self-satisfied pigs, guzzling oversized plastic cups of margaritas while dodging the porn card clicking illegals on every street corner of the Strip. It delivers a beautiful and long-overdue kick in the groin to the well-crafted illusion that Las Vegas is about anything other than taking every cent from you that it can. In short, there are no winners in Vegas, only saps who leave their comfortable cul-de-sac homes for a week's worth of sanitized debauchery and then head home to confession and the banality of their lives. The real Las Vegas is a sprawling, soul-less desert mess where everybody is tied in some way to the monster that demands to be fed.
The veracity of that portrayal, admittedly subtle at times, is one of the qualities of this stark and sometimes graphic movie. There is wicked violence, sweaty sex, and ugly characters by the truckload. Just like Vegas! And the main three actors; Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, and William H. Macy are all brilliantly cast. There are some interesting plot twists, particularly with an ending that has a hint of Coen Brothers randomness. But more than anything else, this is an often touching tale of two people who have been dealt one bad hand after another, yet somehow cling to hope and love.
Come for the Vegas, stay for the people! Now there's an advertising slogan I'd think the natives would appreciate more. They'd certainly have less vomit to clean up.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Excellent !
Added 12/14/2009
You know the plot, you know the actors.
Now go buy this film unrated.
You won't be disappointed.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Ruined by the ending
Added 8/8/2009
The ridiculously contrived 'happy' ending is totally out of character with the noir spirit of the rest of the movie, and the viewer is left to wonder what was the point of the story. Worse, a wonderfully ironic ending was right before the writers' eyes and they missed it. When Alec Baldwin's character comes over and begins watching Macy at the craps table, Macy should continue losing, then walk over to Baldwin and say, "You don't need me anymore. You have a new cooler. More of a loser than I ever was." And walk off. Baldwin's life is now worse than Macy's and he has taken over the role as the contagious loser.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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A true "Darkhorse"
Added 3/12/2010
I had never heard anything about this movie, zip. Watched it at a friends house and had to buy it for my own.
Alec Baldwin plays a totally convincing, brutal mobster. William H. Macy is always a treat to watch. It has
humor and some very serious moments. Well worth the price.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Interesting!
Added 2/22/2010
Someone said this was a repeat of Hard Eight, which I never saw. I thought this was interesting and very well acted. I love Vegas movies! Yes, we have seen people get beat up before, etc. But there were twists and surprises, great acting. I do cringe at William Macy having sex (oy!) but Alec Baldwin was great as a hotel guy who wanted to keep things old a school. Great movie overall.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
What really happens in Vegas...
Added 1/16/2010
The Cooler is one of those movies that isn't afraid to show Vegas for what it is, a huge illusion hiding an ugly and ultimately empty core. I dislike Las Vegas for many reasons, and I'll admit that some aren't fair. However, I do know a fraud when I see one and I do believe beyond a doubt that Las Vegas perfectly represents America's good (capitalism at its rawest), bad (the Disney-fied casinos), and ugly (the tourists). It's funny that whenever I have travelled or met people from other countries, the one city in America that makes them salivate more than any other is Las Vegas. Even foreigners seem to know that Las Vegas is where gluttony, greed, sex, and utter irresponsibility reign supreme. Even the insipid slogan begs you to go there and do all the stupid things you'd never even think about doing in your hometown. Las Vegas is ground zero for obedient drones to act out their most ridiculous fantasies guilt free. If only it were that easy...
The Cooler isn't so much about Las Vegas, however, as much as it is about two beat-up people trying to escape it. Nonetheless, the writers hit several solid base hits when they attack the "Epcot" that new Vegas aspires to, overrun with flip-flop wearing, buffet gorging, self-satisfied pigs, guzzling oversized plastic cups of margaritas while dodging the porn card clicking illegals on every street corner of the Strip. It delivers a beautiful and long-overdue kick in the groin to the well-crafted illusion that Las Vegas is about anything other than taking every cent from you that it can. In short, there are no winners in Vegas, only saps who leave their comfortable cul-de-sac homes for a week's worth of sanitized debauchery and then head home to confession and the banality of their lives. The real Las Vegas is a sprawling, soul-less desert mess where everybody is tied in some way to the monster that demands to be fed.
The veracity of that portrayal, admittedly subtle at times, is one of the qualities of this stark and sometimes graphic movie. There is wicked violence, sweaty sex, and ugly characters by the truckload. Just like Vegas! And the main three actors; Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello, and William H. Macy are all brilliantly cast. There are some interesting plot twists, particularly with an ending that has a hint of Coen Brothers randomness. But more than anything else, this is an often touching tale of two people who have been dealt one bad hand after another, yet somehow cling to hope and love.
Come for the Vegas, stay for the people! Now there's an advertising slogan I'd think the natives would appreciate more. They'd certainly have less vomit to clean up.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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