comedy

Worth watching

source: Mississippi Grind

Greetings from Lithuania. "Mississippi Grind" (2015) is not about the game, it's all about the player, or in this case, players. This picture first of all is an amazing character study drama. Then it's a great buddy / road picture. It is also a superb gambling movie, where games are shoot and shown in their true colors. Acting by was great by all involved, i knew Ryan Reynolds can truly act after a small masterpiece (in my opinion) "Buried", but Ben Mendelsohn gives the most amazing performance here as a low-key down on his luck addictive gambler who simply just can't win. Or he can't giving up on loosing..? Overall, "Mississippi Grind" isn't a straightforward gambling movie. It is superb and entertaining character study movie in which characters are gamblers. It is not about money as one character says, it is about a rush for gambling (probably). This a great little movie gem.

"Don't worry, it was just sixty bucks." Are you expecting to witness a brilliantly conceived plan that's used in a bet as in "Focus"? A breathtaking scene with Will Smith raising the stakes alarmingly and taking off with a shitload of money. Or do you think you'll see an "all or nothing" poker game like Matt Damon shows in the magnificent movie "Rounders"? Then I should inform you that you've backed the wrong horse. "Mississippi grind" looks more like a mix of "The Gambler" and "Wild Card". Just as Wahlberg in "The Gambler", Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) is someone who should stop gambling, because clearly good fortune isn't on his side. And just like Statham seems his luck turns at the right time. But still. This slow and at times monotonous film feels differently. Be assured. After watching this film you certainly won't feel the irresistible urge to put on a tuxedo and quickly head to the nearest casino. Despite the fact that the central theme is gambling-oriented, you'll realize after a while that it really is about something else. It could just as well be about two florists, who travel across America while demonstrating their floral art and finally arrive at the world championship "Bonsai-cutting". It's that trip and the interaction between the two individuals that are particularly important here. You travel as it were together with these two complicated characters. First there's Gerry. A typical example of an inveterate gambler who's pursuing the impossible dream to win big one day with his gambling. He's aware of his desperate situation and thus he's drawn into an irreversible bankruptcy. The "big profit" is still to be achieved. Besides the immense mountain of debt he built up over the years, his personal life is also a mess. His wife left him. He hasn't seen his daughter in years. And although he's actually fooling himself all these years, he's still honest enough to admit his weakness to a strange girl: "I have a problem with money". Next Curtis (Ryan "RIPD" Reynolds) appears at the scene. A carefree charmer who just wanders around and seemingly has a girlfriend in every state. He's a smooth talker who gets everyone on his side that way. Similarly Gerry who's intrigued by this loner. He can't get hold of Curtis during a poker game. Even the monotonous voice on the tape he listens to in the car, can't help him. The endless list of traits and tics that some players show during poker, doesn't apply to Curtis. Gerry is convinced that Curtis is a kind of a good luck charm. A rabbit's foot so to speak. And together they leave for New Orleans to participate in a legendary poker tournament. What follows is a grubby road movie showing the formation of an intimate bond between two total strangers. The trip leads along dark gambling halls and with neon equipped bars where lots of "Woodfords" are served. A sparkling and at the same time dramatic psychological observation about addiction and self-esteem. Superbly played by Reynolds and Mendelsohn. Both have their own demons to fight and despite their contrary character, they fit perfectly together. "Mississippi Grind" shows how someone tries to reverse his good fortune and in that way tries to obtain a new and better life. More reviews here : http://bit.ly/1KIdQMT

Two powerful performances from Ben Mendelsohn and Ryan Reynolds carry this gritty gambling flick. Mendelsohn is pitch perfect as Gerry, a lying and conniving compulsive gambler. Reynolds is also excellent as Curtis, a free-wheeling and gregarious guy, who meets and befriends Gerry at a poker room, in a Dubuque, Iowa casino. They decide they will travel together down the Mississippi on a gambling odyssey, with the ultimate goal of playing in a high stakes poker game, in New Orleans. At times, the talented filmmaker duo of Ana Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, Sugar) capture the tone of the gambling experience perfectly, while towards the end of the movie it enters fantasyland to some degree, in my opinion. There's even illustrations of the very dark masochistic tendencies that can be shown by a gambler, which reminded me of the classic 1974 film "The Gambler". All in all, although this movie may appeal to only a certain slice of viewers, I found it intriguing enough to maintain my interest throughout, and wonder how it would all turn out, led, as mentioned by two superior portrayals by Mendelsohn and Reynolds.

With the picturesque road trip surrounds of the American South at its disposal and the unique pairing of Australian ex-pat Ben Mendelsohn and Deadpool himself Ryan Reynolds, Mississippi Grind comes off as a sadly low key disappointment that could've so easily become so much more. Filmed by directing duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who are arguably most well known for the Ryan Gosling starring drama Half-Nelson, Grind is proficient and professional but it lacks a heart. A coldness inhabits the entire film that keeps the audience at arm's length from getting emotionally invested into our seemingly odd couple pairing of Mendelsohn's troubled gambler Gerry and the somewhat mysterious and kindly natured Curtis who Reynolds could've played in his sleep. Frustrating would be the best way to describe the film for a lack of a better word and you're constantly left on a knifes edge waiting to learn more about our two main protagonists or for the film to truly hit an emotional home run but it sadly never comes despite a suitably tense final few scenes and the likable leads doing their utmost with their roles. It may be broken record time but once more Grind see's Mendelsohn deliver another on song performance and it's great to see him given a lead turn in a Hollywood production. His Gerry isn't a totally likable human being and it's a character that see's Mendelsohn once more play to the downtrodden side of humanity but he does it so well that there's no reason for him to stop anytime soon and he creates chemistry with Reynolds that at times threatens to elevate the film to a whole new level yet sadly the narrative never goes to the ends needed for this to happen. A fantastic chance to once more see Australia's very own Ben Mendelsohn ply his trade like the best of them in an overseas production and a film that's unique in many ways, Mississippi Grind is a fine movie that had it featured a little more heart and soul and a more meaty narrative, is a movie that could've been something truly special. A winning hand then, but in no way a big time jackpot. 3 kittens out of 5

But not really because of the reality of portrayal, no, the movies does that extremely poorly. Its depressing because there is no real chemistry between the actors which was supposed to be the driving force (someone said its like Sideway but gambling, which is a good description only Sideways was pretty good quality movie and upbeat while this is dark and has this pathetic feel to it), every interaction feels forced, every move they make feels forced, the whole movie feels artificial. And the base the movie is founded on. Its not realistic. I guess due to the overly depressing tone of the movie they figured, hey lets at least try to make it a bit upbeat towards the end. Makes it even worse. Because it is, as everything else, yeah, forced. The whole storyline meanders slowly and pathetically through something that was supposed to be somewhat entertaining and at the same time realistic portrayal of this life. But only ends up being depressing. Im not very much into too melodramatic or "realistic" movies that some people adore. I figure life is too much of that as it is. But I can appreciate a good movie, no matter the core. And Its not the actors fault as much as the producers and directors. Its just not a very good movie.

What a year actor Ben Mendelsohn is having. The Australian actor with 70 credits on his IMDb resume was hardly a known name in North America even though he had parts in such recognizable films such as The Dark Knight Rises, Exodus: Gods and Kings and Killing Them Softly. But in 2015, Mendelsohn's star rose to award nomination heights with his role as Danny Rayburn on Netflix's Bloodline. As the troubled brother of a southern family, Mendelsohn was brilliant and now has an Emmy nomination for the role. In Mississippi Grind, Mendelsohn plays Gerry, a gambler who is unquestionably down on his luck. Facing personal and financial ruin, Gerry meets Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) a young poker player who also craves the adrenaline of a quick financial gain. Curtis is confident to a fault. And the two card players, dice rollers, chip throwers bond together and find advantage in a relationship that will take them from Iowa to New Orleans in search of the big win. Their journey turns Mississippi Grind into a road movie. Curtis claims "The journey's the destination" but with the fallen luck of the two leads both the journey and the destination could have devastating results for the duo who don't know when to stop when they're behind. Directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, Mississippi Grind seems to have taken pieces of Altman's California Split and Karel Reisz's The Gambler and polishes the settings, characters and tension in an effort to bring a stylish film about addiction to the masses. Both leads are perfectly cast. Mendelsohn is at times mesmerizing and Reynolds shows us that he has acute acting chops if given some meat on the script pages on which to chew. Together they make a formidable pair of losers. Two men who would appear to be fun to be around but are reckless and therefore dangerous to be associated. And therein lies the beauty and intricacy of Mississippi Grind. The characters are so well written and so interesting to the core that we get angered when they refrain from pulling out of a losers game yet we immediately forgive them and cheer for them to right the wrongs of their previous roll or flip. Shot on film, Mississippi Grind almost has that 1970's film feel. It's methodical in its pace and is not afraid to rely on the charm of its leads to propel the quiet story. And it's so engrossed with the culture of gambling and addiction that the ending – whether Curtis and Gerry win or lose – is irrelevant. After all the journey's the destination. http://theintestinalfortitude.com/

Movies like these simply don't come around too often. MISSISSIPPI GRIND follows in a long tradition of great gambling movies such as Altman's California SPLIT and Toback's THE GAMBLER, but easily stands up next to them as one of the finest examples of the genre. Ben Mendelsohn is at a career best level in this movie, approaching Pacino-in-the-70s heights at times. If you have followed his work since his breakout role in ANIMAL KINGDOM, his performance here will feel like a culmination of one hell of a run in the 2010's. Mendelsohn plays Gerry, a great poker player but a terrible gambler. His inability to know when to walk away from the table has put him deep into debt with some very unsavory characters, and even if he had the money to pay them back, he might just gamble it away anyways. This is the kind of self-destructive guy we're following here. He meets Curtis (Ryan Reynolds, the good version we also saw in ADVENTURELAND), a younger, seemingly more put together gambling enthusiast who clearly has issues of his own, and they form an unlikely but surprisingly endearing bond. Curtis agrees to stake Gerry a few grand and drive him down the Mississippi River, hitting a bunch of riverboat games on their way to a high stakes poker game in New Orleans. So the film also becomes a road movie, and a fantastic addition to that canon as well. The movie turns simply on watching these characters play out their fates, and the directing team of Boden & Fleck (who also made the great HALF NELSON and SUGAR) capture their lives with sensitivity and a good eye for emotions lurking just beneath the surface. We don't quite know what compels Curtis to help Gerry, nor do we know what compels Gerry to make some of the decisions he makes once they hit the road, but the filmmakers aren't interested in explaining flawed humanity to us. They are primarily interested in emotional truth, and boy do they find it in this story. Highly recommended for those who prefer finely tuned character dramas.