With its central, hour long, casino scene set in the heights of Montenegro, the viewer is captivated by a series of events that occur during the poker game that involve double crossing, drugging, fight scenes and intelligent, skillful play.
The same online community has rated the Martin Scorsese film ‘Casino’ among the upper echelons of its admittedly saturated genre.
The gangster movie could be considered a little tired, but as always Scorsese keeps the viewer captivated with his faultless direction, top-drawer actors, including Robert de Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone, and, as in his hit film Goodfellas, a non-fiction based plot.
Documenting in equal measure the rise and fall of a Las Vegas casino owner and his Mafia cohort, Sharon Stone is brilliant throughout the film as a call-girl with expensive tastes and the final scenes are sure to leave one wincing as they are as brutal as they are entertaining.
A more recent casino based film is The Hangover, a comic tale of three bachelors taking their friend to Las Vegas for one last night of freedom before his wedding, with expectedly disastrous and mildly amusing results.
Although this film will never be remembered as a classic and in a different league to the aforementioned two, it’s worth viewing if only for Mike Tyson’s cameo after his pet tiger goes missing from his private zoo.
Of course the Oceans 11 franchise is considered by many to be the ultimate in casino based films, with its stellar cast including Clooney, Pitt and Roberts, but to many the original starring the Rat Pack is unbeatable with Frank Sinatra in his best role ever playing the canny and suave Danny Ocean.
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