Poker Movies
The Sting (1973)
When playing a cheater, be sure you cheat better than he does. Paul Newman out-cheats Robert Shaw during a train-board poker game. Newman's boozy, needling performance -- and the shocked expression on Shaw's underling's face when he realizes they've been out-hustled -- reveal a glimpse of how below the polite visage, poker is usually taken very seriously.
Maverick (1994):
Based on the 50's Television show of the same name, Maverick stars Mel Gibson as Bret Maverick Jr. A gambler by profession, Bret wants some money to enter a Poker tournament on the riverboat Lauren Belle. The tournament follows the Winner-Takes-All rules. Jodie foster co-stars with Gibson as a competitor who wants to lay her hands on those million dollars.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Four regular guys from London put all their cash together to back their friend in an insanely high stakes game of poker with a local gangster. When they lose they have to get deep into the world of crime in order to get out again. Not as poker based as the other picks, but such a fantastic movie overall that it had to get high rank. Full of quirky vernacular and clever tension-packed action sequences, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a triumph--a perfect blend of intelligence, humor, and suspense. The movie has great performances by Vinnie Jones and Jason Flemyng.
The Kaleidoscope
The card playing in this film was more realistic than most. Barney is a sly, cheating, debonair poker player who has to play in a really high profile game to defend his title as the 'luckiest poker player ever' and win the killer pot. Warren Beatty's characterization of Barney Lincoln is full of subtle, precise detail. He is a trained professional (whose cheating methods is to mark high value cards). He knows how to get the job done, he knows when things are getting a little too tough. As an up-and-coming poker player facing a long-time master of the game (it is his cunning that is tested through bluff and double bluff) not only is there a huge fortune at stake but also his status of being the 'luckiest' gambler of them all.
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