Starring Matt Damon, Ed Norton, John Turturro, Famke Janssen, John Malkovich, Martin Landau, Gretchen Mol
Written By: David Levien, Brian Koppelman
Directed By: John Dahl
Studio: Miramax
Buy on Amazon.com

Rounders is about a young law student named Mike (Matt Damon), who also plays cards professionally. A Rounder is someone who makes the rounds to every card game in town. Mike tries to go all in against a Russian player called Teddy KGB (John Malkovich) who’s very intimating and a powerful card shark in NYC. Well he loses everything and stays away from the game for a few years. He tries to go legit and become a lawyer but that doesn’t happen. His card buddy Worm (Ed Norton) gets released from jail and he’s itching to get back into the mix of things, and Mike gets dragged into it because Worm owes everyone old debts. Mike and Worm team up like they used to, but Worm usually screws up and ends up getting the duo in trouble. If the two don’t come up with a bunch of money, they are going to get a nasty visit from one of their old allies, who’s now working for Teddy KGB. Mike tries to save the two from getting the beating of a lifetime and challenges KGB to a rematch.

From someone who’s getting into gambling, I found this movie to be really good. It has an all-star cast, compelling story and it’s just fun to watch. This Special Edition DVD came out during a perfect time because Celebrity Poker is very popular right now and they play Texan Hold ‘Em, just like in the movie. I could never figure out Texas Hold Em when watching celebrity poker. I’m used to playing with 5 cards, whatever game that’s called. 5 card stud? I don’t know. It was cool to see Damon and Norton together in a movie because from what I read from interviews, they were always up against each other for the same roles and there might have been some animosity towards one another. One actor I couldn’t stand in the movie was John Malkovich. I just hate him as an actor and especially hate him when he uses a foreign accent. He single handedly ruined the movie Johnny English with his god awful French accent. This time he tries to conquer a Russian accent. Doesn’t work for me. Speak English if anything John. John Turturro is okay in this movie, I wish he had more scenes in it though. I liked him as an actor ever since, believe it or not, Brain Donors. Haha, Hey I like that movie ok! Oh, I liked the stuff from the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. That’s the one casino I go to all the time when I go gambling at AC. But now it’s the new casino, the Borgata because it’s nicer, and plus the waitresses there are slamming! But I was pointing out all the places in the TAJ that i’ve been the whole time haha.

There was some cool extras on here like the interactive Texas Hold Em card game. You can build up points to enter the professional game and then you can play some cards. I learned a lot about the game, you kind of have to in order to play becuase they quiz you. It takes forever to get to the game though. I don’t think I actually got there because it was just taking forever. I wished you can just skip all that crap and play the damn card game. But it’s a neat extra! There’s also a Behind the scenes special, a feature on professional poker playing, there’s audio commentary with director John Dahl, writers and actor Ed Norton. Plus a few other things and one easter egg I found with Harvey Weinstein playing cards for charity or something like that.

I really liked the movie Rounders and i’m stupid for not seeing it sooner. If you like cards, Matt Damon or Ed Norton, check this movie out. I enjoyed it a lot.

Features:
Behind The Scenes Special Set Top Game
– “Heads Up Texas Hold ‘Em” Behind
-Then-Scenes Special Inside Professional Poker Feature Commentary With Professional Poker Players
Feature Commentary With Director John Dahl, Screenwriters David Levien and Brian Koppelman, and Actor Edward Norton
Championship Poker Tips (From Four Professionals)

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 CC
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1

Video:
Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: All the card game scenes were fun to watch, stuff in the TAJ,the police game, the end game with KGB.
Rating: Rated R
Running Time: 121 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: