"Rounders" is another movie that I am late to the game with. For reasons I cannot comprehend, I just saw it recently for the first time. Being a huge Edward Norton fan, I certainly should have gotten to it sooner. Matt Damon plays Mike McDermott, a former master poker player who is in law school trying to make a more straightforward living. This career choice was based on a night where he lost it all to Teddy KGB (John Malkovich), a local Russian mob boss. When his lifelong friend, Lester Murphy (Edward Norton) gets out of prison, he finds himself getting pulled back into the game, putting his current life in jeopardy. The performances across the board are outstanding. Damon shows the confidence and cockiness that would serve him well later in the "Bourne" series. Norton is perfect as the unreformable ex-con who can not let go of the ways that got him into trouble in the first place. Their relationship is reminiscent of Keitel and DeNiro in "Mean Streets" and Rourke and Roberts in "The Pope of Greenwich Village": the man trying to better himself while being dragged down by the volatile personality of someone very close to him. I've saved the best for last: John Malkovich is absolutely outstanding as Teddy KGB. His Russian accent is just slightly over the top, but that works perfectly and Malkovich, in only a few scenes, completely steals this movie. He is phenomenal in the climactic poker scene with Damon. I'm definitely sorry I missed this one for so long. Very good flick.Grade: B+
Trailer:
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