The Last Casino

Before "21" came along, there was Pierre Gill's "The Last Casino," which is about Professor Barnes (played very well by Charles Martin Smith) creating his own card counting team to win a huge fortune in Canada's major casinos -- and, oh yes, Barnes also needs the money to pay off his booky Mr. Orr who has his own peculiar way of ensuring the prompt repayment of outstanding debts. "The Last Casino" has half the glitz and thrills of "21"; it even had to do without Kevin Spacey, Lawrence Fishburne and Rihanna's single "Shut up and drive." Yet, it was so much better and far more original than "21" ever was. Many factors contribute to making this under-appreciated film a jewel. To begin with, you can tell the writer Steven Westren put a lot of thought into his screenplay. He created original characters, including the ones that only had small parts. He put the protagonists -- essentially the team of card counters, Elyse (Katherine Isabelle), Scott (Kris Lemche) and George (Albert Chung) -- in the kinds of situations you (or I) would never expect in a film like this. But most importantly, Pierre Gill and Steven Westren succeeded in filling the scenes at the gambling table with tension and thereby conjured up the feelings and impulses of the people who were prepared to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table on a single bet. I also appreciated the surprise at the end of the film, which is so cleverly done that it may leave many of the viewers scratching their heads.

The other factor that makes this film great are the performances. Charles Martin Smith does a great job as the professor whose deep in debt, because his gambling via card counting finally got the best of him. Katherine Isabelle puts in a good performance as Elyse, as does Kris Lemche and Albert Chung as her companions so that, by the end, we (as an audience) are able to sympathize with all of them. But the one person who almost steals the show in this movie is Julian Richings whose performance as Mr. Orr must go down in the history books as one of the best (if not the best) villain roles in recent times.

After reading all the great reviews on this film I decided to rent it. Not only is it about gambling, one of my favourite movie subjects but it is a Canadian film. I have watched a few Canadian films in the past and haven't been too impressed with the stories. This is not true with The Last Casino. I would recommend this to anyone who likes gambling themes in movies. This film definitely had a good story and good character development. Cinematography is great with different shades and hues depending on the locations.

The actors are not very well known which adds to this films allure. I feel that you really get into the characters if you don't have any sort of pre conceived ideas of what they are all about, or if they haven't been type casted. Well worth the rental and I would even suggest a purchase of this DVD for your home collection. It does however lack extra features, meaning there are none whatsoever.

To summarize the story...

The movie centres around a math professor with a gambling problem, he is bankrolled by a mafioso type character that looks like he has a heroin problem. Things start to go bad when the professor gets banned from the casinos and his disguises are not fooling the eye in the sky. This is when he recruits 3 students to become part of his gambling ring to count cards and bet big to pay back his gambling debts. Various twists and turns in the movie makes this an interesting viewing.

I was watching a bit of wind down TV just before kicking off to sleep when I stumbled upon the Last Casino. I must say I was immediately captivated by the introductory scenes and story line. I was kept awake because of the pace of the movie, it got my attention right away. I've been a fan of the movie "Rounders" with Matt Damon and Edward Norton, and most recently the TV series "Vegas", so I was naturally curious to see which way this would go. I have to say this movie was awesome.This is a must see as it shows a most interesting side of gambling not seen often. I've always been intrigued by gambling and felt there is much more than luck involved.I was also delightfully surprised that this was a Canadian flick and nice to see our colored money. Especially to see it being won in large sums. All of the actors/actress were most impressive and I recommend this show over and over.

I don't have the words or the talent to write a brilliant review. I am not even capable. I can be dead pan honest and simply say this is an excellent movie in which each character is a real as real gets. Every single one of them feels and looks totally real and the story is completely brilliant in what it draws you into. These kids, these hard working smart kids get dragged into the casino slums along with all the lies that comes along with it.

Get it .. watch it. Make popcorn.

This is a perfect little movie and I wish I could find the drawbacks. There are none.

When I first tuned into this movie on the movie network, I didn't expect much because it is a Canadian film. But by the end of the movie, I had a different appreciation of what Canadian film makers can accomplish. This movie kept me interested throughout, and didn't need a huge budget to do so. The storyline is well written and the direction is top notch. The subtle humor and mature language was also well-placed. If you like cards, or casinos, or movies involving scamming money, this is the film for you. The fairly new cast does a great job. I liked the investor character of Orr, but I especially liked Katharine Isabelle as Elyse. She is a talented actress and beautiful to boot. If you're looking for a good Canadian film, this has got to be one of the best. This is a definite must-see.