Poker Night

Watched this on Itunes the other day. After I watched it I looked up reviews and other info. I mean come on Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito? One review said flashbacks within flashbacks exhaust the viewer. I mean I get the review but I disagree. I think you get caught up in the stories. From what I can tell this didn't have a huge budget but what it lacked in money it makes up by keeping you engaged. The acting is solid. The story telling is cool. The characters and editing move it along kinda Guy Richie/David Fincheresque meets Saw type feel. I found myself yelling at the computer. Where one reviewer felt exhausted I felt I was entertained. This is one I say watch for your self and don't listen to critic reviews. Remember it is a genre film and not looking I think to win any awards. No one in the movie seemed to be trying to make a movie to change the world. If you like hip storytelling and popcorn flicks this movie is for you. Put it in your queue!

This is.....different. I don't know how to describe it any other way.

If you're into your horror/thriller type of movie, and you're not looking for anything deep, but you do want a movie with lots of twists and turns, then this is for you.

I liked it. I liked how the different stories played out to help create the main one.

Beau Mirchoff played his character well. Halston Sage is stunning!

It's not an academy award winner, but if you want a bit of fun and horror, then this is for you. You won't pick the story and how it pans out- definitely different....

This film deserves more publicity than it is getting.. An impressive cast and a pretty good thriller in its own right.. The different stories that each cop puts forward on poker night are in itself pretty good. Each story is different in their own way and its really depicts how a legit detective team would handle the same case. The negatives that I have are really slight.. Maybe the plot could have been a bit more taut and focused on the killer a bit more. The acting is well handled.. I enjoyed the ending and I wish the team behind this all the best in their next venture. I went in without any expectations but the rating on IMDb (which I think it deserves at least a seven) and I liked it. If you are into thrillers, give it a try.

Someone wrote exactly what I think on the reviews, but as he wrote spoilers I'll do the no-spoiler version. So, the movie has potential, has an interesting story, good cinematography and a good bunch of cool old actors playing the veteran cops teaching the rookie their stories in a poker night. So far it's OK, but as we see the rookie being so stupid all the time, even if it was the point at some level, he'll fall into every teenager horror movie cliche situation you can think of and never learn. At least me, not interested in watching a movie whit the main character being that lame. A few other plot holes and things (a patched wound over a shirt was so funny) add up to the stupidity of situations through the whole movie, you'll be eye-rolling a lot here. The movie has quite a lot of dark humour and doesn't pretend to be too serious, but this silliness is just lazy writing. It's not awful, but don't expect too much form it.

Overall this is an interesting thriller to watch.

Its main problem is the weird narrative with the time moving back and forth while telling the story and while leaving "crucial" clues out for a later reveal.

Also there is this gimmick, where the main character (a young cop) takes the place on screen of his older colleagues who are trying through personal stories to transfer their wisdom to him.

You get the hang of it, but it is a risk and it may confuses many of the viewers.

The cast is good enough. It consists of actors who you have seen them lots of times in secondary roles. Nevertheless they do a good job around a poker table as veteran cops, telling stories.

The "solution" of what is happening it's presented in "key phrases" from the beginning so if you want to follow the movie and enjoy it I suggest to pay attention from the start! The man behind the mask it might fool you too!