Search - All In on DVD

A FLOP

M. Burns | sonoma co, CA | 07/09/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"
If you like poker movies with catchy one-liners or believable scenarios, keep looking. If you watch movies and play on your laptop, text message and eat, well you might miss everything that i found ALL HOLLYWOOD. The side plot was so poorly intertwined/engaging. The background sets were so cheap, a pathetic classroom set. Acting isn't without lots of training, but the characters were more theatrical, overexaggerating their feelings/tone. I sympathize for the director/writer because you know the producer said "we can't do that...or that," with minimal takes and strict deadlines. The video editors had a chipped shoved up their as...not something they could put on a resume. Conversations are spliced. During a tournament, the players splash the pot during all-in calls, but they have different amounts...what no side pots! A ten thousand dollar buy-in with like ten tables and first place pays five million, who's bad at math? After tens of hours watching CSI with its post mordom discoveries, the switch-a-roo scene, unbareable. There is even a poorly cut scene where one guy checks, then the movie spasms and the main character says raise! And 63off. Again, arrgh! Everything was half-arsed.



The main character sets up an image after learning of everyones tells, then instead of playing off that info she plays a second best hand and draws out. I just wished they sought professional advice on how a hand would actually play out. There are so many possible and believable ways a poker game might play out. Why must bad poker scenes play out so amateurish and all in-ish. All in! call. call. call. Sure!



If you saw it you already, you knew what you were in for. If you are going to see the movie anyways...make sure you see the bonus deleted scenes with the asian friends. This is how the movie should have been written. Hilarious scene "Your betting has fluctuation...F*@k-u-asian?" If you like poker movies, but have only seen Rounders, you can see Lucky You. Despite some cheese, a poker fan can appreciate the various poker/gambling situations and you can actually predict the opponents hands because their was some obvious poker consulting.



Okay, so i obviously can't overlook these ficticious inclusions. I gave two stars then wrote this review and deducted one more. I got into film schools, but was afraid i would work on films like this forever, so i chose not to. Kryptonite is to Superman what this movie is to me."

Worst poker movie ever

Scott L. Mitchell | Wasilla, Ak USA | 03/28/2008

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Except for Mike Madsen and Lou Gossett, the acting was terrible, and the plot ridiculous. Only worth watching if your cable has been out for a week and you have been diagnosed with cancer and it is the only movie on the shelf at Blockbuster."

All in? More of a fold actually.

Biff Fearless | Cape Coral, FL USA | 03/12/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Having recently developed an interest in Poker, I have started watching a few movies about the game. Seeing that it "starred" Michael Madsen and Louis Gossett, Jr. gave me some hope for the film, but I was soon to learn that these actors are more supporting players (almost cameo) rather than featured performers. Dominique Swain stars as "Ace" the daughter of a professional gambler who tries to pay her way through med school by playing Texas Hold 'Em. To me, the biggest flaw of the movie is the part set in the learning hospital. The acting and storyline are so over the top that it is very hard to take seriously, despite a very dark subject matter. If this type of thing was going to be introduced, it needed to be treated more significantly than the Poker games.

And what about those Poker games? The games are very shallow in the movie, but are at least moderately entertaining as "Ace" tries to win a big tournament. If you are a serious student of the game you will not find the sequences authentic, but then the recent spate of poker movies are really just in the vein of most Hollywood sports movies. Holding it to too high of a standard isn't really fair either."