*** Official THE COOLER Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Dave_Brown]

Has anyone else seen this flick? I hadn't even seen any previews for it before I got stuck sitting through it. I was stuck in traffic while out of town last week and figured I'll kill the time at the theater. This was the only moving playing at the time I stopped by so figured it was better than going back out to sit in traffic.

I think I got the worse end of the deal and might have had a more enjoyable time sitting in traffic. I debated a couple of times wether or not to walk out and the only thing stopping me was knowing I'd just be sitting out in the car. I think it was opening night and there were maybe 15-20 of us in the theater so I guess I shouldn't have expected any sort of masterpiece.

 

[Craig S]

I don't think The Cooler was a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but I enjoyed it immensely, and I find it hard to understand how anyone could not find it entertaining. It was worth seeing just for the performances (William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin).

What didn't you like about it? You've given no specifics at all.

 

[Holadem]

Perhaps it would be more useful to tell us what you did not like about the movie eh?

--
H

 

[Dave_Brown]

Ok, I'll try to get into details as to why I didn't like it. However, I will say I am by no means a professional movie critique.

I think I just had better expectations as I normally view William H. Macy as a fine actor and I usually look forward to his performances.
In this case, I didn't find a single character to be someone to relate to or feel some kind of connection with. I think it really went downhill for me when they introduced the son and girlfriend. I found them to be so annoying and obviously fake that I wish the scene where they get worked over in the back room of the casino for cheating
would have gone on longer and a lot more painful.

On the technical side, I found the camera work and audio to be distracting as well. It seemed to almost cause a distraction in the low quality that was used. That was probably intentional but none the less, it seemed to keep me from getting connected with the movie and instead I felt like I was watching a very poorly produced low budget film with some big name actors.

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Yes, the Alternative Film Thread is the place to go for films such as this.

Here are my comments on The Cooler.

~Edwin

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "The Cooler" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "The Cooler" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Okay, I just watched this for the first time, and something confused me.

So Bernie's kid was cheating at craps? How was we doing that and more importantly how did Shelly know the kid was cheating?

 

[Brook K]

1. yes
2. IIRC, he introduced his own dice which is impossible in a real casino, but as I've argued with others, The Cooler is a fictional world with its own rules, it isn't meant to be completely realistic.
3. He just knows, he can spot cheats just like Macy has the power of bad luck, see #2.

Then again, if you've ever seen the effect I can have on a craps table, maybe the film isn't such a fantasy.

 

[Mark Bendiksen]

Thanks, Brook. Your answer to #2 doesn't seem like it would have been possible to me either, but I agree with you that the movie is intended to exist somewhat its own reality (so to speak), so I'll go along with it.

 

[Vickie_M]

Watch that scene again. Shelly was watching the kid's hands and it was as if he had X-Ray vision. He saw the cheater dice fall down into the hand.

So while Brook's answer #2 was part of it, it wasn't as if he really had X-Ray vision, but was an indication of Shelly's long-time casino smarts. He knew all, saw all. He could probably smell an asshole/cheater a mile away (takes one to know one plays into it too), and Bernie's kid stunk to high heaven.