
I’m having a bit of a mini theme thing – first it was time travel, then Killing Bill, and now a couple of romances. First up was Tuesday’s night in with The Cooler.
William H. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, a professional loser and loner. Alex Baldwin (taking a welcome break from crappy children’s films) is Lootz’s friend and employer - Shelly Kaplow, manager of the old school Shangri La casino and delusional nostalgic. Shelly has previously smashed in Lootz kneecap over a gambling debt and now takes advantage of his ‘friends’ chronic unluckiness by employing him as a cooler – basically Lootz is so sorry that his physical proximity is enough to stop a punters lucky streak dead. Lootz luck changes dramatically when he falls in love with the beautiful Natalie (Maria Bello), and this doesn't go down well with the boss.
The film has a very fifty’s feel to it – mainly through the old fashioned themes and characters, mostly because of the muted pastel colour scenes.
I enjoyed it but the themes are handled a little obviously (the TV nature show speech/metaphor is almost embarrassing). The only film I’ve seen where a pregnant woman gets kicked in the stomach though.
Regular readers will have noticed that the Top 10 section of the blog has been a bit of a redundant category. In fact, it's been a complete failure. This is mainly because I’ve struggled to come up with 10 films I'd actually want to watch in any given category. So from now on the Top 10’s will be lists of Lucky 3's – which gives me a chance to prune rather than embellish. To kick off the new regime – movies set in Las Vegas that are really worth watching:
1. Casino, Scorsese (1995)
– Brilliant title sequence, Ace and Ginger in one of the best mob movies ever made.
2. Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, Gilliam (1998)
- Johnny Depp & Benicio Del Toro go gonzo in this great re-enactment of Hunter S. Thompson’s journey into the heart of darkness.
3. Leaving Las Vegas, Figgis (1995)
- Bittersweet story about an alcoholic’s cunning plan to drink himself to death.
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