Posts Tagged ‘William H. Macy’

Short Take: Juno Temple’s performance works to make this a movie worth liking, but not necessarily worth respecting

Director: Abe Sylvia

Screenwriter: Abe Sylvia

Cast: Juno Temple, Jeremy Dozier, Milla Jovovich, Dwight Yoakam, Mary Steenburgen, William H. Macy

Length: 1h 30m

Synopsis: The year is 1987. Danielle (Temple) is a high schooler in Norman, OK with a reputation as a “dirty girl,” and it’s not unfounded. As a real man eater she gets around, but does have intolerances for rapscallion-like behavior. Concerned for her wellbeing the school places her in special education classes as motivation to change her ways, and while she’s there she gets partnered up with another social exile named Clarke (Dozier), whose only commonly known attribute is his homosexual orientation. Together they’re given a project which demands that they parent a bag of flour like a baby, forcing them to spend time together outside of school. As they work on their project they begin bonding over their mutual exclusion. Danielle, after newly discovering the identity of her biological father, takes advantage of this new bond by roping Clarke into a road trip to see him. At the same time, Clarke is running away from a father (Yoakam) who has reached the tolerance limit for his gayness. The two runaways’ journey starts off awkwardly enough, but coming back after what they experience will be the real challenge.

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The impetus for this list came from simply re-watching Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino, during which time I could not help but think of the number of movies which prominently feature the goings on of casinos – or at least the alleged goings on. And being that I didn’t quite agree with the listing of the Best Casino Movies at CasinoTop10, I decided to tackle the challenge of ranking them myself. Interestingly enough, though, casino movies aren’t even considered a subgenre, as few if any thematic or aesthetic similarities can be found amongst the movies which significantly feature a casino setting. Not to be discouraged, however, I took advantage of this leeway and simply considered any film which takes place in a casino or casino-like locale either for a substantial portion of the running time or during a particularly important or memorable scene. And now that we’re armed with these criteria let us get on with the rankings, which may contain a few surprises.

5. Casino Royale (2006) 

It seems almost too fitting that a James Bond movie be on this list considering how many times we’ve seen 007 sitting sharply dressed in a tuxedo at a green-felted table over the decades, and the question that immediately comes to mind is what separates Casino Royale from the lot. The answer is that, more than any other Bond flick, it made card games both a significant part of the plot and exceedingly exciting. Not only did James win his Aston Martin in a poker game, but he bested the film’s main villain by the same means. The scenes where the dapper double-o goes toe to toe with Le Chiffre demonstrate the full extent of the secret agent’s wit and savvy, successfully substantiating the notion that he is not just a physical force to be reckoned with but a cerebral one as well. No doubt, it’s as civilized a showdown as you’re likely to find in an action movie from any era, and that it’s as exciting as the film’s car chases speaks volumes about the writing quality.

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