Poker Night (2014) Directed by Greg Francis
So I was in the mood for a bad slasher to start the new year off with. I saw the cover for this movie and thought it would be a good pick until I started reading about it and found at it wasn't a slasher at all. I felt disappointed but at the same time curious as well, after learning who all was in it and I decided to give it a go. Did I regret it? Well, yes to be honest. It's not a terrible movie but it's one I'm sure I won't remember anything about anymore in a week from now.
The main problem with this movie really is the narrative. It's a non-linear one, that constantly goes back and forth in time by making use of flashbacks, which is often confusing but more importantly; also highly annoying as well. Most of the time you're wondering to yourself 'what's the point of it all?' It doesn't always feels that the flashbacks are adding anything to the story or its characters. it also makes the movie drag at points, instead of helping the story to go forward. It's also an excuse for the movie to feature as many different characters as possible in it, of which very few actually add anything to the story.
Also the main story itself is hardly ever being anything groundbreaking or too surprising. None of the 'twists' come as a surprise really, once you have seen a few genre movies like this before. The movie itself still seems to believe it's being something highly creative and original though and loves to emphasize this with its constantly present, over-stylized, visual style.
I don't know, on the one hand the visual style of the movie is still making it a good one to watch but on the other it also gets a bit too much at times though. I felt worn out and fed up with it after a while. It provides the movie with pace and a good look but at the same time it often feels forced and out of place as well.
You could say this was a bit of an overambitious project that tried to do a lot but by doing so amounted to very little, It's not a really a gritty crime movie, not really a suspense filled thriller, not a cool modern action flick. It's a bit of everything but not in a very good, pleasant, well balanced or effective way.
It's also a bit of a problem for the movie that it lacks some good and likable enough characters. We basically get to knew very little about the main character played by Beau Mirchoff and something just feels off about him as well. Maybe it's because he looks and is way to young compared to all of the other actors in the movie and really, if you can get actors such as Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito for your movie than why couldn't you get a slightly better and more well known actor for the lead role as well? The movie also lacks a good main 'villain'. For most part of the movie it's a masked person, which may work well for a slasher but not for a thriller and crime movie such as this one, in which the 'killer' is supposed to be more of a 'human' character with a human face, in order for him to work out as both threatening and intriguing. You want the movie to provide you with a reason to hate him and feel scared of him and disgusted by your actions but the movie never does so. As a matter of fact, in a weird way it glorifies its villain (who is not only 'just' a murderer but also a pedophile mind you) by showing him as a cool character, who walks away from explosions in slow-motion and is a real smooth talker. Yes, it's weird.
It honestly isn't a terrible movie but it also really isn't as good, surprising, original or stylish as it seems to think that it is though.
5/10
Watch trailer
The main problem with this movie really is the narrative. It's a non-linear one, that constantly goes back and forth in time by making use of flashbacks, which is often confusing but more importantly; also highly annoying as well. Most of the time you're wondering to yourself 'what's the point of it all?' It doesn't always feels that the flashbacks are adding anything to the story or its characters. it also makes the movie drag at points, instead of helping the story to go forward. It's also an excuse for the movie to feature as many different characters as possible in it, of which very few actually add anything to the story.
Also the main story itself is hardly ever being anything groundbreaking or too surprising. None of the 'twists' come as a surprise really, once you have seen a few genre movies like this before. The movie itself still seems to believe it's being something highly creative and original though and loves to emphasize this with its constantly present, over-stylized, visual style.
I don't know, on the one hand the visual style of the movie is still making it a good one to watch but on the other it also gets a bit too much at times though. I felt worn out and fed up with it after a while. It provides the movie with pace and a good look but at the same time it often feels forced and out of place as well.
You could say this was a bit of an overambitious project that tried to do a lot but by doing so amounted to very little, It's not a really a gritty crime movie, not really a suspense filled thriller, not a cool modern action flick. It's a bit of everything but not in a very good, pleasant, well balanced or effective way.
It's also a bit of a problem for the movie that it lacks some good and likable enough characters. We basically get to knew very little about the main character played by Beau Mirchoff and something just feels off about him as well. Maybe it's because he looks and is way to young compared to all of the other actors in the movie and really, if you can get actors such as Ron Perlman and Giancarlo Esposito for your movie than why couldn't you get a slightly better and more well known actor for the lead role as well? The movie also lacks a good main 'villain'. For most part of the movie it's a masked person, which may work well for a slasher but not for a thriller and crime movie such as this one, in which the 'killer' is supposed to be more of a 'human' character with a human face, in order for him to work out as both threatening and intriguing. You want the movie to provide you with a reason to hate him and feel scared of him and disgusted by your actions but the movie never does so. As a matter of fact, in a weird way it glorifies its villain (who is not only 'just' a murderer but also a pedophile mind you) by showing him as a cool character, who walks away from explosions in slow-motion and is a real smooth talker. Yes, it's weird.
It honestly isn't a terrible movie but it also really isn't as good, surprising, original or stylish as it seems to think that it is though.
5/10
Watch trailer
