Runner Runner (2013)

Very a simple film. Just are watched one time and didn't remember after. The plot hasn't got any deep thoughts. A stock criminal story with a one mega-star and a half-one mega-star. Too bad, this move doesn't show all the scheme of bets on-line. Audience won't see it. It's pity! Play of actors are ordinary. They have just done their job, nothing else. But don't worth to think this film not interesting. It is watching very easy and soft. Film is hold in suspense until the end. If you wouldn't turn on your a brain and you would only were relaxed, forgot your problems for all day, as well. It is special for you. For an one time was watched. The time will pass unnoticed.

Fmovies: Ben Affleck has made three great films in the last few years, all of them starring and directed by the man himself. It's rather puzzling therefore - after 'Gone Baby Gone', 'The Town' and 'Argo' - what Affleck saw in Brian Koppelman and David Levien's script or in director Brad Furman to commit to star in this by-the-numbers thriller that arguably adds little to the cred he's built up so far. Indeed, it's an odd choice for a multi-hyphenate at a critical turning point in his career when pretty much everyone in Tinseltown was prepared to cast him as a has- been.

In spite of this, Affleck and his co-star Justin Timberlake are about the best things that 'Runner Runner' has going for it. The title here refers to a card that either completes a hand or significantly improves one, which is what Affleck's gambling magnate Ivan Block sees in Timberlake's Princeton maths whizz Richie Furst at least at the start. But really, fancy titles aside, this is no more than yet another cautionary tale about a young, ambitious up-and-comer who gets way over his head when he is lured into a world of crime and corruption by a smooth-talking, charismatic criminal.

Set against the backdrop of the online poker industry, Furman tries to spin a sleek fast-paced number using the sun-drenched locations in Puerto Rico to stand in for Costa Rica. Just as Block lures Furst into his world of riches, the director best known for his work on the Matthew McConaughey thriller 'The Lincoln Lawyer' stuffs the screen with lavish digs, fancy cars, cool boats, private jets and stylish beach parties in the hopes of pulling a fast shimmery one on his audience. To his credit, all that glamour does succeed to mask the movie's flaws during its brisk setup.

And yet as soon as Furst's giddy ascent into the shady world of Block's business is complete, what ensues is pretty much a downhill journey. There's absolutely no surprise that an overachieving FBI agent (Anthony Mackie) will turn up to enlist Furst in order to take down Block, or for that matter the fact that said agent is willing to risk even Furst's life in the process. Neither is it any less predictable that Furst will fall in love with Block's right-hand woman Rebecca (Gemma Arterton), further aggravating the animosity between mentor and protégé.

But perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the plot lies in how simplistic Furst's plan to demolish Block's criminal empire turns out to be, an utterly predictable chain of events that only serves to cast aspersions on Block's own intelligence in the first place. Just like 'Lawyer', Furman employs a whole lot of snazzy camera techniques to distract his viewer from the plot failings, but even the casual viewer is likely to find the denouement underwhelming. In fact, the same can be said of the entire slicked up movie, which quickly runs out of any smart moves once you see through its bluff.

That is, even as Timberlake tries his darnest to inject the same kind of smarminess of 'The Social Network' into his character. The boyishly charming actor exudes enough wide-eyed naivety at the start to convincingly gear-shift into desperation as things go awry, but it is a clichéd role that does him no favours. On the other hand, Affleck underplays his character's villainy, and though some may find his performance too nonchalant, it is nicely calibrated to surprise when he reveals a dastardly evil hand.

Yet this is a mov

In Princeton, the student Richie Furst (Justin Timberlake) is a former Wall Street broker that lost everything in the stock market crash a couple of years ago. Richie supports himself and pays the institution promoting online gambling in Princeton. When he is denounced by one student to Dean Alex Monroe (Bob Gunton), Richie receives an ultimatum and is forced to stop his activity. Further, he decides to bet all his savings to finance the rest of his graduation. However he loses all his money and discovers that he has been swindled by the powerful Ivan Block (Ben Affleck) that owns the site.

Richie travels to a gambling convention in Costa Rica expecting to meet Ivan, and he meets his lover and employee Rebecca Shafran (Gemma Arterton) that gives an invitation to him for the party. Richie meets Ivan that refunds him and invites Richie to work for him. Richie is seduced by the offer and moves to Costa Rica expecting to become rich. But soon Richie is pressed down by the unethical FBI Agent Shavers (Anthony Mackie) that wants to catch Ivan but has no jurisdiction in the corrupt country. Soon Richie finds the truth about the disloyal Ivan and he has to find a way out to escape from Ivan and Shavers using his intelligence and money.

"Runner Runner" is an underrated and highly entertaining action movie with a good mouse and cat story with twists and betrayals. Fortunately I did not pay attention to the bad reviews in IMDb and we saw "Runner Runner" yesterday in a group of three. Everybody enjoyed this film that is not a masterpiece but a good entertainment even for a Saturday night. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Aposta Máxima" ("Maximum Bet")

Runner Runner fmovies. Greetings again from the darkness. I can sit in a theater and watch a mediocre movie, but when it comes time to write about it, there is no motivation or appeal. The most positive comment I can make is that it stars two very pretty men.

This one has "paycheck project" written all over it. Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake simply go through the motions as if someone is feeding them their lines through an ear piece. Gemma Arterton should never stoop to such a mundane and lifeless role ... though her hair and make-up are terrific. Only John Heard and Anthony Mackie come across as professional actors, and their minor roles are so limited, they barely register.

Writing partners Brian Koppelman and David Levien co-wrote the excellent Rounders, but this one merely teases the dark underbelly of online gambling. It has neither the depth, plot or character development that we would expect from a movie with this premise and cast. Director Brad Furman showed promise with The Lincoln Lawyer, but this one comes across as being rushed through production with faux-style.

The closest comparison I can come up with is last year's Savages, directed by Oliver Stone ... and even that one was more enjoyable. Rather than a MPAA warning for Language, I would prefer a heads-up whenever the filmmaking team really doesn't care much for the project. At least I could spend my money and time watching a different movie.

Dear oh dear oh dear. The saying "Don't give up your day job" could never be more true regarding a certain someones performance. Over the past 7 years now, Justin Timberlake has become progressively prominent in films. Why? Well because he's a big star....in music that is. So (according to some deluded people) that must mean he must be able to act....no it doesn't. He is a terrible actor; every single thing he does is horrifically unconvincing. He could even be in a film where he plays a popstar and i still wouldn't believe it. His smiles are smothered in falseness, his delivery is diabolical, his expressions are excruciating to watch. There are no redeeming features to his "acting". What makes a great actor is someone who makes you believe they truly are the person they are portraying. Timberlake is seemingly incapable of that.

He seems to get plaudits for "The Social Network", but the only reason he does is because he is in fact an attention seeking, irritating dweeb. Every chat show he over compensates and that follows him in films where he overacts. And just like in "In Time" his acting drains any chance of potential for this film.

People may argue that it wasn't his fault the film was terrible, and yes the film was rather dull as a whole, but it does not excuse his obvious inability to act. And in my opinion it was his fault i couldn't enjoy it. There are scenes in the movie where you can't help but associate Richie (Timberlake) with people from other films....horrible versions of course. When he's acting like the whiz kid of poker; tediously explaining the way to win, you just have to look back to Edward Norton or Matt Damon in "Rounders" and it really shows how bad he is. When he's strolling around the casino with the most irritating of faces, you flash back to Robert De Niro in "Casino" and it really couldn't be anymore blatant that Timberlake is completely out of sync when it comes to acting.

Ben Affleck and Anthony Mackie where average, but they didn't have much chance in such a dense film. I really am struggling to add positivity, but it's difficult, it was just monotonous. erm..... just Timberlake's attempt at an angry face making me chuckle... that's about it.

Not as intelligent as it thinks it is.

This would be true if the films producers intended to create something intelligent, but Runner Runner is textbook sex-money-thriller, with a spot of online gambling thrown in to keep it relevant, and nobody involved with its production thinks it's intelligent.

The film stars Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck, who have to make money somehow I suppose, but the best line in the film is reserved for token-black-FBI agent, played unremarkably by Anthony Mackie.

"That's what you say to someone who is stupid. Do you think I'm stupid."

Hey, you read my mind. Whoever wrote this script definitely thinks we're stupid.

The film's female characters deserve attention, not for their acting but the way they're shamelessly draped across every scene, like a bikini stretched over a pair of perky, artificially enhanced tits, just to remind everyone watching it's a man's world at the top.

Runner Runner falls into the rapidly growing category of post-GFC films attempting to relate to the millions of Americans left unemployed and out on their ass because Lehman Brothers went all in with their savings and lost, yet it does nothing but rehash the embarrassingly outdated idea that anyone with a few brains and determination can 'make it in America'.

That Hollywood can still serve up this undercooked, horse-sh*t film and call it a 'smart, sexy thriller' makes me want to crash my car off a bridge.

'Making it' in this economy is hard enough without wasting any of your time on this worthless mind slop. Save your money, Runner Runner is a losing bet.