Tag: The Sting

REVIEW: Dakota [2012]

Jared Mobarak

“You find a way to afford the horse” Writer/director Ami Canaan Mann‘s WIGS network three-part series Dakota has the potential to be an intriguing gender reversal for the subject of high stakes poker. One generally thinks Rounders, The Sting, House of Games or many other male-centric vehicles when it comes to players putting it all on the line for a quick score in the best of times and a reprieve from a loan shark’s brutality in the worst. Poker films use women as distractions, schemers, and accomplices. So, listening to…

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REVIEW: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid [1969]

Jared Mobarak

“For a gunman, you’re one hell of a pessimist” Director George Roy Hill had a little success when working with Paul Newman: two Best Picture and Best Director nominees with classics The Sting and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with a cult classic in the hockey comedy Slap Shot. The Sting is one of my favorite films and so when the opportunity presented itself to see the first pairing of Hill, Newman, and Robert Redford on the big screen, I had to take advantage. Being the earliest success…

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REVIEW: An Unfinished Life [2005]

Jared Mobarak

“You start to think you don’t deserve better” I always wondered why An Unfinished Life didn’t get the chance it should have upon its release. Between the reknowned director, in Lasse Hallström, to the top-heavy, star cast, nothing was really said about it. I remember seeing the trailer online and thinking it seemed intriguing enough, and then next I knew it was out on DVD. If it hit theatres here in Buffalo, I was not aware. Finally, though, I was able to catch up on the story and see if…

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