Uncut Gems

UncutGemsstartedoffat60milesperhournandneverletit'sfootoffthegas!

For a short time in my life I made a weekly bet or two [ahem] during football season. Even though my wagers were small-ish, the fact money was involved changed how I experienced the game.

Each week I cared less about the on-field athleticism and more about how the spread was moving. I bet big on the single game Thursday night so I knew going into multi-game-day Sunday if I could go big or should stay small. A win by my favorite team became less important than if I beat the spread. 

So I stopped. Cold turkey. 

I felt those old feelings while watching Uncut Gems. The desperation -- not to win, but to continue the thrill -- was evident from the first scene you see a conscious Howard Ratner (the first time you see him he's not conscious). It was suffocating, and the feeling drained me emotionally.

My  hand to God: when the movie ended Mrs. Film Geek said: "Can we watch something happy now so I don't have to go to bed feeling this way?" 

Sandler's got legit drama-movie game. And Julia Fox -- in her debut role, even -- is excellent. Uncut Gems isn't for everyone due to emotional intensity. But simply as a story, this flick is excellent. 

The Gentlemen

"Whatcha wanna watch on Prime tonight,?" she asked.

"You choose." I didn't care. I've been cooped up due to the coronavirus for so long that I welcomed any entertainment short of watching a White House COVID-19 briefing.

She sorted through the Amazon options, paused to read the summary for a couple of horror flicks, then landed in the drama section.

"How about The Gentlemen?"

In my head I screamed: "Nooooooooooo!" But out loud I said "Sure, fine with me."

Damn it. Guy Ritchie again.

I tend to shy away from Ritchie flicks for several reasons: they tend to be stylized in a way that just looks too obvious to me, sorta like an understated Wes Anderson film. Ritchie film plots are often a little too fast moving for me. He's a terrific teller of stories, but he requires the audience to be in lock-step with his pace and I always feel a full step behind. Then there's the fact that I can never understand his dialogue.

Ever! I mean, have you tried watching Snatch without closed captioning?

There's still a lot of all that in The Gentlemen. But there's a lot I enjoyed, too. Most of what I enjoyed comes from the effort of Hugh Grant. It's through the eyes of Fletcher, his character, that we experience most of this story. And while I wouldn't hang out socially with Fletcher, he's a fun guy to observe from afar.

Matthew McConaeghey is good as the protagonist, and Charlie Hunnam is excellent as Raymond. The plot is complicated, but it's told in a way that unfolds for the audience and is easy to understand.

I left the closed captioning on, though. Just in case.