Watched The Cooler the other night, mainly because it’s one of the few movies being shown on the Movie Network in high definition and right now I’m addicted to anything high definition.
I seem to remember the movie getting poor reviews and even poorer box office takings, but I quite enjoyed it. The premise is ridiculous, but you just have to suspend disbelief on that.
There is some very unpleasant violence about halfway through which had me cringing in my seat and I’m not usually affected much by movie violence; there’s also plenty of bad language, but hey, it’s set in a Las Vegas casino.
William H Macy was great as always; he seems to like playing “losers”, and he does it so well. I spent a lot of the movie trying to figure out where I’d seen his partner before and finally figured out it was Maria Bello, who did a stint on ER. She also gives an excellent performance in this movie. Alec Baldwin manages to play a nasty villain who you end up feeling some sympathy for, not an easy trick.
Overall it’s a good little movie, mixing what I’d describe as fantasy elements with the gritty reality of Las Vegas casino life.
