House of Games (1987)
Directed by David Mamet
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
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What critics compared House of Games to
Rodriguez isn’t the first director of tough content to have a successful go at more wholesome fare: A couple of years ago surrealist David Lynch (Blue Velvet) made the gently uplifting The Straight Story (rated G), and cinematic con man David Mamet (House of Games) made the sweet The Winslow Boy (also rated G).
The ingenious dialogue dominates, providing something akin to the early work of David Mamet (see 1987’s “House of Games” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”).
In his feature debut, "In Bruges," he has made a remarkable first film, as impressive in its own way as " House of Games ," the first film by David Mamet , who McDonagh is sometimes compared with.
See “The Sting,” “House of Games,” “The Grifters.”
A romantic caper stocked with con artists, good looks but little sizzle, Focus is no Trouble in Paradise, House of Games or The Grifters.
If you enjoy movies such as “Matchstick Men,” “House of Games” or “The Sting,” then you’ll appreciate this one.
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The way Sorkin has assembled the film, the timeline jumps between Molly’s court case (in the “present”) and the almost unbelievable backstory that brought her there (as reported in her memoir), but he’s a firm believer that her book ended just as things were getting really interesting, seizing her arrest and trial as a framing device for a story that’s otherwise an awful lot like “Rounders” or “House of Games,” minus the juicy con-man twists.
It's not quite "The Usual Suspects" or "House of Games," but then what is?
AMERICAN HUSTLE joins the pantheon of great con job movies with “The Sting,” “House of Games” and “Wild Things.”
Director Steven Spielberg crafts a breezy tale that takes its place alongside other memorable con chronicles such as "The Sting" and "House of Games."