FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Cooler [2004] [DVD]

The Cooler [2004] [DVD]
enlarge	Director: Wayne Kramer Actors: William H. Macy, Maria Bello, Alec Baldwin, Shawn Hatosy, Ron Livingston Studio: Palisades Tartan Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £1.19 as of 24/11/2009 19:51 GMT details You Save: £18.80 (94%) New (26) Used (28) Collectible (2) from £0.80 Seller: fastdvd2006 Rating: 11 reviews Sales Rank: 28251 Format: Anamorphic, PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 0 Discs: 1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 98 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5023965349828 ASIN: B0002YCY80 Theatrical Release Date: March 4, 2004 Release Date: October 25, 2004 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 1 2 3 Next » You have to play the game to be lucky at love May 21, 2004 Lawrance M. Bernabo (The Zenith City, Duluth, Minnesota) 9 out of 9 found this review helpful Bill Macy has made a career out of playing losers and actually wanted to put such roles behind him, but Wayne Kramer and Frank Hannah's script for "The Cooler" made that hard to do. Bernie Lootz is the title character and he is employed by Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin) as a "cooler." Shelly runs the Shangri-La, the last "old school" (read "mob connected") casino in Las Vegas, and a cooler is the guy who brings an end to winning streaks. Bernie does this by just being himself; if he touches the roulette wheel, brushes your shoulder, or sits at your table, your luck turns bad. This particular talent is very useful to Shelly and now Bernie is just days away from paying off his debt to the casino and leaving Las Vegas behind for a place where there are clocks on the way and you can actually tell day from night. Needless to say, Shelly is not thrilled with this idea, and since Bernie's limp is a memento from their "negotiations."pBut Bernie has other concerns because he has made a surprising and magical connection with Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello) and actually has something to smile about for the first time in his life. Meanwhile Shelly is distracted because a group of "investors" have brought in Larry Sokolov (Ron Livingston), a hot shot from the Harvard Business School, who represents the new Las Vegas of subliminal persuasion and other modern innovations to persuade customers to lose large amount of money. Shelly hates the new way and insists that the perfection of Shagrai-La should remain untouched. However, he has a new problem, because Natalie is making Bernie happy and suddenly people are winning a lot of money at the casino. This, it does not need to be pointed out, is not good for business and steps must be taken. pWhat makes "The Cooler" stand out is that both parts of the Bernie and Shelly relationship have stories that can stand on their own. Trying to define their relationship is tricky because it is so multi-faceted that it is hard to get through everything to get to the bottom line. In fact, it is hard for Bernie and Shelly to reach that point themselves, and fate (or Lady Luck) has to help them along. Baldwin was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar and Macy's performance is just as good (if Bernie was not clearly a leading role, he could have been nominated in the same category as well). Together they make one of the more interesting odd couples we have seen on the screen in recent years and "The Cooler" is one of the better off beat films of 2003 that will not disappoint Macy's legion of fans. Luck Be A Lady May 3, 2004 Martin A Hogan (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) 13 out of 13 found this review helpful Bernie (William H. Macy) is the ultimate Las Vegas loser. Having lost a fortune to casino owner Shelly (Alec Baldwin), he becomes employed by him by destroying the luck of winners with his uncanny ability to transfer 'bad luck'. All Bernie has to do is to stand next to a winner to immediately stop their winning streak. Bernie's life is so full of bad luck he can't even get enough cream out of a coffee creamer. A beautiful waitress named Natalie (Maria Bello) shows a huge interest in Bernie, who becomes suspicious. Does she love him or is this a trick? Suddenly Bernie's luck changes dramatically and he can't jinx anyone. Meanwhile Shelly is being hit up by consultants to modernize his non-profitable casino. The tables get turned and Bernie finds himself wanting to get away with Natalie, but being threatened by Shelly. The plot is simple enough, but the dialogue is genuine and the performances riveting. Even at the climax, there are several shocks and twists, enough 'good' and 'bad' luck to go around for everyone. This is one heck of an entertaining film. The Cooler gets lucky May 4, 2004 Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) 9 out of 9 found this review helpful Even if you're not an aficionado of Las Vegas glitter and sin, THE COOLER is a notable and absorbing drama.pBernie Lootz (William H. Macy) is one of Life's pre-eminent losers, and that's what makes him indispensable to casino owner Shelly Kaplow (Alec Baldwin). Kaplow manages the Shangri-La, an aging and last-of-its-kind gambling hall run the old fashioned way - by the Mob. Shelly employs Bernie to bring his hang-dog demeanor and startlingly bad karma to tables where the punters are on a roll. Bernie's presence immediately turns the winner's luck bad, saving the house from having to make big payouts. Lootz and Kaplow are, um, longtime friends. Several years before, when Bernie had gotten in over his head with gambling debts, Shelly had broken Bernie's kneecap with a baseball bat and had written off Bernie's marker in exchange for indentured servitude at the Shangri-La. While oddly grateful to Shelly for turning his life around, Lootz now has only six days left on his contract, and he announces to Kaplow his intention of leaving Sin City when his time is up. Kaplow, under pressure from his Mob boss to modernize the operation into one of the city's G-rated casinos and improve the bottom line, is desperate to retain Lootz and his unusual talent, and is adamant about keeping the Shangri-La "traditional".pBernie begins a relationship with cocktail waitress Natalie Belisario (Maria Bello). The steamy sex, the first of any sort that Lootz has had in years, blossoms into Love. Now, when an ebullient Bernie walks the casino floor, Lady Luck is at his side and the winners continue to win. Win big. Vis-a-vis Kaplow, this isn't a good career move, especially after a particularly nasty set of circumstances binds Lootz to his boss for an additional period of servitude.pTHE COOLER is Macy's most brilliant performance in an accomplished but largely overlooked career. For his role as Bernie, Macy was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar. It's a shame he didn't win. (He even gets to do nude love scenes with Bello. In an interview before the most recent Academy Awards, Macy commented that he's tried to stay in shape over the years for just that improbable eventuality. Good planning.)pAlmost stealing the show is Baldwin, who garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and who also lost. Kaplow is polished and charming in a reptilian sort of way, and the violence he's capable of provides the film's most chilling sequences, especially after he catches a high roller cheating at dice.pTHE COOLER is a perceptive look both at the gaming industry done Mafia style and the undercurrent of sleaze that most visitors to the Disneyland-style hotel casino's of Vegas probably never notice. The film contains brief scenes of violence not for the overly squeamish, and sex scenes not for the overly prudish. But by the movie's conclusion and its quirky twist of fortune, American audiences, which generally favor the underdog, have in Lootz a new and unlikely hero. A surprising and enjoyable flick. October 17, 2004 P. Woolman (Leicester, England, UK) 8 out of 8 found this review helpful The Cooler tells the story of Bernie (William H Macy), a Cooler whose job it is to bring bad luck to the tables of a Las Vegas casino. However, when he falls in love with a beautiful waitress (Maria Bello), his newfound happiness brings about good luck, for him and the nearby players. As a result, Casino owner Shelly (Alec Baldwin) loses out big time and manoeuvres matters to ensure Bernie's good luck doesn't last for long.brI wasn't sure what to expect from this movie. It got great reviews and was apparently loved by critics, but this usually leads to disappointment at the realisation that the movie is over-hyped (much like Fight Club and American Beauty). However, The Cooler isn't one of those movies. For a start, it's very un-Hollywood in nature - it is at times brutally violent and the sex scenes, the first one in particular, are far from erotic. In fact, if you ignore the whole concept of a guy being blessed/cursed with good/bad luck, this is a very "real" movie. Of course the whole "luck" concept does at times force you to suspend your disbelief, particularly at the end, but that all adds to the charm of the movie.brThe cast are nothing short of superb. William H Macy once again portrays a loser type, and you can't help but rejoice when the hopeless guy falls in love. Alec Baldwin also takes the role of "the bad guy" and not only makes you hate him for the things he does, but on occasion allows you to see the humanity in his character. Caught in between these two actors of course is Maria Bello who oozes sexiness and holds her own besides the two stellar actors.brAll in all, this was a very enjoyable film, one in which you didn't know whether Bernie and his lady luck would make it out alive, or suffer the consequences of trying to beat the Vegas-men. brI'd recommend this film to anyone, if they can live with the sex and violence that is. Surprisingly good November 2, 2004 L. Davidson (Belfast, N.Ireland) 8 out of 8 found this review helpful I didn't really expect to enjoy this film when I started to watch it , but "The Cooler" turned out to be one of the best movies I've seen this year. William Macy plays Bernie Lootz , a "cooler" in a Las Vegas casino (a person who brings winning streaks to an end- a "scud" in my dialect), employed by manager Shelly (Alec Baldwin). The script is excellent and the acting performances by Macy,Baldwin and Maria Bello are top class -Macy's and Baldwin's of Oscar quality.pThe main element of the story is Macy's romance with Bello's character Natalie and how this transforms Macy and his professional and personal relationship with Baldwin. The other element is the pressurising of Baldwin by his bosses to make major changes to his casino ,his management style and the introduction of a new university educated young assistant to implement these changes.This has the effect of destabilising and transforming Baldwin also. pThe story is gripping and the unlikley Macy/Bello relationship is amazingly credible with perfect chemistry between them.Even the nude scenes were remarkably natural.p"The Cooler" is a thoroughly entertaining movie, strong on characterisation and superbly acted. A very 21st Century romance. Showing reviews 1-5 of 11 1 2 3 Next »

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