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21 (Single-Disc Edition)
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DVD detailsActor: Jack Gilpin, Jack McGee, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Kevin Spacey Brand: Sony Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter Composer: David Sardy DVD: Region Code 99 Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed) Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 2.40:1 Running Time: 123 minutes DVD Release Date: 2008-07-22 Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of 21 (Single-Disc Edition)DVD Review: 21 is a Fantastic Movie Summary: 5 StarsI think 21 is a really great movie. The star, Jim Sturgess, is absolutely brilliant in it. It's an exciting movie with a lot of twists to it. What makes it even better is that it is based on a true story. I absolutely recommend this movie to everyone.
DVD Review: Odds are that you'll like it. Summary: 3 Stars21 stars Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, Jim Sturgiss, and Laurence Fishburne. The movie is based on the true story of a group of MIT students who, with the help of one of their professors, trained themselves to count cards and win big in Vegas.
Ben Campbell (Sturgiss) is brilliant but broke. A star student at MIT, he's worried about how he (and his single mom) will pay for medical school in a year. He's working a job at a men's clothing store, but it doesn't begin to put a dent in what his tuition will cost.
One of his teachers, Mickey Rosa (Spacey), notices Ben's uncanny ability with figures. Mickey invites Ben to join his select group of Vegas card-counters, and then the story starts to cook. Jill Taylor (Bosworth) is also part of the group, providing a love interest for our young protagonist, and pretty soon, the students and their wayward professor are living high on the hog in Sin City.
But complications ensue, as they always do. A run-in with Cole Williams (Fishburne), a member of the Vegas security set, lines up the characters for a tricky ending.
I liked this movie. It moved along quickly, the characters were relatable and likable, and Kevin Spacey makes everything that much better. Plus, the story is a good one. What broke college student wouldn't want to use their natural talents to beat the house? Shoot, if I could balance my checkbook without making a subtraction error, I might try it myself!
It's a remarkable tale, and a fun movie to watch. Beware - it's only loosely based on the true story of the MIT card-counters. If you're expecting a documentary, look elsewhere.
DVD Review: Read the book instead, the truth is much more interesting! Summary: 2 StarsEntertaining, if predictable, telling of the MIT kids that took millions from Vegas. Having read the book, I can tell how much the story was Hollywood-ized, and none of it was for the better. Still, not a bad movie, and the fact that it was based on non-fiction is cool.
DVD Review: Damaged Item Summary: 1 StarsI received the DVD shortly after purchase, only to find out that the case was all broken up as the sender failed to package it correctly. I was disappointed to find this, as I didn't buy a "like new" DVD to receive a broken case in the mail. The sender also told me that he would refund my money which he did, and send me a new copy with a un-broken case. That has been over a month ago and I have not seen the new replacement DVD. The money was refunded, but in my opinion don't offer something to someone you aren't going to follow through on, such as replacing it with a new DVD like I was told!
DVD Review: Great Film Summary: 4 StarsAnd that's saying a lot, considering I don't watch much in the way of movies anymore. All about a professor and his group of students who go to Vegas to count cards... a way of beating the casino system and coming out ahead. So long as you don't get caught.
The plot and pacing were good and the characters were both believable and interesting. I really enjoyed 21.
Description of 21 (Single-Disc Edition)Inspired by the true story of MIT students who mastered the art of card counting and took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings. Looking for a way to pay for tuition, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) finds himself quietly recruited by MIT's most gifted students in a daring plot to break Vegas. With the help of a brilliant statistics professor (Kevin Spacey) and armed with fake IDs, intelligence and a complicated system of counting cards, Ben and his friends succeed in breaking the impenetrable casinos. Now, his challenge is keeping the numbers straight and staying one step ahead of the casinos before it all spirals out of control. An unconvincing exercise in moral complexity, 21 is based on Ben Mezrich's book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) plays brilliant, blue-collar scholar Ben Campbell, whose doubts that he'll win a scholarship to Harvard Medical School compel him to join a secret, M.I.T. gang of math whiz kids. Under the silky but chilling command of a math professor (Kevin Spacey), Jim and the others master card counting, i.e., the statistical analysis of cards dealt in blackjack games. The team lives a humdrum existence during the week, but on weekends in Sin City, the students are rolling in cash, going to exclusive clubs, and feeling on top of the world. (Ben even gets the girl: a comely, fellow counter played by Kate Bosworth.) Despite all that success, Ben feels ethically compromised, and indeed director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde), in the old tradition of American movies, plays it both ways where fun vices are concerned. On the one hand, it feels so good; on the other, ahem, we know it's wrong. That studied ambivalence proves wearing after a while, making the most interesting character in the film a casino watchdog played by Laurence Fishburne. A master at reading the emotions of gamblers beating the house with a scam, he's admirable for being good at his job, but repellent for wrecking the faces of counters in casino dungeons. He's all about moral complexity in the tradition of anti-heroes, and a truly provocative element in an otherwise superficial movie. --Tom Keogh Beyond 21  On Blu-ray |  Read the book 21 was based on |  UMD for PSP | Stills from 21 (click for larger image)
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