21
4 out of 5 stars

"winner, winner, chicken dinner." - ben campbell (quoting a vegas saying re: blackjack)


we couldn't forget this movie based on a group of crazy MIT kids who learn to card count under the tutulage of their diff-e prof! blackjack is fun, easy, and best of all...according to prof. rosa, it's beatable... so why not put their math genius brains to the test in the city that can make it happen? ;)

continuing on with more vegas-themed movies... blackjack is the name of the game, and ben campbell (a super-cutie jim sturgess) is recruited by his diff-e prof micky rosa (a slimy kevin spacey) to become part of a card-counting team. at first, ben is completely reluctant, but soon, the pretty jill (kate bosworth) encourages him to have some fun in his life. of course, what ben really wants is to find a way to pay for harvard medical school, so he joins the team. pretty soon, he's racking up tons of chips, making loads of $ for the team, and actually, having some fun in his life. it's too bad that cole williams (a thuggy lawrence fishburne) knows there's some scheme going on in the casinos, and is onto ben and his "lucky streak"...

BEST parts of the movie is the team's strategy on staying discreet in the various casinos, their code, and how they position themselves in the casinos to help each other out. another great part is how vegas is portrayed as a glitzy, modern, beautiful city and wow! jim sturgess sure looks great in a GUCCI suit! the script is well written, and A+ on the acting front as well. my only grip is that jim needs to take a lesson from the school of christian bale accent perfecting school. (we know you're british, but you're suppose to be american in this one, k?) the message of the movie is really simple: DON'T GET CAUGHT. well, that... and nothing in this world comes for free either. if you win big, you're destined to lose some too...

p.s. after watching this, ya think i should try my luck @ a blackjack table? nah, i think i'll play it safe with a jack & coke... ;)