The Card Player
The Card Player (aka Il Cartaio): women in Rome are being kidnapped used as the prize in police Vs ‘serial killer’ online poker matches. For a film made in 2004 about ‘cutting edge technology’ it looks more like something from the early 1990s, especially going by the terminology used. The film boasts such a bizarre portrayal of cyber and counter-culture, with a Luddite’s view of technology, and fumbling awkward police IT techies (who are genuinely credited as “Anti Hackers” WTF R-Gent0!?). It also boasts the standard Euro-pudding bilingual issues: gaps between reactions, re-dubbed lines; back of head shots when people are talking… Every character is also over-worked to the point of becoming surreal: like a drunk Irishman who falls asleep singing Danny Boy (classic) and an inappropriate & unprofessionally touchy-feely flirty cop. It feels like Argento plays this far too broad, as the film awkwardly cuts from wacky things like a tapdancing coroner to a dead body with playing cards stuffed up their innards, and extremely detailed close-ups of rancid corpses. The Card Player offers up a few glimpses of classic Argento but overall, it’s a hammy, pedestrian, and tedious Giallo outing.
Score: 3/10
I don’t know if you’ve ever watched the original movie in italian. If you didn’t don’t do it! It’s even worse! “Actors” and “actress” are a shame. It’s truly unwatchable. I think 3/10 it’s even too much! :)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Original movie? As in, this is based on an even worse film?!?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!?! :D Unbelievable.
LikeLike
Well, the movie is the same but probably the english dub makes the movie a bit better…
LikeLike