paid in full In an era where it is easy to be distracted, where we have a short attention span, I find it hard to finish a film in one seating.But House of Games was different. Worth being watched twice. It will get you hooked until the end, just like a movie should be. tHE STORY IS ORIGINAL AND THE ACTING IS WELL DONE. bRAVO

Benedito Dias Rodrigues David Mamet deserves some respect over this picture who had intend to do for years and using a cheap casting made a reasonable work...of course the frame is predicable but the movie is intense since the beginning...have some weak points like when Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) released that was deceived by the gang and hear all conversation behind the shutter, apart from that the movie is very interesting and make a mind study...Joe Mantegna has a remarkable acting as the Crook...he made another famous movie with Mamet "Things Changes"....without forget the great past actress Lilia Skala who has a nice role in this picture and William H. Macy one's first appearances!!! Resume: First watch: 1992 / How many: 4 / Source: TV-DVD / Rating: 8

fastred3 I can't believe the high rating and glowing reviews this movie received. It is amateurish in writing and acting. Crouse and Mantegna are wooden and unbelievable in their respective roles. Even though there is supposed to be a romance developing between the two, they have absolutely zero chemistry. Apparently none of the actors memorized their lines, because they delivered them as if they were reading from cue cards. This would have been a much shorter movie if half the lines weren't repeated two and three times. I almost always come to this site to check ratings and read reviews before watching a movie and I'm rarely led astray, but this time I was 'conned'...

SnoopyStyle Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse) is a psychiatrist and a best selling writer. Her patient Billy Hahn is suicidal from his $25k gambling debts. She decides to help him by confronting his bookie Mike (Joe Mantegna). It turns out Billy only owes $800 and Mike is willing to forgive it if she does him a favor.Director David Mamet has written a tight tensed thriller about cons and con-men. I have to admit that it was eye opening with the various cons when I first saw this. It's aged a little since then or maybe I've aged. The cons are no longer eye opening, but you can see them coming a mile away. Although, they're like old friends that you want to visit once in awhile.The writing is still tightly wound. Lindsay Crouse has that cool demeanor. Sometimes still waters run deep, and her character has a dark side. Joe Mantegna has that dark scheming character down. For a first time directing effort, this was quite spectacular. His simplistic vision allows the actors to fill the screen. Luckily he had some great ones working here.