jonathanruano Before "21" came along, there was Pierre Gill's "The Last Casino," which is about Professor Barnes (played very well by Charles Martin Smith) creating his own card counting team to win a huge fortune in Canada's major casinos -- and, oh yes, Barnes also needs the money to pay off his booky Mr. Orr who has his own peculiar way of ensuring the prompt repayment of outstanding debts. "The Last Casino" has half the glitz and thrills of "21"; it even had to do without Kevin Spacey, Lawrence Fishburne and Rihanna's single "Shut up and drive." Yet, it was so much better and far more original than "21" ever was. Many factors contribute to making this under-appreciated film a jewel. To begin with, you can tell the writer Steven Westren put a lot of thought into his screenplay. He created original characters, including the ones that only had small parts. He put the protagonists -- essentially the team of card counters, Elyse (Katherine Isabelle), Scott (Kris Lemche) and George (Albert Chung) -- in the kinds of situations you (or I) would never expect in a film like this. But most importantly, Pierre Gill and Steven Westren succeeded in filling the scenes at the gambling table with tension and thereby conjured up the feelings and impulses of the people who were prepared to put tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table on a single bet. I also appreciated the surprise at the end of the film, which is so cleverly done that it may leave many of the viewers scratching their heads.The other factor that makes this film great are the performances. Charles Martin Smith does a great job as the professor whose deep in debt, because his gambling via card counting finally got the best of him. Katherine Isabelle puts in a good performance as Elyse, as does Kris Lemche and Albert Chung as her companions so that, by the end, we (as an audience) are able to sympathize with all of them. But the one person who almost steals the show in this movie is Julian Richings whose performance as Mr. Orr must go down in the history books as one of the best (if not the best) villain roles in recent times.

russontour25 A great watch because you can tell a great deal of time was spent getting the gambling details and terminology correct. A non gambler may watch this movie and not pick up on that, but for die hard, committed, everyday punters like myself, the movie comes off as a great snapshot of what would happen (and does everyday) in the gambling world.The essence of the movie is this - a gambler must try and put the odds in his or her favour before they make a bet. Otherwise in the long run (unless they are extremely lucky) the percentages will work against the player and a loss will be generated. For example, at blackjack if the player plays sensibly at level stakes without counting cards, the house edge is about 1 to 2%. So if you outlay $10,000 in one session, you can expect to lose on average $100 to $200.However, in this movie the college professor behind the blackjack team gets them to count cards to put the odds in the long run in the players favour, not the casinos. The 3 students in the movie learn how to keep a running count of cards. When the count is in the players favour (ie when there are more tens to aces in the remaining deck rather then low value cards) it is time to increase the bet to take advantage of the count. Likewise when the count is in the casinos favour, the bet should be reduced to the bare minimum.After a few teething problems, the maths genius team of youngsters hit their straps and the system brings in big reliable profits. The movie captures the problem of gambling addiction very well. The professor who teaches the students the system loses nearly all of his share of the profits from the blackjack team on the horses and trots. Why does he do this?? Because of the adrenalin rush gamblers get from gambling. He knows the odds are against him when he plays the horses (it is very difficult to beat a 20% takeout edge that the betting agencies take out of the pool before paying out winning customers, unless you are an astute judge of form or have fixed a race). But he cannot help himself. He must be gambling all the time to get his fix, similar to the high of a drug addict I would imagine. He puts the odds in his favour with the blackjack but gives it back on the ponies. He's a gambling addict. And there's the rub because people can and do make money from gambling. Casinos on a whole do very well, bookmakers generally do and there are a few dedicated professionals that make a decent living from simply betting. They win by putting the odds in THEIR FAVOUR. This is a storyline that the movie catches beautifully.Eventually the students are shut down by the casinos because they want losers in their casinos not winners. They go their separate ways but you can tell they all seem to have been bitten by the gambling bug. Who wouldn't be attracted to working for yourself, working your own hours and only having yourself to blame if things turn nasty. The reality is then that gambling would turn out to be more like a job, the glamour is taken away by the fact that you have to be concentrating all the time to maintain your competitive edge. However it's a job that is a lot more entertaining and enjoyable than your standard office or factory job where there is limited freedom or flexibility. Plus the world is your office.All in all, a well written, well acted movie. The female student lead was especially hot, and I hope big things are in store for her down the line.I would certainly rate The Last Casino up there with other great gambling movies such as The Runner, Let It Ride, Rounders and Bookies.

Philip Chao When I first tuned into this movie on the movie network, I didn't expect much because it is a Canadian film. But by the end of the movie, I had a different appreciation of what Canadian film makers can accomplish. This movie kept me interested throughout, and didn't need a huge budget to do so. The storyline is well written and the direction is top notch. The subtle humor and mature language was also well-placed. If you like cards, or casinos, or movies involving scamming money, this is the film for you. The fairly new cast does a great job. I liked the investor character of Orr, but I especially liked Katharine Isabelle as Elyse. She is a talented actress and beautiful to boot. If you're looking for a good Canadian film, this has got to be one of the best. This is a definite must-see.

Beautiful_Disaster Usually, Canada is known for it's movies with heart and feeling, but lacking in entertainment. Now that many companies are coming up north to film, it seems Canada is making some great movies on their own with The Last Casino.The premise of the movie is provocative, and the writing is genius. The Last Casino was both entertaining and credible. There are specifics to this movie, where it is apparent that a lot of thought and effort was put into the plot.I loved the suspense and closeness that was created through the types of shots the director used.I suggest that everyone try to see this movie (it not widely available), and as Canadians we should be proud this is one of our products.