A-maz-ing

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Mississippi GrindThe chemistry among the lead characters is the key that unlocks this feature into something colossal which was beyond its grasp if considered the mere premise. It isn't shot nicely and the tone of it too, isn't pleasing or seeks viewers' attention through it. Such technical aspects is where the feature lags behind where neither the background score nor the editing is in its favour. On terms of writing, the script is gripping and flows unflinchingly to the predictable outcome but there isn't enough crisp to breed the cinematic experience out of it. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck; the writer-director, surpasses their script on execution and connects within the first few minutes with the audience and doesn't let go for around 100 minutes. The performance is decent by both Ryan Gosling and Ben Mendelsohn but no such particular reason to be in awe with it. As much as simple the feature swifts away through its charm there are few heartbreaking moments especially when Ben visits his house and when Ryan converses with his partner. The structure is uneven and isn't divided into multiple acts like most of them but stays true to its tone throughout the course of it. Mississippi Grind has hard rubbing and fine crushing where truth is depicted in a harsh bold way and keeps the stakes at risk, all the time.

If you still haven't seen Mississippi Grind, don't waste your time, the pacing of the movie is extremely slow, the only half interesting part was around an hour and nine minutes into the movie where there was an intense few minute conversation between the two main characters, after that short scene the film instantly becomes boring again.If you want to watch a drama about people with financial problems i recommend "99 Homes" which is much more interesting and the pacing of the film is faster and straight to the point.

"Mississippi Grind" is a very good drama that keeps you enthralled largely due to the strength of its performances. It follows two gamblers, one compulsive and down on his luck, the other younger, more charismatic, and luckier. The first uses the second as a good luck charm.There are some truthful, depressing scenes involving Mendelsohn as the degenerate who has ruined his relationship with his wife and daughter and can't stop. These scenes feel raw in the best way. You feel like you are watching something real, and it's painful but gripping.If you have seen a few movies about compulsive gamblers, you probably know how this one is going to end. If you know anything about compulsive gambling, you also probably know how this story would end in reality. It's not that you want a bleak ending after getting to know these characters, it's that you know this illness isn't cured by success.

I am warning you this might be a pun grind by reading my review of Writer-Directors Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck's independent movie "Mississippi Grind". But I promise you it will be fine, well maybe not. The vastly underrated (just my opinion) Ben Mendelsohn stars as out-of-luck gambler Gerry. He resides in Iowa, but really is living in the state of "I owe all of you" due to his gargantuan gambling debt. In one of his poker dealings, Gerry meets Curtis; he is the suave gambler full of stories that takes a friendly liking to Gerry. Curtis is played by Ryan Reynolds. Gerry and Curtis team up and take it on the road to deal with the cards that have been handed. OK, maybe not. But they do take it on the road, to try to make some gamble winnings in New Orleans, St. Louis, and yea Mississippi. Boden & Fleck's narrative is not overwhelmingly superb, and they are not really "jack of all cinema trades" filmmakers. But they do develop an adequate road trip movie that is built upon the winning chemistry between Mendelsohn and Reynolds. Both were excellent with their performances but I would double down more a bit with Mendelsohn's rousing performance. It's in his bloodline I mean lifeline for Mendelsohn to get an Oscar in the future. The rest of the cast needed a bigger wheel to spin with, especially Sienna Miller's useless character Simone who plays an intermittent love interest of Curtis. But it was not a big loss to deal with. It's your call, but I think you should take the gamble and visit on the "Mississippi Grind". **** Good