Cause of death: savage gutting; crime weapon: playing cards. The Cincinnati kid (Steve McQueen) is a prodigy of the stud poker game, but is he going to dethrone the most reputable player of all, “the man” himself (G. Robinson)? And will the earnest dealer and friend of both (Karl Malden) remain impartial? A dream cast at the service of a minimal though sharp story. As far as scripting goes, sometimes less is more – it makes every action, though innocuous it may seem, actually loaded with meaning. By the time the twist-in-the-tail ending slams down ruthlessly, we reel back & ponder the forces that drove to the fateful outcome. The writing was on the wall, we just weren't inclined to read.

利用聖經天啟四騎士寓言和小屋封閉空間的“戲劇舞台”作高概念，設定為四個陌生人作為使者闖入民宅，傳達天啟，一對同性戀白人和亞裔繼女被告知需要自我獻祭，才可以阻止世界毀滅。把人推向極端的道德懸崖去看人物角色的選擇同樣也是一種高概念。沙馬蘭沒有放棄用鏡頭調度作電影語言，但人物間的對戲，包括劇情發展還是有些清湯寡水。結尾的為愛犧牲是好的設計，但這種情感鋪墊不足，靠概念支撐的“說教”又對人有多大啟示呢，看到最後看是用高概念娛樂罷了。

達利專屬視覺元素的集大成 流暢而自如 仿佛在他的夢境中漫步

節奏舒緩 色調清新 看著很舒服 不用太計較表達意圖 就當是身邊人身邊事吧 大師的子女都好棒 藝術家的分流也很寫實 或潦倒或瘋掉 真是天才與瘋子隻一步之遙

matt and danny!