Thursday, May 22, 2008

21 [2008] - Shelvia

"Inspired by the true story of five students who changed the game forever"

Director: Robert Luketic
Starring: Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth

The movie tells the story of this very smart student who's very good with numbers, Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), who needed money to go into Harvard Medical School (which cost ridiculously large amount of money!). His gift with numbers was noticed by his teacher, Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), and he got invited to be a part of a group of students who count cards in Vegas.

The plot of the movie is quite straight forward and might be a little predictable. But, the actors are really good and the movie is very well wrapped together, making it a very enjoyable watch. I remember thinking the movie became a little slow and felt a tiny bit extended [123 mins - according to IMDB], somewhere in the middle of the movie, but then it picks up! :)

One thing though, a Math problem was presented early in the movie about the probability of picking the door with a car behind it when choosing between 3 doors (with 2 goats and 1 car). I cannot fathom the answers presented in the movie! It distracts me from the movie quite a bit! So if you're the type who gets curious (like me!) and might find it difficult to focus on the movie, please make sure you understand this Monty Hall problem (Wikipedia) before you go to the movie! :P

Rating: 8/10