Russel Crowe is one of the greatest directors in Hollywood. ‘Poker Face’ is his second feature film, a crime thriller.
This movie is about five friends who will meet after a long time for a make-or-break poker game.
Poker Face came out on Nov 16, 2022. This movie shows something about addiction, the relationship between a father and daughter, and how time affects friendship over the years.
Unlike other poker/card-playing movies like Maverik, The Sting, etc., Poker Face is written, directed, and stars Russel Crowe. Jake Foley is a tech billionaire in the film. He is the lead character of Poker Face.
Poker Face is an intense crime thriller where the game is on high stakes. This movie shows something about addiction, the relationship between a father and daughter, and how time affects friendship.
This article is for you if you are a fan of the crime-thriller genre. Here we will give names of the best movies, like Russel Crowe’s Poker Face.
The Gambler (1974)
Director: Karel Reisz
Genre: Drama, Crime, Mafia, Thriller
‘Poker Face’ fans must watch The Gambler. Late James Cann played a fantastic lead role in The Gambler.
The story is about a crime-driving character who goes through the personal as well as legal consequences of extreme gambling addiction.
James Cann played Axel Freed. He is a professor of literature during the day and a sports bettor, carven card played, and highly impulsive gambler during the night.
Even though this movie has less action than ‘Poker Face,’ the final act (conclusion) of The Gambler is similar to Axel Freed’s end effort, which goes wrong. It leaves him in a position where he cannot trust anyone helping him and secretly trying to destroy him.
Bob Le Flambeur (1956)
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Genre: Drama, Crime, Heist, Thriller
Bob Le Flambeur (also called Bob The Gambler) was launched by the French director Jean- Pierre Melville. Bob Le Flambeur is one of the greatest gambling crime character-driven movies available. Its story is about a gangster growing old who plans to rob a big casino after losing everything.
This movie brought a massive wave of a new style that highly influenced its future generation of filmmakers.
This plot of Bob Le Flambeur is similar to Poker Face. This plot of Bob Le Flambeur is similar to Poker Face. Beyond the poker robbery and stealing in the casino, Bob Keeps on placing bets on horse racing and playing card games and roulette.
The dangerous heist backfires and proves the power of gambling addiction. This plot of Bob Le Flambeur is similar to Poker Face.
It shows that even best-laid plans may go opposite to what was supposed to happen with criminals having gambling addictions.
House Of Games (1987)
Director: David Mamet
Genre: Drama, Crime Fiction, Noir, Thriller, Mystery, Psychological Thriller
House of Games has the same writer and director, David Mamet. It is a twisted, dubious, and ultimately satisfying thriller heist movie set in a world full of confidence games, high-value gambling, and sneaky stealing with hands.
Its story is about Margaret, a psychiatrist by profession, trying to get one of her patients out of gambling debt by learning all about it, like card games, parlors for gambling, and how to point out victims before they lose all of their wealth.
Like Poker Face, this movie shows what a simple poker game can offer using high stakes. It shows chances to win a game, the fakeness of people, the ability to read people’s minds and tell, and ends with a fantastic heist.
Croupier (1998)
Director: Mike Hodges
Genre: Drama, Noir, Indie film, Crime Fiction, Crime Thriller
Croupier is one of the most unpredictable poker crime thrillers ever made. It is the perfect movie to watch along with Poker Face.
Mike Hodge is the director of Croupier. Clive Owen’s performance as Jack Manifried is groundbreaking.
Jack is a young writer who earns his living as a casino dealer (croupier) dealer and writes about his experiences.
However, the main event that makes Croupier spicier is its subplot. Other than the smooth unpredictable twists and turns or Clive Owen’s excellent acting in his best movie, Croupier, the subplot shows that Jack is pulling an inside job along with Jani, a gambler, entirely in debt because of his bad luck. A huge watching and waiting game happen, where jacks position is precarious.
Rounders (1998)
Director: John Dahl
Genre: Drama, Mafia, Crime firm, Indie film, Buddy
Rounders is the absolute poker movie ever made in cinematic history. This movie is a masterpiece that viewers can watch infinitely.
Rounders have amazing actors with outstanding performances. Its story is about Mike McDermott.
He is a law student who has lost all of his money in a high-value poker game against Teddy KGB, who is a Russian mobster. Later he joins his ex-best friend, a con artist, and gets revenge.
Poker Face and Rounders are very similar to high-stakes card-playing gambling movies. Grama merges Worm’s debt while Worm and Mike try to con all the upstate municipal workers. Rounders is a must-watch for Poker Face fans.
The Card Counter (2021)
Director: Paul Schrader
Genre: Action, Thriller, Drama, Crime film, Crime-Drama
This movie is a thriller filled with emotional revenge. Paul Schrader, a fantastic moviemaker, is both writer and director of The Card Counter. Oscar Isaac, another tremendous actor, plays the lead role of William Tell.
He is a simple, stony-faced military man and an addicted gambler who spends most of his time in card rooms, casinos, and other gaming parlors. William has a mentor named Cirk, a young guy who teaches and is also searching for personal redemption.
Paul Schrader did his signature in The Card Counter too. Like in First Reformer, Schrader added a wild turn and unpredictable violence in the final act.
Poker Face fans would love the high-energy acting at the end of The Card Counter. With a fantastic story, acting, and action, The card counter can be considered the best gambling movie in recent times.
Molly’s Game (2017)
Director: Aaron Sorkin
Genre: Drama, Crime film
Jessica Chastain Played the lead role of Molly Bloom. Molly’s Game is another mind-blowing poker game thriller for Poker Face fans.
It is about Molly Bloom who is an Olympic skiing aspirant. She becomes the host of a unique high-value poker game.
Its incredible story about women’s legal self-made downfall and the gambling in poker games make it a worthwhile movie.
Molly’s Game also has a single person as writer and director, Aaron Sorkin. This movie is very similar to Poker Face because both have high-stakes gambling, some outsider raids, and FBI and Russian Mobs getting involved as other significant actors.
21 (2008)
Director: Robert Luketic
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Heist, Crime film, Adaptation, Action/Adventure
21 is the only card-playing thriller worth putting on this list. It is based on a true story. 21 is about six bold MITians who received A1-level expert training in counting cards.
After mastering the card counting skill, they all went to Las Vegas and began legally winning uncountable amounts of money.
This movie has the same energy as Poker Face, an unsentimental heist making its viewers understand the minds of young people trying to apply the historical values and rules of blackjack, how to use it, skirt, and bend, along with great action and fast pace story.
Owning Mahowny (2003)
Director: Richard Kwientniowski
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime Fiction
The Late Philip Seymore Hoffman did a cameo in Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie Sydney (Hard Eight), a gambling thriller.
Late Philip Seymore gave his first lead role performance in Owning Mahowny. It is a must-watch movie for all the fans of Poker Face, and it is also based on a true story.
Owning Mahowny has the same intense climax as Poker Face. A card table scene in this movie can simultaneously create panic among its viewers. Hoffman plays the role of Dan Mahowny, a bank manager in Canada.
Dan has a quenchless gambling addiction, and he keeps on skimming tremendous amounts of money from multimillion-dollar bank accounts. It results in him becoming the biggest fraud in a bank scandal.
Mahowny Is a clever and stone-faced, criminal-minded person. No one can read his hand. This movie is a perfect one for Poker Face viewers.
Shade (2003)
Director: Damian Nieman
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Mafia, Crime Fiction, Action/Adventure, Crime Thriller
If we look for a precise movie plot comparison, Shade is the underrated heist thriller of 2003 and is the most similar movie to Poker Face.
The story revolves around a secret, underground High-value poker game that gets robbed at the film’s beginning. Dean an infamous gambler with his history, is the movie’s main character who wants vengeance.
Shade is full of unpredictable bluffs, fake tells, elaborate cons, division card mechanisms, etc., that keep its viewers on their toes throughout the film.
Shade is considered one of the best poker game crime thrillers. But only a few people have seen this movie. Therefore, it’s a must-watch for you if you are reading this article and are a Poker Face fan, it’s a must-watch for you.
Featured Image Source: IMDb