Review of Runner Runner (2013) by Joe F — 06 Feb 2014

Interesting, good acting, charming characters, and massive amounts of gambling money make this one a must watch! Apparently some parts of the script are based on the life of Nat Arem, a professional poker player, and former accountant at Deloitte Touche who helped uncover cheating in online poker by using statistical methods to analyze thousands of games.

Timberlake plays Richie Furst, a Princeton grad student that loses all his savings ($17K) in online gambling. He uncovers that the site is rigged and decides to fly to Costa Rica to meet the man behind the online casino empire named Ivan Block (Ben Affleck).

After meeting Ivan and showing him proof, Ivan sees the statistics, and finds coders have coded the software to allow them to cheat. After firing those involved, Ivan tells Richie he'll pay him millions per year for him to assist with the site work.

The story continues from there. Interesting story about the online gambling epidemic, how lucrative it is and how it operates. The movie was filmed in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico so with interesting locations, elegant casinos and a plot that thickens constantly, this is a must watch film! Furst gets placed in a very tough spot that would drive a sane person to run away or commit suicide.

Great ending and a rollercoaster ride, satisfaction guaranteed! Watch in Blu-ray.