"The story..well forget the stories..the stories make no sense at all..." (Carpenter)No doubt, Argento- lines are indeed not worth a hideous thought but I always tempt to mingle them endlessly with my own kind of criminal detective skills. I guess solely the storybook- catholic would watch a porn fer the the sake of having a blast with them dialog's alone, you'll get the picture...here I am, witnessing that not even the heavily armed films - under Argento's direction - have their Moments:***The serial killer and the police lady enchained to the rails, playing cards that virtually flip in slow- mo, the train in the background, nighttime.. with Simonetti's taking strangely over their heart- beat = BRILLIANT***...this is so damn fabulous and made in an artistic way of a kind...it'll stick in my head no matter how much I was smiling over them stories where all the neighbors seem guilty and no crime is seen too heinous...it will be simply overlooked (and adds a bit of charm, no less) by the way it's presented...Blatantly fascinating.I should add...it's in fact not a dynamite strike overall...nothing to get too excited but not a disappointment either...it is Argento trying to do Hitchcock but what we'll get is Van Gogh.

I would have given one out of ten but the idea for the film I thought was pretty good - so I gave it 2. I really couldn't see past the bad acting and dubbing - oh hell it is terrible. I'm still watching this film - I want to turn it off and watch something else but I also want to see how much worse this could get. Like I said; the story line idea is pretty good, the problem I have with it is that it was shown on the Horror channel so I recorded this thinking it would be a horror film. It's not, it's a thriller police chase thing. Which isn't the sort of thing I'm in to. If those are the types of films you like, and you can get past the terrible terrible acting and even worse dubbing, then by all means watch this film. If you are watching this thinking it will be a gruesome horror film; you are wrong, do not watch this film.

"The Card Player" is a much better-than-expected outing from Argento.**SPOILERS**Working late one evening, Rome Det. Anna Mari, (Stefania Rocca) is requested into playing video poker with a madman for the sake of a captured tourist, and when superiors Berardelli, (Cosimo Fusco) and Commissioner Marini, (Adalberto Maria Merli) refuse, she is killed in front of them. In the ensuing investigation, British Officer John Brennan, (Liam Cunningham) is called onto the scene to help the Italian detectives handle the case. When the two eventually find ace poker player Remo, (Silvio Muccino) in the city, he is enlisted to play for the cops when the kidnapper strikes again and forces the police to keep playing for the different victims. Finally able to get a lead on the psychopath, believing it's one of their own, they race to stop them before they are again forced to play for a victim's life.The Good News: This one had a lot going for it. One of it's best features is the use of the poker games, which here is quite clever and incredibly novel. It's something that's quite familiar to most even if it's not been indulged in by all, and that alone makes it's inclusion feel very real and quite plausible, something that not many films have. The fact that there's also the twist with the games being used to build up something really depraved, with the games based on the fate of different kidnapped-victims' lives. These scenes themselves are also quite good, with the brutality of what's happening occurring through the web-cam and the on instance where the victim fights back is also thrilling and quite suspenseful. It's really new concept and feels well-done based on how it's used. There's also a lot of good parts to be had with the killer's identity, making it a good mystery how it came about and is definitely something that helps this one, as is like usual, there's a healthy number of suspects that are given attention to it and all feel like the culprit, making the surprise revelation at the end rather enjoyable and really well-done. The main feature to the film, though, is the rather-enjoyable and entertaining last-half hour, which is where all the main action revolves. Once the chase through the streets with the waitress and the tense walk-through of the underground, it's just non-stop afterward. From the boat-ride to the discovery of the last piece to the puzzle of identifying the killer that really takes the film on a nice twist and the ensuing aftermath that occurs afterward, there's hardly any part of these scenes that's slow, boring or doesn't work at all. The discovery of the mystery is great, twisting it already into a really new and enjoyable experience, the action in the several chases are fun and over-the-top, while the tension-packed finale is just excellent and caps the film on a high note. Even the kills are great, where one is impaled through a spike-laden board, another is stabbed through the neck, some gunshots, and then the main one, which has one run over by a train. These here are all that make the film enjoyable.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot that didn't work here. One of the main parts to this is that the film doesn't really have all that interesting of a middle segment. Most of these scenes are quite dull, as it's just the detectives running around Rome tracking the player, then trying to convince the player to play for them, all of which doing nothing to really make the killer a target in these scenes. Most of them are just endless, carrying on forever with little to no impact on the events at hand since they never try anyone else other than the one, which makes it such a forgone conclusion of his involvement it makes the preceding moments in the film worthless with all the hassle trying to convince him wasting time. At least make several others offers so that there's a small sense of urgency to find one to do this, as this one really makes it clear that's where it's going and the attempt at wasting time doesn't do it any favors. The last flaw is the film's lone attempt at making the middle interesting, with the attack at the house simply not being that good. Aside from not being able to see anything due to the darkness, it's impossible to tell something even happened until afterward its over so fast, leaving a state of confusion as to what happened altogether. Beyond these, though, the film isn't that bad.The Final Verdict: Not that bad of an entry at all, much better than expected and certainly worthwhile due to it's good points. Certainly give this a shot if you're into the other works of Argento, know of the lifestyle or are interested, while those that expect his earlier works every time should heed caution.Rated UR/R: Graphic Language, Violence and Nudity

A female police detective (Stefania Rocca), who works for the cyber crime unit in Rome. She receives an mysterious e-mail that the recent tourist is captured by the kidnapper. This psychopath wants to play poker on-line with the police, this crazed person rules are simple if you can beat him for three games. He promises, he will let his victim go if you can beat him. A British police officer (Liam Cunningham) comes to help the Italian police officers to catch the killer. But this murderer is so good at poker and he manages to keep the police away from finding him. Their only option is finding a young brilliant poker player (Silvio Muccino), who could save lives of the psychopath's would-be victims.Directed by Dario Argento (Do you like Hitchcock ?, Opera, Two Evil Eyes) made an fairly intriguing suspense-thriller that was made before "Untraceable", which it has some of the same ideas. This Italian import is actually well dubbed in English, good performances by the leads, some suspense but flawed and sometimes incredibly absurd (not to mention, not everything in the story makes sense). It is one of the few Argento's movies doesn't have graphic gory violence or memorable set-pieces. Also, it is one of Argento's most straightforward films, although not one of his best works as a filmmaker.The DVD has an good anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer and an decent Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. The DVD has an fairly interesting commentary track by film critic Alan Jones, interview with the director, interview with Claudio Simonetti (Who worked on most Argento's films) and more. Perphas the problem with the film is the conclusion, the identity of the villain is unexpected but the suspense at the climax is played for unintentional laughs and an unbelievable ending as well. "The Card Player" does have some dark humour, the cinematography is good and it's a modest Argento movie. Fans of the director's work will enjoy this best. Written by the filmmaker and Franco Ferrini (Once Upon a Time in America, The Stendhal Syndrome, Trauma). Worth a look. (*** 1/2 out of *****).