Watched The Cooler last night with Willam H. Macy and Alec Baldwin. This was an 'art film' (i.e. sex and nudity, graphic violence) that passed through most towns unnoticed although it was a big hit at the Sundance Festival. I know what your thinking, "Alec Baldwin? he couldn't act his way out of a paper bag." But in this particular supporting role he is brilliant; on par and similar to DiNiro in Good Fellas (though there's no Joe Pesci role) and he did get an academy award nomination for it. His diatribe against Steve Wynn and the whoring out of 'old Vegas' is worth the price of admission. And of course nobody plays the victim of fate better than William H. The film has a subdued mood in that the lead character, Macy, is the definition of a loser; and it's a little gritty, looking at the seamy underside of Las Vegas (notice that the female lead Maria Bello's wears no make-up and has a bad dye-job) but, (spoiler alert) it has a wonderful sentiment and is just a great piece of film making art in my opinion. Good Vegas sound track too. Two thumbs with a bullet.
