I was finally able to see The Card Counter a few months ago and talk about a surprise.  It really went in a direction I did not see coming (but if one thinks of it, seeing past Shrader films should have been an indication that it probably would not stay within the lanes of typical storytelling).  

Like many others, though, to me, the casting of Tiffany Haddish did not work.

Still,  though, a recommended film. 

The New Yorker piece really is a good one.  He makes some really good observations about life (I keep meaning to highlight lines in articles worth noting but keep forgetting).

I think the article also illustrates a difference between older filmmakers/writers and those of today and it makes me wonder how much current aspects of modern society are going to chill art moving forward.  What I'm getting at is, with a society that has a flaccid response to going back to things like classic fiction and editing the writing to make it less offensive is a dangerous harbinger of what could happen to artistic freedom and expression in the future.