The Safdie Bros. film, Uncut Gems is a impressive piece of work. Crazy energy and the insanity of gambling are seen here in stark terms. The rush of hitting a big score hooks some people and they can’t get over it. The sense of addiction is palpable. Adam Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a character who scrambles to get the money to pay off to the mobsters (a nice touch having one of them be his brother in law), but he can’t resist the rush and the addiction of one more big throw. The film shows he’s got talent at sports betting but he ultimately pays dearly for his addiction. It’s a Shakespearian level tragedy set in a nasty, lowlife world. As the film begins the camera enters the fabulously iridescent black opal of the title and travels through on of the embedded gems before coming out the other side to show a monitor screen depicting Howard getting a colonoscopy. It’s a self-deprecating joke by the Safdie’s telling us that Howard has just entered a world of shit!