’m a sucker for poker – and especially watching poker on television.

There is something exhilarating about watching people bet mounds of money on a game of chance, where a single card can break you or make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.

I mention this because that was the same feeling I got while watching the new film “21.” Although the subject matter deals with blackjack and not Texas hold ’em, director Robert Luketic still delivers a film full of flash and style that makes it one of the more entertaining Vegas films in recent memory.

“21” is loosely based on the novel “Bringing Down the House,” which chronicled the tale of six Massachusetts Institute of Technology students who were trained to become experts in card counting and then made millions during weekend trips to Las Vegas.

Jim Sturgess stars as Ben Campbell, an MIT student who has just been accepted into Harvard medical but can’t find a way to pay for school.

He finds an answer to his problems when he is recruited by an MIT professor (Kevin Spacey) to join a group of students learning an elaborate system that gives them a distinct advantage when playing blackjack.

Before long Ben finds himself emerged in a double life where he is a shy student during the week, but a big shot, high stakes gambler on weekends.

Sturgess, who audiences probably remember from last year’s “Across the Universe,” continues to establish himself as a budding star with another confident and interesting performance.

Spacey gives his patented reliable performance, while Laurence Fishburne is very good as an old-school pit boss who catches on to the group’s excessive amount of success.

It’s also nice to see Kate Bosworth, who plays another student in the group who becomes Ben’s love interest.

Luketic gets the most out of his cast, but also gets the most out of a simplistic card game, amping up the card scenes with CGI effects and slow mo techniques that only add to the tension.

“21” could have benefited from more insight into how these students got away with card counting and if it wanted to be a cautionary tale, I’m not sure if it really works.

But that’s only a minor gripe for a film that just oozes coolness.

DVD dandy of the week

This week’s dandy is “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (A), the dark and highly enjoyable Tim Burton adaptation of the Broadway musical that is the eclectic filmmaker’s best film since “Ed Wood.”

The film tells the story of a London barber named Benjamin Barker, who has a beautiful wife, a young daughter – seemingly a wonderful life.

The happiness is soon shattered by a corrupt judge (Alan Rickman) who sends Barker away for crimes he didn’t commit.

Barker returns years later to discover that his wife is dead and his daughter is now being raised by the judge.

Intent on revenge, Barker changes his name to Sweeney Todd, opens a barber shop and strikes a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter).

“Sweeney Todd” is more like an opera than a conventional musical, but the songs and style perfectly fit this tragic and dark film, which is in great hands with Burton at the helm.

Fans of Burton’s work in films like “Edward Scissorhands,” “Beetle Juice” and the original “Batman” will appreciate the art direction and Burton’s ability to create a surreal world full of blood and carnage (all done with song!).

Depp, a surprisingly good singer, is a natural as the vindictive barber, while Carter continues to show that she is one of the most underrated actresses working.

The film is dark and bloody, almost to the point of being cartoonish, but it isn’t without some humor as well. “Borat’s” Sacha Baron Cohen provides some of the lighter moments as a rival barber. His performance is, shall we say, “Very nice!”

It all adds up to a unique experience – a film that manages to take its audience to a magical world and then proceeds to expose all the more dark and twisted crevices of said world.

Being a singing homicidal barber intent on revenge has never been as much fun as it is here.

“Sweeney Todd” is rated R for graphic bloody violence and is now available on DVD.