10 Movie Moments Where You Had No Idea What Was Going To Happen Next
2. Howard's Big Bet - Uncut Gems
Uncut Gems is one of the most stressful and anxiety-inducing films of recent times, and that's largely down to the enervating presence of Adam Sandler's gambling addict jeweler protagonist Howard Ratner.
He's exactly the sort of person who will either fail upwards until the end of time, or eventually over-leverage himself and get clipped in the head for it.
Both options seem equally likely in the film's sweaty-palmed climax, where Howard has his girlfriend Julia (Julia Fox) place a $175,000 bet on a seemingly unlikely Boston Celtics victory.
While the game is going on, Howard is accosted at his jewelry store by Arno (Eric Bogosian), a loan shark he owes money to, and his lackeys Phil (Keith William Richards) and Nico (Tommy Kominik).
But Howard makes the bold decision to lock the three between the store's security doors, allowing him to watch the rest of the game in relative peace.
At this point, anything could happen - Howard could lose all his money and get killed for his trouble, or win large and run off into the night.
As it turns out, the actual result is a perverse mixture of the two - the bold bet does indeed pay off with Howard winning $1.2 million, but upon letting his three "prisoners" free, an irate Phil shoots him and Arno dead.
It's a rare film where practically anything could've happened to Howard and it would've made sense, short of him being abducted by aliens.