Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Tetrady not as good as all the hype

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

SnoopyStyle Harlan Junior (Kevin Pollak) loses big on the horses. He runs petty cons with Fiona (Liane Balaban). Their cohort Sonny (Jonas Chernick) owes Mr. Five Wounds $100k and he needs to repay it in 2 days on Christmas Eve. Sonny comes to Harlan with a scheme to buy watches for $150k. Harlan's fence Eddie won't lend him the money so he goes to Mr. Five Wounds.This Canadian production tries to be a hard-boiled noir crime drama but it's not quite stylish enough. Then there is complicated twisty story of backstabbing double-crosses. At a certain point, the movie loses cohesion and falls apart. Pollak and Balaban are good but they can't maintain any intensity.

Kelly Cather I rented this film because there was a lot of buzz about it a few years back. It was shot in my hometown (Winnipeg, Canada).Unfortunately, the makers of this film clearly ripped off the main characters and most of the plot points from the classic French caper "Bob le flambeur". "Bob le flambeur" is a classic and a much better film. The producers should be making royalty payments to the Jean-Pierre Melville estate."Seven Times Lucky" is a mediocre film, and has some obvious weaknesses, mainly being a miscast lead Kevin Pollack. I cannot see Pollack in a million years in a relationship with the twenty-three years younger Liane Balaban. Balaban has a solid performance in this film, but I can not recommend renting it.

GrunterGrimm This movie gives itself away as Canadian-made long before the suitcase of $CDN 100's is shown - it's low-budget, tight, low-key, relatively nonviolent, and features at least one name Hollywood actor or actress (artsy, or B-list) to give it some box-office appeal. Hence the movie features Kevin Pollack, a short, nebbishy character actor, who shows he's capable of carrying a certain type of flick by himself, in this case as an intelligent, hard-boiled grifter who doesn't let his emotions get in the way of doing business. Does having an aboriginal as a heavyweight villain make a movie distinctly Canadian? I'm not sure, but it's a refreshing change from post-Soviet Russian gangsters.In this movie each scam sets up another with various irresistible hockable valuables turning up to sweeten the pot and lure the crooked types involved. It all begins with a "sure bet" on the horses, and as the movie's characters are introduced at a goodly pace, we begin to wonder about which character is setting up which. Or are they scamming? The movie also does well with the subtleties and then the revelations about the various partnership combinations. Was it love - or just a scam?

kergillian One word sums this film up: average. It's a very average film, with nothing special about it whatsoever. The inherent problem in this film: too many twists and turns. Every second scene has a new twist, and there are so many that the film loses its sense of purpose. Yates tries to be so clever with all of the plot twists and turns, but there are so many red herrings and cons within cons that it's just overwhelming - and falls beyond the zone of believability. This film is trying too hard to be a classic noir, and the director can't decide whether he wants to be John Huston or Guy Ritchie. The only problem is, his script is nowhere near as sharp as the Maltese Falcon, his visuals nowhere near as crisp and noir as Huston, and he doesn't have any of the humour of Ritchie.And Pollack is no Bogart, Balaban no Bacall or Mary Astor. And the characterization is faulty - aside from Pollack's character (Harlan Jr.), the other characters simply don't stay true to form - they change throughout the film in ways that aren't just unexpected, but uncharacteristic. As well, Pollack simply isn't believable as the kind of character he's playing. His character is too genuine, too naive - and the way he ends the film (no, I won't spoil it) is a stretch. Yates is borrowing more than a little bit from Miller's Crossing, but Pollack is no Gaberiel Byrne - and he's also far from a Bogart or Fred MacMurray.As well, the middle sags horribly. From the frenzied pace of the beginning to the frenetic pace of the end, we have this slow and dreary interlude with a 'romantic' aspect that perhaps wants to be a red herring, but just feels false, shallow and out of place.As far as Canadian film goes, however - at least non-Quebecois Canadian film - this is a pretty solid one. Which doesn't say too much about Canadian film. We certainly have a lot to learn about film-making, but there are always moments where I feel that we're heading in the right direction. Not the best Canadian film I've seen, but nowhere near the worst, its flaws aren't serious enough to make you want to stop watching.In the end, this film tries very hard and brings forth some interesting and quirky characters, but falls short of its potential.Yates has something interesting going here, and he shows bright promise, but he needs to tighten up his script and gain a better understanding of film - especially film noir - before he can near that potential. Yates will get better, but he needs to take a step back and examine himself and his work first. 6/10.