Benutzerrezensionen

I thought it was awesome all the cast were really believable and the story was great. Yes I recommend it. James Welch Henderson, Arkansas 11/14/2020

Besides a couple things that do feel inaccurate like the nonchalance of the main drug dealer the movie is worth a watch. But it's those little things that doesn't make Sleight a great movie. If a drug dealer would act like that he would be caught the same day. But other than that the story is entertaining. Jacob Latimore did a good job with his performance. The tricks are maybe a bit over the top, certainly at the end, but I guess it's fine being a fictional story. I don't really like magic anyways, unless you explain me the trick afterwards. But I'm not saying it's the best movie ever in this genre. But certainly better than all those negative reviewers wants to make you believe.

Good single-watch movie. nice story. some interesting ideas (1 viewing)

The movie started out fairly well with a engineering decent background for Bo, with his technical skills causing him to go to dangerous depths to better his street magic and provide for his sister. The conflict with the drugs and gangs is decently executed and the acting is good, but they really should've focused more on the actual "tricks" rather than ending with such super powered/fantastical flair.

Sleight is not a random gangster movie, because the main character is kind of special, he can do magic tricks. And he is really good.

Well that's it. His passion is not really well-used in the plot, so it really feels anecdotal.

I always wonder why he bothers doing magic tricks when he needs money. He must be making much more money with selling drugs. I'm not sure it makes sense.

The shots around his magic tricks makes the movie special, but it goes old real quick, after 30mn. Then we forget about it, to go back to magic half-an-hour afterwards. There's a big issue in the writing. The is not enough events to keep the plot interesting after 30mn.

So yeah it's original, and well-acted, but a sad lack of structure. And the mysterious ending feels pretentious for a movie that is not cleverly constructed. It doesn't really work.

"Sleight" brings the story of Bo. As the movie opens, someone is leaving a voice mail message for Bo, expressing sorrow for the passing of Bo's mom. We then jump "One Year Later". Bo is doing various magic tricks for money. During one of those street performances, he meets Holly. We also get to know Bo's little sister Tina, whom he cares for. But then we find out that Bo is also selling drugs as part of a drug gang headed by Angelo. It's not long before Bo is in way way over his head. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.

Couple of comments: this is the debut feature length movie of writer-director J.D. Dillard. Dillard does a wonderful job mixing two genres (drug drama, magic tricks) in a story that is quite original in its approach. "Anyone can do a trick, but I am a magician", comments Bo to Holly. I have no idea whether the magic we see in the movie is even possible, or whether it's all jut part of the story but not realistic. All I can say is that it looked quite good. The movie is helped enormously by the charming performances of the two leads: Jacob Latimore as Bo, and Seychelle Gabriel as Holly. Surely we will hear more from them! Last but certainly not least, there is a great electronic score from Charles Scott IV, which I intend to check out at some point.

"Sleight" opened to positive acclaim at last year's Sundance Film Festival. No idea why it has taken so long for the movie to be released in theaters, but better late than never. The Friday evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was attended okay but not great. That said, keeping in mind the movie's production budget was a mere $250,000 (peanuts in Hollywood terms), the movie has grossed many times that amount. If you are in the mood for a different type of "drug crime" movie that comes with a healthy twist of magic, you cannot go wrong with this, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray. "Sleigh" is highly recommended!

It was at Sundance in 2016 when this one had its world premiere, and after seeing it, I can see why it drew so much attention: it's a good film. The young street magician Bo (Jacob Latimore), who is the star of this movie, excels in his role of looking after his younger sister following the death of their mother. Because he has to provide for his sister, he ends up dealing drugs for Angel despite the fact that he is an intelligent young man who has obtained a scholarship to study engineering. When it concentrates on Bo's career as a street magician and his dedication to the art form, Sleight is at its most interesting and amusing. Whether Bo is using magic to help him make more money so that he can run away with his sister or he finds himself using it in the drug dealing business, it's a really exciting component of the film for two reasons: first, because it's just fun to watch, and second, because it's so important to the main character; it's a big part of who Bo is, and what I see is that Diller doesn't let that concept rule the movie, rather, it's just something there.

"Sleight" had SO much potential. The magic sequences were entertaining. The performances were believable, and the characters had time to develop. The tone was set from the beginning to be tense, and the buildup was incredible. The film would keep making you think the girl would be kidnapped throughout the film, but when it finally happens, it cheaps out BIG time. All the subtleties are suddenly exaggerated. Things got silly all at the last moments of the film. The climax was boring. There was no sense of urgency anymore. The tone just INSTANTLY changes. Is this supposed to be epic? Am I supposed to be laughing? I didn't know anymore, and it didn't help that everyone's performances got goofy. The trailers were trying to sell this film as some sort of urban superhero tale, but since it took so long to get to the kidnapping, they had to cram all the heroics in at the last minute, thus wasting all the time they took developing everything including my time. What an absolute disappointment.

Interesting and original story with a nice mix of drama, sci-fi, gansta stuff and magic. Entertaining, but way too much holes in the story to make it great. Could have been great, but still ok.

'SLEIGHT': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A sci-fi drama about a gifted street magician who turns to illegal activities to support his sister, after their parents are killed, and he then must use his special skills to protect them from the same dangerous people he works for. The film was written and directed by J.D. Dillard, and it stars Jacob Latimore, Seychelle Gabriel, Storm Reid, Sasheer Zamata, Cameron Esposito and Dule Hill. It's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it was a small indie hit at the Box Office as well (grossing $4 million on a $250,000 budget). I found the film to be mildly interesting and entertaining, but definitely nothing great.

Bo (Latimore) is a very talented street magician, who also works for a dangerous drug dealer, named Angelo (Hill), to pay the bills. He's also responsible for taking care of his little sister, Tina (Reid), since their parents died. When Angelo finds out that Bo has been stealing from him, he threatens to kill Bo and Tina. Bo is forced to come up with $45,000, in order to spare their lives, and he's also forced to turn to his special abilities in order to get them out of this new predicament alive. His abilities amazingly include controlling metals, using an electromagnetic he built into his arm.

The film kind of feels like a superhero origins movie. It would be a lot more beloved if it was a popular comic book character (that people already knew) too. As it is, the film is mostly amusing, and the climax is pretty cool as well. Also Latimore makes a pretty likable leading man too. The movie isn't especially memorable, or especially likable, but it is decently made and entertaining.

At the start it felt like I was in for a treat. I felt like something very interesting will happen in this story. But little did I know that was the zenith of this movie. Everything went down from that cliff.

On the hindsight the story is not so different form any other poorly written action movie. The directing was interesting enough to make it seem like this had something in it. If you have watched this movie and liked it then take a break and really think about the story. It is utterly ridiculous.

This is not a good movie and I would recommend skipping it.

After screening "Sleight," I now understand why on the poster there's a quote by a critic describing this film as "Chronicle" meets "Iron Man," because that's the perfect description for it, you can't say it any much better than that without revealing spoilers. The story is basic and yet the way it's shot, it has that sense of naturalistic realism with most of the pivotal scenes happening at night, so "Sleight" basically carries Michael Mann's style.

Written and directed by J.D. Dillard, Jacob Latimore plays a young street magician named Bo who takes care of his little sister after their parents' passing and in order to pay the bills he also sells drugs for a known vicious dealer named Angelo (Dule Hill). Sasheer Zamata is the next door neighbor who looks out for Bo's sister when he's out for work. Co-starring Seychelle Gabriel as Bo's girlfriend. When Bo gets in too deep with the criminal group, they kidnap his sister and he's forced to use his so-called magic to save her.

In a lot of ways, "Sleight" entertains those of us fans of illusion and magic, those of us who've always wondered how on earth Criss Angel does what he does. The things that Bo (Latimore) can do will amaze you but there's a twist to his ability which you'd have to watch the movie for yourself to find out what that really is. So that alone makes "Sleight' intriguing and fascinating, your eyes glued to the screen the entire time. You want to see how Bo would use his magic skills to get himself and his sister out of the mess they find themselves in. Dule Hill's performance as the villain is basically your stereotypical street gangster but Hill delivers it just fine.

Even though Jacob Latimore has been around for quite some time as an actor, I first noticed his work in "Collateral Beauty" which was an awful movie by the way, but Latimore stood out. He has a level of intensity that other rising stars may lack. The young man has the potential to be extraordinary and Oscar-worthy someday. So although "Sleight" crime thriller/drama can't quite find its footing, the way it wraps up at the end is nothing short of hardcore.

-- Rama's Screen --

I watched this because I like magic a lot, so when I saw the previews, I was thinking it'd be pretty cool. And it kind of is, but then we get to the part where the main character is also a drug dealer. I'm like... okay, this guy has to find some way to pay his bills on a house his parents left him with. No character is ever one-dimensional so the back story was getting interesting. But then the gangsters and their rivals got kind of goofy and it seemed like here are all these serious teen actors and the adults are all acting goofy and ruining the moment. Then there's the sci-fi element, which is totally ludicrous. I was left scratching my head asking myself what did I just watch? I would've liked it so much better if the main character used his wits rather than sci-fi fantasy to defeat his nemesis.