Lucky

I saw LUCKY a couple days ago and it sticks with me. It is a fun ride through the under belly of New York City. The film does a great job of capturing an immigrant's struggle for the American dream without falling into the trap of boring the audience with a political lecture about immigration and race. Set in the gritty streets of the not yet gentrified outer reaches of New York City. It has a throw back quality to the gritty crime films of the 70s and 80s, with modern day pimps and prostitutes hustling the streets. The plot unwinds in a logical and honest way that leads the audience to identify with an otherwise moral man who is left with no other choice but to descend into a life of crime. The film is blessed with a great cast, great score and a very well written script. I look forward to more from this director.

Always on the look out for new indies. Saw a good review in LA Times for Lucky. It wasn't my favorite film but it was solid nonetheless. It's a familiar story but it keeps going at a pretty good pace. Lucky and Fernando had good chemistry and I'm pretty sure we will see more work from this director. Always extra points for diversity.

First, the only real redeeming value I found in this film is that I grew up and lived in the areas that 75% of this film was shot at, for 35 years. 31st Street in Astoria NY, LIC, Queens Blvd., Woodside, Sunnyside and some in Manhattan. Seeing the old Hood was cool but, barring that, the film was contrived and clearly in the "B" movie category.

The Protagonist/Director, Did a pretty good job but that's where it ends. Clearly he is the only talent in this mess. The antagonist is about as menacing as a bad pimple. In that neighborhood, (or any in NY for that matter) if a guy like him acted the way he did in real life, he would have had his head handed to him 10 minutes into the film. (Based on his "bad guy" portrayal) The story is a familiar enough one that rings true as I've had friends in similar situations (illegal and trying to gain citizenship) via any means possible. But, to believe a guy steps into a cab and brings the driver (who he has never met) into his world of drug dealing, murder, prostitution etc., is ridiculous. The fact the film tries (and fails miserably) to get the viewer to believe that those scenarios really happen clearly tells you the director has never dealt with the streets before.

Perhaps, for some Park Ave. spoiled kids this might be believable, but, for anyone who grew up in any major metropolitan city to believe this is a far cry from truth. As the saying goes, "where there is smoke there is fire"....regarding this film, someone should have doused these flames by the second act!

If you can view this film for free, then give it a shot, otherwise, don't spend a dime. It's a fairy tale, not a crime thriller.

Lucky is a relatable character in modern day urban NYC. The opening was strong and even though Lucky is a criminal, you feel for him. The story starts to slow down about 15 minutes into it and then we meet Fernando and the pacing picks up and Lucky is now on a new path, one which I enjoyed watching unfold. There are enough twists that keep you engaged even though you might have guessed how things are going to turn out. However, the filmmaker surprised me with the ending. If you are used to happy ending mind numbing action then this may not be for you. For a slice of life gritty story give Lucky a shot.

I've never written a review before, I only just rate any movies I see, but felt I should for this one so no one else gets fooled! So I've read all the reviews and as the only other 1/10 mentioned, all are fake except for the 4/10. It's funny how even after the 1/10 reviewer posted their honest review, more fake accounts were created to increase the overall score, again! So what the reviewer that also rated it 1/10 said, they took the words right out of my mouth... this film was total amateur hour and a waste of my time!

This movie is really slow. The acting is very bad and looks like the actors are struggling to say their lines, except for Fernando. He starts off OK, but then just gets too into his role and over does it. The worst actor here is Sunny. Where did they find this guy anyway? Again, way to over-reacting. The background music is very dark, again, too much for a drama. I really couldn't finish this movie, it was that slow and boring.

It's sad to see such fake reviews. Don't waste your time, even if you see it for free like I did, my time is more valuable!