Luck of the Draw

No five words say `straight to video' quite as effortlessly as `from the director of GHOULIES'. As far as I can gather, LUCK OF THE DRAW is the only film in two decades to earn this label. Director Luca Bercovici has also gathered together a b-grade rat-pack to star in his comeback film.

The video A-list come in all shapes and sizes. Michael Madsen is an acclaimed poet, and Dennis Hopper directed THE LAST MOVIE and EASY RIDER. Along with respected artists, the film boasts a bit-part for Ice T (transitional rapper), some kid apparently in GLADIATOR, and Eric Roberts, who never needed to pay cinema admission to see his own work.

It starts off a bit like a b-grade rip-off of Michael Mann's HEAT, a contradiction in terms seeing as that film is the greatest of all cops & robbers pictures. It ends a little bit like.put it this way, if you haven't ever seen this ending, you spent the '90's under a rock.

There are only two types of DTV films worth renting: those that are surprisingly good, or those that are woefully bad. In that sense, LUCK OF THE DRAW is a failure because it is average all the way.

I think this movie was really great. The cast was awesome and made the movie an enjoyable feast for action lovers.

Eric Roberts was great as a wise talking, gangster wannabe type Carlo, whose opinion of himself was much higher than everyone else's opinion of him.

William Forsythe's part of the doggedly determined agent Max Fenton, hell bent on bringing Giani Ponti (played expertly by Dennis Hopper)in was the stuff that legends are made of. He is an extremely talented actor who shines in every part he undertakes. His veteran status in Hollywood has earned him the respect he deserves for his part in this movie and every other he stars in.

Dennis Hopper's portrayal as the savvy, hip and utterly criminal Giani Ponti is only more proof that while other actors his age are looking for work, he is not. This perfomance was only more ammunition in the belief that he is STILL a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.

Michael Madsen shined as only he can in the part of Zippo, an S & M freak who loves the ladies. His part was believeable and he added his own flair and unique style to a well executed role.

Wendy Benson as the hard working but not as naive as she seems, Rebecca Johnson was classic. She made the role of the daughter of a two timing, thieving accountant (played to unbelievable realism by the wonderful veteran actor Frank Gorshin)come to life. If this role is any indication of her talents, I look forward to seeing many more movies with her in the future.

When one thinks of "bad", you can't help but think of Ice-T. He played Macneilly a small time hood with big aspirations and the muscle to back up those aspirations. Ice-T is multi talented and this role was just further proof that whether good guy, bad guy or somewhere in between, he is a major player in Hollywood.

I was surprised and delighted by a small but pivotal role in this movie. The hit man played by the talented and veteran actor Patrick Kilpatrick. He could be the role model for hit men everywhere. Charming, handsome and utterly cool he would be any "target's" worst nightmare.

One downside to this movie and something I found very disappointing was the role played by Sasha Mitchell as the bumbling, dumber than dirt, driver, Buddy. He is referred to as "bone head" in the movie by Carlo because of his dimwittedness. I was disheartened to see such a talented and multi faceted actor as Sasha Mitchell thrust into such a demeaning and humiliating role. I would have thought that after the astoundingly high class way he handled the problems with the false spousal abuse allegations lobbed at him by his ex-wife, that Hollywood would drop their "stupid surfer dude" image of him. I think after what he has been through in the past few years (all but having his career ruined) he would be a shining star in Hollywood's crown. What a pity that they can't see true talent.

I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants fast action and hot stars. I own this movie and am proud to have it amongst my collection of favorites.

I took a gamble by renting this one DVD - it certainly had potential, with the good storyline and great actors (Madsen, Hopper).

After 15 minutes however, things really went downhill and it became obvious that this is a total Tarantino ripp-off. The story is very similar to True Romance and the music reminded me of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction - except that these weren't the original tracks from the 70s :)

It's really a b-grade ganster movie with none of the subtle filming or dialogue we get in Tarantino's movies.

4/10

Jack Sweeny is a young man just trying to get a job. Turned down at another bank due to his criminal record he meets a girl, Rebecca, but also witnesses a 3 way shootout between 2 groups of criminals and the cops over a suitcase containing perfect plates for counterfeiting bank notes. Jack grabs the plates and attempts to sell them via his friend Zippo. However with at least three different groups ready to kill him for the plates, Jack finds it's just one double cross after another.

In the pitch meeting it must have sounded great, being sold as a sort of Pulp Fiction with more action and more punch. With the cast it must have looked promising – not a-list actors but a good line up of faces (just like in Pulp Fiction!). However somewhere along the line it all went wrong. Someone forgot to tell the writers and the director that this was what was wanted. So instead of an interesting tale all intertwining together, we have a daft thriller where each connection made just serves to make it all feel more convoluted and silly. I don't mind some leaps of faith, but how many unlikely events are we meant to swallow?

This is made worse by the lack of fun and pace in the story. It just drags along with silly scenes providing no action or humour. Dennis Hopper shooting his own men is meant to be hilarious but it's just plain silly and a little sickening. As for the big shootouts at start and finish – they are directed with no flair and no excitement. Making the whole thing passable but certainly worth of it's UK DTV status.

The cast looks good – hence my setting of the video recorder for it. However most seem to be trying to play it for laughs (without success) further undermining the film. Marshall is weak in the lead, with so much in support surely a better name could have been sought for the lead? Hopper hams it up with no thought of character – in fact no-one actually produces a character I ever cared about. Roberts clearly thinks this is a spoof of some sort. Forsythe is about as mysterious as a brick and he signposts his character's twists like he was directing traffic. Madsen seems happy just to show up and make the QT connection by riding in his car playing music from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Ice-T turns in another gangster role but he looks skinny and tired – is time catching up with him? And Patrick Kilpatrick! He looks cool and is always reliable as a heavy but does a laughable Irish accent (Belfast lad speaking!) and appears to be a terrorist of some sort (don't let the name fool you). Yet it took several goes for us to get his accent and his character is never explained even briefly – he literally just suddenly is involved in the plot!

Overall this is not as bad a mess as I have made it sound as it is clearly good enough for teenage boys who just wants boobs and bangs without character or plot – a Saturday night rental if ever there was one! However to imagine how it must have appeared to those making it and seeing what the dogs dinner it became is just plain sad. Avoid.

Luck Of The Draw is one of a zillion straight to DVD, second tier crime thrillers that aren't about all that much besides a gaggle of cops, criminals and whackos all chasing some elusive valuable property, in this case some counterfeit money printing plates. What makes this one stand out is its unbelievable cast if heavy hitting tough guy actors, all subtly sending up their own image with some wily antics and breezy, cheerfully violent fun. Twin Peak's James Marshall plays "", an ex con kid looking to go straight. But of course the movie has other plans for him and soon he's caught up in a heated collision course involving several unsavory characters. Volatile mafioso Gionti Ponti (Dennis Hopper on the ham train to scenery chewing city) lost the plates in a messy robbery/heist. Eric Roberts is a hoot as his enforcer Carlo, his dumbfounded reaction to being shot for the first time is priceless. Dogged federal agent Max Fenton (an amped up, excellent William Forsythe) has a shady agenda of his own. Ice T shows up with his usual laughable sneer as a grouchy boxer. ""'s only friend in this mess is a perpetually hungover Michael Madsen as Zippo, the archetypal S&M porn producer with a heart of gold. Patrick Kilpatrick wanders around in a turn of pure comedic gold as a calm, cool Irish contract killer who, after seeing the film like five times, I'm still not sure who works for. It all snowballs together into a mish- mash, Reservoir Dogs style confrontation, but but the journey getting there is half the fun with this one. You could get this cast together for a game of lawn bowling or a live read of an ikea instruction manual and it would still be a great time. Fun bit of trivia: Mickey Rourke was originally cast in Madsen's role, but walked off the set in a huff because (get this), the producers wouldn't let him hold his chihuahua during the filming of his scenes. Classic Mick. Anyway, this one's worth a gander, if you can wrangle up a copy from some obscure corner of the universe.