Lucky

So I had no plans of seeing this movie except that I happened to be attending a festival at Village East Cinemas and saw that "lucky" was playing with a Q/A and my boyfriend wanted to watch it. The movie is Good. Not Great but solid. The actors did a good job and the story, although familiar, (I'm an immigrant) had an interesting spin on it. It was unapologetic and I appreciated that. This is a real independent film and you can tell the budget must have been tight, which was acknowledged in the Q/A so that much more respect to the filmmakers for pulling it off. After hearing everything they had to do to get this made, you appreciate it that much more. Kudos to the team. The music was great too.

With a villain who is truly intense and unrelenting (Mr. Diaz) and a leading man who is sympathetic and very appealing (Mr. King) this film grips the viewer and keeps you involved. Add in a mix of interesting, well played supporting characters and you've got yourself a very entertaining and exciting movie. There's a level of realism here that added to the impact since I felt I was watching a real person facing extreme challenges in the real world. Full of some beautiful shots and great music, I highly recommend this film. And ladies - you're going to love just watching Mr. King - who is truly a beautiful leading man.

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.

Extremely deft rendering of current immigrant experience (South Asian) in the NYC underbelly recalling not only Scorsese but even Scott B and Beth B by a young filmmaker who will go far. Accolades from the LA Times are highly justified pointing to the multinational, multi-everything, cast who gel almost as an ensemble. The perspective of a NYC taxi driver working the night shift is iconic and the immigrant's outer-borough reality in high relief. The Manhattan sophisticates at Cinema Village East were floored when one beautiful shady character, brilliantly realized by Galla Borowski, burst into Russian in the cab. One sensed creator Bari Kang was playing himself though having turned his life around. Hard-hitting, violent, mournful and haunting. Representations of miserable struggles, drugs and desperation, hearkening to years when Gotham was totally out of control, a time forgotten by many comfortable New Yorkers.

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!