Shade (2003)

Well this movie really impressed me with its mix of poker hustling and mystery suspense. Although it was obvious that there was twists to be seen after just 30mins when the 1st one is realised it isn't a movie you can predict and to its credit it isn't a movie that you want to predict it has it all sexy ladies, handsome men, suspense and mystery (with a few suprises thrown in for good measure) Stallone is maybe a little "boring" in his role but he still brings a certain amount of screen presance with his introduction. What is really strange is that the 2 main names in the movie don't even enter it till about 1 hour in a very bold move by the director which works very well. All in all i loved this movie Watch it and enjoy it!

Fmovies: Shade was well acted, no tour de force performances by any means, but still very well done. The cinematography and locations were excellent, and the entire feel and look of the film was some of the best I have seen in a while. The card tricks were quite interesting and the twists in the plot kept me quite thoroughly entertained. While overall a very good movie, the very calculated pace and flow of the movie was very much like a poker game. In some cases tense, exciting and often unexpected, and in others very slow, as if the movie were building up to a winning hand. All in all, a very well made movie, but not perfect. I give it an 8/10.

Don't expect to see to many believable, realistic or reliable poker moves.... but all and all this was an extremely entertaining movie. If you live in the Los Angeles area it is fun to pick out some local hot spots and catch that 90% of the movie was filmed within a few blocks of Sunset and Ivar. Gabrielle Brynne is amazing as always... and Sly Stone delivers the goods for the first time in a long time. I didn't care for the fact that there weren't more realistic poker terms and logistics used throughout the flick. Definately in a game that size you would see chem-decks, a spotter checking for cheats, a cut card, table stakes opposed to this "money in my back pocket routine", and atleast one Asian or Armenian guy from the LA area looking for a big game. A great time for two hours... but not going to teach beginners anything about a real high-stakes game.

Shade fmovies. Last night I got in to a screening for Shade. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I thought the acting was pretty good and the story definitely held my interest. There were plenty of twists and turns and the ending caught me by surprise. The film looks great and the card tricks were pretty cool, too.

This is a recommend from me.

Sometimes I look at movies in terms of expectations and judge accordingly. Like 21 Grams, high expectations...and fell short. Shade, a straight to video/DVD with Stallone, mediocre at best expectations. This movie exceeded my expectations and in fact, I'd be more likely to recommend it as a rental then 21 grams. I was certainly entertained and thankfully Stallone, unlike some other straight to DVD releases, is NOT the star.

What was also unusual, was the fact that I didn't pick up on all the plot twists and they were plausible plot twists which made me feel like an actual story had been played out instead of left wondering, "where the hell did that come from"?

Better then average movie and way better then average straight to DVD. Certainly worth renting. Enjoy. If nothing else, the opening and closing credits show the viewer some very impressive slight of hand and how it's done by card sharks.

Expectations were low to start(no real theatrical release)but it grabbed me from the opening credits and didn't let go 'til the last credits rolled off the screen..

Tight,full of twists with great casting,and really good energy this movie was a hellova lotta fun to experience. We watch a lot of DVDs off Netflix (5 a week) but this was the best experience on a 45inch home screen I've had from a movie with no marketing and no advance hype since Interstate 60. How sad if true that it only made $50,000 in theatrical release. (previous review)... I'd give it 9 out of 10...And Stallone's performance was the cherry on top.