Movie making by the numbers!

Rating: 4/10 (10 August 2006)

Motion picture excitement! Watch Al Pacino pick up a paycheck! Watch Matthew Mahogany try to act! Watch Rene Russo ..... well, stand around and look nice!
A lot of noise, no substance. This is simply movie making by the numbers. I just felt I had seen all this in other movies, only done much better. Unlikable characters, holes in the plot, people doing things they would never do in real life. I know this was based on a true story, but I'm sure it was drastically changed in the writing process. The film tries to get the viewer to sympathize with two very unlikable characters. Why would I feel sorry for two professional gamblers who were helping people to ruin their lives? What's next, a sympathetic look at drug dealers who help people overdose? I was hoping Pacino and Mahogany's characters would go bust and get hurt by the people they were ripping off.
One thing you can always bet on. Mahogany could not act his way out of a wet paper sack!