Nice effects though.

Don't Believe the Hype

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The story itself is interesting but nothing special, a yarn about a Vegas college footballer who becomes the prodigy of a New York betting shark, lifted above mediocrity by two superb masterclasses in acting from Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey. Truth is there's no likable people here, and the cloying, against-all-the-odds ending is in poor taste. But the performances make it worth seeing at least once, Pacino in particular is having a blast as the wise-cracking shark and Matthew McConaughey is no slouch here either. Just a shame the story isn't that captivating, unless betting on football games is your thing.

I am not a massive sports or sports movie fan. But then this film is more about gambling, ambition and greed.The main character is sucked in to a new and exciting world by Al Pacino's character who takes eccentric to new levels.The film is fairly slow and the plot flows along fairly gently, which is just as well because there really isn't a lot of substance to it.The characters are engaging and just enough happens to keep you interested.The majority of the film centres around the affect of success and the motivations that drive the successful on.This is good for an idle Sunday afternoon. Good performances and production but nothing special going on and no fireworks.

Money, money, money. If you don't any...you want some. And thanks to unhappy people wanting money fast, other people get richer. Matthew McConaughey plays Brandon Lang, a former outstanding college football star that suffers a career ending injury. His life isn't in the crapper just yet, because he has the uncanny talent of predicting winners and losers on the gridiron. He gets the attention of Walter Abrams(Al Pacino), one of the biggest sports consulting moguls in the business. Abrams takes the hunky Lang under his wing and with a leg up soon both are pulling in an ugly amount of money. When things start to turn sour for Brandon, Abrams puts on the pressure and that leads to a duel of con against con. Stakes escalate and the high rolling lifestyle is in danger of petering out. The bigger they come, the harder they fall.D.J. Caruso directs and Dan Gilroy writes. The only drawback I can find is maybe the running time of 2 hours and a bit. Of course, those that are not sports minded will pass on this anyway. Fine supporting cast: Rene Russo, Jeremy Piven, Armand Assante and Jaime King.

Brandon Lang (Matthew McConaughey) is an ex-football player, who's now working for a phone service. Which Brandon could foreseeing the results on a game with lack of any professional insight. When Brandon receives an mysterious phone call from Walter Abrams (Oscar-Winner:Al Pacino). Which Walter offers him an job in New York City to join his gambling advising business. When Walter advices Brandon to change his look and name. Brandon's predictions towards Sports Games becomes an major success. Brandon makes plenty of promising clients and he becomes close with Walter and his wife Toni (Rene Russo). But when Brandon's predictions starts to change and his relationship with Walter turns bad. Which Walter isn't always the man, what he seems to be.Directed by D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, The Salton Sea, Taking Lives) made an interesting, modestly entertaining drama. Which is based on a true story on Brandon's fascinating life. The first half of the film works best, when it's funny and kept things moving. But then the second half takes a dark turn and slow going at times. This film is also about redemption towards these characters. McConaughey plays his role, quite well in this movie. Al Pacino's character, love him or hate him. His performance is always quite interesting, despite the many bad turns his character does in the film. Rene Russo gives her best performance here as Brandon's only sympathetic friend.DVD has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an good-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD has an good commentary track by the director and screenwriter:Dan Gilory (Chasers, The Fall, Freejack). DVD also has Deleted Scenes with optional commentaries by the director and screenwriter, making of featurette, interview with the real Brandon (Which his real name is Brandon Link) and Trailer & T.V. Spots. Since his film was an box office disappointment. This is the kind of movie that plays better on DVD. Despite the solid premise of the film. This is worth watching, thanks to the performances of McConaughey, Pacino and Russo. Russo is one of the executive producers of the picture. Don't miss this true-life story. Super 35. (*** ½/*****).