Shade (2003)

Shade is set in the world of poker hustlers working the clubs and martini bars of Los Angeles. The tale unfolds as a group of hustlers encounter "The Dean" and pull off a successful sting that results in their pursuit by a vengeful gangster. This is probably one of the best movies about Poker with a very simple plot and some pretty talented actors like Sylvester Stallone, Jamie Foxx, Thandie Newton and Hal Holbrook as far as acting, script and story go they were pretty good the only part of the movie that was stupid was that scene with Rodney Rowland's character named Jeff but it's still a pretty cool and fun film and the ending was pretty awesome and it made sense how Vernon played his friends also Sly is great as ever and that's why i'll give it a 10/10.

I thought this was going to be a sleeper given the cast, but what I saw was very pedestrian at best. The plot was was OK, but the directing and/or the acting(usually that means the directing was lacking) was hard to watch. When Sly Stallone used Edward G. Robinson's line from "The Cincinnati Kid", I laughed out loud. How this classy cast ends up in this train-wreck is the real con. It tries to be The Sting, The Cincinnati Kid, A Big Hand for the Little Lady, but the script and direction just don't pack the gear. I felt no attachment to the characters, and the actors were allowed to phone in their lines. With the class-act cast of Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton, Jamie Foxx, and Hal Holbrook, I really expected an A movie at least, but this gets a C- at best.

RKO one of the premiere Hollywood studios prior to 1960 tries for a comeback with this film produced by Merv Griffith.It has a first rate cast headed by Gabriel Byrne, Stuart Towswend & Thandie Newton & featuring, Jamie Foxx,Melanie Griffith,Hal Holbrook & also starring Sylvester Stallone. It is well directed by Damien Neiman. This was his first attempt at directing, he also wrote the screenplay.I am sure he will improve on the writing.So why have we not heard more of this 2003 film, that was released in only on theatre in 2004 for about one month, then released to DVD.This story of Poker Hustlers & con-men has been done too many times by now.It is also not a well written or conceived tale. & it is easy to see why it was not given a decent release.I do not know if the revived RKO studio released any other films in its comeback effort.That is a pity, They made some of the better films, many noir type, Shade tries but misses.However, I did enjoy what I saw, the acting was very good,the direction & other production values were good as well.The story just had too many holes in it. It could have been a case of too many cooks stirring the pot.For a DVD rental it is worth the effort to see it.Ratings: *** (out of 4) 81 points(out of 100) IMDb 7 (out of 10)

Shade draws its audience into a world of sharp suits, jazzy tunes and card tricks, which, despite its obvious cool, doesn't really make the grade.That isn't to say that Shade isn't entertaining. It looks good, it sounds good, and the performances are effective enough (Foxx is particularly...noticeable), but the film just isn't as well done as other con movies such as The Grifters (1990), and is way below the sophistication of bigger heist movies such as Ocean's Eleven (2001).My biggest problem with Shade was the the final plot twist. It seemed a bit unnecessary. The biggest problem in terms of plot is that it's based on an a grudge from an event that happened before the film starts, that we only learn about through infrequent references. Sure, there's tension between Charlier (Grabriel Byrne) and Vernon (Stuart Townsend), but it's not enough, and it's something that could have been made clearer with a flashback or even a short conversation. After all, they did it enough for Stevens (Stallone), and he's a supporting character at the most.That being said, Shade is still a decent enough con movie to be worth watching, and while it has a few problems, that doesn't stop it being enjoyable.And it *did* make me want to play poker.