Seven Times Lucky (2004)

Harlan Junior (Kevin Pollak) loses big on the horses. He runs petty cons with Fiona (Liane Balaban). Their cohort Sonny (Jonas Chernick) owes Mr. Five Wounds $100k and he needs to repay it in 2 days on Christmas Eve. Sonny comes to Harlan with a scheme to buy watches for $150k. Harlan's fence Eddie won't lend him the money so he goes to Mr. Five Wounds.This Canadian production tries to be a hard-boiled noir crime drama but it's not quite stylish enough. Then there is complicated twisty story of backstabbing double-crosses. At a certain point, the movie loses cohesion and falls apart. Pollak and Balaban are good but they can't maintain any intensity.

I rented this film because there was a lot of buzz about it a few years back. It was shot in my hometown (Winnipeg, Canada).Unfortunately, the makers of this film clearly ripped off the main characters and most of the plot points from the classic French caper "Bob le flambeur". "Bob le flambeur" is a classic and a much better film. The producers should be making royalty payments to the Jean-Pierre Melville estate."Seven Times Lucky" is a mediocre film, and has some obvious weaknesses, mainly being a miscast lead Kevin Pollack. I cannot see Pollack in a million years in a relationship with the twenty-three years younger Liane Balaban. Balaban has a solid performance in this film, but I can not recommend renting it.

What's with the ratings system on IMDb? You look at the vote tally & it's 6.6 median & 7+ average but they mark it 5.4 on the movie site. What = only a few key players votes count?? Anyway this movie blows anything done by Hollywood (or "indie") hacks in about 30 or 40 years. Outsmarts Mamet at his guessing games. Outpaces Soderbergh at his capering best. Outstyles the Coens by a couple galaxies. And hey, the sets don't have that cookie cutter Metropolitan Home look the Hollywood & indie flicks all subscribe to.The plot is wonderful, the acting by everyone is phenomenal. This movie will keep you guessing (& catching you breath) right up to & including the last frame.Simply terrific! 10 for 10

I didn't get it and I paid real close attention.I think they were going for more of a feel than an actual outcomes based production vis a vis a storyline that one can grasp.The intentional distortion of the time era via props and costuming further served to undo the film.Kevin Pollack is totally and completely wasted. His alternating between glibness and melodrama took things down even further as did the chronic overcast skies of Winnipeg. He even looked, very briefly, like Groucho Marx in You Bet Your Life.It's not worth the time, and I say that feeling badly because I sensed that they were really shooting for something specially and came up way short.