Shade
Shade, the first feature film from real-life card shark Damian Nieman, who wrote and directed the picture, stars Gabriel Byrne and Thandie Newton as a duo of con artists looking to beat the "Dean" (Sylvester Stallone), a legendary card shark, in a high-stakes poker game. Their first step is hiring two fellow tricksters -- Jamie Foxx and Stuart Townsend -- to provide the smooth talking and to procure the necessary funds. Unfortunately, Larry (Foxx) blows his hand and finds himself with 85,000 dollars worth of debt owed to a local crime boss. Shade premiered at the 2003 CineVegas film festival and also features Dina Merrill and Melanie Griffith.
Director: Damian Nieman
Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Thandie Newton,Sylvester Stallone, Melanie Griffith,Stuart Townsend
A clever and adroit B picture with A virtues, starting with its ensemble cast.
A dramatic thriller with a large cast playing the hell out of some very juicy roles. Nieman's script shuffles nimbly among an array of colorful characters and offers unexpected twists that keep you off-balance.
In the end, under-realized direction and characters deliver less than a full deck.
A failure on every conceivable level -- from its trite, pedestrian dialogue to its static, torturous pacing.
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