Wesley Snipes stars as a con-man gone legit (You know the type) who is involved in one more deal, done as a favor to a friend, however that deal goes awry and Snipes ends up with the money and then runs into backwoods serial killers led by Cybil Shepherd. I must admit I give Hard Luck points for trying, this movie is so chaotic, haphazard and so over the map that it becomes enjoyable on a surreal level. The fact that I expected a typical ' Former thief ends up with cash finds himself running from the mobsters who set him up' style movie but in the hands of Mario Van Peebles, so much is thrown at the wall and the completely different plot lines are thrown together with so much disregard toward the main plot that Hard Luck become inadvertently entertaining. Also helping factors is that this wasn't made in Romania and Snipes seems more into things. As does Shepherd who delivers a credible performance as the former model turned serial killer. Sure the main story is underwritten and Van Peebles doesn't make a fully coherent story out of the scenarios he intersects, but make of this what you will, Hard Luck is the best film from Wesley Snipes since Blade II.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

Hard Luck (2006) is a movie I recently watched on Amazon Prime. The storyline follows a man trying to go straight after getting out of jail for selling drugs. An old friend invites him to a strip club and what seems like a good time quickly turns into a drug deal gone wrong. The man trying to go straight finds himself with drugs, a bag of cash and a prostitute...it's going to be hard to not find himself right back in jail.

This movie is directed by and stars Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City) and also stars Wesley Snipes (Blade),Cybill Shepherd (Taxi Driver),Bill Cobbs (Demolition Man),Luis Guzmán (Boogie Nights) and Jackie Quinones (Sick).

The storyline for this movie is very straightforward and nothing special. The acting is fine, Snipes and Guzman were entertaining, but the film was missing something. There is some good dialogue, the "fart" conversation was crazy. The "Are we Dead?" scene was hilarious and the torture scene was interesting; but overall, this movie is disappointing.

I would score this a 3/10 and only recommend watching it if nothing better is available.

Mario Van Peebles has done some good work in his past but this bizarre, confusing, silly dud is not one of them. The script feels like someone gave a party for wannabe writers, told them each to submit a plot for a far out film, then mixed them all together and came up with a hash that in the end is merely a re-do of the bad guy turned good guy on the run - with diversions.

Lucky (Wesley Snipes) is released from prison with the plan of going straight. Of course his buddy covets his reputation and invites him to his birthday party where Lucky lusts after a pole dancer Angela (Jackie Quinones) and manages to become involved in a dirty cop drug deal that sends him on the usual wild car chase with Angela looking for a way to hideout with the corrupt money stashed in metal suitcases (rigged of course). After a shootout in a motel, the couple seeks housing from a gay porno filmmaker Mendez (Luis Guzmán in yet another chameleon role) and his associate Antonio (Gavin J. Behrman) who just happens to be in on the dirty cop aspect of the drug deal.

Off Lucky and Angela drive to a wooded area where they hole up next door to a weirdo pair of serial killers - Cass (Cybill Shepherd),who is angry at the world for negative response to her retarded grown son Eugene (Mike Messier),and Chang (James Hiroyuki Liao),Cass's strangely sick lover and wannabe martial arts expert (yeah, that is thrown in, too) - who kidnap victims and torture and kill them in Hollywood-style videotaped sequences. Of course, when Lucky and Angela need telephone help, Lucky goes next door, is immediately strapped into a torture chair, only eventually to be discovered by the bad of bad cops and one decent cop, Captain Davis, played by Mario Van Peebles of course. And things change and intertwine and nobody really cares.

Wesley Snipes does have charisma and it is because of him that the film is watchable, but even his role doesn't explain why this mess was made in the first place. It looks and sounds like a very low budget film on which probably millions were spent. Pass on this one unless you're in the mood to laugh AT a movie instead of with one. Grady Harp