Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

SnoopyStyle 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.

lastliberal Film Noir has not existed since the sixties, but filmmakers are incorporating the aspects of the genre into new films. Examples include Fargo, Se7en, L.A. Confidential, Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, Memento, Reservoir Dogs, and Sin City.Canadian Gary Yates has written and directed a film that reminds us of the old days with the low lights and hard criminals, but in a comedy of cons conning cons. It may take a scorecard to figure out who is conning who, but viewers will be thrilled with the ending.Kevin Pollack (The Usual Suspects) and Liane Balaban lead this quirky and enjoyable film with a great supporting cast that will keep you guessing.

GrunterGrimm This movie gives itself away as Canadian-made long before the suitcase of $CDN 100's is shown - it's low-budget, tight, low-key, relatively nonviolent, and features at least one name Hollywood actor or actress (artsy, or B-list) to give it some box-office appeal. Hence the movie features Kevin Pollack, a short, nebbishy character actor, who shows he's capable of carrying a certain type of flick by himself, in this case as an intelligent, hard-boiled grifter who doesn't let his emotions get in the way of doing business. Does having an aboriginal as a heavyweight villain make a movie distinctly Canadian? I'm not sure, but it's a refreshing change from post-Soviet Russian gangsters.In this movie each scam sets up another with various irresistible hockable valuables turning up to sweeten the pot and lure the crooked types involved. It all begins with a "sure bet" on the horses, and as the movie's characters are introduced at a goodly pace, we begin to wonder about which character is setting up which. Or are they scamming? The movie also does well with the subtleties and then the revelations about the various partnership combinations. Was it love - or just a scam?

Bill Film noir Canadian style shot on a shoestring budget. Kevin Pollak in a rare lead role. Some interesting twists and turns. Lies and deception. Happy ending. It is refreshing to have the film set at Christmas, and creates opportunities for delightful contrasts with low-lifes and Christmas music.I love the genre and I liked the movie. Not great by any means. But it moved along nicely and had enough subtleties and nuances that it felt fresh and not simply derivative. Oh, and Liane Balaban is fetching without working too hard at it.