In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

I subtitled five episodes of "Luck", and although at times it seemed promising, and Dustin Hoffman was great as always, it always seemed like it never took off. The pictures were mostly beautiful, and everything was as well-filmed as a great Hollywood thriller, but the storyline couldn't keep up. Every episode seemed to simply faze out in the end with Dustin Hoffman falling asleep in his hotel room. I don't necessarily need a cliff-hanger like in Prison Break, where Michael Scofield said "We break out… TONIGHT!" at the end of each episode, in every single episode of a show like this, but there was barely anything in this show that made me want to watch another episode. Besides this, the dialogue was extremely cryptic. I've been making subtitles for a living for five years. At times I get a documentary about some strange subject I don't know anything about, so I have to look up a lot of things, but never before have I had a fictitious show, where the dialogue has been so difficult to understand as in this one. It wasn't so much that they mumbled, but the lines were just strange. Maybe it was supposed to be the way "real people" speak in this environment, but it didn't exactly help the viewer. This mostly happened when the four friends who were betting on race horses were on screen. They were of course at times using "insider language", but most often it was just non-sense they were talking. Although I'm not American, I doubt if most Americans would understand the dialogue in this show. I was lucky to have a script when I had to subtitle what Nick Nolte said. I would think barely any native speakers would be able to understand what he said, as it sounded like he was speaking through his death rattle.

Luck is the kind of grand sociological series that creator David Milch and to a lesser extent HBO as a network are known for. It presents a cross-section of one out-of-the-way spot in the dying world of horse racing. That sense of death and decay pervades the entire narrative, which stars an assortment of broken-down men headed up by Dustin Hoffman and extending to the quartet of hard-luck gamblers that are perhaps the soul of the show. And yet there's a sense of hope that occasionally shines through and makes it all not just bearable but beautiful.This all makes it sound arty and kind of dull, and indeed the series has a very deliberate pace that might turn some viewers off, although that's an essential part of its style. But even without the overdose of sex and violence you can get from other HBO series, Luck provides some exhilarating sequences, most notably the brilliantly-shot horse races. Add that to great writing and acting and you have a show that satisfies on every level.Well, up until the end, that is. Luck is doomed to be a one-season wonder, cancelled not because of low ratings but because of a series of horse deaths on set. It still works as a whole, but with only nine episodes, it's hard not to wonder what could have been. Still, what we have is a gem of a series, and well worth checking out for any fan of high-quality drama.

I am devastated. "Luck" has been dropped by HBO. It was an exquisite moment - beautifully crafted and executed. I loved the balance between the struggles of the mighty mobsters on one side of the track and the struggles of the clowns on the other. In the middle, the mysterious world of horses translated to the spectator by two seasoned trainers, and the demanding life of jockeys (who knew they suffered like runway models?)and the go-between, the manager.I remember the first episode. (I'll try just about anything once.) I saw the wronged chief returning from exile, the unworthy king's fear of the wronged chief's return, and I heard it all in iambic pentameter. I do believe, it's the first time in a very long time, I actually smiled at the TV set.The cinematography was art - if anybody reads this who actually has a say in the show: I'd like a large still of Dustin Hoffman in shadow with the curtain of drying bandages. Or the clowns feeding their horse a carrot for the first time. Or Nick Nolte with his dog by his side waxing philosophical. The list is actually longer than space permits - wrap up flashing. I truly hope that another channel steps up to the plate and rescues this fine show. Everybody involved in this project deserves the highest praise and the opportunity to finish the telling of this tale. Imagine the Scottish Tragedy abandoned at the end of Act I. That's what happened here.

Not only is this one of the best attempts at drama HBO has ever produced, the finished product has a quality and sheen rarely achieved in this venue. This cast is beyond belief with an interaction I have never seen before. Hoffman, Ortiz and Nolte make the simplest gestures memorable. The writing is so mesmerizing it seems to be over before it's barely begun. The other less-obvious fact no one gets is that this effort has the potential of cult status which many thought John from Cincinati aspired to but did not fulfill, trailing off instead to mediocrity. It would be very simple for the brilliant writers to create (with long-shots, archival footage and slow-mo} a finished product which relies mainly on clever writing and (God forbid I say it) Artistic Action Sequences. This wonderful attempt should not be scrapped--it should be re-thought.