Loteria Fatal

After looking for so long to n the past several years to find a movie without a pretentious script, more dedicated to a bias message or just bad writing I was delighted to see this pop up. Yes it involved cops being bad but at least it had some logic to it. With neither characters being utterly good or bad, they are just human. This movie felt like they were following a story and a vision instead of an agenda, as that seems to be the norm nowadays. And to me it's always impressive if you can film a whole movie in the same location and keep the story entertaining and believable. There were some plot holes but nothing that bothered me at all and that is exactly what is so hard to find. Congratulations to the writers and producers for not giving in to the mainstream.

These actors' performances stand out, making this indie film gem looking at class, race, etc. By Dan Brown stand tall. Jessica Garza as Ana Marlene did wonderful, and is the scene stealer! Angus Cloud begin the story as a small time drug dealer, Sterling who happens to be present when a lottery winner get a "golden" ticket, looking at a jackpot over 100 million.

All of the film takes place at a Los Angeles corner store, owed by Amir played by Mousa Hussein Kaiser. Sterling tries to get the ticket from a winner, Mr. Laird played by Spencer Garrett when tragedy strikes as a cop accidentally shoots the wrong person. The tension is raised with other captives in this store hold up.

This film as an action thiller, evokes the tension from even John Carpenter's Assault on 13 th Percint. There are plot twists, in the midst of the story. The question of the haves and have nots, making this film to take unexpected turns.

This film was dedicated to Angus Cloud, who died recently in 2023. Remember if indie films that critique issues of racism and classism, are not your choice, this film maybe not for you.

Drug dealer Sterling (Angus Cloud) gets rolled. He is one of the patrons in a convenience store when a customer discovers that he won the $156 million lottery jackpot. Sterling decides to steal the ticket and all heck brings loose.

I don't watch Euphoria, but I do remember Angus Cloud's death. There is a powerful unstable energy about him. He is very cinematic and magnetic. I completely buy his impulsiveness and recklessness. He also has an endearing quality and is able maintain the rooting interest. I like the first half. Sterling has no plan with the robbery and the story flows from that. I assume that the rest of the people are partly playing Sterling to stay alive. Whatever plans they come up with is to appease Sterling. That part works. The problem is that there is no perfect crime in this after the messy killing. That doesn't matter since Sterling is not the sharpest mind. The crooked cops are a big problem. They would never get away with it. Sterling can have no plan. If the cops have no good plan, then the movie suffers and it's bad writing. This is half-good. The second half loses me.

Honestly I didn't expect much when I started watching but it was good enough to keep watching and wanted to know how it ends. Ending was a bit disappointing and needs some more work, shouldn't be predictable. I can see it's a low budget film but well made as a thriller/action movie. Money can change people's mind instantly, a pregnant girl turned into pretty violent, that a surprise. Also found out a main character played as a drug dealer died of overdose, this movie was one of his last films. He played very well in it. What a shame that he died so young. He could have a great career ahead. I think it has a good plot and entertaining.

Short review: I've seen this before where if a film was able to clock out at around the 60-70 minute mark it would be perfect, but the expectation/demand to reach 90 minutes kills it. 'Your Lucky Day' is a fine enough film, but it doesn't quite have enough in the chamber to stretch the concept out to 90 minutes.

The film has a nice simple premise and a single-setting location that works well. The characters are all pretty bleak people, but they're entertaining enough for the most part. Everything is solid, but nothing is spectacular - and for that reason I fear this film won't be overly memorable for me. 6.5/10.