MY MARKERS ARE DUE ON Monday, is what everyone says in this film from the street punk, to the loan shark to the mob boss, to the god damn governor of the state. Like any guy Ritchie film there are several levels of the underworld and like an onion we keep peeling and peeling. And like a guy Ritchie film everybody is an interesting character. Besides the threats and the torture there's comedy, one lines, you really care for these half wit Neanderthals that break into your home and steal your knew wide screen for a fix. I love films that start off with some hustler be-bopping and scatting just to survive another 24hours. Here we have a coke head wall street douche bag that does million-dollar deals everyday in the stock market and comes out ahead. However as good as he is in stocks he's horrible covering the over under in the San-Diego vs. Seattle. One layer of the onion is watching the bookie do his monologue as he tortures the two-bit gang-member. Who in-turn does the same dialogue as he tries to torture a two-bit hustler.

Joey (Embry) has it all (good job, beautiful wife, good house, etc) including a gambling problem that effects everyone in his life.Some people have the travel gene – they need to go everywhere; some people have the gambling gene – they need to put something on the line…..they get a rush they say. And, some people don't understand those that have the travel and/or the gambling gene. Seems to me that once one has seen almost everything one might get tired of the things one must do to do all that traveling. Apparently not. They still go here and there at the drop of a hat. And, one would also think that those who gamble and do not win as often as they would like would get the message that things are really not going to get better, and in fact they can get a lot worse. That's what this movie is all about.However, if you are going to make a movie about the pitfalls of gambling, don't make the ending all nice like it was all worth it. It really is not worth it, and may give some gamblers false hope that all will be okay later on. That's my only beef with this movie, otherwise it is extremely good.Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Yes

Player 5150 is a gem of a film. It is a nice break from all those splashy special effects used nowadays to entertain audiences. This was a good character driven story about a degenerate gambler that pushes it too far. Anyone that has been involved with the rush of sports betting can relate to the plot and characters. Ethan Embry delivers a stand out performance lead role JOEY. His delivery combined with facial expressions made him seem like a true everyman caught up in a bad situation. I felt for the guy even though it was only a film. Kathleen Roberston was amazing. I only knew her from her days on Beverly Hills 90210.Bob Sapp makes a worthy cameo. Despite not being an actor he wasn't terrific or terrible. Overall I was entertained by Player 5150. Writer and Director David Michael O'Neil delivers a good film about the life of a gambler going out of control. If you enjoy character driven dramas give this one a chance.

First off, I never take the time to actually write a review of any of the movies I have seen, but I felt the need to do so to prevent others from having to waste their time with this film. I must admit that the fact that this went straight to DVD and starred Bob Sapp should have clued me in to the fact that this movie was less than stellar, but I went against my better judgment and watched it anyway. I am actually a bit embarrassed to admit that I was actually looking forward to seeing this since I tend to like movies that deal with plot lines centered on investing/stock trading (of which there was very little in this movie) and gambling (the main focus).The acting in this movie was terrible and it was painfully obvious that this was a pretty low budget film. There were a few somewhat notable actors in this film though which causes me to wonder what they were thinking since there is no way this job landed them a big, fat paycheck. Granted, Ethan Embry isn't exactly the first name off of a casting director's lips when discussing a potential lead for a huge blockbuster, but his talent surely merits him better work opportunities than this.If you choose to watch this movie despite the numerous red flags it has (straight to DVD, low budget, K-1 fighters attempting to act, etc.), seek solace in the fact that you will not waste too much of your time. The one redeeming quality that this movie had was the fact that it clocked in at just under an hour and a half. So, after you shake your head in disbelief at the ridiculous ending, you can at least look at the clock and thank the editors of this film for the fact that they could have wasted even more of your time.Proceed with caution.