Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Fantastic!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Once I had the pleasure of speaking to a gentleman who taught young people circus skills, especially with regard to the trapeze. He mentioned that there was a certain stage in the training when all pupils needed extra support and supervision. Asked why, he replied : "That's when people know enough to get themselves in really deep, dangerous trouble, but not enough to extract themselves from that trouble". Now this remark applies also, in a more general sense, to a phase in human life, let us say late adolescence and early adulthood."The odds" is a mystery (and a good, nicely unpredictable mystery at that) but it is also a psychological portrait of a group of adolescents helplessly adrift in a sea of trouble, most of it of their own making. It also illustrates, masterfully, how people in difficulty have a sad habit of spreading their problems around ; it is a phenomenon often seen in addiction and crime, where drug users become drug sellers and prostitutes become madams. "Misery loves company" - indeed."The odds" boasts excellent performances, most notably from protagonist Tyler Johnston, who is wonderfully convincing as a messed-up ball of insecurity, resolve, dishonesty and remorse.This, for clarity's sake, is not a happy and jolly viewing experience. But it is a very rewarding one.

Desson and Barry are best friends who intend to move in together after they graduate from high school. Knowing he will be alone after Desson's mother has apparently died, Desson's loser of a father is planning to sell their house.Desson and Barry attend a high school wrestling match. Barry is constantly texting Paul on his cell phone. When Barry believes Sam took a dive, Barry confronts Sam in the locker room and they get in a fight. Desson convinces the coach that Barry and Sam were fighting over a girl, but the coach sentences both Desson and Barry to detention. Barry doesn't show, but Desson meets the beautiful Colleen, who he invites to Paul's basement in a nice upper-middle-class house. Young people come there and gamble and drink alcohol secretly. Paul's mother doesn't really seem to approve but allows the activity as long as she doesn't get in trouble; Paul's father has left. Barry and Desson both owe Paul lots of money, and Paul is getting very demanding. One day Desson goes over to Barry's house, and Desson and Barry's sister Heather make a terrible discovery. Barry has apparently hanged himself. Desson believes his friend was murdered and is determined to find out why. A phone message suggests a local Chinese restaurant may have a connection to Desson's death. Benson, one of the high school students who gambles at Paul's place, reluctantly admits to going to this restaurant but says it must be kept secret. It is also possible that Paul is in debt to someone there. And we may find out what Sam was doing.It's a somewhat interesting mystery. Nothing outstanding or above the level of a TV-movie, but still enjoyable. There is occasional humor, much of it provided by Hrothgar Mathews as the sarcastic Coach Fortier.And among actors with more lines than the coach had, to me, Julia Maxwell stands out from the rest of the cast. She's not only great looking but has a nice if edgy personality and brains.Tyler Johnston is pretty good too in the lead role. Other worthwhile performances come from Jaren Brandt Bartlett as the young man who lets people gamble, Robert Moloney as Desson's father (especially when stoned), and Scott Patey and the somewhat nerdy Benson who likes to take risks.The sound went out a lot during this movie. Usually, this was accompanied by a character's mouth being obscured. So if you see this unedited, you have been warned. There is also some violence but not too much.It's a worthwhile effort, just nothing you haven't seen before.

The Odds has an interesting take on high school students living a double life in a secret, dark gambling world. It starts off with the main characters texting bets to underage bookie Paul (Jaren Brandt Bartlett) on their high school wrestling championships.The depths of character development really added to the plot of the death of Barry over the greed that goes hand in hand into the gambling world (such as the Death of the main characters mother, the evidence that slowly creeps up over Barry, and the main characters father's struggle with his career and grieving over his wife). Davidson possesses a keen eye for filmmaking, instinctively knowing how to build tension without a great deal of unnecessary stylization and filler material. This movie touches on a lot of demographics because of these deeper character profiles and the ending of the long spider-web like connections that developed because of this secret gambling society that made perfect sense at the end of the movie. I loved that this was a Canadian movie also!

I'm always a fan of any movies about gambling, so I was quick to check out 'The Odds.' I was hoping for something along the lines of 'Rounders' or 'Boiler Room,' or at least that kind of tone. I knew it wouldn't be of equal quality judging by the trailer, budget, and cast. However, low-budget elements don't always mean low quality. The story focuses on teenage gamblers & friends Desson (Tyler Johnston) and Barry (Calum Worthy). After losing a bet on a shady wrestling match, Barry decides to take out his frustration on the hulking wrestler who threw the match. Desson steps in to stop the fight, but they end up getting in trouble anyway. Soon after, Desson discovers the dead body of Barry hanging in his garage. Refusing to believe it was a suicide, Desson begins to investigate the death, thinking it was a murder connected to the world of illegal gambling they lived in. The first thing viewers should know before they check out this movie is simple: It's Canadian. That's not to make you consider its quality or anything, but just know that it's written by Canadians and starring Canadians. I didn't know that for the first twenty or so minutes of the flick; so, when I saw people writing their money as "20$" and talking about senior year as "grade twelve," I found it a little weird. Also, there's that level of "purity" that most Canadian movies have versus American ones, even when they're about illegal gambling rings and teenage murder. Everyone's just about one level nicer than they should be (like calling a guy a "putz" when he insults your breast size, for example). Regarding the technical aspects, the most important for a film like this is the script. Specifically, the realism of the gambling. Why? Because the most devoted target audience for a film like this will be those who are involved in the world of gambling. As someone who used to sneak into seedy underground poker games as a teen, I know what the world is really like. I know how the games go, I know how the people are, etc. For that, the film isn't too bad. It's definitely better than some, but it really shows the inexperience and poor decision- making that a lot of young gamblers have. The one characteristic that really was accurate: Young gamblers often screw up when cute girls are involved. The true gambler still keeps his head even when there's a woman involved. Unfortunately, one element of the script that really failed was the dialogue. There were multiple times that dialogue was repeated awkwardly in the same scene. Maybe that's how Canadian kids talk, but I've ever heard it like that on Degrassi (my only real experience with Canadian youth). Other than the writing, the film isn't actually that bad on a technical level. The acting had some good elements, namely Tyler Johnston as Desson who looked like a nerdy version of a young Tom Cruise, and some bad elements. Luckily, writer/director Simon Davidson seemed to notice his weaknesses in the cast and the less talented actors had very little screen time. As an overall film, even with the few benefits it has, it really never rises above mediocre. Frankly, the main issue is that it doesn't get involved enough with the gambling aspect. It doesn't really show the stressful situations that that kind of life shows. While it could have been 'Brick' meets 'Rounders,' it ended up being more just an intense episode of 'Degrassi.' Final Verdict: 6/10.-AP3-