Film Review - Three-quarters of "Two For The Money"

Why three-quarters of a film review? Why the hell not?

Actually, the truth is, I started watching the film last night, and literally as it got to the climactic scene, the DVD stopped working on me. It was one of the many bootleg $1.50 apiece DVD's I've picked up lately, so I wasn't fuming, but a little disappointed.

For the first three-quarters of the film, at least, it's a really interesting premise. Matthew McConaughey has a gift for picking football games, and he's recruited to a multimillion dollar sports-betting agency in New York run by Al Pacino (and to a lesser extent, Rene Russo). Pacino turns McConaughey's down-home Brandon into the brash, confident, cussing John Anthony, making him a superstar on the sports-betting circuit, if there is such a thing. And Jeremy Piven does a tremendous job, essentially reprising his Ari Gold character with slightly more humility, as the former top game-picker in Pacino's crew.

But then.... just as Brandon's fortunes are starting to turn for the worse... the fucking disc gives out on me. So now the question becomes: did I like this movie enough to actually rent the DVD so I can see the last 20 minutes or so? Or do I just give up? Anyone out there seen this? I know it's kind of an obscure flick....