Hard Eight

A downbeat, gutter morality tale about an aging tough guy and the younger man he befriends, this morose slice-of-lowlife drama features fine performances by John C. Reilly, the ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson and an almost unrecognizable Gwyneth Paltrow. Guileless, down-on-his-luck John (Reilly) is taken under the gruff wing of Sydney (Philip Baker Hall); a middle-aged professional gambler who's even tougher than he looks. Sydney takes John to Reno and shows him the ropes, but while John learns the tricks of gambling for a living, his ingenuousness and basic faith in human nature betray him: He befriends the flashy, conniving Jimmy (Jackson) and marries ambitious hook...