The Movie: Poolhall Junkies is a slick little low budget film about a pool huslter who has wanted to go pro since he was a kid, but was being held back by his backer/mentor. Written by two real-life pool hustlers (one of whom also directed and starred in the picture), it's a glimpse into the shady hustles, back room deals, and the general need to bet on something... anything... in the world of pool hustlers and card sharks and what have you.

At first it seemed like it was going to be another Rounders - it's got the young guy with a talent for making money by gambling on a game of skill, who has a wannabe-lawyer girlfriend that wants him to get away from the one thing he truly loves... gambling on his particular game of skill. And while it did start out that way, it took some unexpected turns and became something original and not a carbon-copy of a movie with a very similar premise.

I particularly enjoyed the character played by Christopher Walken who fit his role like a glove, and the stories told in this film are reminiscent of the many, many stories I've heard from real professional pool players here and there.

I also enjoyed seeing Michael Rosenbaum, who plays Lex Luthor on Smallville playing the role of a punk kid -- a nice departure from the always-cool and composed Lex. This is a fun movie definitely worth seeing, check it out!

The DVD: This is a fairly bare bones disc, that offers up a decent transfer, with virtually no compression-related artifacts, preserving the gritty, grainy look of the original film, with decent shadow detail, and very little dust or scratches to speak of.

The audio mix, though clean, seemed a bit rough around the edges, particularly with some of the sound effects used, but it was adequate overall, and didn't particularly pose any problems in viewing. Special features include a trailer and commentary from the two writers.