Shade was well acted, no tour de force performances by any means, but still very well done. The cinematography and locations were excellent, and the entire feel and look of the film was some of the best I have seen in a while. The card tricks were quite interesting and the twists in the plot kept me quite thoroughly entertained. While overall a very good movie, the very calculated pace and flow of the movie was very much like a poker game. In some cases tense, exciting and often unexpected, and in others very slow, as if the movie were building up to a winning hand. All in all, a very well made movie, but not perfect. I give it an 8/10.