Confidence

Rating:
Summary: style over substance
Review: In "Confidence," writer Doug Jung and director James Foley have fashioned a stylish, if conventional, tale of con men and drifting grifters, one that plays by all the rules yet still manages to throw us for a loop every now and then.

There's not much point in belaboring the film's complex and convoluted plot. Suffice it to say that there isn't a whole lot that's original here - i.e. criminal double crosses criminal ad infinitum with predictable results - but the writing, acting and directing combine to make for a relatively diverting time for people who just can't get enough of these "Sting"/"Usual Suspects"-type knockoffs. Jung's script emphasizes humor over violence and keeps us guessing most of the time, even though, when all is said and done, the film doesn't really amount to much. By far the most interesting character in the film is the man who goes by the name of "King," a crime boss who is bisexual, suffers from ADD and rails against the crudity of life even when he is choreographing illicit sex acts for his nightclub or issuing orders for the rubbing out of an inconvenient rival. Dustin Hoffman chews up the scenery in the role, giving full rein to all the twitches and tics that have long defined his repertoire as an actor. Hoffman rivets our attention so much in the few scenes in which he appears that the rest of the movie almost inevitably suffers a bit when he isn't on screen.

Nevertheless, Edward Burns is so smooth, sly and alluring as the handsome young con man that we come to understand how innocent victims can so easily fall under the spell of his not inconsiderable charms. He receives superb support from the likes of Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Franky G and the always-reliable Luis Guzman.

Despite the fact that "Confidence" never digs very far beneath its own shallow surface, the filmmakers keep the movie interesting by employing an intriguing dual-level structure, moving back and forth in time with relative ease and fluidity. The movie has a cool, hip look that polishes over its relative emptiness.

Rating:
Summary: A must see movie! Very entertaining to watch!
Review: I had been dying to see this movie after seeing so many TV Spots featuring the somewhat annoying Queens of the Stone Age song set to the trailer. I liked the song and was happy to see it being put to good use, and the movie just looked really good because of Rachel Weisz who is drop dead gorgeous. Ed Burns is a good actor but he's got this drawl that kind of annoys me. He's a great actor and should be in more movies but he's got a Bronx accent that should be exercised for a while. Anyway onto the movie:

The movie has a plot with some good twists in it just like the critically acclaimed but rarely seen Glengarry Glen Ross (same director here) and takes off right from the first frame. The plot goes like this:

Jake (Burns) is a con who has never failed a job. But this time he has messed with the wrong guy. He has accidentally taken money from the King (Not Elvis! It's Dustin Hoffman in a small but funny performance as an ADHD suffering pervert) a former crook but big name in the con-ing business. So to repay the King, Jake has to pull another heist. I won't go into much more but the movie has a good ending that will leave you reeling for at least 10 minutes before you can go back to watching TV.

If you want a fun and entertaining movie like Ocean's Eleven or GGR then "Confidence" is a very confident movie to see!

Rating:
Summary: Fair crime film that is made by its actors.
Review: Fair crime film that needed a good rewrite before it went into production. All the angles are expose a little too much, and the acting is better in some places than in others. Ed Burns does well in his first leading role, and Rachel Weisz is great as always, giving the film a touch of class that the script does not attempt to do. Dustin Hoffman is fine for the small amount of screen time he has and proves once again that he is an acting icon. See it for the great effort by these good actors but don't expect much.

Rating:
Summary: How to feel the effect of a Con game
Review: CONFIDENCE is a film that exudes same. Made with dazzling artistry and classy cinematography technique this film about grifters and their psyches is well scripted, well directed and very well acted by a team of professionals. That, friends, is how a confidence game works. CONFIDENCE makes us, the audience, feel as though we are on the inside of a con game only to pull one over on us at the end. Ed Burns burns up the screen in a slick and powerful performance. He is ably abetted by his hand selected team - Rachel Weisz (as beautiful and sensitive as always), Paul Giamatti in a star turn as Gordo, Brian Van Holt as a slippery Miles, and frankly surprisingly good Franky G as Lupus. They are up against a wily and devilishly fine Dustin Hoffman and his hench men, Robert Forster as the head of the bank the grifters target, and Andy Garcia in a weasely, well acted role as Burns' nemesis (or is he?). The pacing is breathtaking, the lines are crisp and snorty, and the movement in and out of the present and past is mesmerizing. This is a fine film for Director James Foley and his screenwriter. The background sound may cover the lines at times so be prepared to back track now and then to keep up with this jaunty, naughty team in action!

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, not great
Review: Ocean's Eleven meets Things To Do In Denver When Your Dead. Both of which are Andy Garcia films.

I don't particularly like Andy Garcia. His acting is fine, but his accent ruins the effect for a lot of his characters. Luckily for me, this film does not star Andy Garcia. Andy has a very small role, but he makes the most of it. So does Dustin Hoffman.

The true star of this film is Edward Burns. While Burns has always had a pretentiousness about him that I find obnoxious, it works well in this film. The movie is dry and emotionless, but that seems to fit the plot.

Good supporting roles from all cast members as well as the star power of Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia add to a mediocre plot. There is some solid dialogue, but the con itself has so many twists to it that I could not appreciate it as a whole.

Nevertheless, this movie kept me interested, and maybe a second viewing will uncover some element I had not previously paid attention to. This film is worth watching, but spending the hour and a half playing Monopoly would be just as valuable.

Rating:
Summary: Tepid at best heist movie that has more style than brains
Review: Tepid at best heist movie that has more style than brains. Ed Burns does a great job as the lead here but is let down by a script that ultimately disappoints in every way possible. Dustin Hoffman is great in a role that we never have seen him do before but with only fifteen minutes of screen time, he fails to make an impact. To say that Rachel Weisz is the only good thing about this film is an understatement because she is the best thing about it. She not only upstages her fellow actors with her strong performance but also really gives this movie the only spark of smarts the film really has. Which is an amazing thing with a script that falls flat on its face.

A good rental but nothing more.

Rating:
Summary: What do we all love?? Money of course!
Review: Money. What everyone wants. And when they get it, all they want is more. That is the basic concept behind Confidence. Jake Vig (Edward Burns) is a con man that makes his living by scamming people out of their money. Accompanied by his three buddies (Louis Lombardi, Paul Giamatti, and Brian Van Holt), the crew moves from city to city tricking people and stealing their money. But when Big Al (Louis Lombardi) turns up dead after one of the scams, they get into something they never expected. It turns out that the money they just stole belongs to someone who is referred to as simply, King (Dustin Hoffman). Vig goes to talk to the King and is hired to run a heist to get back the money for King. Edward Burns plays a smooth talking, very convincing young man... and he plays him extraordinarily. It was very refreshing to see him handle the lead role so well because he hasn't always looked comfortable with it. Dustin Hoffman also does some outstanding acting (as usual) playing a sex-crazed man with ADHD and obviously aware of how powerful and rich he is. There are numerous amounts of heist and con movies around right now, but this film tells the way people feel about money very well, while still keeping your eyes glued to the screen. Confidence is a very entertaining and enjoyable movie that has also hopped to the top of the to buy list for me.

Rating:
Summary: Ok for what it is
Review: The con is as old as the plot itself. Every cliche is played to its fullness, and every angle to pull apart piece by piece. The performances are much better than the film sadly, and all the actors involve should use this experience as a lesson into reading the script before they commit themselves to movies with no originality. Ed Burns does a good acting job for once in his career and Andy Garcia prove that he is a good actor despite the movies he had done before. The best actors here though is the lovely Rachel Weisz who makes her role much deeper than she had any right to, and Dustin Hoffman who shows that he still has it after all these years. Worth a look if nothing is out there to see.

Rating:
Summary: Despite the good work of Weisz and Giamatti, this stinks.
Review: Lackluster con movie that steals its angles other than create a new ones. Ed Burns can't act his way out of his New York stereotypical character, and Dustin Hoffman is really not in the movie. The only actors who did their jobs were Rachel Weisz who probably gave the best performance in this turkey of a con film because she at least keep you interested in her character and Paul Giamatti, who would have made a much better leading man than Ed Burns because he at least knows how to act.

Other than the good performances of Paul Giamatti and Rachel Weisz , the movie really stinks. Avoid.

Rating:
Summary: To Rachel Weisz and Dustin Hoffman: Look for a better movie.
Review: Really bad con movie that not only insults the viewer but insults movies that have come before it. Ed Burns is not leading man material, and it shows painfully here by his pretty bad performance as Jake, the leader of a band of con men who rips off a mob boss (Played with perfection by Dustin Hoffman). Ed seems like he's staring at space most of the time while he is on screen, and comes a cross as unlikable. Dustin Hoffman is not in the film much but he is a welcoming presence, and Rachel Weisz is excellent as Lily, the female con of the group. Her performance is much better than the movie deserves, and it shows by her willingness to be better than the script allows her to be, which its hard because her character is a typical con mole. Paul Giamatti is great as Burns's Cohort , and Andy Garcia is ok as the fed that is after Burns's character. Its unfortunate that it's the story that fails in all fronts because you can see the ending before the movie is over. A good con film leaves all the cards hidden before the final act, this film leaves them all on the table before the movie even ends.