Confidence
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Movie Reviews of Confidence
Movie Review: One of the better films most people will miss this year.
Summary: 4 Stars
The first thing you will notice when this movie starts is it's independent, low budget feel. The second thing you notice is Ed Burns voice is not suited for voice over narration. It quickly makes you wonder why you came to see this movie and if you just wasted your money.Confidence can easily be summed up as a cross between Oceans Eleven and The Usual Suspects. Sounds great you say? Well, as good as the movie is, it doesn't quite do what the afore mentioned movies do so well. It's sort of gets caught in the middle. This isn't really a complaint as coming close to either of those two films is an acheivement on it's own.
The film stars Ed Burns as Jake, the leader of a crew of con men (sound familiar?). At some point in the story, he and his fellows con a victim from a sizable amount of money. As it turns out, that money wasn't his. He was transporting it for organized crime racketeer Mr. King (Dustin Hoffman) who has a reputation of doing not-to-nice things to people who upset him. King wants his money back, and instead of running and hiding (like he should have) Jake confronts him and tells him he'll square the deal by doing a con job for him; letting King take a cut equal to what Jake took from him. King insists that the the mark (victim) of the con be a rival of his (a much bigger rival) and that they take on one of King's men to their crew. Along their way, they pick up Rachel Weis and plan the biggest con of their career. Unfortunately, a long time nemesis Treasury Department agent (played by Andy Garcia) wants Jake in a bad way and has just picked up his trail.
What follows is the plot of the film that, like the two films I mentioned earlier, should not be given away. In this post-Usual Suspects/Memento world, the edge of the twists in this film seem a bit dulled. However, the way the film opens up at the end showing you how everything went wrong (reminding your of American Beauty), Confidence grabs you and never lets go inching you closer, compelling you to wonder, "what happened?" "Where did it all go wrong?"
You may not be caught totally off guard at the films end, but you will appreciate the way the film got there, and the intelligence of the script. The film has been called "a poor man's Ocean's Eleven", but that is a good thing in a sense, as this films plot and characters are a lot more grounded in reality making the plot much more believable.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and plan to add it to my DVD collection when available (I don't buy many films). Lower production values and some directing inadequecies prevented this film from being better, but in all I still easily give this a four-star rating. If you enjoy smart con/heist/caper movies, I highly recommend you check Confidence out.
Movie Review: Slick 'Con' Thriller, But You May Say 'I Have Seen It'
Summary: 4 Stars
[In fact, my rating is 3.5 stars.]"Confidence" by Lions Gate studio (king of indie films) has one great thing--the cast. Edward Burns, Rachel Wiesz, Andy Garcia, Luis Guzman, Paul Giamatti, Brain Van Holt, Robert Forster, Morris Chestnut, and Dustin Hoffman. Even the major studios in Hollywood can gather these names easily.
And the story? Sorry, as it's about "Con"fidence, so not much can be revealed, except that A) the con-men team (and one mysterious lady) led by Ed Burns have to do one last big heist while so many obstacles are in their way; B) and if you have seen old classic films of the sub-genre about grifters (yes, including "The Grifters" or "Sting"), you have already seen the story itself in "Confidence." Which means, you also have a chance to see two corrupt cops, and a strangely dressed FBI guy.
The story is not important, probably. The characters are, it is certain, more interesting to see, and the standout is Dustin Hoffman's 'King' (or "THE King"), a mobster who runs a lap-club. And you should know the rule of the genre; he, being a mobster, has to have some quirky habits. Hoffman playfully does it with cleverly hidden menace, which is certainly amusing to see.
There are some other well-acted characters, especially by Paul Giamatti (one of the most underrated talents), whose 'Gordo' is perfect example of small-time crook who speaks too much without thinking about what he is talking about. And my favorite Rachel Weisz shows up as a pickpocket (with American accent), who gracefully changes her outer look with ease.
But not everything is perfect. As I said, newcomer Doug Jung's script looks like a copied (but well-copied) one from the past classics, and director James Foley does his job decently, but not with great originality. The plot unfolds smoothly and pleasantly, but nothing in it really surprises, or more to the point, makes you care the character(s). Edward Burns speaks too much (with too many voiceovers), and if you use Robert Forster in this way, like three minutes with no substantial role, it means you are willingly inviting the fans' bitter criticism.
Not bad, not good (just like the same director's "The Corruptor") "Confidence" will entertain you for about 100 minutes. And nothing more. Actually, the best 'con' movie still remains "Sting" which you should have seen before this one.
Movie Review: Too cool for school, but entertaining none the less
Summary: 4 Stars
James Foley's Confidence is arguably too cool for even itself. A low-budget con/heist flick, it brings little to the genre other than its sense style and some sharp dialogue. The story itself is nothing new, and when compared to Steven Soderbergh's recent remake of Ocean's 11, the stakes seem rather low and bland. Still, I had a blast with this little flick.
Doug Jung provides the screenplay, which while loaded with cliches, crosses every "t" and dots ever "i." The heist itself is actually not the main focus of the film, unlike most movies in this genre. Instead, the build-up, the characters and the dialogue are the focus here. This proves to be a double-edged sword, as while the dialogue and imagination/conceptual scenes are great, the characters for the most part lack depth and don't resonate well. To be blunt, they simply don't click with us, and as a result it's hard to sympathize with them much of the time.
But the cast is a blast. Edward Burns takes the lead role of Jake, and while he may not be the most ranged actor, oozes just enough of the necessary young upstart cockiness and calm, collected cool that he's enjoyable to watch. Dustin Hoffman is wonderfully over the top as the sleazy "King." Rachel Weisz threatens to turn herself into a sex icon with her performance here, which just radiates charisma and, well, sexuality, while Andy Garcia chomps on a cigar and has plenty of fun. The supporting cast is very strong also, with Brian Van Holt, Donal Logue, Luis Guzman, and particularly Paul Giametti turning in great acts. And as I said before, the dialogue every so often hits the spot that the cast gets just enough to work with to have a good time.
Confidence may not be the most original con movie in terms of writing or directing, but it makes up for it in terms of sheer fun. A great cast, some witty lines, a slick soundtrack, all these fit into a nice little recipe for a great rental. Check it out.
Movie Review: Confidence-It's not about the money. It's about the money.
Summary: 4 Stars
Confidence, a new con-caper from director James Foley and featuring an all-star cast is clever, funny and sophisticated. Edward Burns plays Jake Vig the handsome con man, the leader of so-called "professionals." Pulling off a con for these guys is a sinch or so it seems when Burn's men by accident steal money from the wrong guy, Winston King played by masterful Dustin Hoffman. Vig has two options, die or pull off the slickest and biggest con of his career. In the new pack he brings along a sexy con artist, Lily played by beautiful Rachel Weisz and his returning crew featuring Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt and Luis Guzman. Though Burns is in on some trouble because a Special Agent is on his tail played by Andy Garcia looking rather old with his beard. Though Confidence has a great, intricate plot that perplexes, the film features many colorful characters, different in a unique way which makes the film even more watchable and interesting. The film is filmed in flashbacks in the sense that Burn's character is being held at gunpoint, which can be irritating at times. Though viewing this film is well worth the money, infact I bought it without seeing it and I enjoyed it very much. I wish I saw this one in theatres but oh well I'm glad I got to see it right away when it was released on Video and DVD.
Confidence is rated R for Language, Violence and Sexuality/Nudity. The language can be rather strong and excessive at times, the violence is understated, which includes some gunplay (usually bloody) and fistfights. The sexuality isn't explicit but it does contain reasonably strong sexual innuendo and partial nudity. I highly recommened this one.
Movie Review: The true sequel to OCEAN'S ELEVEN
Summary: 4 Stars
If you enjoyed the 2001 version of OCEAN'S ELEVEN with its great ensemble cast and witty dialogue with a great twist at the end then the movie "Confidence" should definitely appeal to you. In fact I would go as far as to say that this movie is the true sequel to the Clooney vehicle and not the OCEANS TWELVE that appeared in the same year.
And hey, Andy Garcia even shows up in this movie also, this time as a federal agent hunting down the hero of the movie (played by Edward Burns).
The movie opens with a familat movie trick. Held at gunpoint with his life on the line the hero recounts in flashbacks how he found himself in his present predicament. We learn that his crew pulled of a con on an accountant, taking the man for over $100,000.
The only problem is that said accountant was playing with the money of big-time mobster "The King" (played with zany relish by Dustin Hoffman), and he's none to happy with their antics.
So, the team strike a deal with King to pull off another sting this time against King's sworn enemy, a crooked banker, for a cool $5 million.
What follows is fairly familiar territory (at least for those who saw OCEAN'S ELEVEN). The additional members of the team are assembled and the job is pulled through a series of machinations. Then at the end there is a major twist that turns everything on its head, but still fits in well with the overall structure of the story.
The performances are also very good in this movie with top marks doing to Hoffman as an ADHD mobster and Rachel Weisz as a pickpocket who is recruited onto the team to help snare one of the vice presidents at the targeted bank.