Confidence

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RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Confidence</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>êê</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>½ stars                       </B></FONT></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Rating</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> R </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> For language, violence and sexuality/nudity</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Director</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> James Foley</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> The pros and cons </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Starring</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Edward Burns</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Rachel Weisz</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Dustin Hoffman</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Andy Garcia</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> Jake (Edward Burns) is a professional con man who orchestrates his scams with the grace of a well-planned Broadway production. In the opening scene he and his accomplices steal a suitcase full of cash, and the "mark" (in this case, an accountant) thinks he is doing good to only lose the money and not his life.</div> <bR> <div> The accountant thought he could use the cash to make a little money on the side, and instead he lost the cash first and his life soon thereafter. Everything is fine until Jake realizes that the money he took was not the accountant's but the mob boss he worked for<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >¾</FONT> The Kingpin (Dustin Hoffman). Jake can not (or more accurately will not) give the money back to Kingpin since he earned it fair and square, at least according to his value system. </div> <bR> <div> He offers to pull a scam for the boss and repay him from the proceeds. The Kingpin's nemesis is fellow crime boss Price (Robert Forster), with whom he has a competitive jealousy.  While the Kingpin makes his money with low level hustlers based out of his strip club, Price launders his money from the skyscraper named after him and hobnobs with high society. The new mark is Price, and Jake is ordered to steal $5 million dollars from him, which he and the Kingpin will split.  </div> <bR> <div> As in other recent crime caper con movies, such as <I><B>Made</B></I><B>, </B><I><B>The Salton</B></I><B> </B><I><B>Sea, The Heist,</B></I><B> and </B><I><B>The Score</B></I>, you know that things are not what they seem because everyone, man or woman, is a con man. Cons work best when you are surprised; and to accept a con you have to think the con is possible even if the likelihood of success is improbable. So, although the acting is excellent, including the supporting cast of Paul Giamatti, Luis Guzman, and Morris Chestnut, George never felt that what was happening was real enough.  </div> <bR> <div> Script problems that are unnecessary errors may be an attempt at being intentionally campy, but for George, it proved to be a distraction rather than a plot twist with humor.      </div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Confidence</B></I><I> </I>gets a borderline recommendation. Some will love it and others will consider it garbage. What is frustrating is the sense that it   could have been a much better picture, with only minor changes. The con was in for everyone in this movie, including the audience. </div> <div>  </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>