Michael goes to the movies again

I saw Confidence, which was sort of blah. I find Edward Burns to be about the least interesting leading man in the movies, and my irritation is increased by just how self-important he seems to be in real life. (Let's face it, the movies he has directed himself are pompous and trite). I wasn't quite convinced by Rachel Weisz as his accomplice in the complicated confidence games that go on in this movie. This is possibly a perception problem, however, as from her other roles I can't help but think of her as simply too English to be an LA crook. Dustin Hoffman does appear to be having fun, however.

Basically, though, the trouble with this type of film is that they are often sewn together from lots of pieces, each with different movie cliches on them, and this one is a bad example. (Its use of the deat narrator device from Sunset Boulevard is lame, as Mark Steyn points out here). Worse, perhaps, the best examples of the genre have comlicated but at least logical (and at times hilariously clever) plots, character relations that make some kind of sense, a genuine sense of humour, and the crispest and most sparkling dialoge. What I mean by this is that the best examples of the genre are written and made by David Mamet and star his generally superb repertory company of actors, and this one rather sadly isn't and doesn't.