Five Movies in a Week (Part 2)

CONfidence
Another one of those unbelievable films. What I meant was, incredible. Actually, preposterous is the word I'm looking for.

So you've got this slick con called Jake and his team. He's been pulling scams, and one time he pulled one on the wrong guy. You don't take money from the King without paying for it dearly. To pay back the King, the plans one last big con together with his posse, plus a new sexy recruit and the King's enforcer. The scam involved a complex scheme involving corporate loans, creative accounting, wire transfers and off-shore accounts, but they were able to pull it off. Unfortunately for him, his long-time nemesis, a federal agent, caught up with him, and vows to bring him down if he makes any funny moves. Seeing no way out, he decides to walk away. His new girlfriend demands a cut (even before they actually got the money), and got told off. Jake later had a change of mind, and decides to continue with the plan. Meanwhile, the disgruntled girlfriend spilled the beans to their supposed mark. Aside from that, the federal agent managed to switch the bag containing all the money at the airport customs. Worse, the mark's assistant got Jake at the business end of a gun, demanding the money's location. Here's the clincher, in a fit of rage, the girlfriend pulls out a gun and shoots Jake twice in the chest. The end.

If you've watched Ocean's Eleven or Ocean's Twelve or Matchstick Men, you probably already know how the movie ended. SPOILER ALERT!!! The federal agent drives by and hands the bag of money to Jake, who has now risen from the dead. Jake and his crew rides away into the sunset with the King's AND the mark's money. Watch Snatch and Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels if you're into cons and last-minute plot twists.

Down with Love
Feels more like a theater play than a movie. The sets, costumes, and production design are so colorful and retro-chic. The dialogue is smart and witty. Story is about this feminist author whose book "Down with Love" becomes a literary sensation. Women all over the world are becoming liberated. Dashing and debonaire man-about-town disguises himself as mild-mannered NASA scientist and manages to make manhater author fall in love with him, thus proving his theory that what all women want is love and marriage.

The movie would've ended like the other romcom movies of the 1960s era, but this one has a post-feminist twist. Our lady author is actually our most eligible bachelor's former secretary, and this is her way of making sure he notices her this time. He proposes marriage; she declines and goes on to start her own media empire. He applies as her personal secretary; she accepts and happy ending.

Highlight of the movie was Renee's 5-minute single-take monologue. I kept expecting a scene cut for her to rest and review her lines, but looks like she has the whole thing memorized. Impressive. And don't forget that split-screen telephone conversation.