con artist

THE GOOD LIAR: Lies & Deceit Can't Cover Up The Mess At The Center Of This Misfire
THE GOOD LIAR: Lies & Deceit Can’t Cover Up The Mess At The Center Of This Misfire

The Good Liar features great performances from Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren, but the film can’t overcome other problems. Chris Cassingham reviews.

THE HUSTLE: Gender-Swapped Remake Is A Fruitless Con
THE HUSTLE: Gender-Swapped Remake Is A Fruitless Con

The Hustle is a female-driven remake that features two household names – it may look appealing, but don’t let it deceive you – it’s a con job in itself.

FOCUS: All Style, No Substance

One of the worst clichés that appears in an alarmingly large number of movies is the “two kinds of people in this world” speech. In Focus, Will Smith’s suave con artist Nicky Spurgeon tells his protégé/part-time lover Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie) his version of the done-to-death cliché: there are two types of people, hammers and nails.

NOW YOU SEE ME Uses Magic Tricks to Distract from the Meager Story

First of all, I was struck by the impressive cast of this movie. Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo… That’s quite the list. Now You See Me tells us the story of four street-wise magicians, not afraid to scam a person or two while they’re at it.