Nine Queens review

 Number 400 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Argentinean crime caper 'Nine Queens.'

Juan (Gaston Pauls) is a small-time con artist who comes to the attention of the older, more experienced Marcos (Ricardo Darin.) The two partner up to scam a wealthy collector into buying counterfeit stamps.

Nine Queens was released in 2000. Four years later, the BBC released the TV series Hustle. The comparisons were plain to see - a group of con artists take down an even more villainous bad guy. Hijinks and plot twists ensue.

Nine Queens can also be favourably compared to the 1973 film The Sting with Gaston Pauls and Ricardo Darin in the roles of Paul Newman and Robert Redford. The two of them were just as charismatic as Newman and Redford with the younger hotshot Juan more than capable of showing the old dog, Marcos, new tricks. Yet sometimes Marcos' experience proves more important especially upon their first meeting where he rescues Juan from a scam gone terribly wrong.

Juan's young arrogance sees him trying to pull the same scam twice in the same place. If it wasn't for Marcos, then Juan would have spent the rest of the film in jail. In films like these, there is usually a romantisation of the criminal main characters. Yes, the stamp collector Esteban Gandolfo (Ignasi Abadal) is a sleaze boy who is constantly harassing Marcos' sister Valeria (Leticia Bredice,) but neither he or Juan are angels. To raise capital, they perform small-time cons; sure it looks stylish and cool, but, for all we know, they're conning innocent people out of their hard-earned money.

Inevitably, problems start to arise in the duo's well-thought out scam and it was entertaining watching things go awry. Their counterfeit stamps are stolen by motorbike thieves who throw them in a river when they think they are worthless. This all culminates in a delightful, if somewhat implausible, twist ending, a la Hustle, where the con artists get their just desserts.

Nine Queens was certainly an entertaining film with charismatic performances from its lead actors, but we need to remember not to romanticise con-men. They're just as bad as the supposed criminals they're robbing. 

Midnight Cowboy review

 Number 350 on top 1000 films of all time is John Schlesinger's 1969 drama 'Midnight Cowboy.'

Jon Buck (John Voight) is a Texan cowboy who goes to New York to seek his fortune. As part of his hustle, he starts prostituting himself. He also strikes up an unlikely friendship with con man Enrico "Ratzo" Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman.)

This film surprised me in many ways. At times, it was bold, and stylistically flashy, but at others, it was understated, subtle and quietly powerful. At its heart was the relationship between Buck and Ratso. Both are hustlers with Ratso very much being a mentor to the naive, starry-eyed Buck. When Ratso becomes sick, Buck starts to take care off him. As Hoffman is a method actor, I wouldn't be surprised if he went out and caught pneumonia for real.

But Dustin Hoffman and John Voight's relationship under-pinned the whole film. They had great chemistry. I enjoyed seeing them share the screen together. And it was great seeing them become closer and closer, as their fortunes worsened. That all built toward a suitably tragic ending. I won't go into spoilers, but I did like its under-stated nature. It was quiet and simple, which was all it needed to be.

All the louder, more dramatic moments were saved for the flashbacks that showcased the dark past Buck was running from. These were also shown in black-and-white making them all the more sombre. They were hard to watch, but well-shot all the same. This shouldn't be a surprise really. Midnight Cowboy went onto win three Oscars: Best Director, Picture and Adapted Screenplay.

Midnight Cowboy definitely surprised me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but an unlikely friendship between a cowboy sex worker and a sick con-man was definitely not it. 

American Hustle review

 Number 614 on the top 1000 films of all time is David O'Russell's black comedy crime film 'American Hustle.'

Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) are two con-artists who are enlisted by FBI agent Richie Dimaso (Bradley Cooper) to entrap corrupt politicians like Mayor of Camden, New Jersey, Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner.) Jennifer Lawrence also stars as Irving's emotionally unstable wife Rosalyn.

While this film has some great acting talent, especially from a cast involving Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper and Jeremy Renner, I think that the female co-stars majorly outshone their male counterparts. Amy Adams was very good as the con-woman Sydney Prosser. She effortlessly switches from her British persona, complete with accent, of Lady Edith Greensly, to her native American accent. But the love triangle between her, Irving and Rosalyn eventually comes to a head, leading to a very effective and powerful confrontation.

Jennifer Lawrence was also very good as Rosalyn. I think she brought a quiet power to a vulnerable role. She really helped to bring her character to life. All four principle actors received Oscar nods, but Lawrence and Adams also received Golden Globe and Bafta nods with Adams getting the Golden Globe and Lawrence the Golden Glove AND the Bafta. And Robert De Niro was very effective in his uncredited cameo role as a Florida mob boss. It was a small but sweet part.

Unlike some other directors, David O'Russell actively encouraged improvisation on set with much of the dialogue being ad-libbed. At times, this led to some strangely, long pauses as the actors weren't sure what they were going to say next, but at others it led to an authentic and realistic portrayal. After all, American Hustle is partially based on the true story of the FBI's abscam investigation.

This was definitely a good film. Although Bale, Cooper and Renner might be arguably bigger names, I think Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence were the true stars.