January6
‘Film’ Category
January4
Top Ten Scams of the Decade #2
Number Two: Advance Fee Fraud
In 1997 - David Mamet released The Spanish Prisoner, a taught pyschological thriller about a scientist who gives up an item of great value when promised an even greater treasure. (Sorry to sound vague but I don’t want to ruin the plot).
13 years later and the storyline is now everyday. Each day, everyone else is bombarded with emails with promises of millions from long lost inheritences, won lotteries and foreign fortunes.
All we need to do is send them a small fee, a little bribe and perhaps a few thousand dollars for expenses and the money is ours.
The Spanish Prisoner, or Advance Fee Fraud, is now one of the biggest scams in the world, netting it’s mostly Spanish and Nigerian perpertrators billions each year.
It’s so common place that the most recent victims are mocked as idiots for not already being aware of the scam.
Which means less and less victims are going public with their experiences meaning more and more people will fall foul in the future.
Tomorrow: Bernie Madoff
December27
Top Ten Scams of the Decade #7
Number Seven: Illegal Downloads
You didn’t think you were going to escape the Top Ten Scams of the Decade did you?
If you’re reading this, the chances are that you’ve downloaded something illegally off the internet.
The last ten years have seen a rapid rise in the speed of internet leading to more and more music, software, TV and movies being illegally shared around the world.
The more it happens, the more excuses we come up with.
“If I really like a TV series that I’ve downloaded, I might buy the DVD.”
(Sure - I steal stuff from shops all the time. And if I like it, I go back pay for it.)
“Information should be freely available to the masses.”
(You know who else said that…STALIN. But I don’t see you don’t at the fruit and veg co-op redistributing the wealth do I?)
“TV stations don’t show programs at regular hours so I have to watch it somehow.”
(I agree, network TV sucks. But just because someone is a jerk doesn’t excuse the crime.)
If I’m brutally honest, I think my real problem with the illegal downloaders is not the crime itself. I hang out with card cheats, short con men and petty thieves all the time. Why really rubs me the wrong way is the crappy excuses.
You’re a con artist.
Deal with it.
Tomorrow: Weight Loss
Used without permission of FOX. But I might buy the DVD if I enjoy this picture enough…
December14
Change Rising in Paper Moon
One of the great con man films of all kind is the 1972 classic, Paper Moon.
Here is a clip with some added commentary from myself. Enjoy.
December9
Suckers
I’m not a big fan of the Twilight books and movies and even less of a fan of the brooding, emo lite, tweens who obsessed over the stories and dream of being drag off by a pale, cheek boned vampire.
But this new spam scam email is still sad, preying on the weak fans of those who prey on the weak.
This email has been arriving in the in-box of teens around the world looking for extras for the third
This is a nationwide casting and [Portland]-area movie extras are still needed. No experience is necessary, all looks/types are wanted and the pay ranges from $80-$250 per day depending on whether it’s part or full time.”
Once the victims click on the link, they are sent to a website that requires payment before the casting call details can be viewed.
Suckers.
One. Two. Two Meanings. Mha-ha-ha!
November18
The Brothers Bloom
AS FEATURED ON ABC RADIO WITH KATHY BEDFORD
In recent years, fictional con artists have taken a slick turn.
Con artists are either depicted as suave and sophisticated characters such as in the TV shows Hustle and White Collar.
Or we have the grim dose of reality in Nine Queens and Matchstick Men.
So it’s nice that a film like Brothers Bloom comes along, bringing back the classic caper con man last seen in films like The Sting or Paper Moon.
Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo play Bloom and Stephen, two brothers and con artists who reunite for ‘one last scam’ enlisting the help of eccentric heiress Penelope (Rachael Weiss) along the way.
Directed by Rian Johnson whose debut, the brooding and stylized teenager noir thriller Brick, is one of my favourites, Brothers Bloom, brings the fun back to the con artist film.
It feels like a Wes Anderson film, with the story packed with kooky characters and odd situations.
Like most con artists films, the swindle itself is overly complex to the point of leaving me a little disinterested but such great characters to watch and fantastic dialouge, I just don’t care.
FACTOID - The film was shot in Romania, the home to more con artists the most swindley country in Europe.
Swindley is a word. Look it up.
September17
The Pickpocket (1954)
I love classic con man movies.
It’s one of the reasons why I got into this world in the first place. The narrative structure of film, with it’s twists, turns and emotional manipulation are the perfect medium for exploring scams and cons.
The celebrate, I am creating a series of annotated clips of classic scam movies. Each short clip features pop ups that reveal all the secrets of the scams being played out as well as a few behind the scenes secrets.
First up is The Pickpocket by Robert Bresson.
Be sure to let me know what you think…
Enjoy!
August14
Suits Me
“If honor be your clothing, the suit will last a lifetime; but if clothing be your honor, it will soon be worn threadbare” - William Arnot quotes
By now, you’ve probably heard about the two men who walked into a London jewellery store and walked off with $80 million in jewelery.
This was no doubt a very well planned robbery. They cased the joint for months, stole just four pieces and vanished without a trace.
But the thing that excited me the most about this audacious crime was the references to clothing. The media refered to them as
“smartly-dressed men”
“expensive suits”
“all the trappings of a customer of the upmarket jeweler”
In other words, they didn’t look like criminals so the shop keepers had no idea what was in store until the thieves were in the middle of the store with their guns out.
That is the power of a good suit. Most of the time, I dress like a homeless guy. T-shirts, jeans, sneakers. But when I’m working, out comes the suit.
I spent Friday in a beautiful suit by Matthew Lawrence for a shoot last week. I felt a million bucks all day.
In the film ‘Criminal’, Richard Gaddis spends the entire film in an expensive suit because “people are more likely to give you money if you look like you don’t need it.”
