The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida • X34

34 Orlando Sentinel JULY 12-18, 2002 Movies I FASHION VILLAGES NOW SHOWING LgARE 1BURGj I DEASjAHD JT JjS TpgE'" 1 g71 436 NIVE RJCINE jPLEX jPNTE ORL ANDOj FOTPLAC22j ATERpFLAKES 20 JER JMLLAGE 20 SEW IHpLE'VCEHTERj Con men. With Ricardo Darin (left) and Gaston Pauls, the laughs are dark, For grifters, its all Shawn Edwards, FOX-TV (Kansas City THAN THE FIRST!" AMERM MR. JONES SILVIO BENITZSONY PICTURES CLASSICS the puzzle ever more engrossing. a game give them money is funny and chilling. It bothers Juan, so Marcos tells Juan he'll never make it because "You can't work the streets with a conscience." He instructs the kid and the viewer in the art of the con, how to fake outrage when you're caught red-handed, a kind of Clarence Thomas defense.

"The more offended you are, the less suspicious you look." The big scam, all telescoped into a single day, involves rare stamps the "nine queens" of the title high rollers, Marcos' legit and permanently enraged sister, Valeria (Leticia Bredice) and more lowlifes than you can count. It's all a game: Who's grifting whom, who can trust whom, and what telling detail will give the whole thing away to the viewer. Like The Sting, it's too cute by half. But the laughs are dark, the puzzle steadily more engrossing and the surprises, just like Heist, are doozies, up to the finale. Expect to see this one remade in English.

But you'll want to be the one on your block who says, "Yeah, but I saw the Argentinian-Spanish version. And it was cool." Roger Moore can be reached at 407-420-5369 or rmooreorlandosentinel.com. By ROGER MOORE SENTINEL STAFF WRITER Someday, David Mamet is going to see Nine Queens, the comedy-drama about grifters in Argentina, and freak. Those who know the works of the hard-boiled, profane playwright and screenwriter know that "freak" is not the word Mamet would choose for his reaction. And those who know Mamet will experience the same deja vu that he will feel on seeing this hard-boiled, profane puzzle-con of a movie.

It's about grifters, or as they're called in the movie, "hoisters, night raiders" and more colorfully, "mustard chuckers" and "petermans." These are the petty thieves, three-card Monty cheats, short-changers and pilferers who wander from scam to scam, always in search of the "big con." They can spot one another in an instant. That's how Marcos (Ricardo Darin) marks Juan (Gaston Pauls). Juan is a young guy who pulls a short-change scam in a convenience store, then has the gall to try the same con on a new clerk the moment the shift changes. Marcos rescues Juan and talks him into teaming with him for the day. Writer-director Fabian Bie-linsky borrows early and often from Mamet, swiping con rou- REVIEW 'Nine Queens' Cast: Gaston Pauls, Ricardo Darin, Leticia Bredice.

Director: Fabian Bielinsky. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes. Industry rating: (restricted) for language (profanity). Reviewing key: Excellent Good Average Poor Awful tines from House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner. Darin even looks like Mamet mainstay Joe Mantegna, with his Van Dyke, his sport coat and tie, his easy confidence patter.

The dialogue is Mametesque Spanish, as in one scene where Juan and Marcos argue over percentages. "Two and a half." "OK, two." "Two and a half." "OK, two." "TWO AND A HALF!" "OK, OK, two." The casual way these guys stroll down the boulevard ringing security bells, trying to get elderly women to answer, assume they're nephews and COIUllAPICIESinsMieilENrillNriBi ik nil mm talONiPIES ibis i BARRY 111EID 1 111 IEE JONES WIEE 511 IN IN IB I' LARA FLYNN BOYLE INNII1EE B010IBN TUNYSHUUOUI ub IIP TUIN "INNIEEfiN SHE1 SPIELBERG JKKE1EEE EININGH "SRIBERf Gill GORDON i BARRV FANARD -aiREMESiEAIRI HMD ffiSN IgSftrjgSSI MenlnBlack.com ISCI-RACTIOH UMIIICE, SOME PROVOCATIVE HUMOrL FEATURING IB SIS COIN' (NOI II 111 PERFORMED 11 Kill SMITH II1B fRHNOI MR. SMITH UNITED ARTISTS THEATRES SEMINOLE TOWNE CENTER I-4 AND STATE RD. 46 888-FILM 529 TOUCHSTAR CINEMAS SOUTH CHASE 7 12441 SOUTH ORANGE BLOSSOM TRAIL (407) 888-2025 LOEWS CINEPLEX UNIVERSAL CINEPLEX AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS CITVWALK (800) 555-TELL CARMIKE CINEMAS UNIVERSITY 8 4080 GOLDENROD RD. 657-1661 REGAL CINEMAS WATERFORD LAKES 20 EAST WEST EXPRESSWAY ALAFAYA TRAIL (800) 555-TELL UNITED ARTISTS THEATRES WEKIVA RIVERWALK SEMORAN BLVD.

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EE3 NOW PLAYING AT THEATERS EVERYWHERE CELEBRATION AMC SUNSTAR ALTAMONTE AMC PLEASURE ISLAND 24 DOWNTOWN DISNEY EXIT 298-4488 THEATRES DOWNTOWN CELEBRATION 298-4488 ENTERTAINMENT FILM WORKS COLONIAL PROMENADE CINEMA 4672 E. COLONIAL DR. (407) 228-8480 SPRINGS 6 1 30 EAST ALTAMONTE DR. ALTAMONTE SPRINGS (407) 332-1606 REGAL CINEMAS OSCEOLA 6 EAST CINEMA RT.192E.OFI-4IN KISSIMMEE (800) 555-TELL REGAL CINEMAS OVIEDO ON A GIANT SCREEN MUVICO 21 POINTE ORLANDO UNIVERSAL BLVD. AT POINTEORLANDO 92-MOVIE MUVICO 21 POINTE ORLANDO UNIVERSAL BLVD.

AT POI TE ORLAN DO 92-MOVIE cinemark MARKETPLACE 22 FESTIVAL BAY 1500 oviedo 5150 INTERNATIONAL DR. MARKETPLACE BLVD. 351 -31 1 7 (800) 555-TELL I CHECK DIRECTORIES OR CALL THEATRES FOR SHOWTIMES. I NO PASSES OR DISCOUNT COUPONS ACCEPTED FOR THIS ENGAGEMENT..