jbenik

I watched all episodes of this show, and didn't much like it. Although there was a certain joy in watching celebrities outside their normal mindsets, the poker was just not very good. In no limit holdem, there is a fine line between brilliant and stupid, and nearly all of the amateurs crossed over it.

But I'm a poker fan, so I might be biased. It's kinda like watching celebrity softball or celebrity stock car racing. You level of enjoyment is inversely proportional to how seriously you take the sport in the first place. (And yes, the fact that I refer to poker as a "sport" let's you know where I sit on the subject.

Another thing that disappointed me was Kevin Pollack. He cracks me up, and I was excited that he was hosting the show. But he simply wasn't funny on this show. His gag lines seemed to be written for him, and his impressions seemed like they were from out in left field. I understand that he is being replaced by Dave Foley for the new season.

If you're not a poker purist, and just want to see Ben Affleck and David Schwimmer hang out, it's worth a look. But don't expect to see any of these folks behind a stack of chips in Vegas anytime soon.

The World Poker Tour is more than just a television show. It has become a cultural phenomenon. Not only is it hugely popular for the Travel Channel, it has transformed the game itself. Thanks to the World Poker Tour and some of its internet-cardroom sponsors, poker has gone from a strange pursuit of middle-aged white guys in a smoke-filled corner of a casino that would rather use the space for more slot machines, to a passion for thousands of players of all ages and backgrounds. The show has already spawned other similar shows, including Celebrity Poker Showdown and the World Series of Blackjack. ESPN has been covering the World Series of Poker for years, but they have increased their coverage from a single show to a series, and have been hugely successful with it as well.

But what is the show like? Well, the production standards are high, and you can tell that having a tournament televised is a big deal to the tournament organizers. The producers do a good job in backgrounding the players, which is important since most of these people are not known by the public. And the Hole Card Cam is tremendously beneficial, since it allows viewers to see what the players are doing as they are doing it, instead of waiting until the cards are turned over. I've watched poker coverage without this advantage, and it is about as interesting as C-SPAN in Spanish.

The commentary is mixed. Mike Sexton does a terrific job explaining the players' moves, and isn't afraid to say when he thinks that someone made a bad one. But "Hollywood Home Gamer" Vince Van Patten seems to me more about generating excitement than about anything resembling analysis. Former Coppertone model and host of "Wild On" Shana Hiatt is not exactly a poker pro either. But in her case, it is much more forgivable, since her role has more to do with interviewing players and presenting the casino to viewers than any kind of hard-core analysis. Plus, she's a breath of fresh air in a sport that is still dominated by middle-aged men who, well, let's say they could use some more time in the hotel exercise room.

All in all, the World Poker Tour is imperfect, but still one of the best things on television. It is a must-see for fans of card games, but be careful. Once you watch for the first time, it could very well become a permanent part of your Wednesday nights.

Let me start by saying that I love caper films. A couple of criminals get together to pull off a big job that will set them up for life. They aren't violent, but they get mixed up with violent characters, who make things tough on them. And with a few plot twists, a few double-crosses, in the end, they get away with it.

Without giving anything away, this film pretty much follows the formula. Ed Burns plays a con artist who is a little bit too smooth for his own good. After he and his crew take six figures off a guy who works for gangster Dustin Hoffman, he makes an interesting decison. Instead of running, he makes a deal with Hoffman to pull a job that promises a big payoff for the crew and will square things with Hoffman. But a few more characters walk into the drama, among them Rachael Weisz and Andy Garcia, which add complexity to the mix.

The plot proceeds with satisfying circuity, but the final twist is too easy to spot. Aficionados of the caper film will be disappointed, but fans of Burns and Hoffman will enjoy it. Hoffman especially was brilliant as the perverse mob boss whose overt friendliness carries an underlying threat.

Overall, Confidence does not match up with other caper films such as The Sting, House of Games, Grifters, Ocean's Eleven, or even Heist. But for a fun night at the movies, it is well worth the time.