Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002): Dir: George Clooney / Cast: Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer: Remarkable debut for director George Clooney in a film about the secret lives we hide. It regards game show host Chuck Berry brought in by a government agent that trains people to kill. Berry is best known as the creator of The Gong Show and The Dating Game. Sam Rockwell is inspired casting as Berry bringing out the frustration and paranoia. Clooney casts himself as an ominous contact. Drew Barrymore is charming as Berry's patient girlfriend who awaits outside his door for his emerged humanity but finds nothing but a hallow shell of who he was. Julia Roberts is icy and controlling delivering one of her best performances. She is given a great sequence where Berry must figure her out on the spot and out maneuver her. Rutger Hauer makes an effective appearance as a German-American Spy who befriends Chuck. Tracking Berry's life from 1940's to 1981 mixing comedy and suspense and tense drama. He will stand unshaven reflecting his complications while the woman he loves awaits outside but all contact and love is gone leaving her with no choice but to walk away from his double life. On one side he wanted to express his ideas and entertain. On the other side he pulled the trigger and looked over his shoulder ever since. Score: 10 / 10

I like how the story rolls out smoothly with the pace stable at the right speed. The opening is also successful in igniting curiosity to stay and keep watching. The movie also presents some very good photography especially the coloration and light usage. Sam Rockwell did quite okay in this movie. He can nab the outgoing nature of the character nicely, something that he also exhibited in his character in the later Charlie's Angels. The thing that nags a bit for me is that Sam Rockwell hasn't gotten any more spotlight after this and Charlie's Angels. I also like the fact that there are great names acting for this movie like Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts. They gave out great supporting character role in this movie. I also like the fact that there are nice cameos by equally famous faces like Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon.

George Clooney doesn't have the visual imaginations of a great director. He does a competent job. The best thing he does is to point the camera at Sam Rockwell. Sam rocks out on this crazy story.Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) is a liar, womanizer, schemer, TV producer, and a CIA trained assassin. The first on the list is the most important one of them all. Based on his book and Charlie Kaufman's screenplay, it goes into some less than believable parts of Barris' life. Although Kaufman's script was changed by Clooney. CK's version would probably be too daring for Clooney's amateur hands.This is good starting point for an actor doing directing. It doesn't have a sharp interesting point of view. It does work as a platform for Sam Rockwell.

True story or not, it sure does its part of amusing the audience. A light movie overall. It surely is a try to put a lot into a single movie and run the blender. Even though there is a lot of places in the movie where it will raise questions in your mind which will question the realism of the movie, it still is a refreshing one. We have a lot of spy movies out there in the industry but this sure qualifies as a different one. The story revolves around a lot of stuffs going on in the same time and may confuse you sometimes. In summary its a story about a young man who wants it all. He takes what ever is thrown towards him, good or bad and tries to be successful in life. As the part of takeaway from the movie, there is not much but entertainment.