The Town

To say I was excited to hear about Ben Affleck's movie entitled "The Town" is an understatement. After thoroughly enjoying his directoral debut "Gone Baby Gone" I couldn't wait to see his new work and I am happy to say "The Town" did not disappoint. I thought "Inception" had a lock on movie of the year but I feel it suddenly has some serious competition. I had high hopes for this movie going in and it not only met them, it surpassed them. I know, who would have thought it?

"The Town" has an amazing cast starting with the enigmatic Jeremy Renner who fresh off his role in the Oscar award winning film "The Hurt Locker" (the movie that won me my very first Oscar wager by the way) brings a menacing presence to this movie in a way that would make you look at your best friends differently. Playing James Coughlin, Renner is all hot head and danger rolled up in one with such a twisted sense of loyalty that he's not only deadly to complete strangers but to those he loves as well. Affleck plays his best friend Doug MacRay and together with Slaine playing Albert Magloan and newcomer Owen Burke playing Desmond Elmond they are an unforgiving and well organized band of theives from Charlestown, Mass. They take down everything from armored trucks to banks and it's a bank job where Affleck's MacRay meets Claire Keesey played by Rebecca Hall and things really get complicated.

Rounding out the cast is Jon Hamm from "Mad Men" and he plays the FBI agent charged with bringing MacRay and his team to justice. Then there's Blake Lively, the amazing Peter Postlewaite and Chris Cooper, as well as the underrated Titus Welliver who plays Jon Hamm's partner. To call this a powerhouse cast is to be putting it mildly and Affleck does one hell of a job getting the best out of each of them. He definitely knows what he's doing behind the camera.

This film has everything you could possibly want for your dollar. Gripping drama, unresolved father/son issues, a love story, and even a car chase William Friedkin, the director of the testosterone fueled "To Live and Die in L.A." would be proud of. The only issues I have with the film are the constant closeups of the actors (you could practically count each facial hair and tooth sometimes) and the music, it's forgettable. Outside of those to glitches, this picture shines and if you ever wanted to get an inside tour of Fenway Park then definitely see this film.

Ben Affleck, director....who knew?

See you at the movies!