Ben Affleck to Write, Direct, and Star in The Town

[guitarsingerguy]

I've wanted to see this movie so bad, but for the life of me I can't get anybody to friggin' go with me. I may have to go check this one out alone with all the good scores it's been getting.

 

[DCW]

Two of my other favorite scenes:

Spoiler

When the gang was dressed up as nuns and the cop saw them switching cars and they all just stared at each other for a few seconds trying to figure out what to do, then eveuntually the cop turns his head and the they leave.

Spoiler

The note on John Hamm's car at the end that said: "Go ---- yourself".

My theater burst out laughing at those scenes.

 

[scifiwolf]

So after weeks of things getting in the way, I finally saw this last night. Man, it was worth it. One of the best performances Ben's turned in, and top notch support from his cast. Blake Lively really surprised me.

The movie ended about like I thought it would, but Ben's direction still kept me on the end of the seat. Seeing that last heist take place at Fenway was one of the coolest things I think I've ever seen on film. I know a lot of people liked the second heist the most, but the third one was just so much fun to watch, especially that they didn't go the route of showing the plan beforehand.

Spoiler

I found myself hating the way things were being left between Claire and Doug, right up until "It'll be like one of my sunny days." My girlfriend looked over at me and my eyes had watered up at that. I loved the way that one line totally changed the dynamic of that relationship there at the end.

I don't know that Ben will garner a best director nomination, but this movie will definitely be among the best picture nominees, and it deserves to be there, even if there were still only 5 nominations to go around.

 

[ShaneHelms]

9/10 --- Amazing movie!

Someone mentioned their favorite moment, just one of the little ones, but mine was when

Spoiler

claire hit the alarm in the beginning with her foot and she looked up and Renner as Skeletor was already staring at her

the camera angle, the heartbeat moment you felt, it was cool and creepy!

Can't wait to see it again! Jeremy Renner might just get a nom too.

Judging by the book so far it was Affleck's character Ray that saw Claire hit the alarm. He just didn't let on that he knew and let the other co-worker take the beating from Gem.

I hope Renner gets a nomination or maybe even a win for supporting actor. He and Jon Hamm were the real break out characters in the film.

I've seen it three times so far. This is a great film.

 

[Crockett]

The movie was suppose to come out here this thursday but they pushed back the release date to 2nd December. Now I'll have to wait even more longer.

 

[Visceral]

Best Film of the year tied with inception.

 

[jmc]

Very solid film this one, good performances all around, good story, but did anyone else feel like the ending was a bit 'meh'?

 

[bullets]

Very solid film this one, good performances all around, good story, but did anyone else feel like the ending was a bit 'meh'?

If you are just referring to the last couple scenes then yeah there was sort of an out of place feel to it . I think some people were expecting a different direction . I wasn't disappointed though

 

[Motown Marvel]

totally solid movie that was really well executed....but it was nothing new. that was its main flaw.

 

[jmc]

^ I think that sums the film up for me, it was solid and there was nothing really wrong with it, but I felt like I'd seen it before. As for the ending I don't know what it was but it just didn't feel right to me.

 

[Venomfan]

saw this with my dad and we both thought it was awesome. all the performances were good, though dad didnt like john hamm. it was awesome seeing chris cooper and pete postewait in this

 

[DCW]

I've been watching Heat recently trying to decide if I like it or The Town better, I've seen Heat a couple times but The Town only once. Which movie do you guys prefer?

 

[jmc]

I was getting a very Heat vibe out of the film, not that it was a rip off, but it kinda felt the same. I'd probably rank Heat higher simply because I'm a fan of Mann, The Town still works on it's own though.

 

[Matt]

BAsed on Gone Baby Gone and The Town, I'd say Mann's work has inspired Affleck as a director, at least a bit.

 

[MadVillainy]

I really liked this. Im glad I finally saw it. The performances were great. The car chase was awesome, so was the scene when Renner was chasing Hamm around the car. Only problem was the ending was meh, not bad, just meh and then I thought some characters were underused

 

[MadVillainy]

Coming December 17th
I'm really happy how quick they put this out

Blu-Ray Combo Pack includes
Theatrical Feature Film
Extended Cut
"Ben's Boston" with Six Focus Points
"The Cathedral of Boston"
"Pulling Off the Perfect Heist"
"The Town"
"The Real People of the Town"
"Nuns with Guns: Filming in the North End"
"Ben Affleck: Director & Actor"
Director's Commentary -- Theatrical Version
Director's Commentary -- Extended Cut
Digital Copy on Disc

http://www.cinemablend.com/dvdnews/Affleck-Hits-Town-Blu-Ray-DVD-December-28045.html
Allegedly the extended cut has over 20 mins of extra footage

THe DVD cover is better than the Blu Ray though

I wish they went with the book reprint cover

 

[KenK]

I agree. The book reprint is a pretty good cover. When does this come out?

 

[MadVillainy]

Dec. 17

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Saw this last week, thought it was a great film and this is coming from someone who really doesnt like Affleck, great acting in the movie and his direction was really good, 9/10.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Saw it tonight and was very disappointed, while the film is technically well made I found it lacking in many key areas, the biggest of which is the fact it attempts to paint the lead character Doug as something the script never shows he is.

Sure Doug is nice to Claire and takes out the cartoony villain "The Florist" who conveniently decides to tell Doug that he drove his mother to suicide 25+ years ago so the audience can be comfortable with Doug blowing his balls off before dropping a witty one liner 80's style, but at no point is he shown making a hard choice to make things right, he simply wants to run away with Claire and get a fresh start he doesn't deserve. Doug really is no better than Gem and doesn't earn the ending the character is given.

The film has a poorly written and unconvincing romance at the center with the talented Rebbecca Hall given a cardboard fantasy character who happens to be classy, sweet, slightly posh and concerned about the project kids, the complete opposite of Blake Lively's gutter mouth **** who is Doug's bit on the side when he's bored....Yes this film doesn't believe in subtlety, and apparently it is fine for Doug to treat a girl who was supposed to be like a sister and who has a kid, as totally worthless.

The fact Doug's arc has nothing redeeming in it is down to Affleck the writer as opposed to Affleck the actor, he is more than capable of being likable but the script gives Doug zero consequences for his actions and then tries to make him Robin Hood in the last 10 minutes, yet nothing throughout the film makes him remotely sympathetic or remorseful, one throwaway line about not being proud of his past is not enough to remove how guilty and selfish he is.

On the bright side Boston feels authentic yet again and the relationship between Doug and Gem is the only one in the film that feels real. Jon Hamm is great as the lead FBI agent Frawley but isn't given enough of a rivalry with Doug to give the film some heft, but he and Renner are the stand-outs in the acting department. Affleck also shows a knack for shooting action with a visceral car chase and a well staged shoot-out.

The film is a miss-step for Affleck in my view after the stellar 'Gone Baby Gone', however there is enough in here for me to be confident that if his next project has a good script he'll return to the form showcased in his debut.

5.5/10

 

[TheComicbookKid]

The fact Doug's arc has nothing redeeming in it is down to Affleck the writer as opposed to Affleck the actor, he is more than capable of being likable but the script gives Doug zero consequences for his actions and then tries to make him Robin Hood in the last 10 minutes, yet nothing throughout the film makes him remotely sympathetic or remorseful, one throwaway line about not being proud of his past is not enough to remove how guilty and selfish he is.

I disagree in the sense that the ending was sign posted like a hooker in the red light district. When they made that no kill policy for Doug, I knew he was going to get away. He was Robin Hood in the most PG sense. If we actually saw Robin as a murder in his thieving he wouldn't be the loveable hero. So once Gem went commando, I knew where it was going, tangerine and al.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I disagree in the sense that the ending was sign posted like a hooker in the red light district. When they made that no kill policy for Doug, I knew he was going to get away. He was Robin Hood in the most PG sense. If we actually saw Robin as a murder in his thieving he wouldn't be the loveable hero. So once Gem went commando, I knew where it was going, tangerine and al.

I'm not sure where we disagree, I never said it wasn't obvious, I said it was fantasy drivel with poorly written get-out clauses (He did murder two people in cold blood) for a film trying to play gritty crime flick.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

I'm not sure where we disagree, I never said it wasn't obvious, I said it was fantasy drivel with poorly written get-out clauses (He did murder two people in cold blood) for a film trying to play gritty crime flick.

I disagree that he was only Robin Hood in the last ten minutes. He was Hood the entire movie. That's why the ending wasn't utter garbage/not satsifying. I'm saying the movie made sure that the viewer would absolve him of murdering the two in the store by making him the thoughtful bank robber in the beginning. As if the gift of the rink and the two murders would clear the robbing. The beating up the two punks that scared Claire. There was always a "worse" person to compare him to.

Gem's sister was the only part he didn't have a worse person to compare with. It was simply a choice and that made her the worse choice, not because he was any better than her, cause he wasn't. Anyone would look bad next to that Maid Marian named Claire.

 

[Hunter Rider]

I disagree that he was only Robin Hood in the last ten minutes. He was Hood the entire movie. That's why the ending wasn't utter garbage/not satsifying. I'm saying the movie made sure that the viewer would absolve him of murdering the two in the store by making him the thoughtful bank robber in the beginning. As if the gift of the rink and the two murders would clear the robbing. The beating up the two punks that scared Claire. There was always a "worse" person to compare him to.

Gem's sister was the only part he didn't have a worse person to compare with. It was simply a choice and that made her the worse choice, not because he was any better than her, cause he wasn't. Anyone would look bad next to that Maid Marian named Claire.

The thoughtful bank robber? he leads a crew that led to a man getting beaten and a woman being traumatized as well as cops being killed, he knew Gem was out of control and did nothing to stop him and still put people at risk by robbing banks with him, before laundering the money through drugs. His plan was to piss off to Florida with his new girlfriend after committing yet more crimes. This idea that because he didn't want Gem to shoot her and pulls Gem off the bank guy makes him redeemable is what made the film laughable IMO, he's a criminal and a killer by the end, yet doesn't pay for it, instead he's chilling in some swish looking boat house, just because there were worse people in the film it doesn't absolve the fact he's a criminal and his acts hurt people.

Which was why I found the writing juvenile and very obvious, that isn't good writing at all, and if he is such a great guy he tries to help Krista, he didn't. he told her and her kid to **** off and hung them out to dry.

 

[TheComicbookKid]

The thoughtful bank robber? he leads a crew that led to a man getting beaten and a woman being traumatized as well as cops being killed, he knew Gem was out of control and did nothing to stop him and still put people at risk by robbing banks with him, before laundering the money through drugs. His plan was to piss off to Florida with his new girlfriend after committing yet more crimes. This idea that because he didn't want Gem to shoot her and pulls Gem off the bank guy makes him redeemable is what made the film laughable IMO, he's a criminal and a killer by the end, yet doesn't pay for it, instead he's chilling in some swish looking boat house, just because there were worse people in the film it doesn't absolve the fact he's a criminal and his acts hurt people.

I feel like maybe I didn't express my point well enough

There was always a "worse" person to compare him to. Gem's sister was the only part he didn't have a worse person to compare with. not because he was any better than her, cause he wasn't.

I didn't mean he was thoughtful like "he's such a gret guy" cause he wasn't like a said. The was the best of the worst cause the movie made a point of him not wanting to kill people in the robbers like Gem. Him wanting to get out of the life and that stupid hockey backstory.

I'm not saying you shouldn't feel the way you do cause I understand completely. I'm saying the movie was rigged to make him the hero by default, so I understand why people, like myself, were satisfied by it. By the time the final shootout came, we'd had his sobbing backstory, the betrayl by Gem's sister(even though she wanted to ride the coattails of someone else out of there just like him). Claire's rejection.

The movie didn't have consequences for him cause it tried to make his bad life the consequence of other's actions. His father/mother. The Flower guy. Gem's erractic behavior in killing for him and hanging it over his head. Sister's betrayal. Where he grew up. The ending was simply his reward for coming out alive.