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A Night At The Movies: "The Town"

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see the new Ben Affleck film "The Town."  Initially, when I saw the previews for "The Town", I thought it looked like your average, run in the mill crime genre film.  Films with ski masks and bank robberies were nothing new in my world and not groundbreaking film making ideas.  Initially, I had no intention of seeing this film.  That is until it got a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and rave reviews from even the most unseasoned film-goers in my life.

I would like to go off on a small digression about Ben Affleck.  I would like to say "I told you so" to all of those people who said Ben Affleck was a horrible actor and had no place in Hollywood.  Sure he was in horrible films with miserable acting roles such as "Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor," "Jersey Girl," "Daredevil," and who can forget the worst movie ever that practically destroyed his acting career "Gigli."  However, Ben Affleck has been in many other films that have been completely overlooked and are, in fact, good movies where Ben Affleck shines as an actor:

1.  All of Kevin Smith's early films ("Mallrats," "Chasing Amy," arguably "Dogma")
2.  "Good Will Hunting"
3.  "Boiler Room"
4.  "Paycheck"
5.  His roles in "Smokin' Aces" and "He's Just Not That Into You" I thought were wonderfully played
6.  "State of Play"
7.  Finally, "The Town"

Also, his directorial debut "Gone Baby Gone" was great and was a wonderful prelude to "The Town."

So for all of those people who hated Ben Affleck up until now, I must once again say "I told you so" and "Ben, I got your back."

Now, "The Town" was very good and exceeded my expectations substantially.  While the ending was a bit obvious and the love story sub-plot was a bit weak, the film itself had heart and authenticity that only a skilled writer/director could pull off.  The opening scene was thrilling and fantastically paced and shot.  The timing of the titles were impeccable and the casting was all spot on.  Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker") was unbelievable as was (suprisingly) Blake Lively, who manages to step out of her typecasted, pretty-girl, gossip-girl role, and plays a dysfunctional drug addict from the slums of Boston.  Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") was incredible, as I expected.  Rebecca Hall ("Vicky, Christina, Barcelona") was also great, but not as good as Renner, Lively and Hamm.  And last but not least, Ben Affleck, whose acting abilities really shined in this film.  He played his character unbelievably well.  His character was similar in tone to Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damons roles in "The Departed" but I would argue that Affleck's acting ability in "The Town" blew Leo's and Damon's performances out of the water. 

The direction by Affleck also deserves a quick mention.  Each scene in "The Town" was shot perfectly.  The shoot-out scenes seemed real and not too staged.  In fact, the only other shoot-out scene that I can remember being as good as "The Town" is the bank robbery finale in "Heat," which is by far the best shoot-out scene in the history of film.  The pacing of "The Town" was perfect and I thought the flashbacks to Hall walking to the water after the opening bank robbery scene were wonderful touches to the emotional depth of the film.

So this reviewer would like to give "The Town" 4/5 stars.  Great stuff, Benny.

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N E W S F L A S H

Sufjan Steven's new album "The Age of Adz" is incredible.  I am not a fan of Steven's previous albums, including the celebrated "Come On Feel the Illinoise!"  Too folksy and too much over-the-top orchestration.

However, "Age of Adz" is a completely different direction and sound for Stevens.  While still encompassing his folk-like demeanor, the sound is very electronic.  I mentioned to someone earlier today that "Age of Adz" sounds like a combination of "Fleet Foxes" and "Kid A."  The combination is classic and has given me a whole new perspective on Sufjan Stevens.  If this is his new approach to his music, I foresee myself buying a lot more of his albums in the future.

  

Well done, Sufjan, well done.

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Wire

My current flavor of the week:

Wire - Pink Flag

Wire - Chairs Missing

Wire - 154

"Pink Flag" can be described as a fusion between The Ramones, The Clash and the Sex Pistols.  This is fun music to listen to and can easily make its way into any party playlist.

However, "Chairs Missing" and "154" have a very different sound then "Pink Flag".

"Chairs Missing" is somewhat similar to "Pink Flag" but has a more ambient sound to be it, arguably similar to Brian Eno (as some critics have noted).  However, I think that "Chairs Missing" has a remarkable resemblance to Joy Division and Iggy Pop's early solo work (The Idiot).  While dark, there is a catchy-ness to it that doesn't let the dark side of the songs weigh the album down.

"154" is even darker and more ambient-sounding then "Chairs Missing."  "154" almost sounds like the child of David Bowie's "Low" and Public Image Ltd.'s "Second Edition."  Or maybe even Joy Division's "Closer" and Nine Inch Nail's "The Downward Spiral."  While I hated "Second Edition" and I am not the biggest fan of Nine Inch Nail's, there is something very appealing to me about "154".  It's probably the subtle hints of the punk-rock genre, something extremely prevalent in "Pink Flag." 

Awesome, awesome tunes!

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Top Five Strangest Things That Happened To Me Since Friday

(In no particular order)

1.  Observed a husband and wife at the doctors office.  The husband received a phone call and proceeded to talk extremely loudly in the waiting room, completely unaware that he was in a public place.  His wife thought it would be a good idea to berate her husband in public, telling him to get off of the "f*cking phone, godd*mnit."  To make matters even more humorous, the husband decided to yell at his wife right back.  This continued for about ten minutes in a jam-packed waiting room.

2.  I was approached by a man in a Che Guevara hat and t-shirt who looked EXACTLY like Fidel Castro asking me if I would like to purchase a book in support of "Jews For Jesus."

3.  Observed citizens from every sovereign state in the world at IKEA in Long Island.  I didn't know whether I was supposed to buy furniture or sit in on United Nations Human Rights conference.

4.  Convinced myself that my apartment wast infested with bedbugs because I woke up with at least 10 bug bites on my arms and shoulders.  However, to my hypochondriac-like embarrassment, after going to the doctor and calling an exterminator, all these bites turned out to be were mosquito bites.  

5.  Realized that there is a man across the courtyard from my building who is a legitimate window-peeper.  Every morning while I am changing this guy looks directly at me, literally eye-contact.  He stands at his window and literally just stares at me until I get creeped-out enough to shut my blinds.  F'in New York City.

And for fans of "Jersey Shore"....

Au revoir,

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Purchase These Albums Immediately

   

Daft Punk - Homework

Daft Punk - Discovery

Kraftwerk - Tour De France Soundtracks

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker EP

Joy Division - Closer

Happy Friday, friends.

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