OldBoy

Movie:
"The Town" (Starring: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite)

Release Date:
9/17/2010

Rating:
R (for strong violence, thick Bostonian accents, career resurrections, and exclamations of "The Town is nearly as ludicrous as [Affleck's] debut Gone Baby Gone -- another poison pen letter to Beantown" throughout.)

Running Time:
125min. (2h. 05m.)

IMDb Synopsis:

IMDb Info and Rating:
8.2 (8,371 votes as of 10/02/10)

Rotten Tomatoes:
Fresh:157 Rotten:09 (95% as of 10/02/10)

Metacritic:
74 metascore ('Generally favorable reviews' as of 10/02/10)


Trailer:
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Poster Art:

OldBoy

mods,
can we merge with existing so we can have poll?

thanks.

OldBoy

just saw this. excellent!!! nothing truly original (kinda thought of it like Heat's baby brother), but definitely distinguishes itself in its own right.

Affleck did such an amazing job in front and behind the camera. more then adept in every way and seems to have really found a calling with his first two directorial efforts.

Rebecca Hall was incredible as well and thought she was the standout, with Renner getting honorable mention.

also loved Hall's

slow, tense build in beginning and then once it got going, after 20-25 minutes, really gets the heart racing and i was just so intune with the story and characters and had no idea how it would end, which i love in a movie- for it to be unpredictable (not having read source of course) right to the last frame.

just all around excellent story telling with drama and action scenes done right.

truly, surprised at how much we liked it and perfect beginning of Fall drama that if into it will knock you for a nice emotional wallop.

nickdawgy

I saw it tonight with my wife and we both liked it alot.

Oh and I also thought

Goat3001

I liked it a lot. Very good all around. Good story, good acting, good direction and great action. One issue I have with the movie is:



Although in the grand scheme of things it didn't bother me enough to turn me off from this great movie.

OldBoy

OldBoy

if that scene was an homage, than i think the whole movie should be considered an homage in retrospect considering all the similar scenes.

again, similar, but i thought it stood on own.

OldBoy

i'm pretty sure i know the answer to this, but with the cop at the construction site after the armored car heist...

Torchur317

Ben Affleck is a damn good director, Hit his 2nd home run with his 2nd film. Very impressed, I agree that it reminded me of Heat which is a great thing considering that's my all time favorite film.

Solid Snake

Damnit, Scott1598...multiquote, man. lol...

FantasticVSDoom

Really liked this one a lot... Affleck with another winner.

Osiris3657

Definitely one of the best movies of the year, but I thought the whole "falling for the victim" plot point was too cliche for my tastes.

Also

Patman

(Moved from other thread for "The Town")

Ben Affleck returns as director/actor/co-screenwriter in a film about Boston bankrobbers with Doug (Affeck) and Jim (Jeremy Renner) being life-long friends. Jon Hamm is the FBI agent on the case, and he's bound and determined to catch the bankrobbers. Claire (Rebecca Hall) is a bank manager of one of the banks the gang robs, and in a split-moment decision, she is used as a hostage on the getaway, and Doug takes an interest in her, which in turns complicates his life.

Overall, good action scenes, gun play, car chases with the action being easy to follow and not requiring much dramamine to endure some camera shakiness. The story could have been a little more layered, and some of the character build-up is a little slow, and other characters are a little short-changed in backstory which would have ratcheted up dramatic tension among the characters. But overall, a solid film.

I give it 3 stars, or a grade of B.

tylergfoster

In my review, I would have referred to the last two shots as but I figured that would be a spoiler, in a sense, so I left it out.

PopcornTreeCt

Well to be fair, I'm pretty sure Andy was in Mexico.

4 1/2 stars for me. Really solid movie. Though I did have issues with it, I don't want to use the word "cliche" but it was formulaic I suppose. The biggest surprise to me was Jon Hamm. It was by far the best non-Don Draper role he has done. Renner was great, though I'm afraid he might end up typecast.

Damn good movie.

Solid Snake

better than Lex Luthor?

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Goat3001

I thought that was the reason why as well.

tylergfoster

I don't get the praise for Renner. There's probably something in there worth considering that I would say I hate "that guy" in real life, but as far as it goes I basically just wanted someone to punch him in the face.

It's also a fairly common role in these kinds of movies, but it only works when that character is placed in situations where the viewer actually thinks stupid paranoia might screw something up (Ziggy in Season 2 of "The Wire" comes to mind). It's hard to believe that James would ever do anything serious to Doug, so all the character's posturing comes off as silly.

OldBoy

Jon Hamm told her.

Sessa17

My feelings on the movie can be summed up with one word. "Meh". I'm not surprised people are liking it. Its well put together Hollywood-cheeze. Especially the ending. Its a decent American crime movie, but it just felt like it was being played nice & safe, trying to give the audience stuff that feels nice & familiar so they can say "gee, that reminded me of Heat, & I liked Heat, so this must be good". The characters felt like they were all stereotypes from other films, the story felt it was trying to be simple because the movie dare not stray off the beaten path and actually try to be unique in any way. There were moments that made me squirm they were so corny & the characters throughout were underwritten. If you like a good standard Hollywood crime film, this is the movie for you. But me, I like my crime gritty & dirty, give me Friends of Eddie Coyle any day over a film like this.

Fist of Doom

Thanks for the review. I figured this would be more pulpy enjoyment than quality film. Sounds like a good Friday night rental.

Sessa17

It is a quality film, don't get me wrong, and I did like it. It's just a little pedestrian for my taste. Its very paint-by-the-numbers & hokey. It felt more like it was trying to please test-audiences at times rather than be a dirty crime film. I never read the book so if some of the decisions were based on the book I can forgive it a bit.

Dr. DVD

Saw it. Liked it, but I honestly feel that critics and reviewers tend to heap too much praise on movies directed by individuals known for acting. The movie was solid, and Renner should get an Oscar nod IMO, but it felt like a Cliffs Notes version of Heat. Three out of five, maybe another half star for Renner.






EDIT: made a change to the comparison to what I feel is more accurate.

PopcornTreeCt

If it was another version of Heat, then it was one without the fat.

FantasticVSDoom

thinking the same thing...