Flawed, popcorn-type, serious action drama. :-) B+ Jeremy Renner def deserves his Oscar nomination but definitely shouldn't win.

Engaging in parts but dull most of the time. Some of the dialogue was a bit suspect/unbelievable. 5/10

I agree with trixster here.

We're meant to sympathize with Affleck's character but I felt nothing for him, I was hoping he'd get caught. Maybe a better actor could have pulled it off, but with Affleck also directing, it seemed like some vanity show which fell on its face because Affleck has yet to prove he is up to the task acting-wise. This is probably the story's fault as I'm not sure how many would be able to forgive him for traumatizing and then fucking the girl all the while still playing cops and robbers.

Besides him, the rest of the cast did very well in their respective roles. I guess I need to watch Mad Men, as I loved Hamm's performance.

B or B-

The Town

Yes, it's a good film. I enjoyed it and Ben Affleck is a good director. There are obvious comparisons with Heat, and even if it is based on a novel, there are also blatant attempts to emulate Heat. The novel was written in 2004, so it's entirely possible Chuck Hogan wanted to write his version of Heat. But it was good. The Boston-setting changes it up slightly, and Jeremy Renner was pretty fantastic and believable in his role. Ben Affleck on the other hand, not so. Rebecca Hall was gorgeous as usual, and Blake Lively was very good as the lower class trollop type.

I didn't like how they tried to tag on a cop/thief banter narrative right at the end by Affleck leaving a note on the cop's car. I mean, there was no mention of anything like that throughout the film, so I thought that was a shame. But overall, it is a solid heist film. It's just a shame that it has so many similarities with Heat. The final heist and shootout are enthralling, and the phone call scene was pretty good, even if it has been done many times before. So overall, The Town is good, but not a classic.

B+

Now I have to check out Gone Baby Gone...

Gone Baby Gone is great.

I remember when I first saw this I didn't think it was that great outside of the performances, and the technical efficiency of the action sequences. However, this movie gets so much better in repeat viewings. I love the bro chemistry between Affleck/Renner and I thought John Hamm was a solid antagonist, especially in terms of acting.

The romance subplot is still weak as hell though.

Affleck's faint Boston accent annoyed me. He would only attempt it on words such as "car" and "bar" ("ka" and "ba"). Whereas Renner was better at this.

This film has a small moment I absolutely love and find fascinating: Jeremy Renner's character, knowing he is cornered and almost assuredly doomed, randomly reaches for a cup of soda dropped on the street and has a final sip. It the type of frail, human, observational detail often let out of action and suspense set pieces.

Yeah, if only Tom Sizemore did that! So at least The Town had one original moment.