Posts tagged with “Jeremy Renner”
Tight Flick Highlights Everything B”ah”ston
THE TOWN (2010/DVD) Ben Affleck’s second directorial effort (his first was Gone Baby Gone) was well received by both critics and audiences when it was released last fall and has accumulated a domestic box office haul of over $92 million, which must be a thrill for all involved. This is a tightly cast, well-scripted crime action flick, set in Boston and the metro area, and specifically in Charlestown (The Town of the title), which is located just north of Boston and is a notorious location for crime. Affleck plays the lead as Doug MacRay, a quiet criminal who no longer drinks (he even goes to one AA meeting in the film) and really is tired and ready to quit. The bank job which opens the picture introduces us to his gang of four, most notably his no.2 Jimmy Coughlin (played by Oscar Supporting nominee Jeremy Renner) who is the very definition of “loose cannon.” As we learn during the movie, Jimmy has already served 9 years in prison and is anxious to make up for lost time. For some unknown reason, he chooses to take Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall), the bank manager, as a hostage for a short period after the heist. After releasing her, he makes it clear to Doug that he’s going to kill her, so Doug intervenes and lo and behold, falls for her. This sets up a nice plot twist, which is played out, as most of the scenes in this movie are, without a lot of high drama and rather more in a “normal” manner. So we have three strong leads already and add to that Jon Hamm as the determined FBI agent who wants to take this gang down. Also add Chris Cooper as Doug’s dad (excellent as always in his short appearance), Blake Lively as Jimmy’s classically Boston-smutty sister, who’s really strong in her role, and finally Pete Postlethwaite (who died this year) as the ultimate bad-guy Fergie complete with an Irish accent that would not be unusual in Boston. And speaking of Boston, I heard that Affleck was very picky that the accents in the film be realistic, not overdone—they sounded good to me. Also, those car chases down the narrow streets of Boston must have been a real bitch to shoot! Congrats, Ben, on another tight film.
Grade: A
Of note: The movie premiered at The Fenway! Watch the film to learn why…
P.S. Those rubber nun masks in the trailers and the poster are truly creepy.
War Is Hell
Yes, those are ALL BOMBS.
THE HURT LOCKER (2008/DVD) Let me start by saying that I don’t like war movies. World wars, Civil wars, Vietnam, no thank you. I see enough of that on the news. What drew me to The Hurt Locker was its director. Much has been made about this tough movie being directed by a woman, and it is notable that there isn’t a single second of this movie that could be described as feminine. I already assumed that Kathryn Bigelow must be pretty damn ballsy (and possibly have some judgement issues?) because she was married for a time to Oscar competition and noted flaming A-hole James Cameron. (She also directed guiltiest of guilty pleasures, Point Break, which forever secures her a slot on my All Awesome team.) And in a year where I keep hearing about how Nancy Meyers makes “movies for women” it is extremely satisfying to watch Bigelow do basically the exact opposite. Read more »
