Questionable Review: The Town

I can't say that when I first saw trailers for Ben Affleck's new crime drama "The Town" that I was very excited. Not that I didn't think it looked like a thorougly well-made film, but simply because it all seemed like it had all been seen so many times before. To me, the very title itself was a testament to how generic I thought this film looked. Although it doesn't entirely escape that assumption, Affleck's latest effort actually manages to be a taut and engaging heist film that is carried by the strength of its acting performances.

SO WHAT'S THIS MOVIE ABOUT?

The movie revolves around the titular Charlestown in Boston, Massachusetts. Whether it's poverty, tradition, or a mixture of both, "The Town" practically breeds bank robbers. This includes one Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) and three of his life-long friends (Jeremy Renner, Slaine, and Owen Burker). The group finds themselves in some hot water where, following a less-than-smooth bank job, MacRay takes it upon himself to tail key witness, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Soon, MacRay falls in love with Keesey and seeks to get out of his dead-end lifestyle and try to lead a normal life. Throw in one die-hard FBI agent (Jon Hamm) who is hell-bent on cleaning out Charlestown, and the stage is set for your typical crime/heist story.

SO WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

The acting in this movie, top to bottom, is fantastic. This is a character-driven movie and it's truly a joy to watch these guys and gals go at the script. In particular, Hamm as the steely Agent Frawley rips the hell out of the lines he's given. This is also an extremely well directed film (kudos to Affleck on that as well), and a prime example of tension providing enough driving force to keep a film interesting. Despite a somewhat cliche'd arc, "The Town" also manages to have some real emotional resonance. In-particular, the subplot involving Jeremy Renner's character, his sister (played by Blake Lively), and Affleck's character that really makes for an extremely tragic and wrenching element to an already tragic tale.

SO WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THIS MOVIE?

As I've probably said too many times, this movie is just too familiar for its own good. A majority of its steps you can trace along pretty easily if you've seen any number of these types of movies. Although this isn't wholly a negative, it does aid in making the movie feel less than unique in some places. Also, even though the film certainly nails the whole "gritty street drama", it only occasionally feels like these characters were forced into this lifestyle. We never truly see what makes "The Town" so corrupting, or what truly drove all these characters into the life they lead. Also, between all the crazy coordinated heist costumes, cars, weapons, and everything else, we don't really get a sense of how connected all these guys really are. They're certainly nitpicks, but these things add up.

ANYTHING ELSE?

Did I mention that Ben Affleck not only acted in this movie, but also directed it? They guy is really a lot more talented than people give him credit for. And Jon Hamm? That dude can certainly chew up some scenery. I look forward to seeing him in more. There are rumblings he might be cast as Superman? That would certainly be great.

SO WHAT'S THE FINAL VERDICT?

"The Town" delivers what it appears to be and a little more. If you're looking for an extremely tense crime film in a gritty setting, than this delivers the goods. If you don't care for that genre, then the fantastic acting in this film might be enough to get you through the theater doors. It might not be the most memorable of films, but it's definitely a great character-centric story that deserves some attention.

COMICS!! Review: Spider-Man #643

This review was originally posted on my ComicVine.com account. To see that, and gobs of my other work, click HERE.

Well, I have CERTAINLY missed quite a lot in Spider-Man's world. Mary Jane and him are kaput, nobody seems to remember that Peter Parker is Spider-Man, J. Jonah Jameson is mayor of New York, and Doctor Octopus has been reduced to an unrecognizable monstrosity. Okay, I knew most of that from reading wikis of Spider-Man story-arcs (wow... One More Day/Brand New Day is... stupid), but still it was extremely odd to be reading a Spider-Man story that felt both equal parts old and new. It's true, a lot has changed for poor old Pete. However, the more things change... the more they stay the same.

WHAT YEAR IS IT?!

Starting last issue this arc revolves around a baby. Namely, the baby of Menace and the original Green Goblin, Norman Osborn. With two Goblins as the baby's parents, this kid is poised to be pretty powerful. Doctor Octopus, mad scientist that he is, is hoping to take the baby for his own uses. Ya see, Doc Ock has seen better days and is hoping this baby holds some secret to preserving his fading mortality. Luckily he has a bunch of Spider-Man villains willing to accept a theoretical pay-day in exchange for their kidnapping the child. With them hot on the trail, Spidey gets caught up in this super villain donny-brook and ends up appointed surrogate mommy to the new-born babe. Now Spider-Man is on the run from his entire rogues gallery, the NYPD, and just about every other person in New York as he tries to find safe haven for his infantile friend.

If this story sounds a little goofy, that's only because it is. This is classic Spider-Man action with an emphasis on CLASSIC. There's something of an aged feel to the story itself; even if this is a modern Spidey story, you wouldn't know it. This works both for and against the book because on the one hand, we have an ageless story about the web-slinger down on his luck and once again swept into a whirlwind conflict that he has no business being in. On the other, we don't really have the growth or attachment of the years of Spider-Man stories that preceded this. It's as if Spider-Man has been completely rebooted. I know that's what the point of all the latest Spidey storylines was... but it is a bit jarring to just think about Spider-Man being broke, single, and not public in the year 2010.

WITH GREAT WRITING...

Luckily, some of this is alleviated by great writing from Mark Waid. He gets Spider-Man humor and puts it into great effect in what is essentially an action-centric issue. Nothing ever seems forced and it makes the interaction between characters (especially between Spidey and the two villains, Sandman and Electro, he goes up against) just seem fluid and organic. However, it's still difficult to see this story adding up to little more than a long chase sequence after the last two books. That's certainly a little disappointing, but Waid has managed to make it fun to read thus far.

COMES GREAT ART

The art is likely to be something polarizing in this series. Paul Azaceta has such a strangely retro style that it may take some time to get used to for those unacquainted. However, I personally really enjoyed it, especially the way he drew Spider-Man. The smaller-eyed, less-muscular Spidey he draws looks great and his action sequences are well-rendered. I swear, each panel looks like some weird 1950s illustration and, apart from some oddly drawn secondary characters, Azaceta's pencils are the best kind of "different" you can get in comics.

AND THE FINAL SCORE IS...

Overall, this looks like it's going to be a series that's easy to like, but difficult to really love. It's hard to picture this simple chase story-line branching out into something truly memorable, but it's also been an extremely fun read so far. I'd say the inherent problems in what is going on in Spidey's world are definitely distracting, but that doesn't trump good writing and good art. If you're a Spidey fan, you're already reading this book, but if you want a fun and light book featuring the wall-crawler, then pick up #643 (and #642).

3.5 stars out of 5

COMICS!! Review: Flash #2

This review was originally posted on my ComicVine.com account HERE. Check out my other comic reviews there, too. Or don't, if you wanna be that way.

In my quest for comic bi-partisanship, I was scouring recent DC titles to latch onto. As stated in my review of Power Girl #13, I always have trouble jumping on to DC books simply because their storylines are just so gosh durn crazy that I'm always intimidated to try something new. Whether driven away from the sheer ambiguity of many of their team titles (seriously, people complain about Marvel having too many Avengers titles, and yet DC has JSA, JSA: All Stars, Titans, TEEN Titans, JLA, JLA: All Stars, etc. etc.), or by some obligation to give the dudes a fair shake since the only DC series I was reading was Power Girl, but I eventually ended up taking home the first two issues of The Flash reboot.

Ah yes, the Flash is another one of those peripheral characters that I've sadly never followed in his own series. I'm familiar with the Flash family, the Rogues, the Speed Force, and a lot of the back-story on each individual Flash, but I've just never bothered to read his stand-alone titles. That is... until now.

The Skinny on Story

Simply put, this is an amazing title. It's easy for me to overstate such things so early in a series' life cycle, but I was just so energized by this issue in-particular that I just have to say how excited I am to pick up the next few issues that are already out. In this series, Barry Allen is back working as a Police Scientist in his native Central City. Mirror Master (or someone who is using his moniker) winds up dead and it's up to Barry to figure out not only who did it, but who this Mirror Master actually WAS. Things take a turn for the bizarre when a group of Rogues from the future claiming to be good guys try to arrest Barry for the future murder of their teammate. Meanwhile, good ol' Captain Boomerang finds himself locked up in Iron Heights Prison with no hope of escape, and Iris (Barry's main squeeze) is busy investigative journalizing all over the place. So yeah, there's a lot going on.

Flash AND Substance

What I love about the story itself is that it FEELS like a comic book. It's not trying to be gritty and realistic or attempting to wax philosophical about anything. It's just an extremely fun and well-written comic book story about a superhero and some baddies. It doesn't hurt that Geoff Johns is really on his game with the writing, as each bit player in the story is at least given something interesting to do and the characterization of Barry himself is pretty great. Whatever good I can say about the writing would go double-y for the art, which is truly a reason in and of itself to read this book. Francis Manapul's style is just so unique; sketchy, yet clean, detailed, yet stylized. No matter how one describes the visuals, there's always one word that should come to mind. That word is "gorgeous".

The Verdict...

It's really difficult to think of negatives for this issue. I mean, there are a couple of coloring inconsistencies here an there... but that can be said for just about ANY issue of ANY comic. Really, this is a relatively air-tight story at this point DESPITE the breadth of things going on at once and as I've stated, the art style is just magnificent. I cannot wait to see where these characters go and what Geoff Johns is doing with this story and Flash himself. Putting it as concisely as I can, Flash #2 is as flawless a comic as any on shelves right now.

5 stars out of 5.