#29: Water for Elephants

I literally just went out and saw this movie. I don't want to say surprisingly very good because I had a feeling it would be one of those well made hit movies, from the top selling novel. I really did enjoy the movie to say the least. Every character was able to play out their role almost perfectly. Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christopher Waltz, all display excellence in each of their roles. "Water for Elephants," is about Robert Pattinson's, a college student, who's parent's are killed in a car accident and he then finds his life path through a traveling circus. His connection with Reese Witherspoon is great, as it is nice of him to sneak out of his typical and most well-known for role in the Twilight series. A very different and riveting movie that I highly recommend seeing.

Overall Rating: 8.7/10

- Josh Berg

#28: Super

Here comes an independent film that many would not know about and that did not get any publicity this year. "Super" is an fun and agreeable film filled with tons of action and comedy. I wasn't disappointed with the film, but it kind of copied "Kick-Ass", which I thought was astounding. Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon make up the cast of a hidden gem. Rainn Wilson plays the lead role with lead actress Ellen Page, after Rainn Wilson's wife is practically kidnapped by a drug dealer, Rainn Wilson creates an alter-ego named the Crimson Bolt, along his journey to find his wife, Ellen Page, his newly added sidekick, Boltie, tries to help him on his adventure to stop crime and get the drug dealers that stole his wife. Although, both Wilson and Paige don't have any fighting experience, they both tag team and make a hilarious combo.

Overall Rating: 7.8/10

- Josh Berg

#27: The Dilemma

With an interesting cast of Vince Vaughn, Kevin James, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum, they collectively put together an average, somewhat forgettable movie about a dysfunctional relationship. Vince Vaughn is always hilarious with his sarcastic sense of humor and Kevin James brings his simple-minded humor to the table. There are a few funny scenes, it did not have a very good plot, plus it blends in with all movies about committing adultery. All in all, not the greatest movie, it may appeal to some audiences but for others that like War, Crime and Mystery movies, I would probably stay away.

Overall Rating: 6.0/10

- Josh Berg

#26: Saw 3D

I went with a bunch of people to see this movie Halloween weekend. It was a decent way to wrap up the series of the Saw's. If you like scary/gruesome movies, the Saw's should always atop the list. The director, Kevin Greutert helps repeat another adrenaline rush of a movie from beginning to end. Fun for Halloween weekend and rainy nights, otherwise a daytime showing would be a little tedious.

Overall Rating: 7.0/10

- Josh Berg

#25: Social Network

I went out and saw The Social Network. I mean, who didn't want to see this movie? I think Facebook may be the world's most widely used website and most popular social network. The Social Network was fantastic, Jesse Eisenberg was amazing, playing the role of Mark Zuckerberg. The whole premise of what happened throughout the creation of Facebook is incredibly amusing. Justin Timberlake is hilarious as usual. David Fincher, the director, did a terrific job with this film and Aaron Sorkin hit it out of the park with the screenwriting. The whole movie from start to finish was great. I enjoyed every part of it.

Absolutely must see.

Overall Rating: 8.8 / 10

- Josh Berg

#24: 12 Angry Men

12 Angry Men is a classic, I guess I kind of got away with seeing this one by watching it in my Criminal Justice class. This was way different from any other movie, based on 12 juror's trying to come to a consensus for a murder case. 12 Angry Men was probably one of the cheapest movies to make, since it only takes place in one room the entire movie. Each of the 12 individual characters played a significant role, where some were outright hysterical and others were aggravating to watch but in a good way if you know what I'm trying to say. The whole concept of the film was great, from the directing to the acting. Each actor did a tremendous job playing their specific role. 12 Angry Men is a 1957 classic everyone should most definitely see. We have to credit Reginald Rose and Sidney Lumet awesome screenwriting and directing. To name just a few of the great actors, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Jack Warden, Henry Fonda, Ed Begley and much more. These guys did a great job coming together and making a hit movie.

Overall Rating: 8.8/10

- Josh Berg

#23: Entrapment

Another classic Sean Connery film for you. Entrapment reminded me a somewhat of The Rock, maybe it's just because Sean Connery plays a lead role in that movie as well. Katherine Zeta-Jones plays a sexy, sophisticated, world-class thief. Sean Connery leads with his tactical training skill set and his wise ways of beating the system of thievery. Entrapment has a whole lot of twists and turns that will keep you on your seat the entire movie. Until the very end, character roles start to unfold and you eventually see who's good and who's bad, or whichever way you want to look at it. Director, Jon Amiel really did a fantastic job putting this movie together, especially with a little bit a help from fellow screenwriters, Ronald Bass and Michael Hertzberg. Ving Rhames and Will Patton add on to this supporting cast to help make Entrapment an exhilarating film. I didn't expect as much going into the movie but the outcome was far greater than anticipated.

Overall Rating: 8.4/10

- Josh Berg

#22: Love Actually

For us to do all types of films, love and romance are part of the genres necessary to watch the 365 films. I was actually completely surprised from this movie. Even though the title is Love Actually, it's less about love than you would expect it. It's got a great story outline, pretty much it's around six to eight story outlines that manage to come together in the end. Love Actually was extremely funny, where I expected something deep and romantic between two characters throughout the entire movie. Bill Nighy plays Billy Mack, a pop-star, who is unbelievable and so hysterical to watch. A tag team of big names such as Colin Ferth, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Kiera Knightley and Emma Thompson are among great role characters for this movie. This may be the most shocking but Liam Neeson made me almost cry of laughter, I always see him as this tough macho guy, but he plays the role of a single dad, who's just great at what he does in the film. The reason I say this is because of one of my favorite movies of Liam Neeson's is Taken, where he plays a father out to get gang members who kidnapped his daughter, where he just takes absolutely no prisoners. Oh, and I wanted to add, if you haven't heard of him, Kris Marshall, possibly the funniest character in the film. Outright hysterical. Now, the title Love Actually does come into play and love does play a pretty big role in this film, where it is prevalent around every character. It's a touching, laughable, saddening, and joyful film all at the same time. Richard Curtis hits the nail on the head with his directing and screenwriting. Lastly, if you didn't realize it's a British film, which inevitably makes this movie even better, for me at least.

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

- Josh Berg

#21: The Usual Suspects

The Usual Suspects is such a phenomenal movie, I can't rave enough about how great this movie is. From beginning to end, at no point in time should you be bored watching this movie. Every minute is either filled with non-stop action, or your laughing at how funny Benicio Del Toro is. Stephen Baldwin is obviously great, especially when he gets to play the role of a car-jacker. I'll just go through the list because I feel that I just might have to. Gabriel Byrne plays off his role of "Dean Keaton" so well, that it may just seem to viewers that it actually might just be him in real life. Kevin Pollack is my least favorite in the bunch but that doesn't mean he didn't play his role well. Last but not least the greatest of them all, Kevin Spacey takes the gold medal for his performance. If anyone's keeping track still, Kevin Spacey is one of my top 5 actors. He's such a brilliant actor, he can play any role any which way he wants and receive an Oscar Winning Performance. Bryan Singler did a great job directing this film, while Christopher McQuarrie's brilliance of creating such a movie is a gift to us all. Oh, and this film may have one of the best twists of ever created. Absolutely amazing movie, anyone who hasn't seen this, has to go see this film immediately.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

- Josh Berg

#20: It's Kind of a Funny Story...

Wow.

If you saw the trailers for It's Kind of a Funny Story..., you still know nothing about the movie. I decided to see the movie on a whim this weekend after seeing the ads. I was looking forward to a nice, light, easy, funny movie about the obvious comedic opportunities provided by a mental hospital. Fortunately for me (but not for some of the people I saw it with), this movie goes much, much deeper than just Zach Galifianakis goofing off in a straitjacket.

It's Kind of a Funny Story... touches on a whole mess of adolescent issues from self-mutilation to suicide to (shocker:) romance. The movie walked a thin line, presenting itself as a comedy but bringing up suicide and other extremely serious issues, opening the door for a whole lot of tasteless, unfunny jokes. I was impressed to find that no jokes were obviously in bad taste and Galifianakis' character had a serious side, which he played impressively well.

It's Kind of a Funny Story... is much more of an indie teen romance than a Hangover-esque comedy. That said, it was funny and I found myself unable to look away. I genuinely liked these characters and wanted to see what would happen to them, a quality far too few movies have.

I'll let you decide whether or not you should see it, but being a sucker for indie movies and having just come out of those teen years and the depression that came with them, I loved It's Kind of a Funny Story...


Overall Rating: 9.2 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs

#19: Big Fish

Let's start off by saying you can tell a Tim Burton film right from the beginning. Tim Burton has a mind of his own that all makes us wonder, what made him think of that or to even decide to do something like that in the film. In Big Fish, director Tim Burton creates places of pure happiness and places that are dark and gloomy. Big Fish is truly an inspiring story about an All-American man, who has the greatest adventure stories, with life and love within it. Ewan McGregor plays the main character but the movie plays in flashbacks, where it really shows an inspiring story on his part. Let me tell you, it's somewhat sad, but it also may be one of the most happy-go-lucky movies I've seen in a while. The whole concept and the premise of the movie was extraordinary. From the characters, to the scenery, to the plot and to the directing, it's honestly a movie everyone needs to see. I'm not saying everyone will love it but most people would grin and giggle or laugh (if you want to be manly about it) after many scenes. Me personally, I honestly thought it had a great start to finish. Great movie, another reason why we know Tim Burton's a hot commodity for a director.

Overall Rating: 9.0/10

- Josh

#18: American Beauty

American Beauty--as far as dramas go--is the closest to perfect I've ever seen. The brilliance comes in the subtlety, as with a lot of Kevin Spacey films. Honestly, I have nothing bad to say about this movie. I'm sure it could have been improved in various ways, but I certainly am not in any position to say what or where.

The writing in American Beauty, both in script and plot, is brilliant. As a literature nerd and a (very amateur) writer, I couldn't watch this movie without laughing to myself at the perfect imagery the script provides and the mood it sets for the accompanying visuals. Along with the script, the soundtrack of American Beauty is subtle but right on. Unless I was listening for it, I barely knew it was there. It was simply another element of the mood I was feeling.

I'll spare you a plot summary, but only because I want every person reading this post to watch American Beauty and find out for themselves. Nearly perfect.

Overall Rating: 9.8 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs


This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hands down. I can't get enough of this movie. To be honest, if I haven't mentioned it yet, this is why Kevin Spacey is one of my all-time favorite actors. It's probably a top-five performance. Everything about actor Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham) in this movie is just fantastic, not to mention how hysterical he is. I think almost every time he spoke I pretty much laughed. This movie is greatness. American Beauty is one of the first movies where I noticed how great the soundtrack was and how well the music went with each scene. The script is unbelievable and the directing is genius. Alan Ball and Sam Mendes tag team to make one of the greatest films ever made. Thora Birch, Annette Bening, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari and Chris Cooper collaborate to make an unbelievable supporting cast.


I think one of the best underlying aspects of the film are its symbols. Alan Ball uses the color red throughout the movie to represent characters, moods and settings. In the first scene, we see the bright red door, with a white house with a white picket fence and blue shutters. We see, Carolyn Burnham (Actress Annette Bening,) Lester Burnham's wife, cutting her red roses from her garden. Throughout the film, Kevin Spacey's sexual fantasies are represented with the color red using red rose petals. Kevin Spacey's remote control car that he hit the foot of his wife with was a red car. In an important scene with Chris Cooper's character, in the background is a bright red automobile. This theme continues throughout the movie all the way to its end.

To sum everything up, this movie is one of my absolute favorites. Honestly, nothing bad at all about it. I'd be very surprised if anyone disagreed with me. In my opinion best movie we've seen together so far.

Overall Rating: 9.8 / 10

- Josh Berg

#17: Hannibal

Hannibal is actually one of the most sadistic and fiendish movies I've ever seen. Anthony Hopkins is purely genius in Hannibal; if you've seen Silence of the Lambs, I wont have to tell you that you can expect nothing less than spectacular. Julianne Moore is brilliant as well, while Ray Liotta plays a fellow agent. Surprisingly, Liotta is really funny.

Getting back to the movie, director Ridley Scott helped continue the great tradition of Silence of the Lambs. I think the only other films so malicious and inhuman and so well done are the Saw series. Hannibal may not be as great as Silence of the Lambs, but this is a great follow up and is definitely worth seeing if you've seen the first, shortly after, watching Red Dragon will also continue this gruesome tradition of sadistic killing. Hannibal is just one of those movies you kind of have to see.

Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10

- Josh Berg

Watching Hannibal, I had only ever seen Silence of the Lambs before, so Red Dragon and the other parts of the series are unknown to me. Anthony Hopkins, as Josh said, nails the role. Other than that, I thought the plot was somewhat weak and there was no "holy !@#$" moment in the movie for me.

Hannibal leans on gag-factor to survive, which just doesn't cut it for greatness in by book. Unless you're going to throw a character into a pit of needles or force them to cut off their own leg (as in Saw), that doesn't cut it. So despite a great performance by Hopkins and good work by all of the other actors involved, I didn't love this movie, and it definitely wasn't as good as Silence of the Lambs. It's very possible that--as it fits into the series of Hannibal Lecter movies--this movie is brilliant in ways that I simply didn't notice. This wouldn't be a fault of the movie, but me as the viewer.

Whatever the case, I'm not a huge fan of Hannibal, but it wasn't terrible either.

Overall Rating: 7.2 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs

#16: The Aura

I honestly don't know how we came to seeing this film, I guess it was because I randomly owned this Sundance Film Festival DVD. Ricardo Darin, the lead actor, plays a taxidermist who manages to go with a friend on a hunting trip, which goes wrong.

Throughout the movie, I was saying to Taylor that this movie reminded me of a foreign mix of The Town (#10) and the movie Armored (#12) that we saw. If you haven't realized yet from the poster, The Aura is a foreign film. It does have sub-titles and you will have to read pretty closely because it goes by quickly. I thought this movie was a little odd; it was very scattered to me. I just thought Ricardo's role of being a taxidermist is a somewhat tedious and completely irrelevant.

I did not fall in love with this movie, at times I started to get bored and almost fall asleep. This film was disappointing because I've been sitting staring at the DVD cover waiting to see this movie thinking it would actually be pretty good, but not so much. The ending was atrocious, wait let me rephrase that, THERE WAS NO ENDING! I looked at Taylor when the movie ended and said "Wait did the movie really just end?" I guess that's how the director, Fabian Bielinsky, had intended the film to be. Although, I do want to give this movie some credit for having a potentially good idea, but it didn't pan out the way I would've liked. Honestly, I would most likely pass on it if I had another chance.

Overall Rating: 6.0 / 10

- Josh Berg

The Aura was an extremely unique movie. I don't know if I've ever seen anything even remotely like it. It's an Argentinian film about a taxidermist whose hunting trip takes some unexpected turns. He finds himself in the middle of a network of organized criminals, and the allure of crime keeps him from running away.

The oddness comes in the blatantly unsatisfying ending. Maybe there were more layers of the film that I wasn't tapped into, but it seemed a very strange and lacking ending. I wouldn't say I hated the movie overall--it definitely had a feeling of realness and confusion to it--but I feel like despite  everything, nothing really happened.

I don't regret watching The Aura, but I don't think I'll watch it again either. It's definitely one only to watch if you like subtitles and foreign indie films. If Transformers is your favorite movie in the whole wide world, stay far far away from The Aura.

Overall Rating: 6.7 / 10

-Taylor Dobbs

#15: Cashback

We came to a consensus at midnight last night that we both wanted to watch a comedy, but there's wasn't much that we wanted to see. We were considering Slap Shot, a hockey comedy made in 1977, so I guess I felt it was a little dated and we needed to be more current and watch something completely different, so we decided to go with the movie Cashback.

Personally, I really enjoyed the movie, while to me it resembled three movies in one: Click, 500 Days of Summer and The Machinist. Sean Biggerstaff, who plays Ben Willis, the lead role, reminds me of Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 500 Days of Summer. Throughout the movie, a theme of time manipulation reminded me of Click, and Ben Willis has insomnia, reminding me of Christian Bale's character in The Machinist. The writer and director Sean Ellis did a great job making this film, from the shots to the screenwriting to the whole performance in general. It felt completely different from anything I've ever seen and it was definitely worth seeing. It's a little vulgar but also extremely funny at times. For me, definitely worth the 100 minutes.

Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10

- Josh Berg

I re-shelved Cashback more times than I can remember when I was working at the local movie store in high school. Every time, I looked at the cover and rolled my eyes. "Another movie claiming to be 'artsy' that's just an excuse to get girls naked in strange places," I'd think. A worthy cause perhaps, but it's never produced a good film. Cashback surprised me. While there was a fair amount of nudity, the movie genuinely wasn't about degrading women.

Being a comedy, I expected there to be a fair bit of tasteless, sexist humor in Cashback. But while the movie definitely had a theme of sexuality, it stayed classy with its humor.

I really liked Cashback. The direction was amazing and the humor was spot-on. It was serious enough to get me caring about the characters and funny enough to keep me watching. It was a British comedy with British humor, a type some Americans don't have a taste for (I'm not being a worldly snob here, just telling you that if you don't like British humor, this movie probably isn't for you), but I thought it was hilarious and adorably genuine at the same time.

I recommend Cashback, despite the strange cover art.

Overall Rating: 8.7 / 10

-Taylor Dobbs

#14: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

I walked into this movie expecting something similar to the first - a decent flick. I walked out impressed.

I've liked Shia LaBoeuf since Even Stevens, but here he did a better job than I would have expected with a high-powered Wall Street type. I most recently remember him from Transformers, where he plays a nervous, nerdy high-schooler. Coming out of that to play a tough-talking, motorcycle-driving stock broker was a big transition, to say the least. This is the first LaBoeuf character I've ever seen that is dealing with real adult issues. Money, parental issues, love, and the rest of the wonderful grabbag of responsibilities that come with being an adult change the game for his character, but he didn't disappoint.

I thought the movie was a great, modern counterpart to Wall Street. While it doesn't abandon the plot elements or characters from the first movie, it doesn't get stuck on them either. The grim realities of the modern market play a big role in this sequel, and it doesn't paint a pretty picture of the role banks played in the crisis.

Michael Douglas' return as Gordon Gecko was perfectly played, in my opinion. To say any more might hurt your experience with it, but my advice is this: Go see Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Overall Rating: 7.9 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs



When I saw the preview for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, I thought it looked amazing. Shortly after seeing it, not so much. To be brutally honest, not one of my favorites this year. I was really upset after I saw this movie. I agree with Taylor; I think Shia LeBouf is amazing at what he does, and Michael Douglas is always going to be great playing Gordon Gekko. The acting doesn't necessarily make the movie great though. I thought it was very similar to the original Wall Street, just updated and somewhat tedious at times throughout the film. I guess it was worth seeing for me, but if I was to recommend a movie out this year, it would most definitely not be this one. If you love the stock market and work on Wall Street, then you'll enjoy it. But like I said, definitely not my favorite. I thought it could have been way more exciting than it was. If you see this and you didn't see the first, you really won't miss much. Only small details will travel a longer way for those who did see the original starring Charlie Sheen and Michael Douglas. All in all, slightly disappointed but glad to have seen it.

Overall Rating: 7.5 / 10

- Josh Berg

#13: Shooter

Marky Mark Wahlberg plays a widely known marksmen, able to hunt down and snipe people from miles away. Definitely one of his top movies; he also knows how to produce very well. Some of his other films have not been so good though; when I saw The Other Guys this summer, it made me think he was an absolute joke. Will Farrell stepped up and saved that movie.  The Departed was great but The Happening was horrendous, the movie in general but the acting too.  Okay, but getting back to Shooter, the movie actually had a very creative idea for a film. I really liked the concept and the performances by all the actors and I thought Antoine Fuqua did a really good job of directing this film - all the scenes and shots from the film are right on target and so clear. The in-depth details of the movie are great as well. I don't want to ruin it but I thought this movie was definitely worth seeing if you like action and shooting films.

Overall Rating: 8.3 / 10

- Josh Berg

Shooter was one of those movies, for me, that I loved when it came out, and didn't put much thought into afterwards. A co-worker of mine at the video rental store said the mark of a good movie is one that you keep thinking about after you see it. I think that - sadly - Shooter falls short of being a classic for this reason.

Besides taking some liberties with physics and plausibility (as any action movie does, and I don't hold against them), the Shooter went just a little bit too far with its scope, in my opinion. It's hard to say much at all without giving it away, but to make this movie a classic it would have to hold the "could this really happen?" quality that movies like The Bourne Identity or Babel. That's not to say Shooter isn't a ton of fun and definitely worth a watch, but it's not to be placed on the same shelf as The Matrix and the like.

Overall Rating: 7.1 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs

#12: Armored

Armored was a cookie-cutter action flick. Every turn was predictable and the characters had about as much depth as a rain gutter. I'll admit it was sort of fun to watch, but not really worth the 80 minutes I spent watching it. It was good in that it seemed to know what it was. There weren't any twists that you could tell the director meant to be mind-blowing and weren't, which was good, but it wasn't so fun to watch. Predictable for sure, and watching it right after The Town made it feel like a kiddie pool after a day at the ocean.

I'd only really recommend this movie if you just got your wisdom teeth out and you're stuck in bed for three days and the only other option is watching a spider build its web. Otherwise, go see The Town unless your taste in movies has taken the same turn as Lawrence Fishburne's acting career (he co-starred).

Overall Rating: 6.2 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs

Armored was a very predictable so-called "robbery" film. It was definitely not a top-notch movie and certainly not worth seeing in theaters. Towards the end of the Armored, the film will keep you on the edge of your seat, don't get me wrong. It's just another one of those attempts to make a decent movie that's been done before. It reminded me a little of the movie Heat in one scene, but definitely not nearly as good. Lawrence Fishburne is nothing more than average and Matt Dillon obviously plays the antagonist, as he does in almost all of his movies. I just wouldn't recommend seeing this movie, if you want, go for it, but it's not a preference of mine. 

Overall Rating: 6.0 / 10 

- Josh Berg

#11: Wall Street

Wall Street is just one of those classics. For those who've seen the preview for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, you're probably in for a treat because it looks amazing. Getting back to the first Wall Street, Charlie Sheen plays the young gun who tries to make it in the business world. Michael Douglas is pure genius playing the role of Gordon Gecko. The movie is a little dated but it doesn't take away as much from the movie as you might expect of a movie made in 1987. The Sheen family is well represented in Wall Street, as Charlie Sheen plays Bud Fox and Martin Sheen plays the father of Charlie's character. Wall Street had an intriguing plot, but it seemed like the universal standing of the film could have been even better.

We look forward to seeing what Shia LeBeouf brings to the table as he stars in the new Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps alongside Michael Douglas, returning as Gordon Gecko.

Overall Rating: 7.7 / 10

- Josh Berg

Wall Street is one of those classics I just hadn't gotten around to seeing. It very much reminded me of the newer Al Pacino flick Two For the Money, but the fact that it was Wall Street instead of sports betting made all the stakes much higher in Wall Street.

I have to say, the title "Wall Street" didn't have me expecting much. Watching a movie about stock trading didn't seem like it could go anywhere exciting, but I was impressed. A young Charlie Sheen did a great mix of a scared what-on-earth-am-I-doing new guy and the overconfident rookie. Michael Douglas, as usual, nailed the role.

I was a little disappointed with the ending, as the audience loses touch with Douglas' character to follow Sheen's, but overall I liked the movie and look forward to seeing the sequel.

Overall Rating: 7.6 / 10


-Taylor Dobbs

#10: The Town

We finally got to see The Town. It took five of us to finally get up and go on a Tuesday night. Not many people would really care, but I think us living in Boston this year made the movie that much better, at least for me. Ben Affleck did an amazing job, directing, acting and co-writing this movie. Jeremy Renner was great as always as he picks up right where he left off with The Hurt Locker. I think we came to a consensus that we all really enjoyed The Town. Surprisingly, I thought the movie was actually really funny at parts, maybe it's just the characters and their accents but I did happen to laugh out loud at a couple scenes. The Town was just a well-thought out and well-scripted movie. Completely worth seeing. If you get the chance to see it before it leaves theaters I highly recommend it. The previews looked great too, so expect to see lots more good movies this winter.

Overall Rating: 8.6 / 10

- Josh Berg

The Town. I can't mention this movie without reiterating Josh's comment about how cool it was to watch it in Boston. Though we could have predicted them, the "We were just there!" moments made the movie so cool. But that wasn't the only reason I got a kick out of the movie. The first half to two thirds of the movie seemed a little bit flat; a slightly predictable and more than slightly tired plot theme seemed to be the movie's only lifeline, so I wasn't extremely enthused (except, of course, for the neatness of the Boston feel).

The last part of The Town - as everything breaks and we see our hero/director/co-writer's character's situation get interesting - more than makes up for the first half, which (despite my initial impression) didn't serve as much as the main course but as an appetizer of character development. It was a fun ride, for sure. Predictable at times? Yes. Full of cliches? No, but it had its moments.

As a Boston movie blog, it would be a sin to review The Town without at least mentioning the quality of the accents. I don't know if that's really how Ben Affleck talks or what, but he seems to have a very complex and unpredictable algorithm as to which "r" sounds he's going to skip ("Get in the cah.") and which he will articulate with startling strength ("Is that clear?"). As for the rest, they varied from actor to actor, but nobody seemed like a stiff or a try-hard. Not terrible. (Note: I am not from Boston and don't hang out around Southie, but my understanding is that Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting or The Departed has the most accurate Boston accent in Hollywood.)


I recommend this movie. It's not Boondock Saints, but it's a gritty, well-done crime thriller with some of the better character development I've seen in such a movie.

Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10