Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Audiophilander (A) on September 30, 2010 at 00:34:36

In Reply to: RE: "The Town:" popcorn. Pretty much posted by tinear on September 29, 2010 at 08:25:49

I suspect that The Town will be a heavily favored Oscar contender next year, probably in several categories, including Best Direction. Of course, it's early and who knows where the Academy will end up after the holidays, but that's my prediction.

The premise that a young woman living in a rough neighborhood (Claire Keeley, played by Rebecca Hall) is also a bank manager does stretch credulity a bit, but her involvement with Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) seemed natural and entirely plausible given his apparent sincerity and compassion. Keep in mind that Claire was vulnerable from having been recently blindfolded and kidnapped by the bandits and Doug knew exactly how to approach her and what to say to gain her trust.

Also, Claire seemed pretty much a loner by nature, and her position as bank manager was fairly recent, so her having any long term ties to the community and established female/family support group isn't a prerequisite for believability, IMO.

Doug MacRay wasn't supposed to be the tough guy, just savvy and bitter. He was the brains of the outfit, a smart street-wise kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks with a short fuse that gets him into trouble; not a greedy, self-centered opportunist and killer.

I chalk the stubbled FBI guy up to working on a high profile case in Boston and not having much sleep. I'll grant you the fact that stubble isn't FBI approved, but it seems a minor issue given the intensity of their work environment and the long hours trying to break this case.

As for the stunningly filmed action sequences, old ground or not they were well paced and brilliantly executed.

I would give Ben Affleck's "The Town" 4 1/2 to 5 stars on a 5 star scale; highly recommended!

AuPh

Edits: 09/30/10