The Town

Yes...

... but it really wasn't as good as you'd expect from the reviews it got. To be fair, I had a hard time understanding what they were saying due to the combination of poor sound quality and the fact that they were wearing masks. There were 5 other people in the theatre... 4 of them were right behind me and wouldn't shut up. I was a little distracted.

Ben Affleck is doing a great job as a director. This wasn't as good as his directorial debut (Gone Baby Gone), but still very good. Its actually gotten to the point where I kinda can't wait for him to direct another movie.

I definitely recommend checking out The Town when it's released on Blu-ray/DVD.

Brooklyn's Finest

Ugh, no.

There's a certain sense of sarcasm that you get from the title after having seen Brooklyn's Finest that you might not necessarily pick up on before seeing it.


These are, for the most part, evil, but at an absolute minimum, unethical people and we are meant to relate with them and feel bad for them. I didn't feel bad for any one of them. They all signed up for something and when it doesn't turn out how they dreamed it would, they start breaking the law. It's not OK just because you're desperate or lonely or scared.

The acting is average, the direction is kind of "blah", and the story is... non-existent. This cliche ridden screenplay starts with the burnt out cop who wakes up to a whiskey filled breakfast and ends when he finds purpose just as he's about to kill himself. Literally, nothing happens throughout the first hour or so of the movie and when something does happen, you'll most likely feel like the emptiness of the first hour wasn't worth sitting through for what eventually came.

This movie was set up as counter-programming to Alice in Wonderland and probably wouldn't have performed at the box office at all if it were put up against and other 'grown-up' fare. Don't waste your time on Brooklyn's Finest.

Edge of Darkness

Nah.

Edge of Darkness is Mel Gibson doing what Mel Gibson does well, but there really isn't anyone else him doing what they do well.

The biggest problem is that they tried to cram too much into the movie... so much so that it eventually becomes less plausible than the plot description makes it out to be... and the plot is already pretty implausible. Another problem? Mel Gibson's Boston accent.

On a lighter note, between Edge of Darkness and the season premiere of Lost, I've witnessed twice, in as many weeks, someone expressing that they have something ridiculously important to say, mere seconds before they die. I feel bad for anyone who is around during the moments before my demise... I will be pulling the ultimate prank.

Pride & Glory

No.

This time I wasn't just being lazy. Usually, when my page has a movie listed that simply states "Review coming soon", it's because I saw the movie already and was just being lazy when it came to writing the review. This time was different though... this time, I couldn't decide whether you should see it or not.

The performances were strong, the direction was fine, and as far as gritty cop dramas go... this was as gritty as they get. Unfortunately, the material just wasn't there. This was a rehash of nothing... we've seen it all before and there was nothing there the first time. It's your basic corrupt cop movie during which nothing out of the ordinary happens. We all know how it's going to end from the beginning and yet the filmmakers feel the need to drag it out for 2 and a half hours.

The movie was about how the family bond can corrupt you... IE. his brother can commit a crime and then even a law enforcement officer would struggle with whether or not to commit another crime to cover for him. You'll do anything for family. Yet they didn't really show how the final decisions affected their family. Once the plot of the movie played out... the movie ended. If they wanted us to care about these people we needed some kind of a wrap up. How did the mother and sister handle it... the kids that were directly affected... there was too much character development for them not to give us some kind of payoff as far as the characters were concerned. A simple montage at the end or a news report would have sufficed.

If not for the cursing and the brutal violence this could have been a decent story arc for a television series... hell but it on HBO and you can leave the cursing and the violence in... but make a 2 hour movie about it? There isn't enough time to develop the plot and the characters and wrap everything up nicely. Don't bother with Pride and Glory.