fbombmoviereview

The Town Trailer

Well, well, well. Finally a Ben Affleck film I approve of. The key to a good Affleck film. Is he has to play his native Bostonian self. “Good will hunting” and now “The Town”. Both top notch films.

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) a native to the blue collar town of Charlestown. And the mastermind behind the family business of bank robbery. Doug and his short fused partner James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner) are the best at what they do. But, like all good things. It must come to an end. When taking down a local bank. They mistakenly take a hostage. Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) is a bank employee the gang takes hostage. After letting her go. James fears that she will give them up to the feds. James thoughts are to kill her. But, Doug wants to follow her and she is going to talk. Doug eventually makes contact with Claire. And from her a love affair blossoms. As Doug finds himself falling for Claire. He desperately wants to get out of the business. With the feds watching the gang like a hawk. Doug and crew are forced to do one last job.

I have to admit this film was well done. It is certainly a cross between “Heat” and “The Departed”. Though Affleck’s direction is not quite like Michael Mann (Heat) or Martin Scorcese The Departed). He did a great job. This is a film worth seeing. Hell, I may go see it again.

The Other Guys Trailer

I am not sure what to say about this film. I laughed my ass off. That should be enough to go see it. Goofy and slow at times. But, I did laugh my ass off.

Highsmith (Jackson) and Danson (Johnson) are two hot shot cops who crack all the cases. Make all the arrests and have a celebrity status amongst the media and New York. On the other hand. You have Gamble (Ferrell) and Hoitz (Wahlberg). The other guys. When Highsmith and Danson are killed in the line of duty. There is a shift in the police department. Who is going to fill such big shoes? Certainly not Gamble and Hoitz. But, you never know where heroes come from. And out of nowhere. The case Gamble is working on. Leads to one of the biggest arrests in New York.

The storyline is silly. But, I laughed throughout the movie. And that is why we go to see films that have Will Ferrell. And he didn’t disappoint. I would watch this film again. Just for the quotes.

Going the distance trailer

In another give, take movie weekend. We went to see this film. Although I wasn’t sure what to expect based upon the commercials. I knew it wasn’t going to be great. It looked like the director was trying to film it much like “500 days of Summer”. Which in my opinion was great. But, unfortunately he failed.

The film takes place in New York and San Francisco Bay Area. Garrett (Justin Long) a non-committal relationship junkie. Just broke up with the latest gal. When at a bar to drown his sorrows one more time. He meets Erin (Drew Barrymore). They hit it off and head back to his place. What takes place is your typical romantic comedy cliche’. They fall in love. But, Erin has to go back to Stanford to get her graduate degree. Leaving them in a long distance relationship. Several flights back and forth and some comedy relief from Dan (Charlie Day). Garrett’s roommate. The film follows your typical storyline.

Two things I got from this film. Charlie Day (It’s always sunny in Philadelphia) is comedy gold. And Drew Barrymore is not looking so good these days. I say wait for cable.

The Tillman Story Trailer
Very few films spark my interest months in advance. Last year when Sundance announced they will be screening a film about Pat Tillman in the 2010 Sundance film fest. I was hoping and praying I was able to get into one of the screenings. But, no such luck. I had to wait. And wait I did. Now the film is in limited release in San Francisco. So, I had to go the first night.

This documentary by Amir Bar-Lev tackles a very difficult issue on many levels. Fratricide is a latin word meaning “to kill brother”. In the military we call it “blue on blue”. Commonly referred to as “friendly fire”. There is nothing glamorous or heroic about such an act. No one is able to escape the pain of “Blue on blue”. Whether you pulled the trigger or you are the family of the victim. It is a sad but, true occurrence of war. But, nothing hurts more than when the government you are fighting for hides the truth from everyone. And that is exactly what the “Bush” administration did to the Tillman family.

As many know Pat was a professional football player. And after the tragedy of 9/11. He felt compelled to put that on hold. To do what he felt was right. He joined the U.S Army to become a Ranger and help the government fight a war on terrorism. Pat refused to do media interviews. And refused a military burial if he was killed while serving. Pat’s fear of the government using him as a PR pawn. Unfortunately came true. While in Afghanistan. Pat’s Ranger platoon was told to split into two serials. One would move forward to the objective. The other was to escort a broken down HumVee back to another village. (Which in my opinion and proper procedure is a no-go.) Somewhere along the way serial 2 turned around and tried to link back up with serial 1(Pat’s serial). Once serial 1 reached their objective. They heard mortar rounds and a fire fight behind their location. Serial 1 knew it had to be serial 2 caught in a fire fight. So, Pat grabbed his fire team and headed up the mountain to get a better vantage point. What happened next was what all soldiers fear. “The fog of war” getting shot at by your own team. And this is where Pat’s life was taken.

Although everyone there knew that this was a fratricide. They were told not to say a word. And what the government did from this point is beyond words. This documentary examines the life of Pat and his family’s struggle to expose the truth.

Very few people in my opinion should be labeled a hero. But, Pat Tillman is one who is deserving of such a label. I highly recommend this to everyone. This is not about “Right-wing” or “left-wing”. It is about what is right and true. And if it is a painful truth. All need to be told so. This is a