LINKLATER 70'S/80'S DAZED CONFUSED DOUBLE-FEATURE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSuXBDbhkeEtGZrCPqEkW-nTQQj2omUGJAjSxnV5Ro4EOQzJHOCBMtTKDiqWi0zSOD5YaBK5jk-eRUUz2MQS0xH-B_lwJJoNXugFCU8X6RELEW6KfPX7sfu0AtRsTgg9Pt0MAFniuw_E/s1600/13055486_10209473423414913_1030751757676181486_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiSuXBDbhkeEtGZrCPqEkW-nTQQj2omUGJAjSxnV5Ro4EOQzJHOCBMtTKDiqWi0zSOD5YaBK5jk-eRUUz2MQS0xH-B_lwJJoNXugFCU8X6RELEW6KfPX7sfu0AtRsTgg9Pt0MAFniuw_E/s1600/13055486_10209473423414913_1030751757676181486_n.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>DOUBLE FEATURE REVIEW OF DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) & EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (2016)</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u><b>DAZED AND CONFUSED</b>:</u> It might have been the 1980's when the tide started to reel back, and kids regarded the decade for what it was, speaking the very word in sentences like: "This is the Eighties," followed by something like, "Don't just stand there chewing on a leaf, take a pill." And that generation, in constantly reminding themselves of who they are and where they were, picking up stuff from a proverbial antique shop of former eras including the streamlined 1950's, the psychedelic 1960's (where the truly great music began), and the decade that Richard Linklater's intentionally unpretentious DAZED AND CONFUSED is set, consisting of a handful of guys and dolls during the last day and night of High School, 1976....<br>

ben affleck, matthew mcconaughey

LINKLATER 70'S/80'S DAZED CONFUSED DOUBLE-FEATURE

DOUBLE FEATURE REVIEW OF DAZED AND CONFUSED (1993) & EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (2016) DAZED AND CONFUSED : It might have been the 1980...

BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-Xp35skFOtcTiFZetL_gL4yPTKAGQTeIA7rZtF4LkUcrD_uE3FQRvYdFT7vZiOW7zjkpAyS8rMBPaMJe5jAC7tE45w6WVv7MaRnEJzkKITO2vuv_OCjrWvkCtUGM-a02OnBjLnILi_o/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-Xp35skFOtcTiFZetL_gL4yPTKAGQTeIA7rZtF4LkUcrD_uE3FQRvYdFT7vZiOW7zjkpAyS8rMBPaMJe5jAC7tE45w6WVv7MaRnEJzkKITO2vuv_OCjrWvkCtUGM-a02OnBjLnILi_o/s16000/1.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Newcomer Ben Affleck steps up to the BAT while two-timer Henry Cavill merely stands around <i>looking </i>SUPER</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Lots to say here, so let's start out with the inevitable first question: "Did Ben Affleck pull off a decent Batman?" Well the opening credit sequence, going back to where his mother and father are slain walking out of a theater, this particular BATMAN, well, BEGINS all over again, with a new actor who, instead of hissing his lines (ala Nolan trio), seems to have a voice-box that sounds like the SCREAM prank caller doing a lighter yet still intimidating rendition of Orson Welles...<br>

amy adams, ben affleck, franchise, henry cavill, sequel

BATMAN VS SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

Newcomer Ben Affleck steps up to the BAT while two-timer Henry Cavill merely stands around looking SUPER Lots to say here, so let's ...

DAVID FINCHER DIRECTS BEN AFFLECK IN GONE GIRL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxo2Jy0RafFX1HECoBIYTCZvPCHfiS-oN9PLLIGPFca2njn_wNJmb4KZW5j6UUAoWBJbxy-6vuwOZ2pGDwl3nBMYn6mdtu6GX6hz7nIBguCiKANGOi6bvyN7YVVz3GBJsIfpDnrskqMV0/s1600/gone_girl_movie_poster_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxo2Jy0RafFX1HECoBIYTCZvPCHfiS-oN9PLLIGPFca2njn_wNJmb4KZW5j6UUAoWBJbxy-6vuwOZ2pGDwl3nBMYn6mdtu6GX6hz7nIBguCiKANGOi6bvyN7YVVz3GBJsIfpDnrskqMV0/s320/gone_girl_movie_poster_1.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 rating: ***1/2</td></tr> </tbody></table> Practically critic-proof, a film designed so as<i> </i>not to be spoiled, David Fincher’s moody and atmospheric GONE GIRL begins as a missing person mystery, veers into an Accused Man Film Noir and eventually detours… or, depending on your viewpoint… derails into a violent dark comedy ala TO DIE FOR, which probably isn't intentional.  <br /> <br /> Ben Affleck kind of resembles real life pregnant wife killer Scott Peterson... With a cool and calculating persona, his Nick Dunne seems just as guilty. Yet Nick’s a perfect clean slate so his motives (if he has any) are unclear. <br /> <br /> The plot is simple, at first. Dunne is a handsome loser who marries a beautiful rich girl. After she vanishes, he becomes more and more of a suspect, weathering a snoopy detective and a rabid mass media: especially an anchorwoman turning the story into banal tabloid fodder reminiscent of the 1990’s. <br /> <br /> Though overcooked and overlong, GONE GIRL is an intriguing thriller wherein David Fincher’s hypnotic narrative, backed by Trent Reznor’s tempered soundtrack, are like characters in themselves. But to disclose anything else about the humans – especially Rosamund Pike as Nick’s missing wife, Amy – would be a crime. Let’s just say, the title may hold a double meaning... And then some.

2014, ben affleck, david fincher, mystery, neo noir, thriller

DAVID FINCHER DIRECTS BEN AFFLECK IN GONE GIRL

2014 rating: ***1/2 Practically critic-proof, a film designed so as not to be spoiled, David Fincher’s moody and atmospheric GONE GIRL ...

RUNNER RUNNER

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tkRCxEodQ6ydML-5HKCkxvrnQeg4cz7hHhjWhRv86u_ZFABsPEPT5aIl8g_uD6alUKgpo6LSQMgepwYaGkkfMDIB9mgd1hpOpePERapSHF2HOEiunjyoL0gk8DiP1yf4lvNySpgK6h0S/s1600/runner-runner1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3tkRCxEodQ6ydML-5HKCkxvrnQeg4cz7hHhjWhRv86u_ZFABsPEPT5aIl8g_uD6alUKgpo6LSQMgepwYaGkkfMDIB9mgd1hpOpePERapSHF2HOEiunjyoL0gk8DiP1yf4lvNySpgK6h0S/s640/runner-runner1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2013 cast: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, John Heard, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie rating: ** </td></tr> </tbody></table> Someone needed to wake up Ben Affleck during the production of RUNNER RUNNER. He’s playing a sinister guy who manipulates, steals, and enjoys his pursuit of what Michael Douglas in WALL STREET considered positive… <i>greed</i>… and yet you’d think he just took a sleeping pill. At least Justin Timberlake has some energy… Too bad the screenwriter was snoozing with Affleck…<br /> <br /> RUNNER RUNNER is no WALL STREET but tries very hard to be. Affleck plays slick offshore tycoon Ivan Block, who runs an online gambling website while a particular young man, with homegrown poker skills and a risky determination to lay it all down, gets ripped off, or better put, cheated out of college tuition…<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgUIJHDCpvfw7jigEXsadNpbd_So8sjlZGFSIScjlKXESduxWEhHGhVsMvmC3q9HjQPTkAY9yQ9kBqNk5y4AibLcwAlUH_mo2eHjRIimO7dynxX5CL6jVABtL6KWNcDFu2BMueBen1Kyw/s1600/runner-runner2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgUIJHDCpvfw7jigEXsadNpbd_So8sjlZGFSIScjlKXESduxWEhHGhVsMvmC3q9HjQPTkAY9yQ9kBqNk5y4AibLcwAlUH_mo2eHjRIimO7dynxX5CL6jVABtL6KWNcDFu2BMueBen1Kyw/s640/runner-runner2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">"You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> Justin Timberlake’s Richie Furst attends a high-class university, but with a loser dad and a troubled past, Ivy League he ain’t. So, having nowhere to turn, our put-upon hero ventures to Costa Rica where Ivan Block resides. It’s not ten minutes before both characters meet, way too easily and, like the rest of this rushed thriller, everything falls swiftly into place...<br /> <br /> Richie's tempted quickly to the dark side. He learns the ins-and-outs of running the gambling action, shown in flashy montage sequences so influenced by CASINO you’ll anticipate Robert DeNiro and Don Rickles with a cattle prod. Meanwhile, Block comes and goes whenever Richie lands in hot water… by either the local gambling commission, the FBI, or both at the same time. And if the progressively intense diatribes aren’t threatening enough, Block has his own hungry crocodiles for the real nasty business.<br /> <br /> The eventual turning-of-the-table occurs much too easily, lacking any sort of creative twist, or a worthy "gotcha" moment… And with our hero so smugly confident in the predictable outcome, you may just yearn to root for the bad guy… But this lethargic devil deserves no sympathy.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B003F29D44&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000YMH4N0&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B006PERRMY&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

2013, ben affleck, gambling, justin timberlake, thriller

RUNNER RUNNER

year: 2013 cast: Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, John Heard, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie rating: **  Someone needed to wake up Ben Af...

BEN AFFLECK AS GEORGE REEVES AS SUPERMAN IN HOLLYWOODLAND

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WGr0IFNkouTLgWzlrdvFlqg0y5iciTBYwYszTCdvO6hXCEHezFosC1NmbNOA4_7EaoXM_MLZEEBpZm-tKplTcIRbFh0cbTUTGe4Sm6jbx9pbXrX6Yat8WMH46VM_egBwvKjNCEszBkW4/s1600/h1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WGr0IFNkouTLgWzlrdvFlqg0y5iciTBYwYszTCdvO6hXCEHezFosC1NmbNOA4_7EaoXM_MLZEEBpZm-tKplTcIRbFh0cbTUTGe4Sm6jbx9pbXrX6Yat8WMH46VM_egBwvKjNCEszBkW4/s640/h1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2006 cast: Ben Affleck, Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Kathleen Robertson, Lois Smith rating: ***</td></tr> </tbody></table> For all Dark Knight fans furious over the casting of Ben Affleck in the upcoming BATMAN VS SUPERMAN, he did convincingly play a superhero, or rather, an actor playing a superhero, with style and finesse…<br /> <br /> So put your DAREDEVIL phobia aside and check out HOLLYWOODLAND, a biopic combined with Film Noir about actor George Reeves, star of the original SUPERMAN television show and who may or may not have committed suicide, giving Affleck the chance of, at that time, returning to indie form after bombing as a big box office superstar…<br /> <br /> At one point, before his directorial/starring successes with THE TOWN and the Oscar winning ARGO, Affleck was no longer allowed to play in the A-list <i>reindeer games</i>...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-GxDF3lskJC2_0DuInS1dDfv8k9twZo8VhonIXPaqgV_vQEqhBShroaK1lbSKVTz8QER0LLHwCU2yJwSMp2NLQH_oEWXSH20mMrOuey9uSsbJU1B7lfFIttrbb3Pz9U56lCL6YP608dK/s1600/h2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij-GxDF3lskJC2_0DuInS1dDfv8k9twZo8VhonIXPaqgV_vQEqhBShroaK1lbSKVTz8QER0LLHwCU2yJwSMp2NLQH_oEWXSH20mMrOuey9uSsbJU1B7lfFIttrbb3Pz9U56lCL6YP608dK/s640/h2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"I don't mind the transformation, but I always lose a contact lens."</td></tr> </tbody></table> Enter the struggling, melancholy Reeves, a square-jawed character actor whose most prominent role was a brief scene in GONE WITH THE WIND. Like anyone in the biz, he desperately yearned for a game-changing cinematic opportunity, and finally landed a part he didn’t want – as Clark Kent, the mild-mannered newspaper reporter who is really, beneath a stiff suit and horn-rimmed glasses, the “greatest” superhero of them all.<br /> <br /> The best scenes have Reeves conflicted with the show's success, having to appease unpredictable women while keeping a good image for the children who worship him. But since the story goes back and forth in time, much of the film centers on rogue private eye/gumshoe Louis Simo...<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnNA2yOU4X-7duVPZuumtWXm6vVA8IQ08ygUjo9lX3j_RrsEZh4Xp9qR8EKF9UddyerjFyDwQNJjAEgve0GYqzu3sWSQTZknYoujV8baG2I4uaUAay6hpfKTSvS3sUms5jAqRQpWyvxmE/s1600/h4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQnNA2yOU4X-7duVPZuumtWXm6vVA8IQ08ygUjo9lX3j_RrsEZh4Xp9qR8EKF9UddyerjFyDwQNJjAEgve0GYqzu3sWSQTZknYoujV8baG2I4uaUAay6hpfKTSvS3sUms5jAqRQpWyvxmE/s640/h4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Private Dick Adrien Brody confidently questions Kathleen Robertson</td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> A sleek, manipulative Adrian Brody... who's told<i> the world doesn’t need any more Ralph Meeker types </i> right off the bat... is a pretty good snoop, but his character is much too convinced – way early on – that Reeves was murdered by his fiancé rather than a self-inflicting gun shot, making him more of a conspiracy theory mouthpiece than an ambiguous pawn gathering clues.<br /> <br /> Particular scenes involving Simo shrugging from one location to the next, in the usual Noir fashion, tend to drag in this entertaining but overlong project. Making the sporadic backstory about George Reeves and his fledgling career, even when he was on top of the world, that much better.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13L9jTHamPfYo8lJRikU7Bn3t0uB4NV-Tgippr4iXGkSwrdMCvF0qk63uUdXtryDP7lkJnOZHQKAmGtAhOXT_oLcioUb_JbQvXSthzC_wuPwZpcz1fbvC4qFrGAtnk-NrUm3Fckoj-6PQ/s1600/h5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg13L9jTHamPfYo8lJRikU7Bn3t0uB4NV-Tgippr4iXGkSwrdMCvF0qk63uUdXtryDP7lkJnOZHQKAmGtAhOXT_oLcioUb_JbQvXSthzC_wuPwZpcz1fbvC4qFrGAtnk-NrUm3Fckoj-6PQ/s640/h5.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Superman with the legs of Mr Fantastic</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_irBaiYbbfgTXP010SivYyiySEoKLqPoKyOJtRv7CEt-xEoetCHHoOuTWDs9SOG6xjEEljczWXf7-b2YmqzcGYPjP_-MJNdTS7WjGMmfcu7AifMshy6w6pF2yOMr9u0RdqsNNQXoYhOo/s1600/h6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_irBaiYbbfgTXP010SivYyiySEoKLqPoKyOJtRv7CEt-xEoetCHHoOuTWDs9SOG6xjEEljczWXf7-b2YmqzcGYPjP_-MJNdTS7WjGMmfcu7AifMshy6w6pF2yOMr9u0RdqsNNQXoYhOo/s640/h6.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"No one punches a horse in this town... Take that, Mongo!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zkX9-9MIgHIC71OeI5f2VeHDhZsrBf5dgfbRXoQV2U3VmItf2-MIzR1aYnuTKla5VSNd3u36HFh2wLRRUOZV2_fpaekcm-5nDjQQnacFXbBobOzRmN1EWExeSVL7GLZTvwJrnnukAz6p/s1600/h7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zkX9-9MIgHIC71OeI5f2VeHDhZsrBf5dgfbRXoQV2U3VmItf2-MIzR1aYnuTKla5VSNd3u36HFh2wLRRUOZV2_fpaekcm-5nDjQQnacFXbBobOzRmN1EWExeSVL7GLZTvwJrnnukAz6p/s640/h7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Able to leap tall... wooden fences in a single bound!"</td></tr> </tbody></table> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000A5046K&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00BHMEALA&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe> <iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=jamtaci-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B000KWZ7JC&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>

adrien brody, ben affleck, biopic, bob hoskins, kathleen robertson, neo noir, superhero, zeroes

BEN AFFLECK AS GEORGE REEVES AS SUPERMAN IN HOLLYWOODLAND

year: 2006 cast: Ben Affleck, Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Kathleen Robertson, Lois Smith rating: *** For all Dark Knight fans furious over...

ARGO

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Ymcl2VtfpQMUk8HSoBXCXCTYmf6NnJBWeOZT9spZA51t1Jm8amImwSS9Mwbsy-ytMpZwXjzgzTzaeplFW5dIBPsMvhWn6zJk4MDBed1RebwhZoMs4jRv-NzIDO5NnTPsxHQVc-E1WRku/s1600/d05cd8f0a5ef8e835cbc657591f87c7f-sc.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Ymcl2VtfpQMUk8HSoBXCXCTYmf6NnJBWeOZT9spZA51t1Jm8amImwSS9Mwbsy-ytMpZwXjzgzTzaeplFW5dIBPsMvhWn6zJk4MDBed1RebwhZoMs4jRv-NzIDO5NnTPsxHQVc-E1WRku/w640-h399/d05cd8f0a5ef8e835cbc657591f87c7f-sc.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 2012 cast: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> ARGO, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, receiving rave reviews all across the board, has the makings of a great story – not only because it’s a true one: Declassified by the CIA since the nineties, dealing with the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, it's not the Embassy hostages we’re centering on. There were six people who stealthily escaped the takeover, hiding in the Canadian ambassador's house. The CIA is at a loss – they have only one idea concerning bicycles and it’s not very bright.<br /> <br /> Enter Affleck’s Tony Mendez: we first see him waking up with an empty beer can on his dresser, so he’s got the makings of the typical maverick hero. While watching BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES on TV, Tony has an idea – become a producer of a bogus science fiction movie and, scouting a location in Iran, get the Americans out.<br /> <br /> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCWLOBEO5thyoEC6i0uz8OSFCtjhos3w1IZwJSG96ut1Qpf7JGrBgVe2CAtxSM9ZbWMy_yNhJZVYSKg_Ca73pWsvCR5nlsueCMHvb4qXQPoDIiQkn7x-nOg4Gu0gugIOHptJnjUOHjEBA/s1600/battleplanetapeslc.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdCWLOBEO5thyoEC6i0uz8OSFCtjhos3w1IZwJSG96ut1Qpf7JGrBgVe2CAtxSM9ZbWMy_yNhJZVYSKg_Ca73pWsvCR5nlsueCMHvb4qXQPoDIiQkn7x-nOg4Gu0gugIOHptJnjUOHjEBA/s320/battleplanetapeslc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Last Apes film sparked the fake movie idea</td></tr> </tbody></table> A fantastic premise and an opportunity to blend classic cult films with a modern thriller… And with John Goodman (as a makeup artist) and Alan Arkin (as a wry producer) on board the Hollywood end, ARGO just can’t miss… but it does. The six people that need saving have zero personality, making it hard to feel for their plight.<br /> <br /> Although we see clips of hangings and executions in Iran, there's hardly a vibe of impending danger or threat. While the clever aspects, mixing a fake press conference for the sci-fi flick with Iranians making real demands, are edited nicely, the movie-making scheme, which had so much potential, feels rushed. And Affleck himself lacks the edge of a central character, much less a heroic one.<br /> <br /> The best part is the last half hour as the seven (including Mendez), using fake passports as a Canadian production crew, move through an Iranian airport for the departing plane. Despite every “last minute” cliché thrown in the pot, as least there's SOME urgency. But with a lack of interesting or involving characters leading to the escape, ARGO falls short of the immense hype.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

2012, alan arkin, ben affleck, biopic, john goodman, tate donovan, thriller

ARGO

year: 2012 cast: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston rating: ** ARGO, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, receiving ...

THE TOWN

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72FJA_aWqs-zT6W8Se20fY6DlBTFpuSXSjuvYTAo2iEBqp3qn9tkhBRjW2G_BqDcLeQDHMhiEtJC51N5bgsTogp-yrj0ogKUYpuD5u3gOoJEuBswaF9stUL4NXdOiErwp5smuSHWyGyk/s1600/thetown.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572132307796594930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi72FJA_aWqs-zT6W8Se20fY6DlBTFpuSXSjuvYTAo2iEBqp3qn9tkhBRjW2G_BqDcLeQDHMhiEtJC51N5bgsTogp-yrj0ogKUYpuD5u3gOoJEuBswaF9stUL4NXdOiErwp5smuSHWyGyk/s200/thetown.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 175px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" /></a><strong>title:</strong> THE TOWN<br /><div><div><strong>year:</strong> 2010</div><div><strong>cast:</strong> Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall</div><div><strong>rating:</strong> **1/2</div><br /><div>This is a decent movie with a flimsy premise. After a bank robbery involving revved up New Jersey thugs wearing <em>Skeletor</em> masks, the leader, played by director Ben Affleck, stalks (keeps an eye on)<em> </em>a pretty employee they'd kidnapped during the getaway... because she lives in the same town, or something. Predictably, a romance blossoms between Ben and girl-next-door Rebecca Hall, but the gang's lethal member, Jeremy Renner, doesn't like it. And FBI agent Jon Hamm wants to bring the boys down before striking again, which happens in two rushed scenes liken to Michael Mann's HEAT: lots of gun-fire between drawn-out dialog (the film's bulk), establishing characters more than driving them. </div></div>

action, ben affleck, caper, jeremy renner, tens

THE TOWN

title: THE TOWN year: 2010 cast: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall rating: **1/2 This is a decent movie with a flimsy p...