Ben Affleck continues to prove that he is the closest person, past or present, with a chance (however slight) to unthrone Clint Eastwood as the greatest actor/director combo ever. It will take a herculean effort to unseat Eastwood’s five Oscar nominations for directing (wins for Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby) to go along with over 35 other directing credits, as well as nearly 60 acting credits. Affleck, at just 50 years of age, very well could surpass Eastwood’s acting credits, but another 35 directing credits seems like a stretch. Air is Affleck’s fifth feature-length film. Three of his previous four (Gone Baby Gone, The Town, Argo) have resonated strongly with critics and audiences, while his fourth (Live By Night) wasn’t that far of a drop-off. What’s great about Affleck as a director is his drive and creativity. The staples of his directed movies are taut scripts, formidable, seasoned casts, and expert artisans (cinematographers, sound engineers, production designers) who he allows the freedom to shine. Air delivers on all fronts. It’s a movie that would be difficult not to enjoy.
Category Archives: Ben Affleck
The Last Duel (2021)
Ridley Scott’s (Aliens, All the Money in the World) The Last Duel has been my most anticipated theater-going experience since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last 19 months, I’ve been to the movie theater 20-25 times, far more than anyone I know. Theater attendance is down, as would be expected. I purchased a ticket 15 minutes after the previews started (customary for me when I see movies alone). My showing was at 11:00 a.m., but it was also the day after it was released. There were 15 moviegoers in a theater that held 250. It’s been a struggle to get back to the theater, especially with many movies having a same-day Video on Demand release or a release to popular streaming services much sooner than pre-pandemic days.
The Way Back (2020)
How does one make a basketball movie in 2020 that isn’t quickly compared to Hoosiers, Coach Carter, Glory Road, and Hurricane Season, not to mention the many other films centered around a sports team facing some adverse situation? Sometimes, when you see the trailers for the first time of a movie like Gavin O’Connor’s (The Accountant, Warrior) The Way Back, you kind of grain, thinking, “Here we go again. How are we supposed to get something different from this movie?” But he was unequivocably able to do that. Admittedly, this movie could have been better in terms of its script and the conditions of its sequencing. Still, its parts made up for its, sometimes, lack of cohesiveness and left you feeling hopeful in a movie that you expected to find hope, albeit in a much different way.
The Town (2010)
Ben Affleck’s (Gone Baby Gone, Live By Night) The Town was my favorite movie a few years ago. The Revenant has since replaced it, while The Shawshank Redemption will constantly vie for a top spot, but it’ll be a long time before The Town falls out of my Top 10. I’ve watched it three times (once in the theater), and I’ve enjoyed it just a little less with each viewing while appreciating it a little more with those watches. The Town also contains one of my all-time favorite scenes, the finale in Fenway Park depths.
Triple Frontier (2019)
One of the early tragedies to the Netflix distribution line has to be the J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, All Is Lost) Triple Frontier, a movie that which you can decide after watching and/or reading this review whether you like it or not. And this is not a review that is going to talk about the merits and faults of Netflix (by one sentence 2019 stand is Netflix is amazing with their shows, but I wish they would stay away from movies…done and done), but rather whether this movie should have been kept from being seen on the big screen…where it was meant to be seen…where it was designed to flourish. I’ve probably seen over 1500 movies in a movie theatre in my life at the time of this post. I’ve probably seen 1500 other movies for the first time on my television screen as well. For each movie that I’ve seen and loved on my television, I can’t help but wonder what the movie must have been like in the atmosphere in which it was designed to be view. I can’t make the same claim the other way around. Sure I’ve said, “Man, I wish I would have saved my cash and watched this at home…or not watched this at all” when I see a terrible movie in the theatre, but that is a different conversation and, hopefully, one I don’t have to have on a different day. Beasts of No Nation was the first of the original Netflix films that draw the public’s interest. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said then that for a movie to be considered for Oscar nominations, the film must have at least a limited theatrical run. I don’t know all of the details about how long a movie needs to be in the theatres, locations, etc., but Beasts of No Nation was a film that had to adhere to those standards as it was thought that it might get some Oscar recognition. This movie ultimately got shut out from nominations this year, but it set a precedent for sure. Netflix has continued to produce some AMAZING television shows as well as movies, its crowning achieving being 2018’s Roma, a movie that not only earned but won multiple Academy Awards, nearly winning Best Picture. It was not my favorite movie by any means, and for each person I met who liked it, I’ve met five who disliked it. I will say that it was a difficult watch at home. Roma was black and white with subtitles and much more difficult to see on my 42″ television than on a massive theatre. Roma was a not-so-great movie for me that suffered even more on the small screen. Triple Frontier was a better-than-average movie that suffered the same fate. I mean, come on. A big-budget heist movie with three of the top leading men out there, and you’re reducing it to a tiny rectangle into the corner of my family room apartment. Convenient. Sure? Worth it? Nope.