'The Town' ***1/2stars

like most i wondered if ben affleck's first directorial effort, 'burn baby burn', was a one time fluke. well we need wonder no more. with 'the town' he is proving himself to be a director to be reckoned with. and he gets everything out of his cast that they have to give with no holds barred. 'the town' is a damn good film.

it has oscar noms wriiten all over it at the moment. there are three months to go.

and he directs himself better than anyone else has. unlike streisand who can give herself no direction, ben keeps his own performance in check. and who the hell is rebecca hall? keep this woman working. she goes to the head of my class. and damn blake lively breaks out as a strung out single mom leaving her rather glamorous image way in the dust. give her a supporting nom now! 

run now to see this film...yes film. it soars way above 'movie'. it's almost a work of art. keep on directing ben. you're a natural.

Half Year Review of 2010 Films

I wanted to get this out before 'Inception' bows this week. And June 30th has indeed come and gone..So i give you the best and worst of 2010 so far. Granted there has been slim pickings, more bad than good but indulge me with these highs and lows so far.

Best Picture and Director: 'Shutter Island' and Martin Scorsese


a tense thriller with a damn good unexpected ending

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Shutter Island'


always good leo never seemingly never disappoints.

Best Actress: Vanessa Redgrave in 'Letters to Juliet'


vanessa may have a supporting role but to date it's the best actress role of all

Worst Picture and Director and Actor and Actress: all the honors go to 'The Ghost Writer': Roman Polanski, Pierce Brosnan and Kim Cattrall. I've generally enjoyed Mr.Brosnan but he called this one in. And Mr. Polanski has always been one of my favorite directors but this is a half assed mess. And what the hell were you thinking with Miss Cattrall? Anne Hathaway you may want to thank Miss Cattrall that you are off the proverbial hook. Your white queen in 'Alice in Wonderland' was a contender. Then I considered that you were playing a cartoon. And you are a cartoon. So it would be wrong, just wrong, to honor you yet again as the worst of the year. But we have a whole decade to go and you may keep the crown you won the past decade as worst of the decade

runners up for Worst Picture, Director go to Tim Burton's 'Alice in Wonderland' which is a total mess.





runner up: anne hathaway cartoon actress as cartoon queen