Runner Runner

I knew once I saw the trailer this movie would be somewhat of a letdown for me, because it revealed all the critical plot-points in the film, and graciously let me know what the major twists are; so if you still want to see this movie, then make sure the trailer doesn’t get viewed.  You can’t blame the trailer for everything though, because by itself it’s just the weakling son conceived between Romancing the Stone and the Social Network.  Here’s the thing that confuses me, while the movie was going on I was entertained with the fast paced/snappy storyline, and I even thought to myself that the acting was good for both Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, it’s just that once the movie was over I had completely forgotten what had happened; the flick was pretty forgettable.  Speaking about what had happened, let me give you a brief synopsis about what I think the film was about.  Justin Timberlake is living the American Dream by being a champion online poker player in order to make a living and pay for school, and everything was going great until (surprise surprise) he loses all his money and is forced to confront the rich douchebag in Costa Rica in order to get it back.  Well one thing leads to another, and because Justin is a grade-A wussy he ends up working for the man who once screwed him (not an innuendo).  Of course a bunch of crap goes down after that which was unfortunately revealed to me because the trailer keeps secrets about as much as Shamu keeps from killing trainers at sea world.  All in all I thought this was a “meh” film with some good parts thrown in here and there, but if I was to choose between buying and renting this movie I would most definitely choose the latter.  

2 out of 5

The Town

Overview:  A longtime thief plans on leaving his profession and Boston for good, but before he does that he decides to go out with a bang by pulling off the biggest heist ever.  Sucks for him that the FBI has had it up to here (I'm pointing at my throat) with this gang, and they're not going to let this one succeed.  It doesn't help that the head of the FBI is Jon Hamm, who is pretty much the manliest of men out there.

The Good:  I still don't understand how Ben Affleck became a HUGE action director all the sudden.  I still remember him being a part of such great classics as the fun but crappy "Pearl Harbor", and the forever craptacular "Gigli"; I did think "Paycheck" was good though.  As it turns out he is very good at making realistic and gritty action movies, and it seems he's going to be the next Martin Scorsese at the rate he's at.  It was suprising that Jeremy Renner didn't win an Academy Award for his role as Ben Affleck's best friend/gang member, because he was absolutly captivating, especially during the big heist in the end.  Jon Hamm, even though he was ironically viewed as the bad guy, stole every scene, and not because he looks freakishly manly........ wait, who am I kidding, that man could send Superman crying all the way home to his mommy.

The Bad:  I always find it awkward when you watch a movie like "The Town" or "Catch me if you Can" and the people who are supposed to be bad in the movie are actually hailed as heros.  There are times even I believe that the bad guys were heros, like whenever Jon Hamm would arive at the scene of the crime I would yell "RUN BEN AFFLECK!!! RUN!!! SAVE THE GIRL!", and then after a few seconds I'd be like "oh... he's actually trying to steal other people's money and make their lives a living dump".  I know a part of that can't be helped because the movie's told in Affleck's point of view, but ya know. 

The Ugly:  Just know this movie is very Gritty, and as long as you can stomache the violence, this is a very exciting and sometimes emotional movie to watch.  Even though it is a heist movie, don't accidently get it mixed with the quirky and lighthearted "Italian Job" movies, because there is no humor. 

3 out of 5 Stars