Ben Affleck

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

RATING: (2 STARS) Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice is a film about and full of contradictions. It’s a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel — also directed by Zack Snyder — yet this film relegates old Superman to a supporting role, instead focusing on that which drives the film’s other titular hero. Despite this […]

2015 Golden Globes Nominations Predictions

2015 Golden Globes Nominations Predictions

The ultra-prestigious and never ridiculous Hollywood Foreign Press Association is on the cusp of announcing its nominees for the 2015 Golden Globes. We should take these nominations very seriously, as the many, many dedicated and serious-minded members of this fine organization consider only the artistic merits of each film, performance, and craft achievement in a […]

To the Wonder Review

To the Wonder Review

RATING: (2.5 STARS) If you like your films full of feeling, To the Wonder is for you. The latest from enigmatic director Terrence Malick sacrifices story, character, and dialogue to give the world a film full of and about feelings. The feelings in To the Wonder walk, talk, and interact with other feelings. They have […]

The 2013 Oscar Nominees

The 2013 Oscar Nominees

It wasn’t Lincoln‘s field-topping twelve nominations nor Silver Linings Playbook‘s sudden ascension from “happy to be nominated” to “genuine Best Picture threat” that dominated headlines today. 

No, it was the genuinely stunning absence of Argo‘s Ben Affleck and Zero Dark Thirty‘s Kathryn Bigelow from the Academy’s eclectic Best Director lineup that rocked Oscar watchers’ world. […]

Argo vs. Zero Dark Thirty

Argo vs. Zero Dark Thirty

Remember back in October when Ben Affleck’s Argo hit theaters and became the film critics and audiences could actually agree was best? Remember when this historical procedural crossed the $100 million mark at the box office—unfathomable success for a film like this? Remember when Roger Ebert, after viewing the film at the Toronto International Film […]

Argo Review

Argo Review

RATING: (3.5 STARS) Ben Affleck’s Argo will make you rethink how much you complain about going through customs at the airport. It seems unfathomable that such a typically mundane and slow-moving event could lead to the tensest bit of American filmmaking so far this year, but that’s what Affleck does with this, his third film. […]

The Company Men Review

The Company Men Review

RATING: (2.5 STARS) John Wells’ The Company Men is a film I wanted to like more than I actually did like it. Where 2009 masterpiece Up in the Air looked at mass firings from the corporate point-of-view, this film takes a look at the personal difficulties that come as a result of being fired. What […]

The Town Review

The Town Review

RATING: (3 STARS) The strongest praise I can muster for Ben Affleck’s new film The Town is to say that it’s good. It features good acting. The direction and writing are good, and it has some good action sequences. I can’t really get too excited about it though. I felt like it had all been […]

Gone Baby Gone Review

Gone Baby Gone Review

RATING: (4 STARS) “Gone Baby Gone” is a brutal film that raises some really tough questions. It features some exceptional direction (by rookie filmmaker Ben Affleck) and some terrific acting, but it never quite caught on with audiences. Nor did it catch on with the Academy. For that reason, it qualifies as one of the […]