The Town

So this isn't fresh, exactly, but it is tense and exciting and well performed and you do end up caring about the people you've been manipulated into caring about. I ask you: what more could you want from a trip to the cinema?

The Town is a definite must-see.

As far as a developing directing talent goes, The Town is to Ben Affleck what Pulp Fiction was to Quentin Tarantino. It's that good.

In lesser hands, the central relationship might not have worked; but Affleck and Hall make it completely believable, adding to the texture of this classy thriller.

It's better than a simple heist movie and less efficient than a really good one. Affleck has made it about character and place, at the expense of the heist, so it's a film of mixed attractions.

Affleck’s sophomore offering contains plenty of pay-offs and a slick narrative structure, easily solidifying his growing reputation as a director with the right stuff for a familiar good time.

It’s a well-executed mashup of set pieces and character dynamics that fail to build on what came before. Which, truth be told, still makes for a pretty entertaining viewing.

While it's not as epic and well-acted as "Heat" and nowhere near as visceral as "The Departed," "The Town" can hold it's own in the crime thriller department.

If Affleck hasn’t already discovered that this is his niche, he’s encouraged to continue bringing us well-executed Boston crime stories like this one.

Below the plot lies an unspeakable network of secret loyalties that threaten to rise to the surface in The Town. [Full review in Spanish]