The Town

According to the prologue, Boston is plagued with over 300 bank robberies annually, with the one-square-mile neighborhood of Charlestown famed for producing more five-fingered criminals than anywhere else in the U.S. Director Ben Affleck stars as Doug MacRay, a savvy Charlestown crook burdened with a criminal heritage from his incarcerated father (Chris Cooper). The story opens with Doug and his masked gang brazenly robbing the Cambridge Merchant Bank and taking manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage. Although Claire is quickly released, she is traumatized—and the thieves are terrified when they realize she actually lives nearby and may identify them. After Doug secretly befriends unsuspecting Claire, a romance begins to develop. But unbeknownst to Doug, Claire has agreed to work with determined FBI Special Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm), whose task force is closing in on Doug’s hot-tempered buddy Gem (Jeremy Renner), his drugged-up sister Krista (Blake Lively), and Fergie Colm (Pete Postlethwaite), whose neighborhood florist shop serves as a front for the local Irish gang’s nefarious activities. Cambridge native Affleck brings a street-smart authenticity to this suspense-filled thriller adapted from Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves, while also eliciting convincing performances from his entire ensemble, particularly British actress Hall. Highly recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a profile of director and star Ben Affleck (8 min.), and “The Real People of the Town” featurette on Charlestown (3 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are both the theatrical and extended versions of the film, audio commentary by Affleck, and a “Ben's Boston” viewing option with featurettes including “The Cathedral of Boston,” “Nuns with Guns: Filming in the North End,” “Pulling Off the Perfect Heist,” and more, viewable separately as “Focus Points” (31 min.). Also included are a bonus digital copy of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a fine Blu-ray extras package for a powerful film.] (S. Granger)[Blu-ray Review—Feb. 28, 2012—Warner, 3 discs, 153 min., R, $49.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, 2010's The Town (Ultimate Collector's Edition) sports a great transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Bonus features include three versions of the film (the theatrical cut, the extended cut, and the extended cut with alternate ending), audio commentary by filmmaker/costar Ben Affleck, “A Director's Journey” new featurette (30 min.), “Ben's Boston” picture-in-picture focus points from the previous release (30 min.), and trailers, as well as a 48-page book with behind-the-scenes photos and notes, a poster-sized map of Charlestown, a director's letter, and prop reproductions (including a 15-page FBI report, Vericom employee file, mug shot cards, and a rub-on tattoo sheet), and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: not enough new here to warrant trading up, especially in the case of libraries.]