The Town: Double duty done right by Affleck.

Doug MacRay heads a successful bank robbery crew in Charlestown, Massachusetts. But after he kidnaps and subsequently falls for a bank manager named Claire during their most recent heist, he begins to rethink his life and plans on getting out of the bank robbing business.

While certainly drawing its inspiration from one of the better action/crime dramas made in the past 20 years (the visually stunning and thematically complex Heat with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino), The Town falls short of surpassing it. However this does not mean the film was a vapid waste of time, quite the opposite. Ben Affleck not only showed a great deal of emotion and depth as Doug, but proved himself to be a more polished director as well. He let the cast (including an explosive Jeremy Renner and stoic Jon Hamm) evolve into richly, complex characters that helped to bring the story of a bank robbing crew from Charlestown to life. Affleck also took the time to properly craft the love story between Doug and Claire, which was central to the film. If that part of the film failed to reach the audience then the entire story would appear vacuous for the main plot device was Doug's desire to get out of the game and start something more with Claire. Thankfully their interaction on screen felt real, which made it easier for the audience to root for them in their attempt to get away from a town which was a breeding ground for armed robbers and criminals in general.

Where The Town fell short was in its action sequences (which were gripping but reminded one a little too much of the ones in Heat) and time spent (or a lack thereof) developing the relationships within Doug’s crew, but those drawbacks should not dissuade you from checking out The Town for it is an emotionally thrilling crime drama.

Grade: B

Heat: Pacino vs. De Niro, what more do you need?

The lives of two men, at the opposite sides of the law, intersect when one, Neil McCauley, pulls off a heist which catches the attention of Lt. Vincent Hanna. Each one becomes obsessed with defeating the other while trying to maintain a semblance of a normal life.

The joy in watching a film like Heat comes from witnessing a pair of actors and a director at the top of their respective individual games. Though top heavy in characters, depth of story and plot, director Michael Mann masterfully orchestrated every facet of the film and unleashed an impressive crime thriller. A prime example of this was the bank robbery shootout sequence, which was set in downtown Los Angeles, between the cops and Neil’s crew. Not only was it epic in its scale, intensity and realism but it was an integral part of the plot and moved the story forward rather than serving as a useless action piece (which seems to be a normal occurrence in most recently released crime thrillers). For their parts, Pacino and De Niro elevated the film, turning it into an almost mythical showdown between good and evil. Pacino’s Lt. Vincent Hanna snarled and stomped his way through his scenes, never apologizing for what he was, a man on a mission to stop the bad guy no matter what the cost. De Niro’s Neil McCauley was just as intense as Hanna, but never let that intensity get the best of him because he was a professional. True film scholars could spend pages upon pages pontificating upon the scene where Hanna and McCauley chat in a diner but it is easiest just to say that it was incredible to witness two actors take a simple scene and turn it into something more, a pseudo - showdown in which both confess respect for the other but promise to show no quarter when the time comes for a final confrontation.

Both Pacino and De Niro could have carried the movie on their own, their individual performances were that good, but together they combined to make Heat something more than the typical crime thriller.

Grade: B

Public Enemies: It stars Johnny Depp, what else do you need to know?

I have to confess, I came into Public Enemies hoping to see another Heat (one of the best crime dramas ever made, which was directed by Michael Mann), this one set in the 1930's gangster era. With two strong actors in the lead roles (Johnny Depp and Christian Bale) and the man behind films like Collateral, The Last of the Mohicans and Manhunter (Miami Vice really shouldn't be counted in the canon of Mann) doing the directing, my expectations were high.

For those of you unaware, Public Enemies tells the story of notorious bank robber John Dillinger and Melvin Purvis, the FBI agent tasked with bringing an end to his reign of terror. The film certainly delivered the same kind of intense action that most Mann films are known for, with tommy guns and BAR's blazing every time Dillinger and his gang were holding up a bank or shooting it out with the Feds. Johnny Depp absolutely killed it as Dillinger, turning a true life criminal into a sympathetic anti - hero whom you not only rooted for and cared about but wanted to see survive until the last reel. Part of that has to do with the love story between Dillinger and Billie Frechette (played by Marion Cotillard). We learn that she is cut from the same cloth as Dillinger (raised in a broken home, never really done much of anything with her life) and, due to that kindred nature, she is able to bring out a side of him that makes him human. Sure the love story sub-plot is a tad clunky but it gives Depp the time and space to create a wholly realized character, a character whose every action exuded cool, confidence and believability.

Unfortunately, it dragged in the parts where Depp was not on the screen. Christian Bale's Purvis certainly did not help the cause for he seemed to bring little to no energy to the fray. He was more uptight and straight laced than a librarian on a Tuesday afternoon (it figures, the one time his now infamous temper should be on display, he holds back). The result is that your interest wanes when he and the rest of his G-Men are sharpening their sticks in the office trying to come up with new ways to stop Public Enemy #1.

It's true, Public Enemies is no Heat, but Depp and Mann make it a welcome break from all those big, loud and dumb summer blockbusters currently littering the multiplexes.

Grade: B