Ben Affleck

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Man about Town: Chuck Hogan

Chuck Hogan’s Boston novel turned into this fall’s biggest heist movie — maybe now people will start recognizing him
One day back in 2009, Chuck Hogan snuck onto the set of the movie adaptation of his own novel. He was not recognized, once, by anyone at all.
By EUGENIA WILLIAMSON | September 15, 2010

Photos: Red-carpet premiere of ''The Town'' at Fenway Park

Live from the premiere screening of "The Town"
In the line-up: Ben Affleck, Blake Lively, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Matt Damon, and more
By DEREK KOUYOUMJIAN | September 15, 2010

Review: The Town

Ben Affleck is a criminal genius. Bank on it.
There’s an episode in Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves that I was sure Ben Affleck was going to include in his adaptation of the novel.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 15, 2010

Ben Affleck and Rebecca Hall on the Town

Class acts
Ben Affleck and Jeremy Renner, who play Doug and Jem, a pair of Charlestown gangsters in Affleck’s stunning adaptation of local author Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves , make for an intense, photogenic screen couple. That is, until Rebecca Hall comes between them.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 15, 2010

Box-office guru comes to Boston

Film school
The Massachusetts House of Representatives recently rejected attempts to cap the tax breaks offered to filmmakers in the commonwealth, which is good for Hollywood studios and for the local economy.
By PETER KEOUGH | April 07, 2010

Must Flee TV?

With his new ‘reality sitcom,’ the artist formerly known as Robbie Roadsteamer tries to stop the Allston hipster brain drain
If Jersey Shore and Last Comic Standing had a threesome with Curb Your Enthusiasm in the men’s room of Great Scott, the bastard issue might look a little something like Quiet Desperation .
By CHRIS FARAONE | March 10, 2010

Beyond Dilla and Dipset

Can hip-hop deliver in 2010?
With a semi-sober face I'll claim that hip-hop in 2010 might deliver more than just posthumous Dilla discs, Dipset mixtapes, and a new ignoramus coke rapper whom critics pretend rhymes in triple-entendres.
By CHRIS FARAONE | December 29, 2009

Hardboiled hub

The city’s gritty, criminal underbelly has redefined the dark, artistic vision known as Boston noir
When I was growing up in Roslindale a few decades back — among tribes of ignorant, second-generation immigrant kids whose favorite words began with “f” and “n” and who liked to torture small animals and beat up small children before they moved on to their future vocations as petty criminals, dead dope users, or real-estate agents.
By PETER KEOUGH | October 21, 2009

A Tale of Two Towns

Renowned for its roguish history, Charlestown is finally getting Hollywood's attention
Charlestown was baptized in bloodshed. Yet this unique, fertile turf has been generally overlooked by Hollywood, which has preferred instead its old rival South Boston, the primary backdrop for Oscar winners Good Will Hunting and The Departed .
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 29, 2009

Fly by night?

Fruit Bats aren't a Shins side project
For a decade, Eric Johnson's primary songwriting vehicle has been Fruit Bats, but the Portland-via-Chicago singer and multi-instrumentalist has always dipped in and out of other projects — Califone, Vetiver, Ugly Casanova among them.
By MICHAEL ALAN GOLDBERG | September 08, 2009

Review: Extract

Mike Judge goes back to work
I'm hard-pressed to say, though, whether Extract is a significant leap forward for Judge in terms of story or just not as funny as his earlier work.
By MARK BAZER | September 02, 2009

A long time comin'

La Coka Nostra's been prepping this debut for a minute
Says Slaine, "When I get high I want to get higher, and when I get low I just want to get lower. I can't seem to find that place in the middle."
By CHRIS FARAONE | July 17, 2009

Review: State of Play

An investigative reporter, a Senate committee, and murder
Support for print journalism is coming from an unexpected source: Russell Crowe.
By PETER KEOUGH | April 22, 2009

25. DUSTIN PEDROIA AND KEVIN YOUKILIS

INFIELD NOT-SO-FLY RULE
We love us some Sox — we can see the majestic green of Fenway’s stadium walls from all our Phoenix restrooms, and it just gets our hearts afluttering. That is, until we contemplate the mugs of the one-two combo of Youkilis and Pedroia. Don’t misunderstand us — they’re good guys (though Youk seems to have an eensy-weensy anger-management issue) — but their visages are perhaps better suited to a sport like football, where one’s entire face is sheathed in a helmet.
By Boston Phoenix Staff | March 25, 2009

Hope springs infernal

Brimstone and buddy movies are on the Hollywood agenda
Given the current economic climate, spring this year is a season more of dread than of hope for change.
By PETER KEOUGH | March 16, 2009

Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Reduces both men and women to shrill stereotypes
And why isn't he? Could it be because you're needy, nagging, and possibly psychotic?
By PETER KEOUGH | February 04, 2009

Media misfits

News from waaay outside the mainstream
The series grew out of an excellent 1999 documentary directed by author Arthur Bradford ( Dogwalker ) and produced by South Park 's Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
By MIKE MILIARD | February 09, 2009

Anti-depressant cinema

The screen offers relief from a world of woe
The screen offers relief from a world of woe
By PETER KEOUGH | January 09, 2009

Crossword: ''Note for note''

Spend some time listening to music
Spend some time listening to music
By MATT JONES | December 23, 2008

Zack and Miri Make a Porno

Full of raunch and snappy dialogue
Kevin Smith’s ear for raunch is as piquant as ever, but he’s moved beyond his usual unconvincing leads to Judd Apatow regulars Rogen and Craig Robinson.
By BRETT MICHEL | October 28, 2008

Autumn peeves

Films with a full agenda
With pundits already reading political significance into summer blockbusters like The Dark Knight (“Is Batman a stand-in for George Bush? Discuss.”), the meatier movies of fall arrive not a moment too soon.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 11, 2008

History rocks

Zinn's people's history comes to life, and song
“Not radical,” he replied. “I’d say ‘the truth.’ ”
By JIM SULLIVAN | January 15, 2008

Star teamz

Ten from Boston’s 2007 pop underground
Mark it, dude: another banner year for the Boston music scene.
By WILL SPITZ | December 18, 2007

Southie rules

Dot Ave goes to Hollywood
In Brad Gann’s film Black Irish , Tom Guiry plays a seething blur of Southie rage named Terry.
By MIKE MILIARD | October 24, 2007

Bad will hunting

Ben is back with Gone Baby Gone
Films about Boston tend to be no better than their worst Boston accent.
By PETER KEOUGH | October 18, 2007

War zones

Fall films face terror at home and abroad
The party’s over. Time for the lessons to begin.
By PETER KEOUGH | September 12, 2007

'Tis the season

To stay inside and watch awesome movies
Yeah, yeah, summer . Go outside, hone your tan, toss a Frisbee, blah blah blah.
By RYAN STEWART | June 28, 2007

Worst in breed: Television

The 100 Unsexiest men of 2007
Who are the unsexiest TV men of 2007?
By PHOENIX STAFF | April 12, 2007

The 100 unsexiest men 2007: 40-31

These guys couldn't turn on a radio
These guys couldn't turn on a radio
By | April 12, 2007

Static circuitry

Boy in Static sets a date, Rise prize, and Slaine
One of Circuits’ favorite local acts, BOY IN STATIC (a/k/a ALEX CHEN ), is preparing to release Violet , the follow-up to his remarkable debut, Newborn , on May 29. Boy In Static, "Where It Ends" (mp3)
By DAVID DAY | March 08, 2007

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