The Town (2010)

With the tough Boston neighborhood as its backdrop, 'The Town' delivers a very powerful crime thriller. It is a great ensemble piece with an all-around excellent cast. I was impressed with Affleck's directing in this movie. I got much more than the average bank heist movie that I was expecting to see. Maybe he can get a pass for giving himself the best role and having the same expression throughout the entire movie. Yet again, Jeremy Renner delivers another amazing intense performance. He is one of those special actors who can make any role his own. The film centers around two close childhood friends born into a tough neighborhood known for producing bank robbers. Tensions rise when Affleck's character seeks to leave behind the criminal business and start fresh with a girl (Rebecca Hall). With each job bringing more heat from the FBI, time is running out for Affleck to make his departure before it is too late. There's plenty of tension, action and drama packed into this movie for everyone to enjoy. While it is better than the average crime thriller, it just didn't have that extra juice to put it into the same class with the greats like 'Goodfellas' and 'The Departed'. Maybe that's asking too much? That's what you get for being better than average. Overall, 'The Town' is definitely worth your time. Go see for yourself and see if you agree with my assessment.

IMDB-8/10

Metascore-74/100

Rotten Tomatoes- Critics- 94% Audience-84%

Yong's Rating- 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Chaser (2008)

In the spirit of Halloween, I am going to review an excellent thriller from Korea, The Chaser. This film isn't filled with flashy graphics or fancy chase scenes. In fact, most of its important chase scenes all develop slowly and occur on foot. Surprisingly, they were some of the most intense and suspenseful chase scenes I've seen in movies. Its simplistic style gives it a realistic gritty feel which is common feature found in a lot of good Korean thrillers.

Kim Yun Seok plays an ex-cop turned pimp. You can tell by the way he treats others that he is not a pleasant man to be around. When he suspects that someone is kidnapping and selling his girls, he relies on his police instincts to attempt to track down the creep. Little does he know that the creep he is after isn't a simple kidnapper. Ha Jung Woo plays the sadistic killer who poses as a client to lull escorts into a trap to use as his gruesome killing experiments. Some of the torture scenes are brutally real and graphic. Let's just say his main weapons of choice are chisel and hammer. (what is it with Korean movies and hammers?) Just a warning to the squeamish. When the Kim Yun Seok character finally catches up to the killer, the entertaining and thrilling chase ensues. This films features great character development and all the right ingredients that makes up a classic first class thriller.

The film rights have been bought by Warner Brothers and it will be getting the Hollywood treatment that many foreign thrillers seem to be getting these days. I doubt the Hollywood version could fully capture the suspense and the shock this film offers. So, go check this out if you are in a mood for a thriller this Halloween.

IMDB-7.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes- Critics- 81% audience-88%

Yong's Rating- 9.5/10 (Highly recommended)