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Tony V. Movies

2010  
R  
Add The Town to Queue Add The Town to top of Queue  
Boston bank robber Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) falls for a woman his gang had previously taken hostage after feigning a chance meeting with her to ensure that she can't identify them in Affleck's adaptation of author Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The son of a tough Charlestown, MA thief, Doug passed on his chance to walk the straight and narrow in favor of becoming a career bank robber. Not only is Doug's crew one of the most ruthless in Boston, but they're also one of the best; they never leave a trace of evidence, and always make a clean break. Over the years, Doug's fearless partners in crime have become something of a surrogate family to him; Jem (Jeremy Renner), the most dangerous of the bunch, is the closest thing Doug has ever had to a brother. But a divide begins to open between the two career criminals when Jem takes bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) hostage during a particularly tense heist, and the group subsequently discovers that she hails from their own tight-knit suburb. When Jem proposes that the gang make an effort to find out just how much Claire recalls about the crime, Doug fears that his volatile partner may do more harm than good and volunteers himself for the job. Later, Doug turns on the charm while pretending to bump into Claire by chance, and becomes convinced that she doesn't suspect him of being the same man who just robbed her bank. As the feds turn up the heat on the gang, Doug finds himself falling for Claire, and searching desperately for a means of cutting his ties to his criminal past. But with each passing day, Jem grows increasingly suspicious of Doug's true motivations. Now caught between two worlds with no chance of turning back, Doug realizes that his only hope for finding a happy future is to betray the only family he's ever known. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Starring:
Ben AffleckRebecca Hall, (more)
 
2009  
R  
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A high school poetry teacher and single father discovers that the thing he covets most in life may not be what makes him truly happy in this pitch-black comedy directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, and starring Robin Williams. Lance Clayton (Williams) is a mild-mannered high school teacher from Seattle who was granted sole custody of his son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), following a nasty divorce. As hard as Lance tries to connect with his hostile, loathsome son, all he receives for his sincere efforts are insults and scorn. The only things Kyle seems to care about are violent video games and internet porn, the latter obsession eventually serving to alienate the foul-mouthed teen from his sole friend, Andrew (Evan Martin). His books rejected by publishers and his poetry class on the verge of being canceled due to student disinterest, Lance does find a bit of happiness in his relationship with pretty art instructor Claire (Alexie Gilmore), though these days her gaze is drifting toward handsome young English teacher Mike (Henry Simmons), who recently celebrated the publication of his very first piece in The New Yorker. Then, one day, Lance discovers his son dead, the apparent victim of autoerotic asphyxiation gone horribly awry. In order to give the boy some dignity in death, Lance pens a suicide note before summoning the authorities. By chance, that note is published in Kyle's school newspaper, instantly transforming him into a misunderstood cult icon among the impressionable student body. Now, tragedy has become opportunity for Lance. Can the grieving father live with the knowledge of how he achieved such fame, or has he sacrificed his own soul in his blind quest to garner the kind of fame that has eluded him his entire life? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Starring:
Robin WilliamsDaryl Sabara, (more)
 
1996  
 
Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) receives several royalty checks for an appearance on Japanese TV -- each coming to the munificent sum of 12 cents. This sets Kramer (Michael Richards) to thinking that maybe some Japanese TV executive might be interested in Jerry's concept of "a show about nothing" -- which may or may not explain why Kramer has a hot tub installed in his apartment. Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) hopes to hit it off with her new boyfriend, Brett (James Patrick Stuart), who loves designer furniture and the song "Desperado" -- in that order. And George (Jason Alexander) hires some carpet cleaners -- actually troubleshooters for a religious cult -- to work on the offices at Yankee Stadium. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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1992  
R  
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This black comedy chronicles the fall of one of the world's most unlovable clowns as he plies his trade and tries to survive in Palukaville a town where everyone is more or less a Bozo. Shakes loves women and more than that, he loves his booze. Like many of his painted peers, ol' Shakes likes to hang out at The Twisted Balloon, the favorite local pub where he hoists a few, beats up on mimes (the lowest caste in Palukaville) and causes trouble with his girl friend Judy, a woman who cannot say the letter "L." Because the slovenly Shakes can't seem to make it to birthday parties sober and on time, he is fired from his booking agency, causing him to go on a big drinking binge. Later, Shakes awakens and learns that Binky, a lousy TV-clown, is framing him for beating up Shake's former boss with a juggling pin. Now poor Shakes must clear his name. He must also rescue "Juwee" who has been kidnapped by the nefarious Binky, and he must come to grips with his alcohol problem (perhaps the film could be therefore titled "Clown and Sober?"). Keep an eye peeled for cameos by Robin Williams, as a mime instructor, and Florence Henderson as one of Shake's illicit sexual conquests. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

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Starring:
Bobcat GoldthwaitJulie Brown, (more)
 
1992  
PG  
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In this romantic comedy from director Frank Oz, Steve Martin plays Boston architect Newton Davis, an impulsive dreamer who builds a bucolic dream home for his girlfriend (Dana Delany) as a means of proposing to her -- only she turns him down. Three months later, the depressed Davis meets a waitress who calls herself Gwen (Goldie Hawn), though pretending to be Hungarian proves to be only the first of her many deceptions. Davis has a one-night stand with Gwen during which he tells her the sad story of the house, which remains unoccupied just outside the city in his hometown of Dobbs Mills, because he can't bear to sell it. Following what seems to be a familiar path for this con artist, Gwen locates the house, figuring she can take up residence without anyone noticing. During a trip to the local grocery, she ends up telling the proprietor she's Davis' wife while trying to charge her purchases to his account. When she offers the same story to a local furniture dealer (Donald Moffat), unaware he's Davis' father, it triggers a string of fabrications in which the shocked Davis unwittingly becomes a co-conspirator. Seeing an opportunity of his own, Davis allows Gwen to stay in the house and agrees to go along with her story in hopes of winning back his jealous ex. Of course, this also necessitates outlandish lie upon outlandish lie, leaving the whole enterprise forever on the verge of collapse. ~ Derek Armstrong, Rovi

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Starring:
Steve MartinGoldie Hawn, (more)