The Town

It's conceivable that the best movie of the year could be directed by Ben Affleck. That's not preposterous, given his debut with Gone Baby Gone. His next film, The Town, boasts an impressive cast (including Rebecca Hall, Titus Welliver, the Hurt Locker Guy and the Mad Men guy).

I started Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves, the source for The Town. It's a terrific read. It's so good it makes me jealous, he writes exactly the kind of book I'd like to. My only complaint is the abundance of crappy music references. The book is set in 96, so you'd think there'd be something else on the jukeboxes besides U2. But other than that, it's a flawless thriller. If Affleck does half the job with it that he did with Gone Baby Gone, my predictions will hold out, and The Town will be the film of the year.