At last- a nice, crappy movie for me to review.
Okay, I just had to get that out. My fingers were twitching upon leaving the movie theater last night and it was only after typing that lone sentence out that I was able to finally get some sleep. You see, this Gone Baby Gone movie was indeed horrible, but at the same time it lit a fire of excitement in my soul at the prospect of reviewing it. You see, when walking out of the theater, I knew I had a gold mine on my hands. I’m sure my excitement at having witnessed a BAD movie may be lost on you, my dear readers, but if you’ll give me just a moment, I’ll be more than happy to explain my elation.
Go look at my recent review archive. If you do that, you’ll notice that the vast majority of the movies I’ve covered lately have tended to score around the 2 or 2 ½ star mark. Basically, all average, middle of the road stuff. Sure, last week I gave We Own The Night a full 3 stars, but that was more due to the fact that it had managed to rise to a level just slightly above the base cinematic mediocrity that I’ve been forced to swallow over the course of the last few months than it’s overall quality when taken on its own merits. And going by those standards, I probably should have given Rob Zombie’s Halloween 3 ½ stars instead of 3, being that it’s been the most enjoyable flick I’ve seen in quite some time. But I’m now running the risk of delving into a babbling rant, so I’ll put on the brakes and get back to business. Suffice it to say, writing these reviews has been tough lately, as Hollywood has been releasing an endless stream of bland, formulaic crud and I’m just feeling less than inspired. I want some emotion awakened in me, good or bad- either take a risk and make something unique and great, or make something so bad that I get angry. Happily, Gone Baby Gone achieves the latter.
Gone Baby Gone is horrific actor Ben Affleck’s directorial debut. And, to my surprise, it started out very solidly, with an especially excellent bit of character acting by star Casey Affleck (yes, he’s Ben’s brother. Some might cry biased casting, but he really is good) as Boston-based private investigator Patrick Kenzie. Along with his girlfriend Angela Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan), the two are hired to assist in the hunt for a 4 year old girl abducted from a (very) white trash mother living in the run-down neighborhood of Dorchester. The whole event has become a media frenzy and main focus of Jack Doyle (Morgan Freeman), a police Chief heading up a division dedicated to solving missing child cases. However, the locals are reluctant to talk to the authorities, and only the street-smart Kenzie seems to be able to get any real dirt on the case. During the course of the investigation, Kenzie is partnered up with police detective Remy Bressant (Ed Harris, who seems to be really taking to tough-guy roles late in his career, with great success), and at this point the film really starts casting doubts on everything and everyone. Like I said, it’s very, very solid so far.
Disclaimer: News articles on this site may contain opinions of the author, and if opinion, may not necessarily reflect the views of the site itself or the views of the owners of NewsLI.com, Long Island Media Inc., or Long Island Exchange®. For more information on our editorial policies please view our terms of service.
