Live By Night

Hidden Figures,’ ‘patriot’s Day’ In Tight Race, ‘monster Trucks,’ ‘live By Night’ Brace To Flop

... sweep , “La La Land” should continue to pack them in and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” remains a force. Fandango reports that “La La Land,” “Hidden Figures,” and “Patriot’s Day” are virtually neck-and-neck in terms of advance ticket sales with “Patriot’s Day” having a slight edge. “Bye Bye Man,” a PG-13 horror film, and “Sleepless,” an action-thriller with Jamie Foxx, are eyeing debuts of $10 million and $8 million, respectively. STX backed “Bye Bye Man,” which focuses on the discovery of a shadowy figure responsible for evil acts, while Open Road is distributing “Sleepless,” the story of a morally compromised detective whose family is threatened. The weekend’s other new release, Paramount’s “Monster Trucks,” is shaping up to be a huge bomb. The studio has already taken an $115 million write-down on the family film and is eyeing a debut of between $8 million and $10 million. That’s a disastrous result for a film with a $125 million price tag. ...

Stylish ‘live By Night’ Never Quite Comes Together

... by Dennis Lehane. A Warner Bros. release playing at Franklin Park, Fallen Timbers, Levis Commons, Bowling Green, and Mall of Monroe. Rated R for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/​nudity. Running time: 128 minutes. Critic's rating: ★½. Cast: Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Chris Cooper, Chris Messina, Zoe Saldana, and Siena Miller. Equally offended by Joe’s status as “a Papist” and his interracial love affair with a Cuban beauty (Zoe Saldana), their racism and bigotry is more distasteful than his outright manslaughter. With his trigger-happy henchman (Chris Messina) at his side, Joe rarely shoots his business opponents personally, so he tries to negotiate rather than assassinate. Briefly, anyway. Trimmed down from a 400-page novel by Dennis Lehane, the film has a swarm of interesting denizens and plot ingredients. But it doesn’t assemble them into an especially coherent package. Perhaps the novel ...

Affleck’s ‘live By Night’ A Crime Tale That Falls A Little Short Of Excellence

... tale that falls a little short of excellence. By Mark Meszoros , The News-Herald & The Morning Journal. Zoe Saldana and Ben Affleck share a scene in “Live by Night,”which Affleck also directs. Warner Bros. Pictures. ‘Live by Night’. Rated: R for strong violence, language throughout, and some sexuality/nudity. Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes. Stars (of four): ★½. The star, director and screenwriter of the new adaptation of 2012 Edgar Award-winning crime novel “Live by Night” by Dennis Lehane, Ben Affleck comes up a bit short in all three areas. Typically a better director than actor — his 2012 film, “Argo,” won the Academy Award for best picture — Affleck gives us something reasonably entertaining in “Live by Night.” But as a character study of a criminal who has lines he won’t cross, “Live by Night” just doesn’t get there. You wait for this not-quite-gangster epic — let’s call it “gangster epic light” — to fully draw you in, but it never quite does. Affleck portrays the central character, Joe Coughlin, who didn’t exactly relish his experience fighting in the Great War. “Good men died around me,” he says in ...

Miguel Talks New Film & Plans To Record Spanish-language Album In 2017

... and has a real gangster, speakeasy feel. As your style usually translates into your music, will we hear some of that prohibition-era influence in your music. I think that the 1920 s was an amazing time, especially when it comes to big band. And Cuban band music is also amazing. I do think that the direction of my music is a little bit different, but I will say that the experience in getting to know about Cuban culture and history made me want to explore more and more my connection with my Latin roots, especially with music. Writing songs in Spanish is one of the things I started exploring after working on this film. I look forward to working on more music in Spanish. It sounds ambitious, but I'm looking to release an album in Spanish later on this year. If nothing else, at least releasing a single or two in Spanish. Hopefully, you guys stay tuned to that. We definitely will! You're a halfsie like myself; I'm half African-American, half Puerto Rican. What are some of your favorite Mexican traditions. The family gets together the night before Christmas. We spend a lot of time together ...

Live By Night, Patriots Day

... of what.but who? When three college friends stumble upon the horrific origins of the Bye Bye Man, they discover that there is only one way to avoid his curse: don't think it, don't say it. But once the Bye Bye Man gets inside your head, he takes control. Is there a way to survive his possession. Sleepless (Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller, R, Starring Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, Dermot Mulroney, Gabrielle Union, David Harbour) - Undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs is caught in a high stakes web of corrupt cops and the mob-controlled casino underground. When a heist goes wrong, a crew of homicidal gangsters kidnaps Downs' teenage son. In one sleepless night he will have to rescue his son, evade an internal affairs investigation and bring the kidnappers to justice. Copyright 2017 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Triangle ...

City Of Lawrence Stars In 'live By Night

... Courtesy photo Ben Affleck and Lawrence police officer Kevin Schiavone are seen on the downtown Lawrence set of "Live by Night" in November 2015. JILL HARMACINSKI/Staff photo Actors in 1920 s clothing gather around antique cars on Common Street in Lawrence during the filming of the movie "Live by Night.". Photo courtesy of Susan Grabski, Lawrence History Center A scene from "Live by Night" is shot in Lawrence at the Everett Mills in 2015. Photo courtesy of Susan Grabski, Lawrence History Center"Live by Night," a crime drama written by, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, was filmed in Lawrence. Here, a scene is shot at the Everett Mills. Back in the fall of 2015, Lawrence residents got a front-row seat to see Massachusetts native and Hollywood star Ben Affleck make a movie in their city. Now, the whole country will see big-screen portraits of Lawrence, including Essex and Canal streets, the Everett and Stone mills, the ...

Live By Night,' 'sleepless' And More

... peril, brief scary images, and some rude humor). — __link__. 'PATRIOTS DAY'. R 2:13 2.5 stars. “Patriots Day” is the story of the 2013 bombing of the Boston Marathon and the search for the two men who planted the bombs that killed three and hurt more than 250. The incident remains a vivid memory because it happened so recently and everything unfolded on TV. That created major problems for the filmmakers. Director Peter Berg, who wrote the screenplay with Matt Cook and Joshua Zeturner, has meticulously re-created everything from the morning of the attack to the moments after the investigation wrapped. It's a very detailed telling of the story. But because the events were covered so thoroughly in the news media, this retelling offers nothing new. Yet, there was plenty new that could have been explored. Mark Wahlberg's character, Tommy Saunders, is a cop who has ruffled the feathers of his bosses. ...

With Live By Night, Ben Affleck Makes An Un-thrilling Period Crime Thriller

... her sheriff father (Chris Cooper) or an emboldened Ku Klux Klan. Shot in rich amber tones by Robert Richardson, “Live by Night” looks terrific, and Affleck is as proficient as ever with crime-driven action, including shootouts, old-timey car chases and some spirited nightclub scenes. If, as his own leading man, he doesn’t bring much zing to the role of Joe, he fills out the suit with convincing, square-shouldered heft. And he’s cast the rest of the movie well: Cooper and Fanning are both excellent in their supporting roles. But Zoe Saldana, as a slinky Florida local, is little more than set dressing in a story that can’t help but invoke memories of “Miller’s Crossing” and “The Godfather Part II,” with touches of “Boardwalk Empire” thrown in for good measure. The visual and performative elements are polished enough in “Live by Night,” but it lacks any sense of urgency. Affleck, who adapted Lehane’s novel, gives himself one or two important speeches about immigrants, intolerance and the American Way, but never ...

Live By Night

... pictures. Unfortunately this is also the worst of his directing efforts, which include Argo, The Town, and Gone Baby Gone. This film is adapted from the 2012 crime novel by Dennis Lehane, who also wrote The Town. That was Affleck’s debut behind the camera. In an interview, I heard Affleck say that Leonardo Di Caprio sent him the book and he immediately wanted to make this picture (Di Caprio is one of the producers). The period settings, costumes, and set pieces are impressive. The picture is handsomely shot. There’s a lot in the dialogue that works well. It’s unfortunate that so much of this picture is disjointed. Affleck plays Joe Coughlin. He’s a World War I vet who robs banks and card games that the Italian mob is putting on. This frustrates his dad Thomas (Brendan Gleeson), who is a Boston police captain. It’s also upsetting to him that he’s running around town with Emma Gould (Sienna Miller). That’s because she’s the mistress of Irish mob boss Albert White (Robert Glenister). My wife and I each wondered — why is he out in public with ...

Nice Guy Chris Messina Is Thankful Ben Affleck Saw His Inner Gangster For 'live By Night

... I went to meet with the costume designer [Jacqueline West], and I said, “Ben’s so tall and wide. I’m so small. I’m struggling, honestly, with the idea of me being next to him and playing the Enforcer.” And she said, “Look at Frank Nitti, Capone’s right-hand man. Frank Nitti was smaller than Capone but he was the one everyone was scared of.” Frank Nitti had this little mustache. It wasn’t the style at the time but she felt like it showed how rebellious Dion was. Many of your scenes involve driving Affleck’s Joe Coughlin around. What’s it like to have a Model T as your stage. Some of the cars were rigged — old cars but with new engines. I didn’t drive those. I was driving the real vintage cars. Sometimes they were glorious to drive. It’s like you walked out of a time machine, with the stick, the clutch and the small windshield. But most times, they added to the volcanic anxiety: You’d be driving and all these cars would be coming toward you, the director-star is sitting next to you, it’s really hot out, you have a big monologue and if you can find the right gear, you’re very lucky. Did you throw yourself a gangster movie marathon. I watched “The ...

Ben Affleck's Mob Drama Is Nearly Kiss Of Death

... Ben Affleck's mob drama is nearly kiss of death. 2 / 5 stars. Narcissism dogs Affleck’s self-direction which is too forgiving of his dubious character and relegates its female stars to sacrificial roles. Surface confidence … Ben Affleck and Chris Messina in Live By Night. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros. Friday 6 January 2017 16.56 GMT. Last modified on Friday 6 January 2017 16.57 GMT. Share on Messenger. Ben Affleck is a dismayingly stolid and uninteresting star turn, playing ambitious young gangster Joe Coughlin in this stodgy, self-important mob drama with borrowings from The Godfather and Scarface. There is a dull dreamboat handsomeness to his performance throughout. Perhaps another director could have got something more from him, but Affleck has directed and adapted the award-winning 2012 crime novel by Dennis Lehane – whose Gone Baby Gone he brought to the screen in 2007 for his directorial debut. Live By Night has a surface confidence; its period settings and style always look good and it boasts some thoughtful, detailed supporting performances from ...

Patriots Day,' 'silence,' 'live By Night

... but here's a chance to bear witness to filmmaking at its sharpest. "Live By Night" — Ben Affleck, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, directed by Ben Affleck. Ben Affleck directs his fourth feature film ("Argo" being his most recent) with this adaptation of the fantastic 2012 Dennis Lehane novel. Spanning decades, "Night" takes us into a lively criminal underworld of early 20 th century bootlegging filled with hardened criminals, femmes fatale, gunfire aplenty, and yes, star-crossed love. The verdict: See it. Early word has been less than complementary, but based on the power of the novel alone, I say give it your full attention. Quick Cuts. "Monster Trucks" (Wide Release) — Lucas Till, Amy Ryan, Barry Pepper, directed by Chris Wedge. Skip it: If you want to get the kids out of the house this weekend, "Monster Trucks" is your only option. But this tale of a young man, his truck and a kindly monster is entirely forgettable. "Sleepless" (Wide Release) — Jamie Foxx, Michelle Monaghan, ...