Ben Affleck’s “Boiler Room” Soliloquy

Ben Affleck–yes, the same Affleck of Gigli fame–absolutely rocks the house in this cameo appearance from Boiler Room (2000). His performance is almost enough–but not quite–to forgive him for so many of his other forgettable roles:

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Maximus on Honor

“What we do in life echoes in eternity.”

–Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

Hub McCann on Passion

“I’m Hub McCann. I’ve fought in two world wars, and countless smaller ones on three continents. I’ve led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile and tribes of natives no white men had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, killed many men, and loved only one woman with a passion a flea like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am.”

–Hub McCann (Robert Duvall) in Secondhand Lions (2003)

Movie Review: Manhattan (1979)

Manhattan is Woody Allen’s towering shot to center field… only to be caught on the warning track. Allen nearly hits a homerun–like 1977’s Annie Hall–but ends with a disappointing out.

Like most of Allen’s movies, Manhattan deals with complicated romantic relationships peppered with infidelities and neuroses. But this time the plot includes statutory rape, as Allen’s 42-year-old protagonist romances Mariel Hemingway’s precocious 17-year-old. Read more