Ben Affleck's 'The Town' already on award season map

Zap2it predicts 2011 will be Ben Affleck's biggest year since he won his screenplay Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" in 1997.
 
Oh, sure. He took a wrong turn and made some dicey movies such as "Armageddon," Daredevil" and "Gigli" in the past. And he knows it. But he came back strong in 2006 with his role as George Reeves in "Hollywoodland," followed by his well-received directorial debut, "Gone Baby Gone," in 2007.

Now he's co-written, directs and stars in "The Town," a riveting crime thriller about friendship and betrayal, love and hope based on the novel "Prince of Thieves" by Chuck Hogan.

The movie is being touted as an early Oscar contender, and based on what we've seen and heard, it fits the bill. Just lIsten to the rest of the cast:  Golden Globe-nominated Rebecca Hall, "Mad Men's" Globe-winning, Emmy-nominated star Jon Hamm, "The Hurt Locker" Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively (as a stripper), "Lost's" Titus Welliver, Oscar nominee Pete Postlethwaite and "Adaptation" Oscar winner Chris Cooper.

Affleck plays Doug MacRay, a bank robber from Boston's Charlestown neighborhood who's having second thoughts about his career -- particularly after his partner Jem (Renner) takes a hostage (Hall) on a job. She lives in Charlestown too, and as Doug checks up on her to see what she might know, he starts to fall for her. Hamm plays an FBI agent on the trail of Doug and his crew.

As you might have guessed, this film is rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.

And we can't wait!