Ben Affleck

Review: The Accountant

Adding itself to the long list of films that are about the least dynamic occupations known to man - alongside The Postman and The Constant Gardener - The Accountant belies the real nature of the job by having a musclebound, autistic Ben Affleck punch and shoot people in his spare time. We all know, however, that accountants are only good for trawling through an overly complicated mess of information to try to simplify everything and make sense of it all. Which is, coincidentally, exactly the kind of accountant that this film really needed.

Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice

The greatest gladiator match in the history of the world: God versus man.
By which, of course, I mean Zack Snyder, the all-powerful harbinger of wanton destruction, versus us, the humble cinema-goer, merely looking for some entertainment. Some cool stuff, for sure. Maybe even a joke of two. It's Student from the School of Michael Bay versus, say, Andy from Dagenham. Who will win?

Review: Gone Girl

I read Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. I read Zodiac by Robert Graysmith. I read The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich. I read The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. All were at some point translated to the screen by David Fincher; only the latter felt undermined by its source material.

Here's that amazing Gone Girl poster easter egg you didn't notice

The first time I laid eyes on the poster for David Fincher's Gone Girl, adapted from Gillian Flynn's excellent book, I didn't think much of it. Futura? Yawn. Ben Affleck looking sad? Tell it to Batman. A giant floating head? Probably the most overused poster cliché there is. Then I noticed the whopping great easter egg for fans who have already read the book. Then it clicked. And now I think it's genius. Read on if you want to see it (spoiler).

We're running out of Batman titles

Hey you! Yeah, you! What are you doing in 2019? Well, cancel all your plans, because there's a new Batman movie coming out. What's it called, you ask? Um, it's called The Batman. That's The Batman, not like all those other Batmen. Never mind helium and coal: are we as a species running out of potential titles for Batman movies? I investigate.

Batman to be taken in interesting new 'dark and gritty' direction

Zack Snyder has released a first look at Ben Affleck as an all-new 'dark and brooding' Batman for Man Of Steel follow-up, Batman Vs. Superman. Until now, of course, the character has always been a fun and playful superhero, but this seems to be a bold new take on Batman. You can almost see him visibly thinking "Awww, man. My parents got killed. FUCK."

Ben Affleck runs like a (gone) girl

In related news, the trailer for Gone Girl is very interesting indeed, although the Fincher/Reznor/Ross trademark of cutting it to a cover is hardly original (see also: Radiohead's 'Creep' sung by the Vega Choir for The Social Network, Led Zeppelin's 'Immigrant Song' sung by Karen O for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). I'm not angry, David. Just pretentious.

Review: Runner Runner

I was all ready to kick off my Runner Runner review with some killer gambling analogies: how it had an ace up its sleeve, or how the action left you flushed, or even that it was just a flop. However, to my consternation, I quickly realised there was no gambling analogy than could adequately describe something so utterly ordinary and unremarkable. In poker terms, Runner Runner is the player who wins an average stack of chips, bets moderately, cashes out even and leaves before the game gets interesting. If it were a poker hand, it would be a pair of sixes. Good luck getting excited over a pair of sixes.

The 50 absolute worst nerds to sign the Anti-Affleck Batman petition

Within nano-seconds of the announcement that Ben Affleck would play Batman in Zack Snyder's sequel to Man Of Steel, nerds took to the internet to register their displeasure. Angry nerds reacting to movie news? I know, I was as surprised as you!

Ben Affleck as Batman: pros & cons

What could go wrong? All the best, Ben.