Sure, Ben Affleck starred in a couple of disposable films. I still like the guy.

Maybe if I’d had to suffer through Gigli, I’d feel differently. But I loved his turn in Good Will Hunting, thought he did his best as Jack Ryan, and I even enjoyed him in the not-so-memorable films Bounce and Jersey Girl. I just think he needs the right roles, the right scripts.

But what’s far more interesting to me is the revelation of Ben Affleck the Director.

Gone Baby Gone was a stunner of a debut. So impressive, in fact, that I cynically wondered just how much help he’d been given by powerful Hollywood friends.

But this? Wow. This trailer for The Town played before Inception, and while everybody else left the theater talking about Inception, I left thinking about how much I want to see this.

You? Does this trailer get your attention?

I can’t wait to see it. And it makes me even more interested in seeing what Affleck does next.

Can you think of another actor who, when he started directing, turned out to be a better director than an actor?

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