ben affleck – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE RIP – Review by Susan Granger

January 27, 2026January 25, 2026 Susan Granger ben affleck, Catalina Sandino Moreno, matt damon, netflix, Sasha Calle, Steven Yuen, Teyana Taylor, The RIP

As one of 2026’s first Netflix releases, The RIP is supposed to be a heist thriller – using cop parlance for stealing cash, drugs and/or weapons – but those initials really signify “repetitive informant procedural” since there’s obviously corruption on the Miami/Dade police force. An elite narcotics unit is under investigation after the death of Capt. Jackie Velez (Lina Esco) whose murder seems to be tied to robberies at local stash houses, known as a “RIP.” When Lt. Dane Dumars (Matt Damon) gets a tip that could reveal Jackie’s killer, he assembles his team – Det. Sgt. JD Byrne (Ben Affleck), Det. Mike Ro (Steven Yuen), Det. Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Det. Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandino Moreno) – to raid a nondescript house on a cul-de-sac in a quiet Hialeah neighborhood.

Reviews

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 – Review by Susan Kamyab

April 23, 2025April 26, 2025 Susan Kamyab ben affleck, Gavin O' Connor, Jon Bernthal, The Accountant 2

The first Accountant surprisingly charmed and entertained audiences. While I did not expect a sequel, I certainly don’t mind getting to see Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal team up again. Though it’s hard to beat the refreshing plot of the original film, this second installment adds up to a solid watch. While the film delivers on action and intensity, there is also a lot of humor and depth, mostly brought by the film’s leads, who continue to have incredible chemistry. It’s the hilarious interactions between Affleck and Bernthal that make this film stand out.

Reviews

THE INSTIGATORS – Review by T. J. Callahan

August 6, 2024August 7, 2024 T. J. Callahan Alfred Molina, ben affleck, casey affleck, doug liman, hong Chau, matt damon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Paul Walter Hauser, Ron Perlman, The Instigators, Toby Jones, Ving Rhames

The Instigators reunites Matt Damon with the Affleck brothers, Casey as a co-star and Ben as producer, in this heist comedy set in their hometown of Boston where the accents are as thick as the bumbling criminals trying to stay one step ahead of the law. Damon is an ex-Marine, a divorced dad wanting to do right by his son. Casey is a wayward ex-con with a drinking problem. The two are thrown together as part of an inept Ocean’s Eleven tasked with robbing the city’s corrupt mayor. When the caper collapses, the would-be thieves find themselves on the run from not only the police, but the profiteering politician’s henchmen.

Reviews

AIR – Review by Nell Minow

December 20, 2023December 24, 2023 Nell Minow Air, amazon studios, ben affleck, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, jason bateman, matt damon, Michael Jordan, Nike, truth-based, viola davis, Warner Bros.

2023 will be remembered as the year of the movies that are consumer product origin stories. We’re used to seeing heroic stories of military figures, musicians, political leaders and activists, and, because movies are written by writers — writers. But in 2023 we had a remarkable number of movies with heroes or anti-heroes who were, well, capitalists. We saw the origin stories of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Blackberrys, Beanie Babies, and the proto-computer game Tetris, By far the best of the group, though, was the story of a sneaker, a shoe that would become so popular it would have, well, a massive cultural footprint.

Festivals Reviews

CHASING CHASING AMY (Tribeca 2023) – Review by Beth Accomando

June 12, 2023June 12, 2023 Beth Accomando ben affleck, Chasing Chasing Amy, guinevere turner, Joey Lauren Adams, Kevin Smith, lgbtq, Sav Rodgers, Tribeca 2023

Twelve-year-old Sav Rodgers watched Kevin Smith’s 1997 film Chasing Amy and fell in love with it. The experience became the topic of a TED Talk in which Rodgers recalled being gay-bashed: “See, it sucks when everyone else knows you’re queer before you do. Because then you don’t have anything to protect yourself with.” But Rodgers found comfort in Smith’s film, which had an appealing pop culture backdrop and served up an unconventional romance in which a heterosexual man is rejected by a lesbian. This documentary is about Rodgers’ obsession with something that changed his life, an analysis of the film, an exploration of why many in the LGBTQ+ community do not like it, Rodgers’ own coming to terms with his queerness, a general consideration of what makes for good representation, and ultimately a coming-of-age story for Rodgers as a transgender filmmaker.

Reviews

AIR – Review by Susan Granger

May 16, 2023May 21, 2023 Susan Granger Air, ben affleck, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, jason bateman, matt damon, Michael Jordan, Nike sneakers, Sonny Vaccaro, viola davis

Air recounts how Sonny Vaccaro convinced the then-rookie Michael Jordan to sign a unique endorsement deal that changed the retail sports-apparel industry. Insightfully scripted by newcomer Alex Convery and astutely directed by Ben Affleck (Argo), it’s really a sports fable, centered on the 1984 corporate culture at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Back then, Nike was known for its running shoes which had zero impact on fashion. This underdog story begins as Nike’s basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) searches for the next player to promote the footwear brand.

Reviews

AIR – Review by T.J. Callahan

April 6, 2023April 6, 2023 T. J. Callahan Air, amazon studios, ben affleck, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, jason bateman, matt damon, Michael Jordan, Nike, truth-based, viola davis, Warner Bros.

Air: A shoe is just a shoe until someone steps into it. It was 1984. Americans were doing the Jane Fonda workout. Prince Charles and Lady Diana became parents to a future king, Mr. T pitied the fools, Clara Peller asked “Where’s the Beef?” and Converse ruled the athletic shoe world. A little ol sneaker company in Oregon was out to change that.

Reviews

AIR – Review by Susan Kamyab

April 1, 2023April 1, 2023 Susan Kamyab Air, ben affleck, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, Damien Delano Young, jason bateman, matt damon, Michael Jordan, Nike, viola davis, Warner Bros.

I am so happy to say that this movie is not only a slam dunk, but it’s one of the best films of the year so far. I know it’s early to say that, but this particular A-list film is going to stick with audiences all year long. Directed by Ben Affleck, the film is about a sports marketing executive, played by Matt Damon, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.

Reviews

DEEP WATER – Review by Susan Granger

March 14, 2022March 19, 2022 Susan Granger Adrian Lyne, ana de armas, ben affleck, Deep Water, Patricia Highsmith

Director Adrian Lyne built his reputation on kinky, erotic thrillers like 9 ½ Weeks, Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal, and Unfaithful, so it’s not surprising that he capitalized on the off-camera romance between Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas to take advantage of their sexual chemistry in this sizzler. Problem is: as a psychosexual whodunit, the perverse plot makes no sense whatever.

Reviews

THE TENDER BAR – Review by Susan Granger

January 17, 2022January 18, 2022 Susan Granger ben affleck, Daniel Ranieri, J.R. Moehringer, Lily Rabe, the tender bar, Tye Sheridan

Directed by George Clooney, this gentle, coming-of-age story revolves around J.R. (played as a child by Daniel Ranieri, then by Tye Sheridan), growing up in Manhasset, Long Island, during the late 1970s/early 1980s with his single mother Dorothy (Lily Rabe), cantankerous grandfather (Christopher Lloyd) and affable Uncle Charlie (Ben Affleck), who proudly drives a stunning blue-green Cadillac convertible.

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