Ben Affleck knows how to make gritty crime dramas about Boston. And how to pull fine performances out of established actors and newcomers with Boston accents.

Maybe it’s just Boston, or maybe the star of “Gigli” really is an excellent filmmaker.

After a sensational debut in 2007 with “Gone Baby Gone,” Affleck is back in the director’s chair for “The Town,” a wonderfully acted heist thriller about desperate men born out of a neighborhood that produces more bank robbers than any other city in the country.

(more…)