Live by Night [Blu-ray] [2016]

Overall good movie. I really enjoyed the era. Been always does a good job.

The problem with Live by Night is that it is both too much and never enough. Ben Affleck, who has proved himself a strong storyteller in his screenwriting and directing skills, certainly has a fine ambition in his latest effort, but it simply never seems to pan out the way he originally imagined it. This is to the point that Live by Night is as big, extravagant, and sexy a gangster drama as one could hope to get made in the studio system today and yet the story is nowhere near as compelling as it should be to make the amount of effort put into the costumes, production design, and other period details matter. The question on my mind as the film came to its one too many endings-none of which are satisfactory, I might add-was, "how did this happen?" How did a filmmaker such as Affleck, with a story he himself adapted from a Dennis Lehane novel (Gone, Baby, Gone, Mystic River, Shutter Island, The Drop), in this time period, and with a star-studded cast that features stand-out performances from the likes of Chris Messina and Elle Fanning end up sinking as quickly as a dead body attached to a boulder in a river? There is seemingly never a clear answer as to how so many promising parts can come together to form a subpar whole, but with Live by Night the majority of as much seems to fall on the script never knowing exactly what type of story it wants to tell and as a result, the momentum of the pacing never finding its footing well enough to keep viewers invested. There is always more material in a novel than a two hour movie can handle and it seems rather than relay what was more or less the same story the source material was telling through the prism of a single perspective or theme that Affleck instead attempted to cram in as much of Lehane's novel as he could resulting in the film feeling more than overstuffed while still leaving the viewer hungry for more. When talking of adapting a book for the screen director David Fincher said, "The book is many things. You have to choose which aspect you want to make a movie from." It seems Affleck might have learned a thing or two from his Gone Girl director as this lack of a singular viewpoint is exactly what Live by Night is missing; delivering so many characters, ideas, and plot strands it's hard to care about any of them.

Movie was really great. I don't know where all of the complaints are stemming from unless people are going into the film hating Affleck. He does a decent job in this movie and it's much better than most everything else I've seen him in... including Argo (the Oscar winner) Someone else mentioned The Town and while it is better, it's a different type of film and is up there with Heat (DeNiro & Pacino) IMO. Live By Night is way better than other movies I've bought this year, regrettably I might add, like Suicide Squad, Manchester By the Sea, Jack Reacher, Independence Day, etc... I mean seriously, movies this year have been pretty terrible and this one ain't that

This movie got a lot of grief in reviews from people who felt disappointed after getting hit movies like The Town and Argo from director Ben Affleck. I think Live By Night is a fantastically shot period piece, but does slog a little bit in the second act. I would say if you're a big fan of gangster films, then you will like this film. There are some great special features that make this blu ray worth adding to your collection that includes actor/writer/director commentary by Ben Affleck, character studies on the men and women of Live By Night, deleted scenes, and a feature on the writer of the original book.

Although a bit lengthy, this movie has all of the elements of the classic Prohibition gangster movies of the past. There is something for everyone. The special features are well done, but extremely limited. The previews are standard.

Before watching Live By Night, I had very high expectations. This was Ben Affleck's fourth directorial effort and I was more than pleased with his prior films: Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo. When seeing trailers for the film, it appeared to be a love letter to the great gangster films of the 40s. Unfortunately, the film suffers from some issues in story, pacing and character development. It is my opinion that these problems were the result of studio interference to keep the runtime closer to two hours for the potential of more showtimes in theatrical release and less of a chance in alienating the audience who are less likely to see a film with longer runtime. I feel that there is a great film out there in the form of a director's cut like we received with The Town, which greatly benefited from the extra half hour of runtime. All that being said, Live By Night is still worth the watch and the bluray transfer is top notch. The film was finished on a 4K intermediate and shot by three time Oscar winning cinematographer Robert Richardson, so it looks incredible. The bluray also comes with a Dolby Atmos track so all in all it is the perfect film to test out your system. I just wish it received a 4K release as most recent titles have been from 2K upscales. If you can pick it up for a low price, Live By Night comes recommended from this film buff.

An underapperciated gem of a Gangster film by Ben Affleck, He does great directing and being the main star, is it on the same level as the town? NOPE! is it terrible as some critics say it is? no!. If you love gangster films you might appreciate this one.

Like it. It is a movie about my hometowm. I like Mob movies. A keeper.