Boston Movie Bracket - Final Results & Breakdown

As most of us are stahved for creative outlets and feeling productive while we’re cooped up in quarantine, we eithah staht working out moah, getting intense in the kitchen, or simply mehrging with the cushions in ahh respective couches. One of my favorite things to do is debate movies, spohrts, and other incredibly impohrtant stuff like Noarth Shorh vs. South Shoarh, etc.

At the risk of coming off insane and no tangible rewahd in site, I ranked the Top 32 Boston Movies of all-time. Once the brackets stahted, theah was controversy, intrigue, and people I haven’t spoken to in quite some time sending me DM’s about matchups and seedings and which movie they wanted to win. This gave me some sense of relief that I wasn’t going to be judged by the amount of houahs I’d put into this bracket challenge, but instead gave me fulfillment because I knew I was doing the Boston movie gods’ work.

Some thought, with good reason, that Hall Pass shoudn’t have been in the bracket. It was put in theah because I’d accidentally put Celtic Pride on both sides of the bracket. Coincidence? Fuck no, Go C’s. My issue with the controversy surrounding Hall Pass was that the same people who complained about it also voted fah it over The Verdict. An all-time classic with Paul Newman and maybe the best movie on this list. But hey, that’s America fah you: uninfohmed, ahrrogant, and eventually self-defeating. Sorry, quahrantine may be getting to me, let’s keep this light.

Othah notable controversies included Fever Pitch beating Manchester By The Sea 70-67 in the first round and Boondock Saints (an actually hahrrible, shit movie) beating The Perfect Storm 89-46. Other than that, the few movies that weren’t set directly in Boston (Social Network is in Cambridge and then Silicon Valley, Jaws is on The Cape, Little Women is up in Concord) all count. Because I fahkin said so. The Cape & The Islands, South Shore, North Shore are all Boston. If you don’t agree then make a worse bracket than mine. Or, if you don’t think it’s a “Boston” movie, then don’t vote for it, shut the fahk up.

Towahrds the end, I found myself rooting for The Fighter and Good Will Hunting. Because I love those movies and because Matt Damon and the Afflecks are from Cambridge. The Fighter didn’t win, but upon rewatch I realized that it was just as good as I remember it being the first time. Howevah, it’s never going to get mass appeal because it’s too authentic. The only quotable line in it that people remembah is “Head, Body, Head, Body” and that’s because the script is how people actually speak. Regahdless, the final matchup of The Departed and Good Will Hunting was the right one. Below you can see all of the voting results and a furthah breakdown of Powah Rankings aftah that…

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The Final Four

The Final Four

#1 Good Will Hunting

• Notable Wins: Shutter Island (+107), The Town (+59), The Departed (+22)

• Total Votes: 588 (2nd Overall)

• Starting 5: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver, Gus Van Sant

• Bench Mob: Stellan Skarsgard & Casey Affleck

• Top Quotables: Do you like apples; It’s not your fault; My boy’s wicked smaht; Gotta see about a girl; What’s yah majah? Bet you read a lot of Gohdon Wood; Because fuck him, that’s why.

• Written by: Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

#2 The Town

• Notable Wins: Mystic River (+91)

• Total Votes: 421 (3rd Overall)

• Starting 5: Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, Pete Postlethwaite

• Bench Mob: Blake Lively, Chris Cooper

• Written By: Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard, (Based on the novel by Chuck Hogan)

• Quotables: Puttin this whole town in my reahview; To tha filtah; I need your help. I can't tell you what it is, you can nevah ask me about it latah, and we're gonna hurt some people…What cah we takin; This side or the othah.



#1 The Departed

• Notable Wins: Jaws (+111), The Fighter (+127)

• Total Votes: 629 (1st Overall)

• Starting 5: Leo, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Marty Scorsese

• Bench Mob: Alec Baldwin, Vera Farmiga, Martin Sheen

• Written By: William Monahan, (Based on Mou gaan dou written by Alan Mak & Felix Chong)

• Quotables: Microprocessors; Do you wanna be a cawp? Or do you wanna appeah to be a cawp; Cranberry juice…What ah you ahn ya period; Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe go fuck yuhself; My hand…steady; I'm the guy who does his job. You must be the other guy; Oh, it’s working…ovahtime.

#1 The Fighter

• Notable Wins: Ted (+10), Spotlight (+29)

• Total Votes: 293 (4th Overall)

• Starting 5: Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, David O’Russell

• Bench Mob: Mickey O’Keefe (plays himself), The Townie Sisters, Sugar Ray Leonard

• Written By: Scott Silver (8 Mile), Paul Tamasy (Air Bud), Eric Johnson, Keith Dorrington

• Quotables: Head, body. Head, body; Pride of Lowell, baby; She acts all fahkin superiah cause she went to college.

Power Rankings

Player Name………………# of Bracket Movies

1. Ben Affleck………………5

2. Mark Wahlberg…………5

3. Matt Damon…………………4

4. Dennis Lehane…………4

5. Casey Affleck…………3

Player Name……………# of Bracket Movie Wins

1. Ben Affleck……………………9

2. Matt Damon………………………9

3. Mark Wahlberg………………8

4. Casey Affleck………………6

5. Leonardo DiCaprio……6

Player Name……………# of Star Bracket Movie Wins

1. Matt Damon……………9

2. Ben Affleck…………8

3. Leo DiCaprio………6

4. Mark Wahlberg……4

5. Mark Ruffalo………2

Total Vote Leaders:

• Team………………# of Total Votes

1. The Departed………………………629

2. Good Will Hunting…………588

3. The Town…………………………………421

4. The Fighter…………………………293

5. Shutter Island…………………244

6. Spotlight………………………………242

7. Mystic River………………………238

8. Jaws……………………………………………215

9. Ted………………………………………………190

10. The Social Network……164