Limited talent and zero charisma

Re “Ben’s Big Fall,” by Kim Masters, Oct. 27: One of the reasons for the decline of Ben Affleck’s career is the fact that he’s not that talented as an actor. By focusing almost exclusively on his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, The Times panders like the tabloids it criticizes.

Affleck seems like a decent guy, and I’m sure his PR people were happy with the article, but being nice and good-looking does not equal talent and/or charisma. Choosing bad material is only part of his decline.

Since you insist on comparing him to Matt Damon, where was the unspoken but widely held observation that Damon is simply a better actor? Maybe that seems unnecessarily cruel, but if The Times insists on being in bed with entertainment-industry publicists, the least it could do is take a good look at them in the morning.

Bruce Maddox

Pasadena