The Nice Guys

Shane Black's neo-noir buddy cop comedy The Nice Guys features good writing, solid acting and as much of a 70s retro vibe as you can handle. With undeniable chemistry between the two leads, this movie is full of quick comments and smart banter alongside great directional and aesthetic style, however it is still far from a perfect flick, with a sometimes messy story and a vibe of wasted potential.

Private investigator Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and enforcer and all-round badass Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) find themselves buddied up through unlikely circumstances in an investigation for a missing young woman, Amelia (Margaret Qualley). Set in Los Angeles in the 1970s, an overarching conspiracy is revealed, reaching both into the prominent pornographic industry of the time as well as into the happenings of higher powers in the city.

This movie is undoubtedly carried by the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling in their lead roles, as any buddy comedy movie should be. The synergy between the two has allowed for smart writing and witty dialogue to translate well on to the screen, through their improbable pairing in a dire situation. Gosling's Holland March is a lazy, unsuccessful and usually drunk private eye, struggling to make a living with his young daughter Holly, played by Angourie Rice (who is just as impressive in this movie as Gosling and Crowe), and on the flipside, Crowe's Jackson Healy is professional, competent and in control as a hired enforcer, creating a compelling and interesting pairing in a genre defined by character synergy. Despite the heavy use of banter in dialogue between the two, some of their ventures feel quiet and uninspired, creating gaps between moments of enjoyment in the viewing experience. At the same time, while the dialogue is smart and creative, the movie's comedic value does not extend much further than this, and never really prompts more than a slight chuckle from its audience.

Black attempts to revive the buddy cop genre in The Nice Guys with a modern narrative which is more complicated and contains twists and turns which come unexpected in its telling. The vast involvement of the porn industry creates an interesting and enjoyable dynamic and provides plenty of room for the comedy of the film, however at times feels misguided and underutilized. While the story is mostly compelling and interesting, some of its complications feel forced or unexplained at times, leaving both the story direction and audience lost at certain times of the movie. This is not to say Black fails in his role as a writer-director, as the directional style of the film is as commendable as the performances of Crowe and Gosling. The movie's action sequences are well-choreographed and believable, while also effectively integrating physical comedy into character movements. The retro style of aesthetics creates a visually pleasing film, with colourful suits and nice cars as far as the eye can see, successfully pulling of the attempted 70s throwback the film aims for.

While this film sometimes loses its way, you can still expect to come out of a viewing entertained in some way or another, whether it be by the smart dialogue and chemistry of Crowe and Gosling, the pleasing directional and artistic styles, or the complicated crime story itself. Despite attempting to convey too many different themes and genres, and sometimes feeling messy and uninspired, this film is still worth a watch if you enjoy comedy, crime, Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Shane Black, the 70s, or porn.

80's Action Movie: Lethal Weapon (1987)

Prior to watching this, the only experience I had with any Lethal Weapon movie were the 'sequels' made in the TV show It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. While these short sketches are absurd, they did prepare me for the actual movie, in a way. For me, on the surface, Lethal Weapon was shaping up to be a generic buddy cop movie, but it soon showed me that it was a lot more.

Straight away the premise of this movie drew me in. Both Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) are polar opposites when it comes to police work. But that's a given in buddy cop movies. No, it's the depth that's given to both characters. Murtaugh is an aging family man, ready to find a solution at the first inclination of an answer. Riggs is volatile and suicidal after the death of his wife and will take down crooks regardless of his own safety. It's amazing that this movie was allowed to show just how close Riggs is to suicide, showing him putting a gun in his mouth multiple times.

This is a great movie for Gibson to show off his talents (although I was unsure if he was doing an Aussie or American accent, he was just beginning his Hollywood breakthrough). I have also identified it as a turning point for his insanity in real life. Another person with whom this movie correlates with their real life insanity is Gary Busey, who plays psychopathic mercenary Mr. Joshua. It just goes to show that playing a psycho on film can sometimes bleed over to real life. Also another bit of trivia, this isn't the last time that Glover and Busey would appear in a movie together, they also play opposite each other in (my favourite Predator movie) Predator 2 in 1990.

The only problem that I have with this movie is the soundtrack. The jazz saxophone that is played throughout genuinely made me laugh. The mix of soft rock, jazz and orchestral score may have worked in 1987, but it doesn't really work today.

Verdict: A pretty deep action movie that has some decent acting, it's a shame about the soundtrack.

Iron Man 3

It's taken three movies but I think I finally see the appeal of Tony Stark. His abrasiveness and bluntness add to his charm. Over the course of the last two Iron Man movies (and that massive Avengers flick), I have to come to love the man in the Iron mask.

In this first post-Avengers movie, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is suffering from PTSD caused by the events that happened in New York. He spends most of his days tinkering with his many Iron Man suits with the help of his robotic assistant Jarvis (Paul Bettany). Stark's girlfriend Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) is running Stark Industries. And Stark's best friend Col. James Rhodes (Don Cheadle), AKA War Machine AKA Iron Patriot, is working for the US Government.

In recent weeks, attacks by a shadowy terrorist known as the Mandarin (Sir Ben Kingsley) have been ramping up in their intensity. Pepper Potts is in talks with Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a scientist who was once ignored by Tony, about some new biotechnology he has engineered.

The shit hits the fan when an attack by the Mandarin hits Tony's old bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau). Tony reacts to this attack by saying that he is going to take revenge on the Mandarin and even goes so far as to give him his home address (via the means of good old fashioned media). The Mandarin responds in turn by attacking Stark's cliffside mansion.

Tony's suit breaks down and decides to fly across the country. He wakes up in Tennessee and finds refuge with a young boy who helps repair his suit. Once this is done, he teams up with Rhodey to take the Mandarin out.

I think what I enjoyed so much about this film is the fact that it wasn't directed by Jon Favreau (not that he's a bad director). Shane Black brings some fresh ideas and they definitely show through his directorial style.

Ever since I saw 2002's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, I have always had faith in RDJ. He brings lightness to roles that would otherwise be quite depressing (because let's face it, Tony Stark is Bruce Wayne or vice versa). As I said earlier, Tony Stark is quite blunt and has no qualms about driving off and leaving a kid in the cold snow.

I have found that putting Ben Kingsley in a movie is great marketing (that this film doesn't really need), but he has only ever played a handful of dramatic roles. This is one of those borderline roles and once you see the film, you will agree that he is a fantastic actor. I have always been a fan of Guy Pearce (one of the first films I ever saw being made had him in it). In this movie, his devious Aldrich does whatever he wants to get his way.

Of course the most important element of these Marvel films is the stunning visuals. The seen where Tony's mansion is falling into the see is fantastic to look at and the climax of the film is even better.

Verdict: A fantastically entertaining superhero romp that is better than the last two Iron Man films combined. Lots of hilarious dialogue between RDJ and Paul Bettany.