Film

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The Nice Guys

I’m a huge fan of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Shane Black’s scrappy, funny 2005 directorial debut. Black hasn’t done a lot of directing in its aftermath, with his lone theatrical directing credit since then being Iron Man 3, the second strongest Iron Man in the franchise. He’s back to grittier film noir mode with The Nice Guys, a grimy detective story starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe. The movie is good. Just good. It’s often so good, it’s painful to witness the moments that don’t work. Crowe plays Jackson Healy, an L.A. loser who takes punching requests from people. Folks pay him to rough up child molesters, for the most part. He gets an assignment from Amelia (Margaret Qualley), who wants him to pay a visit to private detective Holland March (Gosling), a visit that turns out to be hilariously infused with comic violence. Holland and Jackson wind up working on a case together, one that involves Amelia, a dead porn star, and a gun for hire named John Boy (Matt Bomer, relishing the chance to be super nasty). When Gosling and Crowe are allowed to go off, the movie purrs on all cylinders. It’s when Black’s script (co-written with Anthony Bagarozzi) leads to a conspiracy involving Amelia’s mother, played by Kim Basinger, that it stalls out. That’s mainly because Basinger is tone-deaf in this film. She doesn’t seem to know what kind of movie she is in, and her line delivery is woefully over-the-top. In short, she’s blazingly terrible in her every scene. I don’t blame Black for casting Basinger in a Los Angeles movie with Crowe. The two, of course, shared the screen in L.A. Confidential, and the idea of them together again is enticing. Basinger won an Oscar (undeserved) for that movie, but she won’t

be getting any awards for this one—unless you count the “Bob Grimm Takes the Movie Down a Ratings Point Because You Sucked So Much Award” as a legitimate accolade. The movie is more than saved by the Gosling/Crowe pairing. There’s a wonderful goofiness to many of their scenes. Crowe has a spit take that just might be his greatest screen by Bob Grimm moment ever, and Gosling has a Lou Costello stammering moment over a dead body that is bgrimm@ hysterical. Actually, this movie almost counts newsreview.com as some sort of 1970s Abbott and Costello remake, with Crowe a twisted Abbott and 3 Gosling the bumbling, drunken Costello. Angourie Rice, who plays Gosling’s whipsmart daughter Holly, is a true scene-stealer, and this will count as her breakthrough role. She more than holds her own against Gosling and Crowe, and is often the most adult character in the movie. The young Aussie actress gets extra points for her spot-on American accent. The visual palette is impeccably ’70s. The film captures the rundown look of L.A. with nice touches, including a beat-up Hollywood sign along with Tower Records and Jaws 2 billboards. There are lots of grays and browns in this film, with the occasional spark of hot pink and disco lights. As somebody who was a young little dumb ass in that decade, I felt transported watching the film. Gosling and Crowe are great together, and they should consider pairing up again for future films. They are so good you will forgive the film’s inconsistencies and convoluted plot. You won’t forgive Basinger, though. I would love to see Crowe and Gosling in a monster movie. Universal Studios should abandon all of those modern spins on Frankenstein it’s currently churning out and just put these two in a period piece as a couple of bungling idiots trying to defeat the lurching beast. A great comic duo has been born. Actually, Shane Black’s next movie is The Predator, a sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger monster movie, which Black had a supporting role in. Nobody has been officially cast yet. Get offers out to Crowe and Gosling—stat! Ω

“Do I want a Lemondrop or do I want a Mai Tai?”

1

Poor

2

Fair

3

Good

4

Very Good 5

4Captain America: Civil War This is a nice blast of superhero fun that finds a diplomatic way to include many Marvel favorites, even introducing a few characters to the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe, without feeling crowded or rushed. Front and center, there’s Steve Rogers (former Human Torch Chris Evans), a.k.a. Captain America, still having bro issues when it comes to the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Cap wants to back up his former best friend, but the guy committed some pretty shady acts while brainwashed, some of them very hard to defend. Captain America has to make some hard choices. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross (William Hurt) thought Age of Ultron sucked for more than the obvious reasons. On top of being kind of boring, it left death and destruction in its wake, as did the far more exciting original The Avengers. World leaders want to put the Avengers in check, using them as a sort of alternative to nuclear weapons. Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr., still owning it) suffering a crisis of conscience, agrees to the proposed accord. Rogers thinks it’s bullshit and won’t sign. This works as a fine setup for an eventual battle between Iron Man and Captain America, where both sides have compelling reasons to fight.

1The Huntsman: Winter’s War Four years ago, when Snow White and the Huntsman came out, Kristen Stewart was all the rage. The film made lots of money, and it looked like the former Bella had a new franchise on her hands. Not so fast. Kristen, in a moment of shameful and delicious wickedness, made out in public—well, in front of somebody’s unauthorized camera, anyway— with that film’s married director, much to the chagrin of then boyfriend Robert Pattinson and, consequently, her fan base. Plans for a sequel starring her were scrapped, and a whole new plan featuring her costar and budding movie giant Chris Hemsworth (Thor!) were hatched. What producers didn’t realize at the time is that Hemsworth basically sucks whenever he’s doing anything other than playing Thor. Blackhat, In the Heart of the Sea, Vacation, and now this mighty slice of hell are proof of that. While Snow White was no creative party, it was a tolerable misfire. This is a star-studded absolute mess. It’s a worthless slog of a sequel/prequel. Charlize Theron returns as the evil Ravenna, with Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain joining the sad party. And, of course, you have Thor on hand as the Huntsman, the most useless, banal role this guy has taken on in his mostly useless and banal career.

4The Jungle Book Jon Favreau’s delightful and funny take on the Rudyard Kipling’s tale of a boy raised by wolves is a winner. A young boy raised in the jungle is pursued by a pissed-off tiger (Idris Elba) who had his face burned by a human when he was young. When plans to leave for a human village are rudely interrupted, Mowgli (newcomer Neel Sethi) winds up staying in the jungle longer than he planned, and he must keep wearing the same pair of red baggy shorts. He encounters Kaa (Scarlett Johansson), an evil temptress snake, and other perils while building a special friendship with a big bear. And, as far as I could see, he never stops to wash those red shorts. A swim in the river doesn’t count. You need detergent. Bill Murray is, indeed, a masterstroke of vocal casting as Baloo, the big bear who befriends Mowgli on his extended jungle trek. Casting Christopher Walken as King Louie, the Kong-sized master of all apes in the jungle, actually tops the Murray casting feat. It gives Favreau’s film an opportunity to become truly weird, very funny, and even a little scary. The highlight comes when Walken’s King Louie, portrayed with undertones of Brando’s Colonel Kurtz, suddenly busts out “I Wanna Be Like You.” Walken is perfect for the song and perfect for the character, making the scene an instant classic. The special effects are topnotch.

3Keanu After a few years on their TV show, the comedy duo Key and Peele come to the big screen with a lively kidnapped cat comedy boasting a high body count. Part John Wick and part Adventures in Babysitting, the film gives us Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele as Clarence and Rell, a couple of wimpy guys trying to get a beloved kitten back from some hardcore gangsters. In order to do so, they masquerade as Shark Tank and Tectonic, two badasses from Allentown who will end your life if you don’t give them their cat back. The title character is, of course, the cat, who has to be the cutest kitten anybody has ever put in a movie. Clad in a doorag and jewelry, the multiple cats recruited for the part make this film an absolute necessity for cat lovers, even if you hate Key and Peele. The felines steal every scene they’re in. The movie isn’t the most original piece of work this year. Fish-out-of-water scenarios are a dime a dozen, and much of the humor—Clarence’s obsession with George Michael, Rell’s trouble with women—is based on stuff we’ve seen before.

3The Meddler Susan Sarandon gets the fun vehicle she deserves with this fine directorial effort from Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend at the End of the World), who also wrote the clever and sweet screenplay. Sarandon plays Marnie, a New Jersey widow who has moved to L.A. to be near her daughter, Lorie (Rose Byrne), a screenwriter dealing with the breakup of her latest relationship. Marnie has a bunch of money and a lot of time on her hands, so she calls her daughter constantly, brings her bagels, and basically drives her crazy. When Lorie heads back east to shoot a pilot, Marnie winds up befriending Lorie’s friends and making a few new ones, including Zipper (J.K. Simmons) and his chickens. Sarandon takes what could be a cliché character and makes her an endearing one, imbuing Marnie with a genuine warmness that makes her a welcomed “meddler” rather than a nuisance. Byrne disappears for a good chunk of the movie, but when she’s around, she and Sarandon have convincing motherdaughter chemistry. Simmons, normally the purveyor of brash, harsh and funny characters gets to show off his soft side, and Zipper is a real winner.

2Money Monster Director Jodie Foster goes for a 1970s throwback vibe while approaching a modern financial subject in this valiant but messy effort starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Clooney plays Lee Gates, host of Money Monster, a sensationalist financial program that features Gates dancing around the studio and making stock tips. Not all of Gates’ tips are winners, and he’s about to find out about the downside of bad advice. Kyle Budwell (Jack O’Connell) shows up on set as a delivery boy, but he doesn’t have pizzas. He’s got an explosive vest for Gates to put on, and a gun that says “Don’t turn off the cameras, we are going to be here for a while!” Producer Patty Fenn (Julia Roberts) has to keep the show rolling as her host is held hostage. Kyle lost a lot of dough on a Gates tip, and he’s here to tell us all how we are being suckered by “the Man.” What unfolds is woefully predictable, with Clooney and Roberts laboring to make it all entertaining despite its flatness and many clichés. Obviously, the cold-hearted Gates will see not only the evil in companies he talks about on the air, but his own clumsiness. His heart will swell for his put-upon captor, and he will join him in solidarity against the evil corporate dictator Walt Camby (Dominic West), who stole Kyle’s money due to a “computer glitch.”

3Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising The first half of this Seth Rogen sequel is as funny and snappy as the first movie, but the movie loses its way a bit by the time credits roll. Still, if you are looking at laughs per dollar, Rogen and Zac Efron deliver your money’s worth. The spin this time out has a sorority led by Shelby (Chloe Grace Moretz) moving in next door to the Radners (Rogen and Rose Byrne). Shelby is determined to party like a frat does, and this leads to a semi-depressed Teddy (Efron) coming on as a mentor. This restarts Teddy’s war with the Radners, which is bad timing because their house is in escrow. It’s during this stage when the film is at its nastiest best. When a booted Teddy joins forces with the Radners to destroy the sorority, things get a little misguided. The film has some of the funniest dialogue of 2016 (“Sometimes you have to suck a bunch of dicks to find out you don’t like sucking dicks”), and I’m always down for Rogen. Byrne is an undervalued comic actress, and Moretz fits right into the stoner mode. Efron gets the biggest laughs in the movie, even when it starts to get a little too busy. A garage gag involving those ever-pesky airbags is killer funny, as is another visit with the dean (Lisa Kudrow). As sequels go, this isn’t a great one, but it’s a worthy installment.