Film Review: The Nice Guys

Russell and Ryan, a match made in dark comedy heaven.

Mr. Nice Gosling and Mr. Nice Crowe
Mr. Nice Gosling and Mr. Nice Crowe

The Nice Guys isn’t the first time that director Shane Black has dabbled in the Los Angeles neo-noir comedy genre, and not the first time his LA neo-noir comedy has featured the pairing of an odd couple solving a crime. 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a highly under-appreciated noir caper with hysterical performances from Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. Truth be told, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a smarter, funnier, and all around better movie than The Nice Guys, but the latter is very entertaining and deserves a lot of credit. Despite a quasi-tonal mess that it actually ends up embracing, the film’s laid back trivial attitude and hilarious performances from its two leads make The Nice Guys a satisfying early summer romp.

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Film Review: Iron Man 3

Robert Downey Jr. and his suit in 'Iron Man 3'
Robert Downey Jr. and his suit in Iron Man 3

Yes, that’s a somewhat dejected looking Tony Stark.  Why the long face when his new movie has a shot at earning one billion dollars at the worldwide box office?  Well, there IS something Tony can be sad about — with The Avengers 2, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and likely a few more Marvel films on the horizon, this may be the last Iron Man installment for quite some time, if not ever.  When Iron Man 3 takes advantage of that fact and pulls out all the stops, not including an unnecessarily complex plot and superfluous CGI, it’s a whole ton of explosive fun.

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