The Nice Guys

Starsky & Hutch by Shane Black. What's not to love? Perhaps only the disparity between the silly buddy comedy storyline loaded with one-liners (I haven't laughed so loud in the movie theater for a long time) and the regular gritty crime storyline, which is clearly only a makeweight, but for a long time is much more refined than it turned out to be eventually and in the final scene it is clearly too slow. In other words, both in terms of the story in a style like"nothing is going on" and in terms of comedy, it´s absolutely flawless. And I look forward to a sequel, the two of them get together in terms of mutual chemistry so unusually and in a unique way (after all, see for yourself. It would be terribly unfortunate not to give them proper space. However, the best movie in this department is still Zootropolis. (24/05/2016)

It's a decent retro one-off, whose atmosphere and frilly 1980s LA visuals are far more engaging than the story around which the two well-acted main characters revolve. By the way, this is the kind of daughter I wanted in the new Jack Reacher and didn't get. Brilliant one-liners and great action. A bit better Starsky & Hutch, but very similar. (06/11/2016)

I got what I wanted. But it's worth remembering that Shane Black, who wrote The Last Boy Scout, was twenty-five years younger, so The Nice Guys is closer to his directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang than to the rampage of Joe Hallenbeck and Jimmy Dix. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are a bit off as the detectives most of the time and usually don't really know who's shooting at them and why, but Black is understandably in complete control of the whole situation and lays his cards on the table at the right time. The whole thing is endearingly goofy though, so not only do the protagonists have no idea what's going on around them at times, but Black is able to afford some very campy (and great) action scenes full of ideas, bizarre jokes and punchlines you wouldn't expect. The Nice Guys is a smart crime drama, but one that wants to do things a little differently and isn't afraid to rely on mostly pretty gritty and cynical humour alongside the honest battles and shootouts, playing with audience expectations and making it entertaining to the last minute. You'll never know what Black will pull on you in the next scene. You just know it's going to be great. (15/05/2017)

Black is a wisecracker and he knows how to write characters, fully humanize them, and then let them sprinkle (not only) verbal humor in dialogue exchanges that make the audience squirm. Yet the entire film is covered by such a terribly lame and in many moments transparent crime plot that it wouldn't even hold up as a retro episode of CSI. If the investigative aspects hadn't been taken so seriously (a take on so many strong social themes) and had settled for more self-deprecating silliness, it would be a genre perennial. [It dissipated quickly the day after I watched it.] 3 ½. (25/05/2016)

Russel Crowe and Ryan Gosling were born for roles like these. They make fun of themselves, but not in a very obvious way. That’s what the movie itself is like. It is funny, but at the same time isn’t primarily about the humor, it is rather a typical detective story from the 1970s. However, when there is a hilarious scene it has such an impact that you will want to rewatch it a couple of times after the first viewing. During the remainder of the time, you hope for something mindblowing to come any minute now and so you are observing, lurking, and you appreciate every moment that makes you laugh. Every joke is actually filmed so originally that the ending will make you sad. Even though I wasn’t that impressed with the first half of the crime story, the second half was a lot better. But the humor reigned for the whole 2 hours. I even have a feeling that you will not find a funnier movie from the year 2016. (21/12/2016)