I love a good guilty pleasure movie, and The Nice Guys is certainly that as the summer season begins.
This is a buddy-detective comedy that is set in Hollywood in 1977, that stars Ryan Gosling, and Russell Crowe. When you see the trailer, it may not look like a very good, or even very original movie, but it is. Yes, the buddy premise is an old one but this works. Gosling and Crowe are good together.
This is about 2 really marginal private detectives ..sort of... who work together on a case of a missing young girl, Amelia. Who is she? Why does seemingly everyone want to find her? And why is everyone out to kill her? This story bobs and weaves throughout and in the end, ends up being a pretty darn good story.
This is full of slapstick and some really slick dialogue delivered very well, as our characters are developed nicely throughout the flick. This is a combination of a good old fashioned Hollywood who-done-it, a father/daughter story, a straight sight gag comedy, and a bit of Lethal Weapon tossed in. This takes us back amazingly well to 1977 as the costuming, sets, props, cars and soundtrack are really spot on.
Huge kudos to a wonderful young actress, Angourie Rice. She plays Gosling's character daughter who is about 13. She is really great in this movie, and is needed as she provides great balance and relief from the sometimes hectic pace. SHE is the real star of this movie, both in her performance and the character they created and wrote around her. She is what makes this movie a whole lot better and a whole lot different than a ton of other buddy comedies. Well done.
This has a nice supporting cast, and the overall feel of this movie is really refreshing. This is certainly set up to become a franchise as they leave the door wide, and I mean wide open for more.
The Nice Guys. This is flat out good.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
MOVIE REVIEW - Neighbors 2
Seth Rogen and his bunch have a new movie out, and it's a sequel. This is Neighbors 2.
Rogen, Rose Byrne,n Zac Efron, and Chloe Grace Moretz star in this comedy that also includes a bunch of cameos by a few others. This time instead of a frat moving in next door to our new young parents, this time its a new sorority. Someone thought this was a good idea. They should never be listened to again in a serious manner.
Besides just not being funny, this is a perfect, and I mean perfect example of a original good idea having nothing new to say that's anywhere near creative. This is an attempted money grab, that's it. Being fair, this movie does do a pretty good job at times completely lampooning entire generations, and many times quite effectively. There are some good laughs in spots.
But for some reason, Rogen and his humor have become that really awkward coworker you have. You know, the one who doesn't know when to stop talking. The guy show doesn't know when the joke is over, and now it's simply uncomfortable, and in most cases exceptionally inappropriate? There are numerous scenes in this that can only be described as the poorest taste imaginable. And they don't make this a better movie, just a more gross and juvenile one. This also can be offensive to many, but not to the intended target audience. There are a ton of really offensive references.
There is no reason to talk about any performances, as the writing and directing is so horrible, no one has a chance to do anything worth remembering. Did the theater laugh at times? Yes, but not near enough. This really fell flat today.
Neighbors 2. This movie tries so hard to be cool, and in the end, it's just not funny
Rogen, Rose Byrne,n Zac Efron, and Chloe Grace Moretz star in this comedy that also includes a bunch of cameos by a few others. This time instead of a frat moving in next door to our new young parents, this time its a new sorority. Someone thought this was a good idea. They should never be listened to again in a serious manner.
Besides just not being funny, this is a perfect, and I mean perfect example of a original good idea having nothing new to say that's anywhere near creative. This is an attempted money grab, that's it. Being fair, this movie does do a pretty good job at times completely lampooning entire generations, and many times quite effectively. There are some good laughs in spots.
But for some reason, Rogen and his humor have become that really awkward coworker you have. You know, the one who doesn't know when to stop talking. The guy show doesn't know when the joke is over, and now it's simply uncomfortable, and in most cases exceptionally inappropriate? There are numerous scenes in this that can only be described as the poorest taste imaginable. And they don't make this a better movie, just a more gross and juvenile one. This also can be offensive to many, but not to the intended target audience. There are a ton of really offensive references.
There is no reason to talk about any performances, as the writing and directing is so horrible, no one has a chance to do anything worth remembering. Did the theater laugh at times? Yes, but not near enough. This really fell flat today.
Neighbors 2. This movie tries so hard to be cool, and in the end, it's just not funny
Saturday, May 14, 2016
MOVIE REVIEW - Money Monster
The new George Clooney, Julia Roberts thriller Money Monster is here this week. It's supposed anti-Wall Street plot is the main feature. Or is it?
In short, Clooney plays a guy named Lee Gates, a fictional cable TV star who hosts one of those high energy financial shows. He's rich, arrogant, and is disliked by most of the people who work with him on the show. Roberts plays the director who is leaving the show because of Gates. During a live episode, the show is literally taken hostage by Kyle, (Jack O'Connel) at gunpoint, and a suicide vest he places on Gates.
Kyle is a down and out delivery man who lost all his mother's inheritance on the advice of Gates on a previous episode. Now he wants answers from the company he invested in, and Gates himself, as it all plays out live on television. What kind of lies have been told to him and investors world wide, as this company lost 800 million in a day? This movie has been billed as anti-Wall Street, even anti-Capitalism, and yes they do that to a degree, but there is more.
Yes, they make Wall Street look bad, and yes they make big business look greedy. But what this movie did more to my eye was make the New York City Police look horrible. They are portrayed as stupid, unprepared, bloodthirsty, and amazingly incompetent. This movie is trying so hard to make such heavy handed social commentary all around, it forgets to be really good, and settles for also ran. But this has become a Clooney staple recently. This movie again reeks of "I am the smartest man in the world." And this does not connect with the average movie goer.
Let's start with the good. It's short, this moves nicely, and is edited extremely well. There are nice elements to this movie that make it easy to watch. But it stumbles with so many really questionable choices, in plot and in execution, it will more than likely leave many less than pleased.
This movie is also badly cast. It's just tough not to see George Clooney, the guy. And harder to see Lee Gates the character. His international fame is a problem here, as his cred with this character is highly questionable. But being fair, this has become a big problem for him the past few movies, with the Descendants being the exception (which is terrific). Roberts is fine in a role she is not asked to do much in, and she is totally over casted. But they needed the name. O' Connell is quite good as our troubled man. He works because you believe him, as his lack of international notoriety gives him cred. I'm not buying the other two.
Money Monster. Honestly? Very forgettable. It'll be a cable TV weekend movie though for years between Law And Order marathons.
In short, Clooney plays a guy named Lee Gates, a fictional cable TV star who hosts one of those high energy financial shows. He's rich, arrogant, and is disliked by most of the people who work with him on the show. Roberts plays the director who is leaving the show because of Gates. During a live episode, the show is literally taken hostage by Kyle, (Jack O'Connel) at gunpoint, and a suicide vest he places on Gates.
Kyle is a down and out delivery man who lost all his mother's inheritance on the advice of Gates on a previous episode. Now he wants answers from the company he invested in, and Gates himself, as it all plays out live on television. What kind of lies have been told to him and investors world wide, as this company lost 800 million in a day? This movie has been billed as anti-Wall Street, even anti-Capitalism, and yes they do that to a degree, but there is more.
Yes, they make Wall Street look bad, and yes they make big business look greedy. But what this movie did more to my eye was make the New York City Police look horrible. They are portrayed as stupid, unprepared, bloodthirsty, and amazingly incompetent. This movie is trying so hard to make such heavy handed social commentary all around, it forgets to be really good, and settles for also ran. But this has become a Clooney staple recently. This movie again reeks of "I am the smartest man in the world." And this does not connect with the average movie goer.
Let's start with the good. It's short, this moves nicely, and is edited extremely well. There are nice elements to this movie that make it easy to watch. But it stumbles with so many really questionable choices, in plot and in execution, it will more than likely leave many less than pleased.
This movie is also badly cast. It's just tough not to see George Clooney, the guy. And harder to see Lee Gates the character. His international fame is a problem here, as his cred with this character is highly questionable. But being fair, this has become a big problem for him the past few movies, with the Descendants being the exception (which is terrific). Roberts is fine in a role she is not asked to do much in, and she is totally over casted. But they needed the name. O' Connell is quite good as our troubled man. He works because you believe him, as his lack of international notoriety gives him cred. I'm not buying the other two.
Money Monster. Honestly? Very forgettable. It'll be a cable TV weekend movie though for years between Law And Order marathons.
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