Movie Review: The Nice Guys (2016)

I just saw this movie for the second time this week and thought it was far better the second time, and stuff. The Nice Guys is a 2016 crime film directed by Shane Black. The film stars Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in the leads. Gosling plays a detective who teams up with Crowe (a hit man who can be hired to beat the crap out of peoples) in order to solve the death of a famous pornography actress named Misty Mountains. When I first saw this movie earlier this week, I wasn't super impressed. To me it seemed like a basic three star buddy-cop (ish) movie. Then I watched it again earlier today because my reaction to it was simply too far off from where the general critical consensus lies. On my second viewing of the movie I went from thinking it was alright, to loving this movie so much. The Nice Guys is a great movie and once I went into the film in the mood for it, I thought it was fantastic. This is a very old fashioned movie and the style is a large part of what makes this movie so great. The acting between the two leads is excellent and I love these characters. It's also just an insane and funny movie which we don't really see anymore in Hollywood movies. The fact that I had a better time with Nice Guys the second time around says a lot, because I think this movie is very rewatchable. It's a great mixture of a mystery and pulpy storyline. It's a masterful combination for a film and the fact that it's good and balanced between story and style makes it perfect in my mind. Let us not forget Shane Black's direction which to me was flooring. I also loved how this movie perfectly encapsulates the 1970s just through a few shots and set designs. It feels so old, but this is a style and direction of film that we need desperately in 2016. It's also just such a great time. Between being excellently written and having a great chemistry between characters, The Nice Guys didn't present itself to me with any flaws. Am I saying it's perfect? I cannot wait to see it again and nothing stood out to me as being wrong, so yeah I think so. Overall, The Nice Guys is an amazing movie with two great leading roles and characters, great direction, and fantastic nostalgia in the new age. Four stars

Movie Review: The Amityville Horror (1979)

The Amityville Horror is not a film I anticipated reviewing, but I watched this movie today and have lots to say about it. The film stars James Brolin, Margot Kidder, and Rod Steiger in the lead. This movie was directed by Stuart Rosenberg who would later go on to direct Cool Hand Luke which was a very well received movie. I watched this movie for the first time today and then pondered over to the world wide web, where I preceded to read some reviews for this film (I'd taken note of the fact that this is one of the lesser - discussed horror films) and I was astounded. The reviews from this movie are almost entirely negative. Some of the best film critics such as Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin both gave this film panned reviews and showed strong distaste for it. While I respect those critics opinions and while they may have very valid points, I couldn't help but disagree with them. I thought this was a great horror movie with excellent suspense building and it excels at creating a creepy atmosphere. Are there flaws? Yes! The acting in this film is very so-so, as it doesn't really deliver great performances, but they're functional characters. The movie also ends abruptly and doesn't tie up a few story lines (why the father looks like the former resident, and the storyline with the minister). Those were some areas where I feel like the movie didn't quite tie up it's knots. Other than that, I had a great time with this film. The suspense in this movie is killer and rocks until the climax at the end. One of the complaints I'd read on Rotten Tomatoes was how people thought the film was really just boring. It is true that we don't ever "see" the ghosts or "see" the ghouls hiding in the closets. However, there are plenty of movies that build suspense without showing you the culprit. It's actually very psychologically effective because it makes us create the monster in our minds. Why don't we remember that movie Jaws? Spielberg used that tactic to create suspense and that is what this movie does too. Funny enough, this movie does not even have a modern - cult following. It just sort of sank under these very negative reviews. Which is why I'm reviewing this film to tell any reader to go out and watch this movie. My used copy of the movie delighted me in every way possible. Yes there are narrative flaws and there's a lull around the second act, but I do not really think this is a guilty pleasure film. A "guilty pleasure" would be a movie where we know it's bad, but like it anyway. I truly am not of the belief that Amityville Horror is a bad film, but an overlooked great one. Overall, despite two or three very obscure flaws, Amityville Horror was a great film with great suspense, fun entertainment, and deserves to be looked at again. 3 stars

Movie Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One A Star Wars Story is directed by Gareth Edwards. The film features Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Mads Mikkelsen, Donnie Yen, and Forrest Whitaker. The movie tells the story of how this group of rebels attempts to steal the death star plans before the episode of A New Hope. Going into this movie I was pumped of adrenaline and so curious as to what they would do with the first stand alone Star Wars film. The first act or so of this movie (aside from the opening scene) was really only a 2.5 star movie. It's very slow and the characters aren't all always super interesting. Granted Donnie Yen's character was awesome, but the majority of these people don't feel all that interesting and that leads me to care less about them. After we get to planet Eadu, the film picks up and becomes really..fun. The best way I can describe this film is to say that it's a fun movie. It doesn't have all that much emotional depth and the characters (who are rapidly introduced in the beginning) are far less interesting then the traditional SW universe characters. However, the acting in this film is really great. Felicity Jones gives a great performance and so does her father played by Mikkelsen. Whitaker also plays a great Star Wars character, but we don't really see him that much. We also don't get a lot of Darth Vader. That was dissapointing because he's one of my favorite parts of this film. Darth Vader's role in this movie is so brief, but in the few scenes where he appears....he shines. This is a fantastically written character and he's far better then the front villian- Krennic. Who by the way was good, but at no point in the movie was I ever intimidated by him. As this movie progresses it became clear to me that this is mainly an action movie. It doesn't have all that much deepness when it comes down to story and it is sort of more an enjoyable time than a really thought provoking narrative. I had fun, but the bigger aspects of the movie could have been improved. There is also a great score which I appreciate as a fan of Star Wars music and just as a Star Wars fanatic. This movie delivered on an acceptable level, but it really could have improved to be more like it's predecessor The Force Awakens (which is a four star film). Overall, Rogue One was entertaining, fun, and a really good time. Three stars

Movie Review: The 39 Steps (1935)

The 39 Steps is a 1935 thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The 39 Steps stars Robert Donat and Madeline Carroll in the lead. The film is about a man who after a woman is murdered in his apartment, flees as a wanted person and tries to unveil the mystery of the 39 steps. Alfred Hitchcock has made some of the greatest movies ever created. His films aren't just great, but they are an art form in itself. The 39 Steps was really surprising, because even though this is not one of his newer, landmark films, this is still a great thriller with some really fantastic and intriguing make up to it. The first thing I instantly was drawn to in this movie are the set designs. This movie uses a true, real, physically attractive environment for their actors to move around with. Even some of the outdoor scenes are excellent examples of what real direction is. The direction of 39 Steps is amazing and I was blown away. That leads me to my next pro which is the fact that this movie doesn't ever get boring. Yes, it is short, but within that hour and twenty something minutes, it never feels long or meanders. This is a short and sweet thriller that is aware and knows how to set up conflict and suspense. As for the acting, it was fine. I didn't feel riveted by any of the performances however they did what they needed to do. One possibly negative thing (if you would even be bothered by this) is that this flick does look it's age. The 39 Steps hasn't aged very well. It's a very grainy black and white and while some shots have withstand the test of time, this is a movie where I don't think that happened. I personally did not mind the retro look and feel of 39 Steps, actually I enjoyed watching such an old looking picture. Also, the premise behind this film is something that goes throughout a lot of Hitchcock's movies, the idea of spies invading from foreign countries is something he touches on in movies like North By Northwest. It doesn't bother me, but this is not a unique film in terms of thematic elements, that is if we pair it with some of his other more well heard of works. Overall, The 39 Steps was a great thriller that satisfied me as a Hitchcock movie, a retro good time, and film that understands truly what it is. Three stars