Review: The Nice Guys (2016)

Have you ever seen a movie trailer for the first time and get the feeling that you know it’s going to be brilliant? Like, no fear of disappointment or anything because you know you’re going to love it? That’s what happened to me and my husband in January this year. We were at the cinema to see Spotlight, and after having a bit of a movie/blog hiatus over Christmas all of the trailers were a surprise to me. Cue a 70’s looking Ryan Gosling wrapping fabric around his knuckles, punching through a window, and then gripping his wrist, bleeding everywhere, followed by Russell Crowe accepting $30 to beat up a little girl’s friend, and I was practically dancing in my seat.

Of course, like every other movie I’ve been looking forward to this year, it got released in the cinemas during my wedding/honeymoon weeks, which meant I missed it. 

There was a game I used to play on the Xbox 360 called L.A. Noire, it’s possibly still one of my favourites games of all time. You play as an LAPD Officer called Phelps, trailing Los Angeles for clues and interviewing witnesses to solve cases. That’s just what The Nice Guys is like, only it’s side-splittingly hilarious at the same time. In The Nice Guys, Holland March (Ryan Gosling) has been hired by a worried mother whose daughter, a porn star by the name of Misty Mountains, has been missing for days. She was last sighted 2 days ago by her mother herself. The only issue here? Misty died in a car accident 4 days ago…

Holland’s search puts him in the line of fire of Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), who has been paid to stop Holland from nosing around. And so our pair meet, which as you can probably tell from the movie poster, ends badly (and painfully) for Holland. If I had any doubts about the chemistry these guys might share on screen, they were fizzled out by their performance at the Oscars earlier this year. They bounce off each other so well! 

I’ve been so used to watching Ryan Gosling play a tough guy (Drive, The Place Beyond The Pines, Only God Forgives) that this completely threw me off balance. I’m really not joking when I say he screams like a girl, and it didn’t matter how many times it happened, I laughed till I cried. He’s just a bit of a doofus, but a very good detective at the same time, which means when he does slip up and does something stupid, it comes without warning. His character Holland also has a young teenage daughter, Holly (Angourie Rice) who is constantly trying to help. Characters like Holly normally get in the way and get annoying, but in some cases, she actually saves the day, and she’s a delight to watch. 

It was just so much fun to watch, and I’ll be watching it again and again over the years, I’m sure. If there were only one movie this year that deserves a sequel, it’s this, because I could watch Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe work together solving cases for hours on end. In fact, I don’t even know why I’m scoring this a 9/10, I can’t think of a fault to pick at, but I hate giving out full marks!

Review: Magic Mike XXL (2015)

I  have been quite looking forward to this since Magic Mike.  I know you're all thinking, typical woman, can't wait to watch muscular chaps get their kits off and dance around.....and you would be right!  But also, the original one had quite a dark story which I really enjoyed....I did....I swear.....

Magic Mike XXL starts 3 years after Mike (Channing Tatum) bowed out of the stripper game for good.  A phone call from Tarzan (Kevin Nash) brings the old gang back together (less Matthew McConaughey's Dallas and Alex Pettyfer's 'The Kid') for one last hurrah as a convention in Myrtle Beach.  Tito (Adam Rodriguez), Ken (Matt Bomer), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello) along with Mike and Tarzan embark on a road trip (interjected with various strip teases) to perform their final routine.

I can't say I didn't enjoy this film, I really did but not for the story.  That was poor in comparison to the original and it became a bit more cheesy than dark and sometimes grim original which was a bit disappointing to be honest.  I can say however that the strip sequences made the film watchable, i'm not even being a pervert (i swear!), I love dance routines in films and that is effectively what they were.  It didn't hurt that they were half naked mind......

The ensemble don't quite nail the chemistry that they had in the first one and they overplayed some of the elements from the first film but the finale absolutely blew the whole film out of the water, I replayed it twice!!  

Awesomely entertaining but didn't quite match up to the first one.

White Collar Finale

Not too long ago, I decided to hop onto one of the biggest bandwagons of all time and started reading the 50 Shades books on my kindle on the way to work, barely even taking in any words because I was too busy looking like a shady drug dealer, looking behind my back every 2 seconds in case someone was on to me. You know how much I like to go off topic, but this does actually relate to White Collar, I promise.

I joined in the heated debates about which actor I would pick if there were to ever be a 50 Shades film (never did I think it would happen!) and I’m actually struggling to recall who my first choice actually was. Knowing my 2012 (2011?) self, I probably put together some elaborate plan as to just how Ryan Reynolds could do it. Anyway, I saw a friend of a friend post on Facebook the picture below with her argument as to why Matt Bomer was the perfect Christian Grey. I agreed with her instantly, even though I had no idea who he was.

That, folks, is the reason I started watching White Collar. I told you my rambles were heading somewhere, didn’t I?

If you’ve never watched it before, White Collar is what I assume is your typical FBI show, although I’ve never watched CSI or any other show like it, so I got to watch it with fresh eyes and no cliches in my mind. Neal Caffrey is a highly experienced art thief, counterfeiter and con man, who breaks out of prison in the very first episode. Peter Burke is the FBI agent who put him there in the first place, and secures Neal a deal whereby he uses his expertise to help the FBI on their white collar cases. I think when I started watching, the show had just returned from it’s Season 3 mid-series break, so I got to marathon it for a while, which was the best part of my commute to work.

Every episode is a little story of it’s own with a new case that Neil and Peter work on, usually with some sort of art or literature theme (I actually feel smarter after watching this show) but with an overarching bigger problem each season which keeps your interest up every time. It definitely got frustrating once I caught up and had to wait a whole week to find out what happened next!

Spoilers ahead now for the final episode which I watched last night…

I don’t like finales. Season finales are painful enough because there’s months to wait before the next one, but I get attached to my shows and don’t like them ending! It was White Collar’s time though, and I’m glad in a way they didn’t stretch it out, because it would have ruined it. Better to end on a high! Just like Dexter, I knew White Collar could only end one of two ways, Neal would either get his deserved freedom, or the Pink Panther case would go sour and he’d be stuck with the FBI. It became blindingly obvious within the first 10 minutes of the final episode though that Neal dying was a very possible outcome. Too many heart-warming conversations, Peter and Elizabeth’s baby confirmed as a boy?

It was a brilliant episode. I cried no less than 3 times at Neal’s death and everyones reactions, but came to peace with it fairly quickly. It was an unexpected ending, up until 30 minutes ago of course, but I could accent it and move on. Until everything turned odd…

So Neal isn’t dead after all! He’s in Paris, and the Louvre just stepped up it’s security. Is that because they’ve lost something precious? Or have they just appointed a new head of security? I don’t know yet, but I like that it’s open to suggestion. What did bother me though was the ‘Sherlock’ factor to it all. It was just a bit too much for me. Also, did Mozzie know, or not? I’ve read convincing arguments on both sides, but my favourite theory is that Mozzie was in on it too, but had to make it convincing or Peter and his family would be at risk of the Pink Panther’s wrath. He left the bottle of wine for Peter, and the playing card in the storage so that Peter would know, and then left for Paris to meet up with Neal. I can be happy with that. I think I’m just still in mourning.

White Collar has been with me for 3 years and I have loved every moment. I have a hole in my heart now, in the shape of a fedora.

Top 10 TV Characters (Allie)

We started off our Top 10 series with Film Quotes, and next we've done TV Characters! I know we're the Flick Chicks but hey, we watch a lot of TV too, and just try and think for a moment how hard a Top 10 Film Characters list is going to be. I could fill a top 10 with Ryan Reynolds and Benedict Cumberbatch characters, so just be grateful that I'm taking time to think about it properly! So, in order, here are my Top 10 TV Characters...

10. Crixus, Spartacus (Manu Bennett)

This guy is a total badass. I could actually just leave it that and you couldn't be mad, because he just is! Seriously though, in Season 1 I just couldn't stand him, because I loved Sparty so much probably, but over the course of the show he really develops, and by the end, he was my favourite out of them all. Manu gets a bonus point too for Deathstroke in Arrow!

9. Jorah Mormont, Game of Thrones (Iain Glen)

This may be cheating a little, because Jorah is my favourite character in the book series too. I know he sounds like an unusual choice, but he's a really interesting character and his relationship with Daenerys is beautiful. I can't tell you anymore without giving you spoilers but he's one to watch!

 

 

8. Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory (Jim Parsons)

I don't watch this show as religiously as I used to but it's still one of my go-to choices when I put something on in the background. I'll eventually catch up with it all! I really struggled to pick a favourite but Sheldon probably gets the most laughs out of me. He's the perfect combination of awkward and funny.

7. Chandler Bing, Friends (Matthew Perry)

Could Chandler be any funnier? Friends might just be my favourite TV Show of all time, and I love that you can put Comedy Central on at any time in the day and there will always be an episode on. Is there anyone who doesn't own the full boxset? Chandler has that sarcastic wit that I just find hilarious, he is without a doubt my favourite from Friends!

6. Felicity Smoak, Arrow (Emily Bett Rickards)

Ugh, how amazing is Season 2 of Arrow? I have to admit, I nearly gave up halfway through Season 1 but it ended amazingly and each episode in Season 2 has been great so far. Ollie might be the obvious choice but I absolutely love Felicity. Can her and Ollie just get together already? Her sheer awkwardness is enough on it's own to make me love her.

5. Jenny Humphrey/Chuck Bass, Gossip Girl (Taylor Momsen/Ed Westwick)

Okay, I know this is cheating a little. But Jenny was my favourite character since I saw her in this show, but right now I'm in the last few episodes of Season 3, and I just can't stand her at all! I hope she goes back to her usual self. So half replacing her is Chuck, who has been his usual smarmy and cocky self, but with a whole heap of adorable added on top.

4. Jess Day, New Girl (Zooey Deschanel)

Who doesn't have a bit of Jess in them?! I love this girl with a passion and if I could steal her wardrobe I would. Another show that I'm not up to date with, but that's the joy of living in the UK. I love Jess's attitude to life in general and how she deals with day to day situations. If I could become anyone else for a day, I would be Jess!

3. Neal Caffrey, White Collar (Matt Bomer)

Oh my, this man! I'm so sad that the next Season of White Collar will be the last. I binge watched this show on the train to work for a few months and nearly missed my stop more than once. Neal is smart, witty and charismatic and he's so much fun to watch. If you've never seen this show give it a try, it's worth it for Neal Caffrey alone.

2. Debra Morgan, Dexter (Jennifer Carpenter)

You might have thought I would go with Dexter himself (In fact, I think Jenna has) but I freaking love Debra Morgan! If Jess Day is who I would like to be, Debra Morgan is who I actually am. She's kind and passionate, but she also doesn't put up with any kind of crap, and has to swear at least once every 5 minutes. Me all over.

1. Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch)

Come on, don't even pretend you didn't see this one coming. The latest Sherlock TV Show is just fantastic, and Sherlock himself is such an interesting character. I think his social awkwardness is my favourite characteristic in him though. Just when you think he can't say anything worse, he just digs a bigger hole for himself. I'm going to painfully wait through this hiatus until he's back on my TV screen.

 

Phew, what a mega post! I had great fun putting this together, and I can't wait to see Jenna's list! Do you agree with any of mine? Who would be in your Top 10?