(Played Out of Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)
Directed by Shane Black and written by Black and Anthony Bagarozzi, The Nice Guys is the story of a down-on-his-luck private detective who teams up with an enforcer to find a missing young woman in 1977 Los Angeles amidst a world of corruption and pornography. The film is an offbeat neo-noir film that explores two mismatched men who work together to try and do good as they go into a wild adventure. Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Margaret Qualley, Matt Bomer, Keith David, and Kim Basinger. The Nice Guys is a thrilling and exciting film from Shane Black.
The film revolves the worst private detective who reluctantly teams up with a brutish enforcer to find a missing young woman as she is connected to the death of a porn star. It’s a film with a simple premise involving mismatched men who work together to find this young woman as they venture into the world of pornography and its relation to the world of crime. The film’s screenplay by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi is a mixture of noir with some offbeat humor as it play into the two protagonists who aren’t part of the police force nor do they do anything conventional which makes them a perfect team. The enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a guy hired to beat people up as he would meet this loser private detective in Holland March (Ryan Gosling) during an assignment where he beats him up. When Healy is attacked by two thugs who is trying to find this missing young woman in Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley), he turns to March for help with March’s young daughter Holly (Angourie Rice).
It’s not just the mystery that is so interesting but it’s also the characters as Healy and March are guys who try to help people but they never reach their full potential until they work together. During the course of the film as they work together to solve this mystery, Healy and March learn more about each other as they become unlikely friends with Holly gaining a second father of sorts in Healy. When the two meet up with a high-ranking official from the Department of Justice in Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger) who is revealed to be Amelia’s mother. The search for Amelia becomes more complex as it becomes clear someone is after her since she knows something as it doesn’t just relate to her mother’s disdain towards pornography but also something to do with the auto industry.
Black’s direction is definitely stylish as it play into the world of 1970s culture as it begins with a young boy (Ty Simpkins) sneaking under his parents bed to see a porno magazine when a car suddenly crashes into his home with the body of the same naked woman from that magazine. Shot largely in Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia with many exterior locations in Los Angeles, the film play into a world that is in disarray with a gas shortage as well as a smog pollution looming over Los Angeles. Black would use some wide shots to establish some of the locations as well as go into this world of decadence as well as it play into a period where everything is unruly but exciting. Black would use some medium shots and close-ups to focus on the characters as well as some of these offbeat moments such as Holly reading a book in a yard next to her home or these surreal moments as it relates to some of the things March sees whenever he’s drunk.
Still, it help play into the story and development of these characters as it is about these two mismatched men trying to do good in the world no matter how fucked up things are. Even as it leads to this very extravagant yet thrilling climax involving all sorts of shit where it proves that these are two guys that can get the job done. Overall, Black creates a fun and exhilarating film about two mismatched men trying to find a missing young woman.
Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot does excellent work with the film’s colorful cinematography with its usage of colorful lights for some of the scenes at night as well as some natural lighting for the scenes set in the day with the exception of the low-lit bars. Editor Joel Negron does nice work with the editing as it has some unique style in its usage of jump-cuts as well as using rhythmic cuts to play into the comedy and suspense. Production designer Richard Bridgland, with set decorator Danielle Berman and art director David Utley, does brilliant work with the look of the different houses and places the characters go to as it play into the world of the late 1970s. Costume designer Kym Barrett does fantastic work with the period costumes from the dresses and clothes the women wear as well as the suits that Healy and March wear.
Visual effects supervisor Josh Saeta does terrific work with the visual effects as it is mainly some set dressing to recreate the look of 1977 Los Angeles as well as some backdrops for some of the driving scenes at night. Sound designer James Harrison and sound editor Oliver Tarney do superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound effects as well as play into the atmospheres involving the parties and some of the violence. The film’s music by John Ottman and David Buckley is wonderful as it is a mixture of orchestral-based pieces with elements of funk and jazz to play into the feel of the 1970s while music supervisor Randall Poster creates a fun soundtrack that features music from the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind, & Fire, the Temptations, Kool & the Gang, Andrew Gold, America, A Taste of Honey, Climax Blues Band, Brick, KISS, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Al Green, and Rupert Holmes.
The casting by Sarah Finn is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Ty Simpkins as the kid who finds the dead body of a naked porn star, Daisy Tahan as Holly’s friend Jessica, Yvonne Zima as a porn princess, Jack Kilmer as a friend of Amelia named Chet, Murielle Telio as the dead porn star Misty Mountains, Beau Knapp as a thug known as Blue Face, Yaya DeCosta as Judith Kuttner’s secretary Tally, Keith David as a thug who teams up with Blue Face, Matt Bomer as a mysterious hitman named John Boy, and Lois Smith as an old lady who claims her niece Misty is alive. Kim Basinger is excellent as Amelia’s mother Judith Kuttner as a top official for the department of justice who is eager to find her daughter as well as be very ambiguous about her war against pornography as well as dealing with a case involving the auto industry.
Margaret Qualley is brilliant as Amelia as a young woman that is trying not to be found by anyone as she knows something that could cause a lot of trouble as she is full of energy as well as naiveté thinking she could do something when it’s really more complicated. Angourie Rice is amazing as Holly March as Holland’s daughter who is a lot smarter than her father as well as be the conscious of sorts as she brings a lot of energy but also some wit as she is the real standout in the film. Finally, there’s the duo of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Jackson Healy and Holland March. Crowe is the straight man of the two as someone that is cool with beating people up as he uses his street smart to get things done while also being very funny in a restrained manner. Gosling is definitely the funnier of the two as someone who is kind of a bumbling idiot that always screw things up despite his good intentions. Crowe and Gosling have a great sense of rapport together as they’re always fun to watch while bringing out the best in each other.
The Nice Guys is a remarkable film from Shane Black that features top-notch performances from Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Along with a great supporting cast, nice visuals, and a fun premise, the film is definitely a neo-noir film that doesn’t take itself seriously while bringing in the things needed for an action-suspense film. In the end, The Nice Guys is an incredible film from Shane Black.
Shane Black Films: (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) - Iron Man 3 - (The Predator (2018 film))
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by Gregory Jacobs and written by Reid Carolin, Magic Mike XXL is the sequel to 2012’s Magic Mike in which a former male stripper reunites with old friends for a stripping convention in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina as he copes with some of the choices he’s made as well as helping out his old friends. The film is partially a road trip but also an exploration into debauchery and camaraderie between men trying to take the next step of their lives. Starring Channing Tatum, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Matt Bomer, Gabriel Iglesias, Amber Heard, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Elizabeth Banks. Magic Mike XXL is an entertaining and wild film from Gregory Jacobs.
Set three years after the events of the first film, the film revolves around a former male stripper who is trying to run his own furniture business as he is coaxed to reunite with his fellow strippers who have been let go by their boss as they want to go on one last hurrah at a convention in Myrtle Beach. It’s a film that explores a man trying to be an adult as he reluctantly returns to what made him a big deal as well as a lot of money where he also realizes he has to smooth out issues he has with his former friends in order to do this. At the same time, the journey would force Mike (Channing Tatum) and his friends to think of new ideas for their show as they would turn to an old friend of Mike’s for help for the show in Myrtle Beach.
Reid Carolin’s script doesn’t just explore Mike’s reluctance to return to stripping but also the friends he had left behind as they’re all struggling to figure out what to do after this road trip. Especially as they also deal with the fact that their boss Dallas had abandoned them and never really give them anything to do creatively as entertainers. The script also reveals Mike’s own struggles to keep his business afloat as well as his own personal setback in his life where he rallies his buddies to really go out on one last hurrah. All of which is told in a traditional three-act structure where the first act is about Mike joining the boys on the road while the second act largely consists of him meeting his old friend/boss in Rome (Jada Pinkett Smith) and entertain some housewives. The third act is set in Myrtle Beach where it is the film’s climax where Mike, the Kings of Tampa, and a couple of Rome’s boys would create the ultimate show.
Gregory Jacobs’ direction is quite simple while it also has a flair for style in the way many of the stripping performances and staging are presented. Shot on location in Tampa as well as parts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and its climax at Myrtle Beach. Jacobs does create moments that are simple in its approach to the compositions while displaying a flair for style in a few tracking shots and some long shots. Even as he maintains an intimacy in the medium shots and close-ups for Mike’s solo dance early in the film as well as very enjoyable moment when Richie (Joe Manganiello) does an impromptu dance at a convenience store. The latter of which is a key plot-point that would serve as a major catalyst for what Mike and the boys want to do as entertainers as it has an element of liveliness in the direction. Jacobs would also use a few wide shots to establish some of the locations along with some of the large group conversations as it plays into this world of debauchery and excess. The film’s climax at the convention doesn’t just have this air of excitement but also displays different styles of performances as it has an air of class but also raunchiness that is about making women happy. Overall, Jacobs creates a fun and exhilarating film about male strippers going to a convention for one last show.
Cinematographer/editor Steven Soderbergh does brilliant work with both the film‘s cinematography and editing where he infuses a lot of unique visual styles in the lighting for the scenes at night in the former in his Peter Andrews alias while doing a lot of stylish cutting with its jump-cuts and some straightforward cuts in his Mary Ann Bernard alias. Production designer Howard Cummings, with set decorator Barbara Munch and art director Eric R. Johnson, does fantastic work with the look of the home that Rome lives and works at as well as the staging on the convention. Costume designer Christopher Peterson does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual with the exception of the clothes the guys would wear for the ultimate show.
Visual effects supervisor John Bair does terrific work with some of the minimal visual effects as it relates to the ending but also a few moments of set dressing. Sound editor Larry Blake is superb for the natural approach to the sound in how music is heard as well as the reaction of the crowd at the convention. Music supervisor Season Kent does amazing work with the film’s soundtrack with its mix of pop, R&B, electronic music, rock, and dance as it plays into the kind of stuff the guys strip to as it is a plethora of music from Ginuwine, 112, 50 Cent, Bruno Mars, Nine Inch Nails, the Backstreet Boys, D’Angelo, Ozzy Osbourne, Donna Summer, R. Kelly, Jodeci, and many others.
The casting by Carmen Cuba is great as it features some notable small roles from Michael Strahan as a stripper at Rome’s house, Stephen “tWitch” Boss as another stripper of Rome’s that would do his performance with Mike, and Donald Glover as another stripper of Rome’s club as he is also a singer that befriends Ken. Amber Heard is wonderful as a photographer named Zoe that Mike would run into often as they become friends as she would attend the convention out of curiosity. Andie MacDowell is terrific as Nancy as a housewife who lets Mike and the guys stay at her place as she has a great interest towards Richie. Elizabeth Banks is amazing as Paris as the convention’s organizer who knows Mike as she isn’t sure if she can get a spot for him and his friends only to reunite with an old friend she loves. Jada Pinkett Smith is fantastic as Rome as an old friend/boss of Mike who still has some resentment about how Mike left her as she is reluctant to help him and his friends.
Kevin Nash is excellent as Tarzan as the big and muscular guy who is also very good at making art as he is the one who missed Mike the most as he is happy Mike came along for the trip. Gabriel Iglesias is superb as Tobias as the gang’s DJ/MC who is trying to start a yogurt business with Tito as he would get sick early in the film forcing him to not join the boys for the rest of the trip. Adam Rodriguez is brilliant as Tito as the stripper who wants to create yogurt that is healthy as he turns to Mike for business advice. Matt Bomer is marvelous as Ken as the model who has some issues with Mike as he tries to maintain a positive attitude as he eventually turns to Mike about getting help for his acting career. Joe Manganiello is incredible as Richie as the guy with the big dick who is more uncertain about what to do after the gig as well as realizing he’s got a lot more to offer where Manganiello displays a lot of charisma to his role. Finally, there’s Channing Tatum in an incredible performance as Magic Mike as a former stripper who is coaxed to get back in the game as he smooth out some issues he has with friends as well as deal with the fact that he is who he is and be able to accept that.
Magic Mike XXL is a marvelous film from Gregory Jacobs. Featuring a great cast led by Channing Tatum, some wild and entertaining moments, and a fun soundtrack. It’s a film that is all about having a good time and guys taking off their clothes to entertain the ladies. In the end, Magic Mike XXL is an awesome film from Gregory Jacobs.
Related: Magic Mike
© thevoid99 2016
Directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Reid Carolin, Magic Mike is the story of a male stripper who takes a young 19-year old man into the world of male stripping as both men go into different crossroads into their lives. The film is an exploration into the world of male stripping where one person is thinking about a life outside of that world while the other goes into deep into a world of sex and drugs. Starring Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Kevin Nash, Cody Horn, Olivia Munn, Gabriel Iglesias, Adam Rodriguez, and Matthew McConaughey. Magic Mike is a engaging yet entertaining film from Steven Soderbergh.
The film revolves the life of a male stripper in his 30s named Mike (Channing Tatum) who takes a 19-year old college dropout named Adam (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing as they become a hot stripping duo at the Tampa strip club known as Xquisite. Yet, Mike’s life is at a crossroads as he hopes to start a furniture business of his own while his boss Dallas (Matthew McConaughey) is set to move the club to Miami to make more money. With Adam falling prey to the excesses of the stripper lifestyle, Mike ponders the decisions he’s made in his life while dealing with a future that might be bleak. It’s a film that may seem serious but it’s a story that explores a world where things are good and fun but can also be troubling. Especially as Mike has been stripping for six years and has no intentions of being a stripper in his 40s.
Reid Carolin’s screenplay has a unique structure in which is told in three acts in the course of an entire summer. A lot of it plays to a formula where there is this sense of rise and fall in Mike as he is this very charismatic stripper who can bring in a lot of money in one night dancing, shaking his ass, and drive women wild. While that life which also includes partying and sleeping with other women where he is also in an on-and-off relationship with a woman named Joanna (Olivia Munn). It’s a life that is becoming very predictable as he wants to do something else like create furniture at a good price as he’s eager to make it but couldn’t get loans despite all the money he has saved. By meeting Adam and his older sister Brooke (Cody Horn), Mike realizes he could do something to help the directionless Adam as he promises Brooke that he’ll take care of him.
For Adam, the life that he gets himself into his troubling where the film’s second half shows him delving into a world of drugs, booze, and women where he is asked by the club’s DJ Tobias (Gabriel Iglesias) to help him sell drugs to people to make extra money. It would play into some of the more dramatic elements of the third act while revealing more of Mike’s disillusionment with the stripper lifestyle as well as resentment towards his boss Dallas. Dallas is a very complex individual who is a showman onstage and can also help his boys out anyway that can but is also a man that has grand ambitions for what he does to the point that he’s willing to get whatever he can for his own gain.
Steven Soderbergh’s direction is very entrancing for the way he presents this world of the male stripper lifestyle while making it into a drama about a man at the crossroads of his life. Shot in parts of Los Angeles as well as scenes in Florida, there is something that does feel like a film set in the summer where the city of Tampa is a character in the film. It’s a place where things are thriving and there’s a lot of things to do. The direction is mostly understated in terms of the dramatic moments of the films including some of the scenes behind the scenes at the Xquisite club. Yet, Soderbergh maintains a sense of liveliness in the stripping scenes as well as some of the party scenes that happen including one key moment where Adam’s drug use starts to go out of control.
It’s not just the direction that has this air of intrigue that showcases a world about a man in the transition of his life but how it’s presented. Under his Peter Andrews alias, Soderbergh’s photography is very stylish where uses these gorgeous filters to display a very sunny world in many of the film’s exteriors and some of interiors scenes while the scenes at the Xquisite club is more straightforward but also playful. Soderbergh’s editing, in his Mary Ann Bernard alias, is quite stylish as it features a few montages to display some of the craziness as well as the rhythm of the drama to establish some of the changes Mike and Adam go through in their lives. Overall, Soderbergh creates a very intoxicating yet fascinating film about the life of a male stripper.
Production designer Howard Cummings, with set decorator Barbara Munch and art director Chris Dileo, do brilliant work with the look of the Xquisite club as well as Mike‘s home and some of the places he and Adam go to. Costume designer Christopher Peterson does fantastic work with the costumes from the clothes the strippers wear onstage to some of the more casual look off the stage. Dance choreographer Alison Faulk is excellent for the moves the strippers dance to where they create a show that is all about giving the ladies a good time. Sound editor Larry Blake does superb work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of strip club and more crowded places some of the intimacy in the scenes set in the beaches. Music supervisor Frankie Pine is wonderful as it features an array of music ranging from hip-hop, dub-step, country, and rock to play up the energy of the strip clubs including an original song by Matthew McConaughey.
The casting by Carmen Cuba is amazing as it features a huge ensemble for the film that includes Betsy Brandt as a banker, Mircea Monroe as a wife of one of the strippers, Riley Keough as a girl Adam hangs out with later in the film and Gabriel Iglesias as the club DJ/part-time dealer Tobias who would get Adam into a lot of trouble. Other notable small roles in the film include Kevin Nash, Adam Rodriguez, Matt Bomer, and Joe Manganiello as strippers of Xquisite with Nash as the tall but sort-of-stiff Tarzan, Rodriguez as the Latino heartthrob Tito, Bomer as the stripper-next-door Ken, and Manganiello as Big Dick Richie as a guy with a big dick as they’re just a whole lot of fun to watch. Olivia Munn is pretty good as Mike’s on-and-off again girlfriend Joanna who is trying to have her own life though she enjoys Mike’s company only to be past the friends with benefits stage.
Cody Horn is wonderful as Brooke as a young woman who is wary about Adam’s new life while keeping Mike in check of being responsible as she tries to hide her attractions towards him. Matthew McConaughey is outstanding as the Xquisite owner Dallas as a man who is so full of bravado and charm where he can be the showman onstage while being a far more controlling and ambition as far as business is concerned. Alex Pettyfer is terrific as Adam as a young guy who is lost in the world as he is intrigued by Mike’s world where he becomes a stripper unaware of the baggage that comes with it. Finally, there’s Channing Tatum in a marvelous performance as Mike as he brings a lot of depth into the role of a man at a crossroads in his life as he is eager to find a life outside of stripping though he knows he doesn’t have everything figured out while falling prey into old habits as Tatum makes the guy compelling as well as being a very fun dancer who can wow the ladies.
Magic Mike is a remarkable film from Steven Soderbergh that is highlighted by the dazzling performances of Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey. It’s a film that is definitely one of Soderbergh’s more entertaining films that is also quite dark and intriguing for some of the destructive elements of the male-stripping lifestyle. In the end, Magic Mike is a mesmerizing yet wild film from Steven Soderbergh.
Steven Soderbergh Films: sex, lies, & videotape - Kafka - King of the Hill - The Underneath - Gray’s Anatomy - Schizopolis - Out of Sight - The Limey - Erin Brockovich - Traffic - Ocean's 11 - Full Frontal - Solaris (2002 film) - Eros-Equilibrium - Ocean’s Twelve - Bubble - The Good German - Ocean’s Thirteen - Che - The Girlfriend Experience - The Informant! - And Everything is Going Fine - Contagion - Haywire - Side Effects - Behind the Candelabra - Logan Lucky - (Unsane) - (High Flying Bird)
The Auteurs #39: Steven Soderbergh Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
Related: Magic Mike XXL
© thevoid99 2013
