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The Nice Guys Review

Very Good

Writer-director Shane Black returns to the comedy-noir vibe of his 2005 hit Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with this riotously funny thriller set in late-1970s Los Angeles. It's an entertaining mix of hilarious action mayhem, slapstick and violence anchored by Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, who unexpectedly prove to be a superb comedy double-act.

It's 1977, and private detective Holland (Gosling) is searching for a porn star who was spotted alive after dying in a car crash. His investigation leads him to Amelia (Margaret Qualley), who has hired the thug Jackson (Crowe) to keep people off her tail. After beating up Holland, Jackson realises that maybe they should be working together, as other cases seem to be dovetailing around Amelia's politically powerful mother (Kim Basinger). But now Holland and Jackson are being chased by the legendary assassin John Boy (Matt Bomer). And Holland is having a terrible time keeping his bright 13-year-old daughter Holly (Angourie Rice) from getting involved in this dangerous case.

Gosling and Crowe play Holland and Jackson as a classic comedy duo along the lines of Abbott and Costello or Hope and Crosby: bumbling idiots who somehow manage to save the day due to dumb luck and someone smart looking out for them. In this case, their guardian angel is Holly, and young Aussie actress Rice more than holds her own against these A-list stars. Holly is the only person on-screen who has a clue what's actually going on, and Rice effortlessly walks off with the film, giving a knowing performance that's hugely engaging. The other scene-stealer is Bomer, whose slick, overconfident killer is simply screaming to be taken down a peg or two.

Continue reading: The Nice Guys Review

Gosling And Crowe Had A Lot Of Fun With The Nice Guys


Ryan Gosling Russell Crowe Shane Black

While Gosling has some comedy experience (Crazy Stupid Love, The Big Short), Crowe isn't known for his levity. But he saw more than humour in the project. "I just really liked the density of this script," Crowe says. "I wouldn't have described it necessarily as a comedy because it's full of social commentary and other things that you don't necessarily find in just a comedy."

Crowe knocks Gosling out in The Nice Guys

He laughs when asked about beefing up for the role. "What I decided to do was just to live a completely sedentary life," he says. "What am I going to do, compete with Ryan? So I just decided to go the other way."

Continue reading: Gosling And Crowe Had A Lot Of Fun With The Nice Guys

'Iron Man 3' Director Says Film's Villain Was Changed From Female To Male Because Of Toy Sales


Shane Black Guy Pearce Rebecca Hall Kevin Feige Robert Downey Jr

Iron Man 3 director Shane Black has shed new light on the sexism in the movie industry, by describing how the villain in the 2013 Marvel film had to be changed from female to male, to help toy sales. Speaking to Uproxx, Black said that after the draft of the film’s script was finished, he received a memo saying the villain’s gender had to be changed to male, because a female toy wouldn't sell as well.

Shane BlackShane Black has revealed how Iron Man 3’s villain was changed from male to female.

“All I’ll say is this, on the record: There was an early draft of Iron Man 3 where we had an inkling of a problem,” Black began. “Which is that we had a female character who was the villain in the draft.” The character is thought to be Rebecca Hall’s Maya Hansen, who ended up having a much smaller part.

Continue reading: 'Iron Man 3' Director Says Film's Villain Was Changed From Female To Male Because Of Toy Sales

The Nice Guys - Green and Red Band Trailer


If you're on the wrong side of the law and looking for someone to send a special kind of 'message', Jackson Healey might just be the man you call. One day his work takes him to the door of Holland March where he leaves his own particular type of message for Holland, a private detective who's currently a little down on his luck.

When an employee of the Department Of Justice finds that her daughter has gone missing, she employs Healey to find her by any means necessary. Out of his depth, Healey calls on the best private eye he knows. Initially very hesitant to work with the guy who only recently sucker punched him, Holland agrees to help find the girl.

As clues are revealed, it looks like Amelia (The missing girl) has somehow become intertwined with the mob who are trying to branch out in LA. As the amateurs hunt down Amelia, the case takes them down dangerous paths they never thought they'd venture down.

Continue: The Nice Guys - Green and Red Band Trailer

Fox And Shane Black Are Bringing Back 'Predator'


Shane Black

Shane Black, the screenwriter behind Lethal Weapon and writer-director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3 is writing the treatment for a reboot of the Predator films, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Shane BlackShane Black at the premiere for Iron Man 3

Once he has given the treatment the Black treatment – that’s either a funny joke or terrible writing - Fred Dekker, whom he wrote 1987’s Monster Squad with, will oversee the writing and is also attached to direct. They’re also university buddies. John Davis, who produced the original with Joel Silver and Lawrence Gordon, is producing the project.

Continue reading: Fox And Shane Black Are Bringing Back 'Predator'

$1.2 Billion Later, 'Iron Man 3' Is The Highest Grossing Movie Of 2013


Robert Downey Jr Shane Black

Marvel reigns supreme at the worldwide box office once again as 'Iron Man 3' finally hits the top spot as highest grossing movie of 2013 after two previous misses.

Robert Downey JrRobert Downey Jr as 'Iron Man 3'

Read our review of 'Iron Man 3' here

Continue reading: $1.2 Billion Later, 'Iron Man 3' Is The Highest Grossing Movie Of 2013

Shane Black Signs On To Direct Doc Savage Following Iron Man 3 Success


Shane Black

Iron Man 3 director Shane Black has just lined up his next film, with the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang director signed up to direct Doc Savage. The film is a joint effort between Sony Pictures and Black, who is co-writing as well as directing the film, and is based on the 1970's pulp movie hero of the same name.

Black has been attached to the project for some time now and first started work on the screenplay in 2009, however the project took a back seat when he was given the offer to direct Iron Man 3. Now that the third instalment of the adventures of Tony Stark is in cinemas, Black can get back to his original plans and a less conventional hero.

Shane Black
Shane Black already has his next role lined up

Continue reading: Shane Black Signs On To Direct Doc Savage Following Iron Man 3 Success

Iron Man 3 Review


Excellent

Changing the writer and director for this third Iron Man movie turns out to be the best thing that could have happened, because Shane Black is a much more focussed filmmaker, and he gives this franchise a badly needed kick. We know that he and Downey work well together (see Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), but we could never have anticipated how Black would bring clarity to Downey's comical riffs. He also makes the action scenes much more human, and therefore a lot more thrilling.

The story takes place in the overall Marvel chronology. Wealthy arms manufacturer Tony Stark (Downey) is feeling badly shaken by his experience working with the Avengers to fight off an alien invasion. So he dives into his work and neglects his relationship with Pepper (Paltrow), who also runs his company. Then two faces from the past reappear: bio-scientist Maya (Hall) is an old colleague of Tony's, while technical genius Aldrich (Pearce) has a past with Pepper. And both seem somehow connected to a wave of nasty bombings that is terrorising America, masterminded by a menacing man who calls himself the Mandarin (Kingsley). And the Mandarin's next target is Tony.

Intriguingly, the script keeps Tony out of the Iron Man suit for much of the film's running time, which makes his character feel much more grounded than ever before. It also makes the action set pieces even more spectacular, since they're not mere robot-vs-robot animated battles. So even if the dialog is peppered with technical gibberish, at least it has a personal dimension. Which not only deepens Tony and Pepper as characters, but makes the surrounding people more interesting. These include Tony's old pal (Cheadle), two self-healing goons (Dale and Szostak) and a pre-teen (Simpkins) who helps Tony. And with his constantly surprising character, Kingsley very nearly steals the show.

Continue reading: Iron Man 3 Review

Iron Man 3 - Alternate Trailer


Tony Stark may have the woman of his dreams, the technological skills of a genius and the ability to save the world from the occasional threatening force, but he's starting to realise that he's not entirely invincible. Unable to sleep and distracted by feelings of guilt, he is forced to reassess his ability to defend himself and his people as his formidable adversary Mandarin threatens to dismantle his life piece by piece. As he watches his life's work burn before his eyes, he is left only with his inner strength and resourcefulness to have a chance at destroying Mandarin once and for all. For the first time, Stark is feeling very vulnerable as he struggles to come to terms with himself as just Tony Stark rather than the supposedly indestructible Iron Man.

Continue: Iron Man 3 - Alternate Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer


Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued by nightmares and guilty feelings, he is forced to doubt himself and his ability to protect himself and the ones he loves against a new enemy; the formidably ruthless Mandarin. His doubts are only amplified when his world and his power source are brutally snatched from him and left to burn at the hands of his enemy and he is left with his own internal strengths and resourcefulness alone to find the perpetrator and end his reign of terror. Stark is finally made to confront himself and his superhero identity as Mandarin sets out to prove there are no real heroes in the world.

The third instalment of this Marvel adventure, 'Iron Man 3' is set to be the most hard-hitting of the movies so far with questions being raised less about Iron Man and more about the true Tony Stark and his deeper abilities. It has been directed by Shane Black (the writer of the 'Lethal Weapon' film series) who also co-wrote the comic action flick with Drew Pearce ('Lip Service', 'No Heroics'). It is set for a spectacular release in cinemas on April 26th 2013 in the UK.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Stan Lee, Yvonne Zima, Dale Dickey, Ashley Hamilton, Ty Simpkins, Spencer Garrett,

Continue: Iron Man 3 Trailer

Shane Black

Shane Black Quick Links

News Video Film Quotes RSS

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Actor


Shane Black Movies

The Nice Guys Movie Review

The Nice Guys Movie Review

Writer-director Shane Black returns to the comedy-noir vibe of his 2005 hit Kiss Kiss Bang...

The Nice Guys - Green and Red Band Trailer

The Nice Guys - Green and Red Band Trailer

If you're on the wrong side of the law and looking for someone to send...

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Iron Man 3 Movie Review

Changing the writer and director for this third Iron Man movie turns out to be...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may have the woman of his dreams, the technological skills of a genius...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Iron Man 3 Trailer

Tony Stark may be Iron Man, but he's feeling less than unbreakable these days. Plagued...

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