The Nice Guys: Writer/director Shane Black's first original project since 2005's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang very well could be his best work to-date. Black's flare for clever storyelling and excellent dialogue makes this pitch-black buddy cop comedy set in the seedy underworld of late 1970's Los Angeles pop off the screen with quirky, crackpot energy and a nearly non-stop level of fun. Matching the brilliance of Black's writing is the damn near perfect performances from Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in the lead roles. Crowe and Gosling are nothing short of electric together and they both demonstrate a level of comedic prowess they've never shown in any of their previous roles. The Nice Guys is exactly the type of endlessly entertaining and hilarious thrill ride that was needed to set the tone for the rest of the 2016 summer movie season.
4.5/5 Stars
X-Men: Apocalypse: While it never reaches the soaring heights of its two predecessors (2011's First Class and 2014's Days of Future Past), Apocalypse still manages to be another satisfying and highly entertaining entry in the X-Men franchise. The action sequences are consistently well-executed and impressive performances from series newcomers Tye Sheridan (Cyclops) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) makes an already impressive ensemble cast even stronger. The script has its share of issues with character development and a ridiculous overdub forces Oscar Issac's performance as the titular villain to fall flat, but even with its flaws, it's still pretty far ahead of the other superhero films released so far this year.
4/5 Stars
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping: The Lonely Island are certified modern comedy legends. The trio's second feature film following 2007's absurdist comedy masterwork Hot Rod is an early contender for best comedy of 2016 and easily one of the funniest films to be released in the past decade. Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer apply their trademark abstract humor to a relentlessly clever and hysterical mockumentary that takes aim at the superficial,excess-filled world of pop music. The performances from the entire cast-particularly Samberg as the the titular pop sensation Conner4Real, Tim Meadows as his manager and a real-life pop icon as his soft-spoken chef-are note-perfect and the 86-minute runtime is so jam-packed with jokes that it will take multiple viewings to catch all of them. Don't be surprised if this film joins the likes of Grandma's Boy and Super Troopers in the cult comedy hall-of-fame sometime in the next few years.
4.5/5 Stars
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