On this week's Reel Genius: We suss through The Nice Guys, the new Russell Crowe/Ryan Gosling blend of blood and yuks set in '70s Los Angeles. I Like Wilonsky's impromptu blurb: "A delightful romp for a movie about porn and violence."
The Nice Guys is also the latest in a long line of twisted crime movies set in the City of Angeles. Herewith, five of my favorites.
1. Chinatown - Neo-noir as crucible of conspiracy, with water as the main ingredient. Forget it, Jake.
2. L.A. Confidential - Featuring the original pairing of The Nice Guys' Russell Crowe and Kim Basinger. (The Nice Guys is about nothing if not other movies).
3. The Long Goodbye - Robert Altman directs Elliott Gould in a seedy-hippie '70s Philip Marlowe yarn. It's OK with me.
4. Kiss Me Deadly - Film noir as sadistic fun house, with Ralph Meeker as a cheap Mike Hammer unknowingly courting the apocalypse. Fine use of L.A.'s landmark Bunker Hill. Remember me...
5. Nightcrawler - There are worse ways to experience L.A.'s dark underbelly than following a psychopathic news cameraman (Jake Gyllenhaal) on the hunt for scoop.
