RECENT WATCH: THE NICE GUYS

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Set in 1970’s Los Angeles, Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe star as two private investigators who, after discovering links between suspicious cases, begin looking in to the apparent suicide of a fading porn star.

Ryan Gosling plays ‘Holland March’, a licensed private eye while Russell Crowe’s ‘Jackson Healy’ is much more of an enforcer, the man you call to scare of the person that is following you. Through different events the two cross paths and realise that they separate cases they’ve been hired for are linked. The two characters have different personalities, different backgrounds, different issues, but together are a cool, stylish and hilarious team. The Nice Guys is action packed but at its heart it is driven by the layered characters. We aren’t just shown two obviously mismatched characters a ’la Rush Hour because on the surface ‘Mr March’ and ‘Jackson Healy’ aren’t so different. It’s throughout the plot that past events and underlying baggage is revealed, displaying to the audience why the two make a mismatched but brilliant team.

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I love Ryan Gosling in comedy, ‘Mr March’ seems made for him as he shows of his perfect comedic timing. Its also refreshing to see Russell Crowe in a role like this, making a detour from the dramatic roles we’ve seen previously. While he may not be the main source of comic relief out of the two nice guys, he shines in the moments where he has some fun flexing his comedy muscles. Another stand out was Angourie Rice’s ‘Holly March’. Holland March’s thirteen year old daughter, she is a key player in the plot. It can be risky to throw a young character into such an adult setting but Holly is wise, quick-witted and relevant enough to be a truly useful element in the story.

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While the titular Nice Guys are the main selling point, the intriguing crime and mystery components should not be overlooked. They are rich, developed with conspiracy, clues and an equally cool ‘bad guy’ in the form of Matt Bomer’s ‘John Boy’. The writing and direction of Shane Black is smart and genuinely funny. It avoids predictable jokes and cheap punches.

The Nice Guys is a 70’s throwback that is bursting with originality. From the writing, performances and fully realised setting, it is deserving of a lot of attention this month. 

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MY ANTICIPATED FILM RELEASES: JUNE 2016

For the first time in a while I am very excited about the summer line-up at the cinema. Here are my top two picks for June. While much-anticipated ‘The Nice Guys’ is not mentioned on this list. As I write this I have actually already seen this comedy come mystery come crime thriller, so look out for a review coming soon.

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Me Before You

UK Release Date: 03/06/16

Based on Jojo Moyes’ best-selling novel, Me Before You is the story of Louisa Clark, A small-town girl who accepts a job as a carer to a recently-paralysed man, Will Traynor. I read the novel at the beginning of 2015 and absolutely loved it and in general I really love Moyes’ writing, however when I saw the first trailer I wasn’t at all excited by this adaptation. To me the first trailer revealed way too much of the plot and didn’t reflect the source material in the way I had imagined. Now, I’m on board with this film; Jojo Moyes is behind the screenplay, new glimpses show a faithful adaptation with a really great cast and most importantly the message of the book is present throughout. While it may break my heart, I’m very excited to see Me Before You. 

Watch the trailer here.

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Finding Dory

UK Release Date: 18/06/16

Finding Dory looks completely adorable, it’s a blast from the past, thirteen years after the huge success of ‘Finding Nemo’. Fun fact: the first DVD I ever owned was Finding Nemo… Pixar has a lot riding on this as they haven't had the best track record with sequels recently but I’m sure this tale of everyone’s favourite forgetful Blue Tang will change that record for the better.

Watch the trailer here.

What film are you most excited for this summer?

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THIS PAST MONTH: MAY 2016 + NEW NAME?

Something is different around here… That’s right; there’s been a name change. I have never been happy with my blog being called ‘Amie’s Space’, I never wanted to have my first name in my title and I also never felt like the title really resembled what the content for my blog was. I have wanted to change it for a while but it has taken me almost a year to think of something I wanted to change it to. I wanted a title that allowed me to write film and entertainment content but allowed room for me to write some more personal and lifestyle related posts. Last week I finally decided on a new name. For those wondering, a contemporary ‘B-Roll’ describes supplemental or secondary footage that helps tell a story, sometimes this includes behind the scenes and unedited footage. Obviously having a film related term fits perfectly when I post film related content. But this title leaves room for posts, such as this one, that are more personal, posts that are unedited and tell you more about me, the person behind the blog. So welcome to 'The B-Roll' I hope you like what you find. 

May was the month where I fully finished my second year of university, all assignments were handed in and much celebration ensued. I also spent a week at home at the end of the month, heading home to dog-sit while my Mam and Dad were on holiday. Going home to see my family and friends from home was a welcome break. One of my favourite parts of May was my week of blogging every day. I finally got my blogging mojo back! I don’t mind admitting how much of a slacker I’ve been with my blog for the majority of this year, I’ve struggled to find the incentive to blog around university but setting myself the simple challenge of posting every day really helped me to come up with new ideas and stick to a schedule no matter what my other commitments were. I covered a few topics including my second year of PR and Media and film reviewing. I also reviewed X-Men: Apocalypse, you can read it here. I’m going to try my best to keep posts coming while I have a lot of free time.

Speaking of free time, I have caught up on a lot of my favourite shows. I have particularly loved ‘The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ and ‘Penny Dreadful’.  These two shows couldn’t be more different but they are the two that I loved the most in May. Kimmy Schmidt is a quirky and hilarious comedy written by Tina Fey and Penny Dreadful is a Victoria set Gothic Horror Drama featuring some of the most iconic of Gothic literature characters including Victor Frankenstein and Dorian Gray. I’m currently working on another list of my favourite binge-worthy TV shows; look out for a post coming soon.

So what does June look like? Marking the beginning of my placement year, I will be working on a project with a Sheffield based theatre. The project is mainly video based and I’m excited to start. I will be producing a short promotional film similar to ones I’ve worked on before with my friend Lucy. This will actually be the first time I film and edit the video independently which will be a little strange. I will also be moving out of my student house at the end of the month, honestly I can’t wait. Flash back to last July and I proclaimed how much I loved my new house but the novelty wore off fast once university started. Now I’m more than ready to leave this house and the unreliable letting agents behind.

What are your plans for June?

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