About SSP
Personal Links
Tag Archives: Mystery
Review: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
Nobody writes stupid as well as Shane Black. Much like his contemporary Aaron Sorkin, he doesn’t write people talking how people actually talk, but within his own distinct worlds his dialogue for bewildered characters crackles almost as much as Sorkin’s … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Black Comedy, Film noir, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Michelle Monaghan, Mystery, Robert Downey Jr, Shane Black, Sunset Boulevard, Val Kilmer
Leave a comment
Review: Zootropolis (2016)
ZOOTROPOLIS (which has the much better title of ZOOTOPIA in the States) is not only the best film of 2016 so far but also may well be the most important. It’s the usual pristine, vibrant and peppy animation from the … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Academy Awards, Animation, Chinatown, Disney, Film noir, Frozen, Ginnifer Goodwin, Idris Elba, Jason Bateman, Jenny Slate, Maurice LaMarche, Mystery, Oscars, Straight Outta Compton, Zootopia, Zootropolis
2 Comments
Review: Risen (2016)
I don’t think we’ve ever had a Roman film noir before (please tell me if I’m wrong on that). If RISEN had lent more on these distinctive tropes or even retained a modicum of ambiguity by the end, it could … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Cliff Curtis, Film, Film noir, Historical Drama, Joseph Fiennes, Kevin Reynolds, Life of Brian, Movies, Mystery, Peter Firth, Risen, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Leave a comment
Review: The Nice Guys (2016)
Watch THE NICE GUYS for a wonderfully shambolic Ryan Gosling teaming up with Russell Crowe playing a tank in a leather jacket. Remember it for Shane Black’s unique and sharply self-aware take on film noir. Black has been Hollywood’s go-to … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Angourie Rice, Black Comedy, Chinatown, Drive, Film, Film noir, Get Carter, Half Nelson, Iron Man 3, Keith David, Kim Basinger, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Movies, Mystery, Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Shane Black, The Long Goodbye, The Nice Guys, Ty Simpkins
Leave a comment
Review: The Hateful Eight (2015)
With THE HATEFUL EIGHT Quentin Tarantino may well have invented a new sub-genre: the misdirection-Western. The mystery that is seemingly a key plot point from the second act onward is, in fact, pretty incidental. While this might disappoint some, the … Continue reading
Review: Before I Go To Sleep (2014)
I’m not the biggest fan of Christopher Nolan’s mind-boggler MEMENTO, but at least it was packed full of interesting ideas. The opening of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP is smothered by watery visuals and sound effects, then we hear a … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Christopher Nolan, Colin Firth, Drama, Film, Guy Pearce, Mark Strong, Memento, Movies, Mystery, Nicole Kidman, Thriller
3 Comments
Review: Gone Girl (2014)
GONE GIRL is a solid mystery, a satisfying examination on the ins and outs (mostly outs) of relationships, but it’s a truly great film about the power of the media image and its complete and utter dominance in contemporary society. … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Ben Affleck, Black Comedy, Carrie Coon, David Fincher, Drama, Fight Club, Film, Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl, Kim Dickens, Movies, Mystery, Neil Patrick Harris, Rosamund Pike, Tyler Perry
Leave a comment
Review: Brick (2005)
BRICK is the kind of film that really shouldn’t work. The premise: a hardboiled detective film set in an American high school. It’s a unique combination of disparate ideas, and somehow everything comes together and makes for a fantastically weird and wonderful end … Continue reading
Posted in Film, Film Review
Tagged Brick, Chinatown, Film, Film noir, Independent Film, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper, Movies, Mystery, Nora Zehetner, Rian Johnson, Robert Altman, The Long Goodbye, The Maltese Falcon
1 Comment
