Thursday Movie Picks: Private Eyes
1) The Nice Guys
Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling are a match made in private eye heaven. This movie was so much funnier than I expected it to be. It still gets quoted a lot in my house.
2) Harriet The Spy
I loved this movie when I was a kid and my friend and I used to pretend to be her and spy on our neighbors. Classy.
3) V/H/S/2
This is a cop out, but like I said. This was tough, but V/H/S/2 does start out with private detectives uncovering the tapes. One of the shorts in this film is really good and the rest range from meh to bad. But it was better than the first V/H/S
I had the same struggle as you but I'm kicking myself for not thinking of The Nice Guys! I love that movie so goddamn much.
ReplyDeleteNow that I see other people's choices, there are so many obvious ones I missed lol.
DeleteEveryone seems to love The Nice Guys more than I did but I still thought it was a decent film, especially the chemistry between Crowe and Gosling.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the other two though I've heard of Harriet the Spy but it just didn't seem suited to me. The other is new to me.
I love this sort of film and actually had the reverse problem to yours, having to trim extensively and still ending up with four. Film noir is rife with lone P.I.'s doggedly seeking answers often while getting the crap beat out of them.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)-Private eye Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) takes on the case of the beautiful, secretive Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor). When Miss Wonderly is revealed to be Brigid O’Shaughnessy trouble begins. Sam's partner is murdered and he is accosted by Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) who demands he locate a valuable statuette which is being pursued by others including the Fat Man (Sydney Greenstreet). Entangled in a dangerous web of crime and intrigue Sam soon realizes he must find the one thing they all seem to want: the bejeweled Maltese falcon. This fourth version of the story is proof that remakes aren’t necessarily bad things but you should stop once you get it right.
Murder, My Sweet (1944)-P.I. Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) is working what he thinks are two minor cases but suddenly someone is dead and he discovers they are dangerously connected. As he is drawn deeper into a complex web of machinations by the mysterious Helen Grayle (Claire Trevor), Marlowe finds his own life in increasing jeopardy.
Harper (1966)-Struggling private eye Lew Harper (Paul Newman) takes a simple missing-person case that quickly spirals into something much more convoluted. Elaine Sampson (Lauren Bacall), recently paralyzed in a horse-riding accident, wants Harper to find her missing oil baron husband, but her stormy teenage stepdaughter Miranda (Pamela Tiffin) thinks Mrs. Sampson knows more than she's letting on. Fun detective film with Newman at his coolest and a loaded supporting cast-beside Bacall it includes Julie Harris, Shelley Winters, Janet Leigh and Robert Wagner.
Chinatown (1974)-When Los Angeles private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is hired by Evelyn Mulwray to investigate her husband's activities he believes it's a routine infidelity case. Jake's investigation soon becomes anything but routine when he meets the real Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and realizes he was hired by an imposter. Mr. Mulwray's sudden death sets Gittes on a tangled trail of corruption, deceit and sinister family secrets as Evelyn's father (John Huston) becomes a suspect in the case. Dark, complex and twisted with amazing performances and flawless direction by Roman Polanski this is a great film.
It seems like classic films dealt with a lot more private eye stories than modern ones. I just haven't seen enough.
DeleteThe Nice Guys is so funny. I wish Gosling made more comedies
ReplyDeleteI do too, he's a natural at them.
DeleteI Love The Nice Guys! I almost went with them but I had the opposite from you, there were so many to choose from that I was not sure which way to go. I haven't seen Harriet but it looks cute and not even heard of your 3rd choice
ReplyDeleteApparently if I would just watch more classic films, this would've been easy lol.
DeleteYup! Classic Hollywood loved this genre and film noir is centred around this type of genre
DeleteThe only film in that list I haven't seen is V/H/S/2 as I'm unsure about seeing it. The Nice Guys is awesome while I have a soft-spot for Harriet the Spy.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't rush out to see any V/H/S movies. Cool concept, mostly poorly executed.
DeleteI pick the Nice Guys too and loved Harriet the Spy as kid as well.
ReplyDeleteI agree, a lot of the detective movies are police detectives, rather than P.I.
I love all the love Nice Guys is getting.
DeleteI have never seen Harriet The Spy It was a film that was past my prime when it was released. I will have to possibly seek it out. I do remember Michelle Tractenburg from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Eurotrip I love the movie The Nice Guys. Crowe and Gosling have great chemitry the Novella based on the movie is a fun read.
ReplyDeleteSeeing Michelle in Eurotrip was always extra funny to me because I was use to her as Harriet and when she was in Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon.
Delete