Nice try, Mr. Black

Well, drat. A tough week at the movies: I managed to miss the screening for Love & Friendship, so my membership in the Whit Stillman enthusiast society has been temporarily suspended. But I hope to get to a showing today and post a review once I’ve recovered from my swoon.

Tougher still: I really wanted to like Shane Black’s The Nice Guys, I really did. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a delight (although, reading Duncan’s review, maybe I was just charmed?), and Iron Man 3 was at least bold for a superhero movie. Alas, it was not to be. And Neighbors 2...kind of made the first one look good. My highlight was easily A Bigger Splash, though it did lose a bit of steam whenever Ralph Fiennes wasn’t onscreen. (Given his character, how could it not?) Director Luca Guadagnino gave me a very gracious interview as well.

Scott, meanwhile, rediscovered his love for action-adventure movies — all he had to do was go back in time to 1967’s Dragon Inn, which is getting a sweet, sweet restoration and re-release. Shockingly, Pele: Birth of a Legend was not enough to get him over his general grumpiness toward the sports world, but the lady-boxer doc T-Rex did manage to convey enough personality to keep his interest.

We missed The Angry Birds Movie. Let us know how it turned out.