Sexy, violent and funny

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2016)

I seem to have spent a large part of the last few years devouring late 60s and 70s cult, exploitation and giallo and finding the cinema of today less and less appealing. Generally speaking it is the current trend towards aiming movie product at young teens that seems to have created the giant gap. To compound the problem, for me, so called 'adult' films seem to have to be 'serious' films and dealing with certain 'important issues'. All well and good but I can't be alone in wanting a little action without apology and humour without worrying if someone might get upset. So, much the same way as I have enjoyed box sets of TV shows like Life On Mars and Ashes To Ashes, I very much enjoyed this. The magic devise adopted by the TV production company was to set the series in the past and thereby get round the whole politically correct business and this film set in 1977 Los Angeles does the same. Russell Crowe is fine as the ruthless, almost humourless hard man and Ryan Gosling particularly effective as his 'partner'. Amazingly for a US film the kids are great and Angourie Rice a revelation. She didn't put a fourteen year old foot wrong and helped enormously in making this retro comic neo noir work so well. Sexy, violent and funny.