Aside from Tarantino, Shane Black is probably my favorite screenplay writer.  The creator of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Last Boy Scout, and Lethal Weapon has displayed a great flair for weaving cutting and clever dialogue within tales of mysterious dead bodies, corruption, and mismatched partnerships.  I’m a firm believer that cursing is an art form and Black is the Picasso of harsh tongue.

In Black’s most recent project, The Nice Guys, a wise-cracking P.I. (Ryan Gosling) teams up with a professional tough guy (Russell Crowe) to investigate a missing girl and some shady dealings within the booming adult film industry of 1970’s Hollywood.  It’s one part action-comedy, one part noir, and is a true delight from start to finish.  By far the funniest movie I’ve seen this year.  Tier 1 – RATED GREG