TheRetroCritic

Some movies are basically pointless but they're so much fun it hardly matters. Pure popcorn entertainment all the way. Gangster Squad is one of those movies. Which is not to say it's not well made or interesting, it is, but it's not the kind of film that really will have an emotional impact on you or leave you thinking about it long after the credits have rolled. No, Gangster Squad is a playful homage to film noir and is all about being as cool, silly and entertaining as possible. It would make a good double-feature with Dick Tracy , to give you an idea. Hell, Sean Penn's Mickey Cohen is basically a Dick Tracy villain! His cartoonish performance is completely over the top but completely enjoyable. It just makes sense in Gangster Squad, it fits. You've got Josh Brolin playing it straight as the detective/family man who takes on the mob and is asked to gather a "squad" of misfit cops, Ryan Gosling is the mouthy, chain-smoking kid who has an affair with

How I missed a film like The Game all these years is beyond me. Ok, I'll admit I rarely flock to Michael Douglas movies but this is one of the good ones. Douglas plays a cold, wealthy financier whose brother's (Sean Penn) birthday present turns out to be one hell of a mind-f***. What follows is a thrilling descent into madness and although the ending doesn't exactly live up to the incredible build-up preceding it, it's all about the ride and David Fincher proves just how brilliant he is at keeping his viewers on the edge of their seat right up until the very last shot. This is a film which does remarkably well when it comes to keeping the viewer guessing throughout whilst always being one step ahead. By the end, Michael Douglas may be understandably emotionally devastated but we're left still expecting one more trick up the movie's sleeve. Like a final mega-twist or something. This doesn't really happen but like I said: it's all about the ride. And