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July 8, 2025

Cinema Review: The Nice Guys

Latest News

Ballina bitu bush to be tackled by Rous County Council 

Bitou bush is one of the most aggressive weeds threatening coastal ecosystems and bitou bush will be tackled in three areas of Ballina Shire by Rous County Council (RCC) with an $85,000 NSW government grant. 

Other News

World Environment Day Festival returns to Murwillumbah 

The World Environment Day Festival is back on and will return to Murwillumbah on Sunday, 13 July from 10am to 3.30pm at the Murwillumbah Showground.

MyGov does not send links in texts or emails – it’s a SCAM

If you have recently received texts or emails from myGov that contain links DO NOT CLICK on them – it is a scam.

Bangalow aged care facility to be upgraded

A development application (DA) for a $9m extension and renovations of Feros Village Bangalow residential aged care home has been lodged, says Feros Care. 

CSIRO releases Richmond River flood mapping

Australia’s chief science agency, the CSIRO, has released a long-awaited report with data and flood modelling for the Richmond River Catchment.

NAIDOC celebrated at Bangalow Museum

A collection of artefacts from the Bundjalung and Arakwal people of Byron Bay has been loaned to the Bangalow Historical Society for the duration of its latest exhibition, ‘Learning from the Past’ to celebrate NAIDOC week.

NSW tobacco licensing scheme in effect, with fines

Retailers and wholesalers wishing to sell tobacco, or non-tobacco smoking products, must now apply for a licence as part of the NSW Government’s Tobacco Licensing Scheme.

In Hollywood, when a screenplay is not quite managing to deliver the scintillating goods that the producers hoped for, there is always a venerable Plan B to fall back on – just bung in an extended sequence of shooting and mayhem. Everything is fine to begin with here, as a punchy, Shaft-like theme ushers us back to the mid-seventies, when blokes wore sideburns and flares (thank Gawd the costume designer spared a very pudgy Russell Crowe the indignity of such strides), smoking was still cool (there’s barely a scene in which Ryan Gosling is not sucking on a ciggie), and petrol-guzzling cars were nearly the length of a cricket pitch. Layered over the retro atmos is an almost impenetrable plot after the style of Raymond Chandler (it’s LA noir, after all), in which the thrust of what is happening is too veiled for too long. A girl who has appeared in a porno flick has vanished. She’s the daughter of the head of the Justice Department (Kim Basinger). Everybody is looking for her – including Jackson and Marsh, a standover man and private investigator.
Crowe and Gosling are good together, but in buddy movies it’s best if the two leads are more different than they are here (as harmonious opposites, think of Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in recent pairings). Unfortunately, these guys are too similar – Jackson is the phlegmatic tough guy and Marsh the drunken weirdo who has a gorgeous daughter in tow (yet another single father), and they are both a bit slow off the mark. The lines they’re given aren’t that great, either, but they are delivered well, albeit in a manner of studied, deadpan casualness. A totally unexpected homicide is enough to drag you out of your torpor and get interested again, but it’s too little, too late.
It ends with the strong suggestion that there will be a sequel and if you enjoy klutzes in crime investigation, that’s a welcome prospect, but a leaner script and tighter direction would be welcome for the next outing.


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Can you help Uncle Scotty?

Uncle Scotty Sentance has been contributing to the local Byron Shire community for the last 40 years and now he needs a helping hand because he is facing one of his biggest challenges, he needs a double lung transplant.

Murwillumbah to enjoy free street party for next three years

Murwillumbah’s much-loved free Street Party now has funding for the next three years and will help create safe and vibrant spaces, and stimulate nightlife activity for the town.

Broadwater Bridge reopens

The Broadwater Bridge was originally repurposed from Barneys Point Bridge in 1933 and has now reopened following work to improve safety and extend the bridge’s lifespan.

EPA report outlines declining ecosystems

The latest snapshot around the health of the biodiversity and ecology in NSW has been released, with figures showing more decline of threatened species and the ecosystems that support them.