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Brett Jones,
Denney Pierce,
Randy Hall,
more...
:
Shane Black,
Shane Black
see all cast/crew...
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: Warner Home Video
: Action, Comedies, Crime, Capers
: 103 min.
: English, Spanish, French
: English, Spanish, French
see additional details...
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A thesp-turned-crook gets a chance at career in movies as well as crime scene investigation in this offbeat action comedy with nods to Raymond Chandler. Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) is a struggling New York actor who high-tails it to Los Angeles. Once there, Lockhart winds up at the posh home of the aptly-named homosexual private eye Gay Perry (Val Kilmer) amid a lavish Hollywood party, hoping to score a life-changing role in a Hollywood feature. Harry becomes reacquainted with Harmony (Michelle Monaghan), a girl he had a major crush on in his small-town Indiana high school, who may be a bit more interested in him now than she was years ago. He takes both her and her girlfriend home with him, but - in a moment of drunken stupor - accidentally sleeps with the wrong woman. Meanwhile, when a series of female bodies turns up across L.A., Harry slowly breaks into detective work, mentored by Perry. The biggest twist? Black riffs Adaptation and other films by having Harry (via satirical narration) write the movie while he is living it. Harry assures the audience that unlike Lord of the Rings, this one won't have seventeen endings. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang marks the first directorial credit for Shane Black, who created the Lethal Weapon franchise. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| the big sleep
by cammelltoe
May 9, 2007 - 1:36 AM PDT
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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| that this movie is possibly named after a book of film criticism (by pauline kael) should give you a hint as to what you're in for...rapid fire references to other movies and books that sometimes were made into movies, hollywood insider hoo-ha, seen-it-all genre cliche table turning. unfortunately, "kiss kiss bang bang" somewhat overstays it's welcome, and, in doing so, turns it's strengths--- real cleverness, a sense of anarchic fun that, really!, is how i spend my weekends--- into snooze inducing flaws. but whatever, for fans of noir, or "neo-noir", there's fun to be had here, not the least being top form val kilmer. a movie quentin tarantino might make if he were into hollywood blockbusters instead of "grindhouse". |
| All Movies, All the Time
by talltale
June 10, 2006 - 8:14 PM PDT
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3 out of 4 members found this review helpful
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Warner Brothers has long been heralded as the one major studio that never has a clue what to do with an offbeat movie. From "Imaginary Crimes" to the latest case in point--KISS KISS BANG BANG, one of the best of last year's film crop--the studio just gives up on anything it can't market as mainstream. What a shame. (And Warner's "Independent" label hasn't shown much success, either: "March of the Penguins" was the fluke that proves the rule, mostly by being recut and voiced-over into a nearly-mainstream bit of twaddle.) Although critics generally loved KISS KISS BANG BANG (as did the few audience members who chanced upon it during its short theatrical run), it sank quickly. Let's hope DVD and cable helps resuscitate this terrific little film.
Written and directed by the late 80s/much-of-the-90s "Lethal Weapon" wonder boy Shane Black, it marks a return to some of the cleverness and humor evident in his early "Monster Squad," but it's much more movie-savvy and just about as au courant as a screenwriter can get. Full of witty, seemingly improvised dialog (some of it well might have been, since the wonderful Robert Downey Jr. spouts it) the film also offers up two more fabulous roles, fabulously played by Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan. Mr. Black appears to know movies (noir in particular) inside out, and what he does with bits such as having the hero grasping for dear life onto a hand that is--no, I shan't spoil it--well, this is delightful stuff. The "narrative" is chock-a-block with knowing, "insider" humor that is usually truly funny rather than merely showy. Don't even begin to think of yourself as a movie buff unless you add this one to your queue. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.28)
141 Votes
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