Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005)

[flyonthewall2983]

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/kiss_k ... _bang.html

[justeleblanc]

So I actually like Shane Black. I liked The Last Boyscout and Lethal Weapon, and um, will I get shot down if I say I'm looking forward to this movie?

[Fletch F. Fletch]

So I actually like Shane Black. I liked The Last Boyscout and Lethal Weapon, and um, will I get shot down if I say I'm looking forward to this movie?

Yeah, me too. The trailer looks pretty funky and Robert Downey, Jr. is always pretty watchable. I'd also chime in my admiration of The Last Boy Scout as well... fantastic dialogue, in a B-action movie sorta way.

[flyonthewall2983]

Well, for me personally Shane's performance in Predator can excuse anything else he's done in my mind. Plus he wrote the vastly underrated Last Action Hero. Yeah, you read that right.

[Antoine Doinel]

I just came back from a trip to Europe, and wanted to unwind and decided to rent this. Wow. Wow. Wow. I'm really surprised this hasn't been talked about more on this board, but this is a great film, and had I seen it last year, it would've easily broken the top 5 of the year.

Both a fun-loving homage to film noir and a savage comment on the current Hollywood system/films, KKBB is a great mystery and laugh out loud hilarious. While keeping up with the references (and fast moving dialogue with more tossed out one liners that any movie in recent memory) is a blast (everything from The Natural to the novels of Raymond Chandler are up for grabs), the mystery is just loopy enough to keep you guessing. It's the kind of movie that knows enough to be completely self-deprecating while being clever -- the sort of thing that Quentin Tarantino would be well advised to try once in a while.

Also suprising, is how bitter it seems Shane Black is, especially when it comes to the script concering casting/agents/pitching and essentially everything it takes to get a movie made. I really hope the man writes some memoirs because I have a feeling he's drawing on some personal experiences. But what's most suprising, is that from the guy brought you Lethal Weapon, Last Boy Scout and the Long Kiss Goodnight is how smart this movie is. No big action set pieces or one dimensional villains. Just a lot of great dialogue and writing that has some great momentum.

But perhaps the biggest revelation is Robert Downey Jr. This is the most compelling role I've seen him in, well, ever. Off the drugs and sauce, he is a complete wonder. I have a feeling this is the movie that is really going to mark the beginning of his second rennaisance that critics have been predicting since The Singing Detective or The Wonder Boys. Val Kilmer is also fantastic playing against type as a gay PI.

Honestly, if you even like film noir just a little rent this, hell, buy this. Great, fantastic fun.

[justeleblanc]

I was just about to post my thoughts on this film as well, but you already beat me to it. This film IS amazing fun. It's strange to say but while watching this I was thinking about BREATHLESS and how much fun that movie probably was for people back in the sixties. KKBB has the same kind of energy and playfulness with the genre.

Plus you get Larry Miller, who in my mind is still has some of the best timing out of most comedians. His line about old 1960s Playboys had me in stitches.

And yes, Last Action Hero was vastly underrated, but I semi-blame the casting and even some of the direction for the uneven feel. Last Action is one of my favorite Bruce Willis films. My only hope is that Black's able to direct another film, since I think KKBB lost money.

[mmacklem]

I saw this movie last night, and I must say that I really had incredibly low expectations for it. Actually, I don't know what my expectations were for it. But boy, I have not laughed so hard or so consistently in a movie in a long time. I agree wholeheartedly with the thoughts expressed already on Robert Downey Jr., his comic timing is incredible throughout.

Two brief complaints about it that I think prevented it from being a brilliant movie, as opposed to just a incredibly funny movie:
- I thought Michelle Monaghan was terrible. She had some humorous scenes, but there were so many others where she was just bad. Bad bad bad.
- The four endings just killed the momentum at the end. It felt like they just had absolutely no idea what to do at that point.

Also, it was mentioned by another poster that KKBB lost money, and that Shane Black might not be given resources to direct another movie. KKBB seems like an obvious one to build up a word-of-mouth following on DVD. I had read very little about it, but I had heard from so many friends with such different tastes that it was definitely worth watching, which was why I checked it out in the first place.

[cdnchris]

"I shot him with a small revolver I keep near my balls" may have to replace "I don't have time to bleed" as my favourite line of all time. Oh, and the whole exchange about the "8% chance" pretty much had me in tears from laughing.

[Anonymous]

2nd-ed or 5th-ed or whate'er. it was a very enjoyable 2 hours... at first i refused to watch it when the missus brought it home. she put it on and i had to put my book down eventually and come out of the bedroom to see what exactly this funny movie was.

[justeleblanc]

I actually found Michelle Monaghan to be a good compliment to RDJr. There were a couple of moments especially where I really enjoyed their chemistry together. She does feel more like a TV actress instead of a film one, which isn't a terrible thing, but I can see that becoming annoying.

As for the multiple endings, I loved how they made fun of themselves with the whole Elvis and Lincoln bit in the hospital, and that was enough for me to forgive them. The film was so perfectly dead pan... the "Why in god's name did you piss on it?" line had my eyes burning I was laughing so hard.

[Doctor Sunshine]

I'm just going to issue a warning to keep your expectations low. What I'm reading in this thread would be enough for me to give this movie a viddy if I hadn't seen it some time back. And having seen it some time back it struck me as not funny, retarded, desperate and sad. And not as having a desperate and sad atmosphere but as containing desperate try-anything-and-hope-it-sticks style gags and sad for Shawn Black and everyone involved. That said, the opening credits were pretty neat.

[justeleblanc]

I'm just going to issue a warning to keep your expectations low. What I'm reading in this thread would be enough for me to give this movie a viddy if I hadn't seen it some time back. And having seen it some time back it struck me as not funny, retarded, desperate and sad. And not as having a desperate and sad atmosphere but as containing desperate try-anything-and-hope-it-sticks style gags and sad for Shawn Black and everyone involved. That said, the opening credits were pretty neat.

I'm shot down by Sunshine on two threads tonight.

Sunshine, I mean... come on.

edit: Scratch that, Ishmael shot me down on the other thread.

[Andre Jurieu]

Last Action is one of my favorite Bruce Willis films.

:-s

[Ishmael]

Scratch that, Ishmael shot me down on the other thread.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, I really liked your idea about the six moral tales forming a series of one man's journey through the stages of life. I hadn't thought of that.

Of course, maybe I should have posted this in the other thread.

[domino harvey]

In one of those Rube Goldberg / Mrs Dalloway circuitous paths to figuring out what to watch, I thought I'd finally give this a go after recently revisiting the Shane Black-scripted the Long Kiss Goodnight (and enjoying it more than expected, though more for the performances and Renny Harlin's direction), but this was clearly a mistake. Black's smirking, too clever by most script wore out its welcome almost immediately, and every time the film ground to halt so Robert Downey Jr could deliver half-assed fourth wall moments I just wanted to do what I always promise myself I won't do and stop watching. This film has hands-down the worst narration I've ever seen, and that it thinks it is being superior and witty in the process makes it all the worse. I was reminded of all the great professors who taught me creative writing and warned against how cute "above it all" shit like this really reads-- immature. And that's the dominant tone of the piece, never more present than in the film's abominable, cringe-inducing treatment of women and especially homosexuality (and saying this is just part of the noir pastiche is a cop-out and inaccurate). I'd love someone to defend the series of degrading gay jokes Val Kilmer gleefully wades through on any level-- they're all tasteless, and what's worse, they're not even funny. Outside of this, Black throws enough one-liners and quips at the wall that a couple admittedly stick, but the batting average hardly makes it worth sitting through the endless innings of wannabe neo-noir garbage. Guess I can pretty safely skip those Iron Man movies now, huh