Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Mysteries Within Mysteries
Harry's a burglar in New York who, to escape arrest, winds up auditioning for a part in a Joel Silver like film that's destined for Colin Farrell. He's whisked away to the phony world of LA, where every girl named "Jill" spells it "Jylle." At a fabulous cocktail party he meets Harlan Dexter, once a B-movie actor and now a very rich enterpreneur whose daughter has only recently returned from a long sojourn to Paris. Harry also meets his high school sweetheart, a girl who never gave him a toss back then, but now she's seeing him with new eyes. The two of them share an appreciation for the pulp novels of the 1950s and 1960s featuring a Mike Hammer type PI called "Jonny Gossamer."

KISS KISS BANG BANG is a lot of fun. Walking into the theater you don't expect such a rambunctious, talky, endlessly yakking movie. You have to be on your toes, narratologically speaking, the entire time, and don't try leaing your seat to use the restroom, you'll have missed probably the entire...

Chaplin Redux
Robert Downey Jr. has not been as quick-witted and riotously funny since he played in Chaplin. He and Val Kilmer turn out to be a comedy team as good as those in Mel Brooks' early movies. There are scenes that cause uproarious laughter in the theater. Like when Downey sticks his severed finger into the ice bucket and the dog eats it. Or when Kilmer's cell phone plays "I will survive" when it rings. Michelle Monaghan plays Downey's old childhood friend, Harmony. They meet again in L.A. and team up with Kilmer to solve a murder. The trio charm the audience and keeps the laughter at a high volume. And finally, Downey's asides to the audience in his role as Narator are hilarious. From stopping the film to explain something, to changing the typical noir ending by bringing back all the dead characters plus Elvis and Abe Lincoln. It was two hours of razor-sharp dialogue and brilliant comedy. Don't miss this one.

Kiss Me Quick!
"Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" is so full of energy and forward propulsion that it often trips over its own frenzied notions and plot machinations. This is screenwriter ("Lethal Weapon") Shane Black's first film as director and he is very keen on making the most of this opportunity: the 3rd wall is smashed and cleared away, the story is told both in flash backs and in flash forwards and Robert Downey Jr. as Harry Lockhart narrates in deadpan fashion that manages to be extremely witty and droll on the one hand and banal and silly at others.

"KKBB" opens with an explosion of activity in which Harry a petty thief, while in the process of a robbery and running from the police, accidentally bursts into a room in which actors are being auditioned for a movie dealing with private eyes. He is thrust into service as an auditionee and is asked to screen test...moving closer to actually nabbing the movie role. And so it goes: one incredible and often hilarious plot twist after another...

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