Film Review: KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005)

Director: Shane Black
Writers: Brett Halliday (novel “Bodies Are Where You Find Them”) (in part), Shane Black (Screenplay/Screen Story)
Running time: 103 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Comedy/Crime/Mystery
UK Release date: 11^th November 2005

Watched on Terrestrial PVR Friday 26^th July 2013.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE UNINTENTIONAL SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is one of those films that somehow slipped through the net; I have been meaning to see it for years, but it kept falling by the wayside. Fortunately one of the TV channels over here finally aired it and I was able to finally see it. I have to admit it wasn’t quite what I was expecting but it was still a good watch. Here’s a very brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

Small-time thief Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.) stumbles into an audition in New York whilst evading the cops. The next thing he knows, he’s at a party in LA mixing with the great and the good. Here he sees a girl he somehow recognises, Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), who turns out to be from his home town and a girl he was sweet on in school. He is to play a detective and so has to go training with a real Private Detective, Gay Perry (Val Kilmer). Whilst out on their first night they witness a murder that will take them on a wild ride. A case that involves Harmony, her sister and even the host of the party at the beginning, Harlan Dexter (Corbin Bernsen)!

Lots of profanity, lots of deaths and some great comic one-liners; I have to admit I liked this one to a large extent. It’s well shot and very slick, keeping a decent pace although it does drop here and there. All the performances were very good; Downey Jr, Kilmer and Monaghan all did a great job. I did find, however, that Downey Jr’s character, Lockhart, did begin to get a tad annoying towards the end. Over all though a pretty enjoyable watch; quite original in its makeup and well worth a look.

SteelMonster’s verdict: RECOMMENDED

My score: 7.2/10.

IMDb Score: 7.7/10 (based on 126,456 votes when this review was written).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469/

MetaScore: 72/100: (Based on 37 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 83/100 (based on 151 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 83/100 (based on 198,978 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kiss_kiss_bang_bang/

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LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site (UK): http://wwws.warnerbros.co.uk/kisskissbangbang/?frompromo=movies_maintouts_kisskiss_bangbang
Trailer:

Film Review: BAD LIEUTENANT (2009)

[Original Title: THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL - NEW ORLEANS]

Director: Werner Herzog
Writer (screenplay): William M. Finkelstein
Writers (earlier film “Bad Lieutenant”): Victor Argo, Paul Calderon, Abel Ferrara, Zoë Lund
Running time: 117 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 18

Genre: Crime/Drama
UK Release date: 21^st May 2010

Watched on DVD Saturday 30^th June 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

This is a film I’ve been meaning to catch for quite a while now and with Wimbledon being on it afforded me a window of opportunity. A very entertaining and interesting film that I very much enjoyed. I can’t say I’ve seen much of Werner Herzog’s work, but, on the strength of this, I’d like to see more. Here’s a brief summary before I give you my thoughts.

When New Orleans cop, Terence McDonagh, injures his back rescuing a prisoner in the wake of Katrina, his life is changed. He starts with prescription drugs but when they fail to do it for him he resorts to something a little stronger. He has no problem with shaking down offenders and stealing drugs from the evidence locker to feed his habit. His girlfriend, Frankie Donnenfield, a hooker, also helps him with these ‘shake-downs’. Of course, he makes some enemies along the way and this, combined with some gambling debts tends to make Terence a bit of an unstable character. Even his partner, Stevie Pruit, turns his back on him. Is there any redemption for Terence? Well, I’ll leave you with that question… Don’t want to give too much away now do we.

Very well made with a few quirky effects… I loved ‘Iguana-cam’ particularly (you’ll know what I mean if you’ve seen it). But the thing that stands out most about this picture is the performance of Nicolas Cage as Terence McDonagh; they say for every three duds there’s one outstanding one… and believe me, this is well worth a look! He’s really great in this. I also thought Eva Mendes did an excellent job as Frankie Donnenfield. Honourable mentions go to; Val Kilmer, who I thought was underused as Stevie Pruit, Xzibit as gangster, Big Fate and Jennifer Coolidge as Genevieve.

The combination of Cage’s excellent performance and the direction of Herzog works a treat (for me). I know the film failed to impress that much at the American box office and I think it may be because it perhaps went a little far in showing McDonah’s decline. I did feel the events leading up to the ending seemed a little rushed; having spent so much time showing him reach that point. Over all though, I thought it was rather good and deserved a better reception than it got… (For me), RECOMMENDED.

My score: 8.3/10

IMDb Score: 6.8/10 (based on 39,833 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1095217/

MetaScore: 69/100: (Based on 32 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 87/100 (based on 135 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 52/100 ‘Liked it’ (based on 50,683 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bad_lieutenant_port_of_call_new_orleans/

If you’re crazy enough… You can find me on Facebook at:
http://facebook.com/andy.steel3

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Terence McDonagh: Shoot him again.
Deshaun 'Midget' Hackett: What for?
Terence McDonagh: His soul is still dancing.
[laughs hysterically]

Terence McDonagh: You know we got your boy, G, right?
Deshaun 'Midget' Hackett: Man, I don't know no G.
Terence McDonagh: He knows you. It's amazing how much you can get done when you've got a simple purpose guiding you through life. My purpose is to find out who shot up this apartment on Josephine. I know the guy that was living there was from Senegal. I know he was selling heroin. I know whose territory he was stepping on. And I know who went over to the apartment to straighten him out. I found out all that in the past few days. Where's Big Fate, son?
Deshaun 'Midget' Hackett: I don't know no Big Fate.
Terence McDonagh: Now, see, I know that's not true, because everybody who comes from where you come from knows who Big Fate is. The fact that you're lying to me about it tells me you're hiding something. Since you know my only reason for being here is to find out who shot up the apartment, I know that's what you're hiding. See? It all comes back to that same simple purpose.

Terence McDonagh: You don't have a lucky crack pipe?

Terence McDonagh: You think fish have dreams?

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Official Site: http://www.badlt.com/
Trailer: