Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

From screenwriting hot talent Shane Black, comes the very funny Hollywood thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Ex-jailbird Harry Lockhart (Downey Jnr) finds he lands on his feet when he's asked to do a part in a Hollywood movie. To get into the role however, he's asked to shadow gay private detective Perry van Shrike (Kilmer) and whilst with him, they get involved in the intrigues of a murder of a girl who is the sister of a girl Harry went out with.

Black famous for the Lethal Weapon series makes his directorial debut here, not that he's a novice behind the camera, far from it. In fact from the word go, the film uses a first person narrative that involves the audience and picks upon moments from cinema that if you’re a cinema buff of any kind, you'll be all too familiar with. The effect is to make us feel that we're on the inside of the filmmaking process and also in Tarantino-ish fashion, takes a thriller approach but also doesn’t take itself that seriously rather like Pulp Fiction.

Robert Downey Jnr and Val Kilmer are on top form here, especially Kilmer who makes Gay Perry into a character you’ll certainly consider memorable. Its got some great moments – some that are sure to have audiences in stitches and whilst the plot is sometimes almost coming too fast for comfort, writer-director Shane Black makes the most of a film noir tale that is sure to leave you giggling as you leave the cinema. Well worth it.

Matt Arnoldi