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Directed by: Shane Black Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan Well, this is my first review (so please excuse the length) but I just saw said movie today and I must say I loved it. I got to the theatre not too excited due to I had little to no idea what the movie was about, but I knew Val Kilmer was in it and that was good enough for me. I really enjoyed the plot the whole way though and never noticed any slow spots. The humor in the movie was above par as far as most movies nowadays are concerned. The whole story was enthralling and kept you thinking throughout the movie, it managed to leak the important parts of solving the case slowly but steadily as to not lead to boredom. The only thing that really irked me for some reason was that at certain points the narration got really cheesy and pretty unnecessary. Aside from that it was the best movie I've seen in theaters this year next to Good Night, and Good Luck. RATING: 5 PROS: Funny overall, great plot, and just plain entertaining. CONS: Some of the narration is a little cheesy. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373469/
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# ? Nov 7, 2005 09:04 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 00:21 |
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Arrived without fanfare to two theaters in Kansas City, so here goes. Extremely enteraining film, which was more than I was prepared for based on the trailers. While not an instant classic, and it isn't perfect, it was as fun a detective story as I've seen in a while. The mystery itself was convoluted enough to warrant the trouble, which is good, and the film certainly didn't lack for either of what is listed in the title. While not a typical Shane Black shoot 'em up, I liked the brief action sections too. Kilmer and Downey are both really good and they get way more comedy mileage than I thought they would (for some reason I was thinking this might be as forgettable as Hollywood Homicide). The film does have some problems. Both a pro and a con is the fourth wall breaking nature of the presentation, with very self aware narration that sometimes perfect. But the presentation then occasionally goes off the rails and just drew my attention to a weak point in the story or the pacing or just wasn't successful at all. There's also a small amount of Elmore Leonard-ish wackiness with character backgrounds that I really have never liked, but that's pretty much a personal pet peeve. PROS: Leads are really good, comedy is solid, story justifies the twists. Also great distinctive title sequence. CONS: The self aware framework occasionally too much. RATING: 4.5 (Excellent)
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# ? Nov 13, 2005 10:10 |
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Absolutely, without a doubt, one of the best films of the year. Utterly hilarious, fantastic all the way through, brilliant writing and excellent directing. I am glad to see Shane Black back in the spotlight and back in Hollywood. Voted 5.
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# ? Nov 15, 2005 04:19 |
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Saw it a few weeks back with a couple of friends, we all enjoyed it. There are a lot of witty and memorable lines and it moves along nicely. Kilmer and Downey Jr. were an effective partnership and they really carried the film well. I would describe the film as a comedy/mystery as those are the strongest influences. Something to also consider is the fact that there are a lot of deeper undertones to the film. The film is effective because it doesn't focus on them and lose sight (as it's more of a comedy, maybe black comedy if you want to go that far) of the main feel of the film. The sister that was raped by her father was a pretty grim facet. Especially considering the fact that the older sister really did nothing to help her and was arguably partially responsible for her death. Then there is the other girl who is killed, who we really learn nothing about, but also lead a seemingly tragic life. The film made an interesting statement to me about the disposability of people in Hollywood, but perhaps I'm reading too deeply. It was probably better that the film didn't dwell on these points, but they made me think. At least they changed my initial impressions on some of the characters and the underlying meaning of the film. I think that is the sign of some clever writing. My only serious gripe would be with the narration. Towards the beginning it is kind of fresh and does set an energetic beat to the film. I think as the film progressed it just muddied the flow of the film. PROS: Entertaining and engaging comedy/mystery. Two leads are good and film never has a dull moment. CONS: Narration did become tiresome at parts, and actually skewed the flow towards the final act. Rating: 4.5 unlawfulsoup fucked around with this message at 02:32 on Nov 16, 2005 |
# ? Nov 15, 2005 07:24 |
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I'm not going to write a long review, but I just saw this film and I'd give it my backing as the best film of 2005 (so far... King Kong might be pretty cool, so who knows). It's a throwback to the great R-rated action/thriller/comedies of the 80s, and it's an extremely entertaining one, at that. 5.
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# ? Dec 10, 2005 08:21 |
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This is the best movie I have seen all year! I just got around to watching it and it was amazing. I laughed so hard at so much of the movie while being totally engrossed in it all that I can't help but want to tell all of my friends about it. Val Kilmer was great, so was Downey Jr. 5!
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# ? Feb 5, 2006 18:23 |
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I had no expectations before watching this movie, and came out smiling and happy. The movie never bores you, and the plot is filled with enough twists to keep you guessing. I like the fact that they swear alot and aren't afraid to show some nudity, it reminds me of old thrillers from back in the day when they still made them for adults. And I almost started crying with laughter during certain parts especially when he accidentally peed on the corpse, and the following dialogue about it All in all an entertaining and clever movie. 4
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# ? Feb 28, 2006 02:39 |
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Just watched this movie, great flick. Downey and Kilmer are loving great and the story is top-notch. 5
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# ? Jul 1, 2006 10:37 |
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I cant think of any cons for this movie, it was hilarious and absolutely fascinating. 5
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# ? Jul 2, 2006 05:36 |
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It was a pretty good film, but rather smug and self-referential. Hollywood producers probably got a lot bigger kick out of it than the rest of the world did. 3.5/5
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# ? Jul 2, 2006 09:04 |
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I don't understand the love for this film, I thought it was boring, trite, with forced dialogue and a weak plot. The narration by Robert Downey Jr. is very irritating, as he will often "pause" the movie to interject and packtrack, or point out a painfully obvious plot point. In fact, the only plot "twists" that I didn't see coming a mile away are the ones that don't really make sense. no underwear = OH I KNOW SHE'S CRAZY LET'S CHECK THE ASYLUM The acting was decent considering the abysmal script they had to work with. The dialogue's "comedy" is on the level of an episode of Married With Children. Constant "witty" barbs are thrown around ad nauseum. None of the main characters are remotely likable, and I found myself rooting against them and not caring if the mystery is solved. In summary, this movie irritated the hell out of me and was ultimatly not at all entertaining. 1/5
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# ? Aug 29, 2006 00:11 |
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I thought it was a good movie...funny, good story...I just had a problem with the voice over trying to cozy up with the audience and address us as if Downey Jr. was talking to us directly. I felt it was an attempt to be hip that basically flopped OVERALL: 4/5
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# ? Sep 1, 2006 02:53 |
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best comedy of 2005 by far. The dialogue between downey and kilmer is amazing. Definetly 5/5
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# ? Sep 7, 2006 00:28 |
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This movie is just not that good. As an occasionally dark comedy, it had a few funny bits that make it watchable. As a mystery, it was weak. The romance was annoying and made no sense. The deliberate quirkiness (flashbacks, goofy narration, breaking the 3rd wall) was handled in a sloppy way, and wasn't effective as either a storytelling device or as a source of laughs. The movie started with a shitload of quirky, then forgot about it, then added some at the end because, hey, we're supposed to be quirky! Val Kilmer has gotten quite fat, but is very funny, and is probably the best part of the movie. Robert Downey Jr. had his moments, but was frequently just an annoying little poo poo. Their chemistry was hit-and-miss; sometimes funny, but often not so much. What's-her-face didn't pull her weight at all. This is what happens when genre mixing goes wrong. Instead of a fun or interesting take on old ideas, you get a mess that doesn't do a very good job of anything it is trying to do. 3/5. Worth renting, not worth the hype.
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# ? Sep 18, 2006 16:14 |
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# ? Apr 18, 2024 00:21 |
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Honestly this is what I'd consider the most underrated film of all time, and RDJ's finest work. He's absolutely perfectly cast, and the fast-talking guy who has no idea what he's doing with a dry sense of humor just seems to fit him like a glove. The narration suits the film, and at some points does a fantastic job of breaking the 4th wall and being very entertaining while doing so. It also completely smashes so many overused movie cliches, the best one being when RDJ's character tries to do the russian-roulette intimidation trick with a revolver and it backfires when he accidentally kills the guy on the first shot. Kilmer perfectly compliments Downey and it leads to many hilarious moments together. 5 / 5
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# ? Dec 1, 2008 15:43 |