Movie #346 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
2005 - Rated R - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan, Corbin Bernsen

Oh, how do I love Robert Downey Jr? Let me count the ways!  He tackles this quirky role with his usual flair and enthusiasm, with his staccato speech and unique body language--a weird blend of erratic movement and deliberate gestures.  You know what I'm talking about.  That way that he has about him. 

In this role, it's absolutely perfect.  This is an off-beat, dark comedy that starts out with a "botched" childhood magic trick and just gets more bizarre from there.  Following in the shoes of gay detective Val Kilmer, Downey accidentally meets up with an old friend he's had a thing for since about second grade.  His chemistry with Michelle Monaghan is surprisingly effortless.

I can't give away to much, but I will say that if you like a good dark comedy/mystery with some quirky wit and a strong ensemble cast, check this one out.

Movie #224 - The Ghost and the Darkness

The Ghost and the Darkness
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 49 min
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie, Emily Mortimer, Om Puri

I really enjoyed this one, much more than the first time I watched it.  Actually, I barely remember my first viewing, so this was almost like the first time I guess.  I also did not realize that this story is based on true events.  Apparently, two lions really did kill around 130 people in Africa in 1898 and really are stuffed and mounted in a museum in Chicago.  Who knew?

So Val Kilmer plays the bridge engineer, whose staff keeps getting eaten, and Michael Douglas is the rogue lion-killer sent in to help him kill these things.  There are a few things that seem weird to me. 1. Val Kilmer is a British officer...without a British accent.  2. Male lions don't hunt, female lions do. 

Of course, these lions act against almost all natural lion-like habits.  So, in a way, I guess it doesn't matter if they're male or female.  It's more weird, but okay. True story. I guess I can't argue.

Anyway, it's a really good story and really well told in this movie.  Except for Val Kilmer's accent.

Movie #56 - Batman Forever

Batman Forever
Warner Bros. Pictures
1995 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman, Chris O'Donnell
New Batman, new director, new look... kinda. These films are still a dark interpretation of the comic series, without being 100% comic. Some of the modern hero movies / graphic novel movies seem straight off the page, a really interesting and aesthetic approach. The Batman movies seem to get lost in the pages... maybe that's my problem with these earlier movies.

Anyway, Val Kilmer is not as gritty a Batman as Michael Keaton (or Christian Bale for that matter) but he plays the suave Bruce Wayne pretty well. Is it intentional that the Harvey Dent that was Lando Calrissian in the first movie is now Tommy Lee Jones? Or are we okay with it because there's a new Batman? Whatever.

Anyway, Jim Carrey is just... weird. Not sure why he's in this movie. Jones is pretty gross looking and definitely has split personality issues, but that's to be expected. I hear being drenched in acid can make you go nuts, so I'm not going to judge him for that. And if he wants to have a girlfriend for each side of his face, more power too him.

The one thing that really does bother me about this movie is Nicole Kidman's character Chase Meridian. She's supposed to be this big, smart psychologist who wants to study Batman's psyche and diagnose his inner pain. She makes all these comments about how he probably has a troubled past. Then she talks to Bruce Wayne about his troubled past. Somehow, she can't connect the dots. I wanted to shake her a couple of times.

Otherwise, this movie wasn't terrible...

Movie #20 - Alexander (Director's Cut)

Alexander (Director's Cut)
Warner Bros Pictures
2004 - Rated R - 2 hr 47 min
Director: Oliver Stone
Starring: Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Anthony Hopkins, Jared Leto

The best thing they did while making this movie was to choose a little boy who looks like like a young Colin Farrell. The worst thing they did while making this movie... hold on, I'm gonna need a minute here... I really can't decide which is the worst. Why don't you decide?

Is it...

A. Dyeing Colin Farrell's hair blonde?

B. Making Angelina Jolie have a Russian accent? In Macedonia, no less.

C. Casting Colin Farrell, who brought his Irish accent with him?

D. Filming a slapping match between Colin Farrell and Rosario Dawson?

E. Turning an epic war hero into a whiney bitch?

My biggest beef with the movie is probably Jared Leto and that whole lover subplot. It is speculated that Alexander might have "lain with men," but so did everyone else! Instead of making it part of the story, it takes over the whole second half of the movie. It was an aspect of his life--maybe--but the way this movie depicts it, the relationship was largely scandalous. Ummm... probably not. That's probably modern culture painting its own perceptions onto this story, which takes place in an era when sexual relations (with anyone) were much more accepted. Some may applaud it for being so "open" about it, but I think they went overboard. I hope that makes sense without insulting anyone.

Beyond that, the movie is toooooo long, jumps back and forth too much, and doesn't really paint Alexander the Great in a favorable light... his father (Val Kilmer) either, for that matter.

But oh, the actor who plays Thomas Boleyn on The Tudors is in this. Cool.

That's all I got on this one...