Article: Wink, wink, 'Kiss Kiss,' ha, ha; Writer-director Shane Black offers smart, violent cliche.(SHOW)(MOVIES)

Byline: Scott Galupo, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

"Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" is coincidentally the title of an essay collection by the late film critic Pauline Kael. But if we're talking about anthological title flukes, the movie, a spoofy noir thriller from writer-director Shane Black, is more like Martin Amis' "The War Against Cliche."

It's a violent war, a trench war between all that is predictable about Hollywood thrillers and dime-store detective novels, and the cooler-than-thou volatility of stars Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer.

Mr. Black, the veteran action screenwriter who took a sabbatical shortly after drawing blood from the stone of the ...

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