Thriller in ‘The Loft’

Stars: Erik Van Looy (director), Karl Urban, James Marsden, Wentworth Miller, Eric Stonestreet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rachael Taylor, Margarita Levieva.

Plot: Five married men share ownership of an upmarket loft, which they use to discretely meet their respective mistresses. When the body of a murdered woman is found in that loft, the men begin to suspect each other of having committed the gruesome crime, as they are the only ones with keys to the premises.

The Loft is an upcoming thriller remake of the 2008 Belgian film ‘Loft‘ also directed by Erik Van Looy and also starring Matthias Schoenaerts in the same role he plays in this version. The original became the most successful Flemish movie ever at the box office so this could be quite a good film, even if it doesn’t get that much attention.

The cast, while without many notable names, brings together actors and actresses from some of the best loved films and television shows of the last few years: Urban (Star Trek), Marsden (X-Men), Miller (Prison Break), Taylor (Charlie’s Angels), Levieva (Revenge). While few have acted in feature films before they have all proved their talent and it should make for a good watch.

The premise is very interesting and it has a good story and amount of characters, friendship and trust which will make for a good whodunnit storyline. The film pieces the truth together through a series of flashbacks intertwined with scenes from the present day and hopefully will keep the audience guessing who committed the crime and why until the end of the film (because films are rubbish when the audience knows the truth from the start). It looks very good but doesn’t yet have a distributor in the UK but depending on how it does in the United States upon it’s release at the end of the year we could see it come over to Britain mid 2013.

Why I Love… Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a crime action comedy that was released back in 2005 to critical acclaim with some critics calling it one of the best movies of that year. The film tells the story of a murder mystery that brings together a private eye, a struggling actress, and a thief masquerading as an actor. It takes place at Christmas time and is packed full of great action, fantastic characters and brilliant dialogue and it has quickly become one of my favourite films of all time, here is why:

Shane Black. Black is the writer of films such as Lethal Weapon and The Last Action Hero which are both very popular films but there is a difference between those and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which comes a whole seven years after Black’s last film credit. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is both written and directed by Shane Black and I am a huge fan of this style of film making. When a writer is able to direct his project as well it means that there is arguably more passion involved in the directing and the writer can make the movie exactly as they envision it. Black’s love of his characters and script come through really well in the directing and help to make the film seem more personal.

As well as being Shane Black’s comeback Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was also the film that gave Robert Downey Jnr his (second) big break. Downey plays Harry Lockhart who is the character at the centre of the movie’s plot. Harry Lockhart is the thief who fell into the world of acting and the character is a perfect fit for Robert Downey Jnr. He smacks of wit and charm and is very similar to the version of Tony Stark that audiences would soon come to recognise the actor for. A lot of the films humour comes from Downey Jnr as we are treated to his narration and some fantastically witty lines; when asked by an actress what Lockhart does for a living his quick reply is “I’m retired, I invented dice when I was a kid” and when Perry reveals a gun from down his trousers after shooting their captor from his crotch Lockhart remarks “Wow! I was glad you had a gun in there. For a second, I actually thought you could do that, like it was some big gay thing” – just two lines that make Kiss Kiss Bang Bang a really great film. Shane Black and Robert Downey Jnr make for a dream combination which is to be let loose again on Iron Man 3.

The first gay action hero. Val Kilmer’s private investigator character of ‘Gay’ Perry is usually seen as the first gay lead in an action film and this is obviously a great thing. His sexuality doesn’t change any angle of the story but it is something that is interesting to add and sets up a few jokes rather nicely. Another huge reason for me loving this film though is Michelle Monaghan as Harmony Faith Lane, an aspiring actress and childhood friend of Harry Lockhart. Monaghan is one of my favourite actresses because as well as being painfully beautiful she also has the acting ability to go with it and she is allowed to run wild in this film as a kind of innocent looking but feisty girl who manages to cut of the end of Harry’s finger just by slamming it in a door – over the top ridiculous but Kiss Kiss Bang Bang gets away with it completely.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang has it all; it has the great characters, fantastic dialogue, a brilliant cast that fit their parts perfectly and the action and comedy blend into one another seamlessly.  Some films become more boring and less exciting the more times you watch them but that can’t be said for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; every time I have watched it I have noticed things that I hadn’t before, I noticed more witty remarks, something different in the directing. This movie definitely has the rewatchability factor.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is soooooo good! Watch it… watch it now!