Tag Archives: Shane Black

Charley Varrick + The Nice Guys

Posted on May 10, 2018 by Alice Thirteen
Charley Varrick + The Nice Guys

Rooting for bad people. How human conflict helps audiences enjoy the bad acts of bad people. Charley Varrick is a self interested man who doesn’t seem too bothered by everyone around him being shot, tortured, or meeting an otherwise terrible fate. When a small immoral act turns out to have been a big one, how does the responsibility of having committed it respond? Shane Black’s history of pulp’d fiction. The little American Pulp novel and the little Italian yellow novel. People love conflict! Successful conflict and its relationship to the fuck-you-ending. Rolling the bolder up Franz Kafka Hill. Continue reading →

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang + The Invention of Lying

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Alice Thirteen
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang + The Invention of Lying

Comedies that trick their audience into thinking. Films that flirt with but ultimately mock the lowest common denominator. When your narrator is reliable (but a bad guy). A party of characters. Calling out the hamster style. Calling out film gimmicks using narration gags. Pulp noir. Calling yourself out. Noir satire. Hollywood. Alice still hates LA. Bullets go through stuff. Michael explains Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Comedy as misdirection. Why The Invention of Lying is actually really amazing (hint: the bullshit low-IQ comedy is just a disguise). The return of the trojan horse. Who is being trojan horsed? What is being trojan horsed? Experiments with lying. Is lying ever morally justified? In a world without lies, religion doesn’t exist. Why Double Feature loves science, skepticism, and atheism. In a world where lying doesn’t exist, is the first lie immoral? All of the listeners are going to die. Continue reading →