Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

If you try to take this seriously for even a moment, it will all fall apart. And that is probably the movie’s greatest weakness, in that from time to time it does seem to be taking itself seriously. But try to get past those moments. This movie exists mostly for fun, and when it’s on target, it’s a great deal of fun indeed. It is sardonically ... Read more »

Kiss Me Deadly

I once tried to read a Mickey Spillane novel. I think it was I, the Jury. I got about three chapters in and not only did I put it down, I dropped it in the garbage can and covered it with slop. Nothing in the book appealed to me, and much really put me off. But it was interesting to watch this movie. Mike Hammer is an incredibly sleazy, unappealing character, but ... Read more »

Kitchen Stories

In the early 1950s the Swedish government conducted studies of housewives to find ways of making their work more efficient. They liked the results so much that, for some reason known only to the bureaucratic mind, they decided to study the kitchens and work habits of Norwegian bachelor farmers. You know, the guys who grow the wheat that’s used in Powdermilk Biscuits, which give shy people ... Read more »

The Kite Runner

I haven’t read the book, but I knew this was not about the All-Afghan Kite Tournament. Which is a little odd, because apparently the two young Afghans who are featured in the first part of the movie were under the impression that it was something very like that. And why not? Many of their scenes involve kite flying. Trouble is, in addition to having no sense of humor and no tolerance for ... Read more »

Kitty Foyle: The Natural History of a Woman

Every once in a while there is a classic, well-reviewed movie that I, in spite of being a film buff, have never seen. And in an even greater while, it turns out that I don’t like it. Wuthering Heights was such a film. This is another. I’m not sure if they used that complete title above, which was the title of the book, but it’s about an ordinary working girl, a “white collar” girl. She ... Read more »

Klute

This movie proves you don’t have to shoot in black and white to make a noir film. The camera work is arty, with a lot of shots from a fair distance away, and with the action not centered conventionally. It sometimes draws attention to itself, but I didn’t think that was a real problem. Usually it enhanced the feeling of dread, as did the music. I’m not the first one to point out that ... Read more »

Knife in the Water

The Criterion edition should clue you in that it’s worth your time, but still, it is fairly obscure. I first saw it in about 1967, at the Michigan State Film Society, and was blown away. I’d never seen anything like it … and I wasn’t quite sure what it was that was so different.

All these years later I’m a lot more sophisticated about film, and I can ... Read more »

Knight of Cups

If you thought Terrence Malick’s last film, The Tree of Life, was controversial, get a load of this one. Most people either loved or hated that one. I was in the minority: I loved some of it, didn’t care for some of it, didn’t hate any of it. But this one finally got me fed up with the stuff he’s doing these days.

It is the story of Rick (Christian Bale), ... Read more »

Knives Out

If you enjoy and old-fashioned cozy-type whodunit about the upper classes (as I do, from time to time) you can’t do better than this. Nasty and grasping people brought together in a spooky old mansion to find out the contents of the rich, grumpy, cynical old patriarch’s will … sure, it’s a cliché, but if done right, it’s a hoot. How much more Agatha Christie can you get? This isn’t the ... Read more »