'Kiss' the sky.

I had seen the trailer for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and was instantly drawn to the film. I promised myself that I'd go to see it. I was granted an opportunity when it came to a local theater. Unfortunately, 'a' meant 'just one' and 'local' meant 'way the hell out of my way'. You see, I am a life-long native of Western New York. I live in Buffalo. The movie theater was in Clarence. I don't have a driver's license. Even if you pretend to be familiar with the geography, you can imagine that the journey would have a few bumps.

After four buses, I arrive on Transit Road. The theater is up the street, away from the nearest bus stop. I go to a mall first; one that I don't usually go to. I look around, get some cookies and continue on my way. I walk up the road which has no sidewalk, but as long as there are guidelines and a dirt (or, in this case, mud) path, I'm good. I make it to the theater, but first stop at Media Play to check out the CDs. I walk away with the soundtracks of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Macross Plus, both sound investments.

I get to the theater. The film, about a thief-turned-actor (Robert Downey, Jr.) and a gay private eye (Val Kilmer) investigating an unusual crime, is terrific; the well-tuned directorial debut of Shane Black (Lethal Weapon). It's perhaps one of the best films I've seen this year.

Even though I missed my bus back to the city and had to wait about 40 minutes for another, this turned out to be a terrific day; one of those days I wouldn't have traded for anything.