Brick
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Movie Reviews of Brick
Movie Review: Film Noir + Teen Genre = Shouldn't Work, But It's The Best of 2006
Summary: 5 Stars
"Brick" seems to be more than just a good movie. Each of the components works and dazzles -- but all in the service of the whole. I have watched this film several times simply to savor the competence and skill of the storytelling, neck-and-neck with "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" as the best-directed film of 2006.
But even though "Brick" adds a novelty of genre-innovation and outstanding dialogue, it's the tone and mood and story that pulls you in and pays off. The amazing fact is, "Brick"'s novelty genre-hybrid is a self-imposed handicap and disadvantage which the movie easily transcends and redeems. Although the dialogue seems stylized at first, the wide-awake intelligence of the characters in "Brick" becomes an integral asset to the story itself.
On a personal note, I can't believe how much I liked this film. I watched it 5 times over 5 nights during the first week. I haven't seen a film that works on so many levels in a long time.
I loved the balls of this movie. I loved the visuals, the dialogue, the plot, the pacing, everything. But especially I loved the intelligence -- and the respect that the director/writer has for the audience.
For film buffs who are starving for serious intelligence & quality, "Brick" is a feast, and an apparent labor of love, a gift for Noir Cultists & those who love a good tale well-told.
Movie Review: Most convincing Film Noir since the height of the genre
Summary: 5 Stars
What Brick brings to the table is perhaps the most refreshing look at the genre of Film Noir in years. Rian Johnson is able to take the critical elements of the genre and transpose them on a fresh new locale. The use of a Southern California highschool as the backdrop is beautifully done. Most of all, Johnson is able to appreciate and use the genre without falling back on the 1940s.
The screenplay is exquisite. The developed slang is not just perfect for a film noir but truly perfect for the culture being shown. What is most amazing is how surprisingly real the film seems, despite the fact that yes - it is a bunch of teenagers who are caught up in a world so devoid of reality that its hard to believe. Yet somehow Johnson brings in elements of real-life high school drug culture, real-life Southern California, and most of all real-life fantasies about how to act when you are part of these cultures.
This was the best film I've seen in years, to be honest. I'm disapointed it has basically been predetermined for this to remain a "cult classic." It could have marked a re-emergence of Film Noir, arguably one of the most interesting and conflicted genres of film (in my opinion). However, I am glad it has been made because at least I will be able to take pleasure in viewing it. A must-see.
Movie Review: Not a fan of Noir, but loved Brick
Summary: 5 Stars
Brick is a modern day film noir set in a high school in California. That may, or may not, attrack people to this movie. For some, like me, who really don't care about the film noir genre of the 40's and 50's (mostly because of the outlandish characters and over the top plots) may find this a refreshing alternate on that genre. Sure the characters speak in a way that's not like real life, but the true gem of this movie is it's brilliant storytelling with likeable characters that don't seem too far fetched.
Brendan is the loner (only after Emily leaves him) who seems to know how the world works, but keeps himself away from it unless he needs it. Emily is the femme fatale who wants in on the upper crowds, but gets herself into more than she can handle. Tug is the muscle without a brain. The pin is the crimeboss with some quirky personality traights.
This movie is definately one worth watching just to see the spin that is put onto the characters, for instance: a scene that involves Brendan being treated to a meal by the Pin's mother just after he was beaten in their cellar. It's an interesting idea and works incredibly well for the tone of the movie.
This is an excellent movie worth every amount of praise it receives, and I am personally looking forward to more from Rian Johnson.
Movie Review: Hard-Boiled High School
Summary: 5 Stars
This film isn't for everyone, and those with no knowledge of (or taste for) film noir and especially the Hard-Boiled Detective Fiction sub-genre will likely be confused or even bored by it. If you like either, though, you're in for a real treat.
A high-school student gets a cryptic call from an ex, and when she turns up dead a few days later, he launches his own investigation into the matter. Matters spiral from there.
I call this "hard-boiled high school" because it ingeniously takes a standard pulp setting and updates it to a modern high school: instead of the D.A. breathing down the detective's neck, it's the vice-principal, etc. Clever stuff.
The plot's complexity is almost Chandleresque and requires paying attention to dialogue and background details. The dialogue is straight out of a '30s copy of that pulp classic, Black Mask magazine. Hammett would be proud, especially since some of the slang is encased in some truly witty dialogue.
You have to like this sort of thing, of course, but if you do, it's surprisingly well-done, especially given the limited budget and that this was the director's first effort.
Highly recommended for fans of this sort of thing.
Movie Review: "The Ape Blows or I Clam"
Summary: 5 Stars
If I could throw BRICK through your window to insure you'd watch it, I would.
I'm ordinarily parsimonious with "5 star" ratings. But as someone who discovered Raymond Chandler in my high school's library, BRICK got the drop on me early and wouldn't let up. This movie's transposition of the hard-boiled noir genre to a high school setting is completely successful on its own terms. And it avoids the pitfalls of parody to become a pastiche that can stand on its own.
There are a lot of things to savor in this film, but the main one is the dialogue. (Be sure to turn on the subtitles to get their full flavor.) Flowery and anachronistic, writer/director Rian Johnson obviously had a great time getting these lines just right. The protagonist, Brendan, doesn't have a merely dry wit; this guy is downright dehydrated.
And there is more to savor than the words. For some reason, I loved the way that the high school seems perennially deserted. Sure, the femme fatale could have been better cast, and the plot gets all "Scooby Doo" at the end. But I had enjoyed myself so much up to that point, I was willing to forgive anything.