Brick
2005 Directed by Rian Johnson
Synopsis
A detective story.
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
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If there are two types of movies that have been done to death, it's noir pastiche and high school movies. But, in one of the great bits of movie alchemy, Rian Johnson takes these two subgenres and smashes them up with the reckless abandon of someone who doesn't seem to care if anyone likes it or not, even though we all know that's impossible.
Johnson and the cast are all smart enough to know that a conceit like this will work best if it's played completely straight, and with the exception of one (arguably 2) scene(s), it is. And amusement at the idea of high school students living out a Dashiell Hammett nightmare eventually gives way to genuine and shattering…
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A modern day film noir, but at high school with teenagers. And surprisingly, it works.
Do you remember what high school was like? That was the whole universe. There was nothing beyond it. Nothing. The way the film utilizes these desolate sports fields and empty car parks, as if to suggest there is no life and no world beyond the California hills that frame nearly every setting...clever stuff. There is also the complete lack of the adult beyond the most simple archetype: the mother and the principle, and the fact that, while most of the characters are students seen in or around the school, we never see anyone doing anything even remotely close to school work. To the characters, this is the real world, as the real world is to a detective in the true old film noirs.
A tremendous amount of thought went into this story, and that hard work definitely raises this above a simple gimmick.
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Rian Johnson brings the world of the Maltese falcon and the big sleep, to modern day high school, shifty characters and sexy women you don't trust, led by an outstanding performance by Joseph Gordon Levitt, A ten in anyone’s books.
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Some people salivate over Christopher Nolan. Some people hold Joss Whedon as God's gift to cinema. Others may think worlds of PTA, Scorsese, or Kubrick and that none of those directors can do wrong. That is all well and good, but my inner movie fanboyism is pointed at someone else.
With just three films under his belt, no one excites me more these days than Rian Johnson. All three of his movies have a bold, staunch vision that doesn't compromise anything. Whether it is a science fiction movie that decides to abandon the world it created up to that point and spend the entire second half on a farm or a lighthearted romp with a pair of con men brothers,…
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Rian Johnson's directorial debut Brick really was a breath of fresh air. A unique experience and thoroughly captivating. It's a crime drama set in a school with a bunch of teenagers, but its neo-noir style lifts this above and beyond any fear of it being "just another teen drama". It has a great use of language and terms very reminiscent of 1930's film noir. Sometimes a little difficult to follow but thats half its charm and compliments the mystery to great effect. It's a very special film indeed.
We follow a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan, an intelligent outsider at school who will stop at nothing to figure out what has happened to his ex girlfriend who has gone missing.…
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As a huge fan of film noir, I love the idea of taking the elements of the genre and placing them in a completely foreign context: high school. I tend to really love high school movies as well, so I should've loved Brick, right? Although I appreciate the originality and vision of Rian Johnson's debut feature, something about it doesn't resonate with me quite as strongly as it does other people. I can't pinpoint anything about it that is overtly negative, but overall I find the experience of watching this film pretty average.
Joseph Gordon Levitt's performance is wonderful given what he was expected to do. He had to completely put aside the age of the character he was playing…
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Indie mystery.
"she called me a dirty word." - is one of my favorite lines for some reason.
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It's a noir movie placed in a high school, the lead basically takes the role of the PI/detective, it works really well with the clicks of the school being the mafia and a few shady characters taking on stereotypical roles but in highschool, which continuously brings smiles without falling into full blown comedy. The whodunit aspect of it works very well on it's own too.
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A young man infiltrates a high school crime ring, while searching for answers about his ex-girlfriend's death. BRICK is a fantastic neo-noir set in a California high school. Smart, entertaining and so well done.
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They also could've called this: "High School: Twin Peaks". Loved the references to Lynch's masterpiece. For example: the "Coffee and Pie, Oh My!" diner and the wooden layout of The Pin's office.
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Clever, ground-breaking and inspiring. The astounding quality of Brick is only amplified by the fact that this the director's debut feature film. Rian Johnson has created a revitalised, modern noir without the pretension that could so easily come with it. Perfect characters, beautifully shot and an inspiration to all independent filmmakers out there.
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Clever dialogue and a refreshing camera lens
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Rian Johnson is really good at directing confusing movies. I will definitely be re-watching this sometime in the future. If you can follow this movie, the story is excellent. JGL is great as the lead, and the thrill is a ride that everyone should wait in line for.
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Wow was I wrong about this one. Visually creative in a way that I really didn't appreciate enough the first time.Yes the script is messy, yes the plot is somewhat confusing, yes the slang could very well be a mistake. But at the same time so good visually. Bonus points for best use of jump cuts ever
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Tenía tiempo sin ver algo tan aburrido. Me distrajo mucho el montaje y nunca me importó todo por lo que luchaba el protagonista