Product Description: Brendan Frye is a loner someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves turns up dead he is determined to find the "who" and "why" and plunges into the dark and dangerous social strata of rich girl Laura intimidating Tug drug-addled Dode seductive Kara and the ominous Pin. But who can he really trust? These are the ingredients of Brick a gritty and provocative thriller that critics describe as "a clever twist-filled whodunit!" (Claudia Puig USA Today)System Requirements:Running Time: 110 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS Rating: R UPC: 025192866326 Manufacturer No: 28663
Amazon.com: High school collides with hard-boiled film noir in the twisty, cunning Brick. When he gets a mysterious message from his ex-girlfriend, a high school loner named Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mysterious Skin) starts to dig into a crisscrossed web of drugs and duplicity, eventually getting entwined in the criminal doings of a teenage crime lord known as the Pin (Lukas Haas), his thuggish henchman Tugger (Noah Fleiss, Joe the King), and a mysterious girl named Laura (Nora Zehetner, Fifty Pills). Brick has not only the seductive, labyrinthine plot of a crime thriller by Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon) or Raymond Chandler (Farewell, My Lovely) but also a dense high-school version of hard-boiled lingo that's both comic and poetic. The movie unfolds with headlong momentum as Brendan manipulates, fights, and staggers his way through layers of high-school society. Gordon-Levitt is excellent; between this and the equally compelling Mysterious Skin, he's left his 3rd Rock from the Sun days behind. Also featuring Meagan Good (Waist Deep) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft). --Bret Fetzer
SOLID AS A BRICK I caught this movie late at night and stayed up until 2 to finish it. I was drawn in by Gordon-Levitt and the kinetic pacing. It reminded me a bit of River's Edge, another film that pulls you into its web. At times you sorta feel like you're watching, Fight Club, or Guy Richie film, but then it comes back to the characters and that is what makes this film different. Lukas Haas is prefectly cast, and when he sort of pops up, it's like, finally somebody is using this talent young character actor, I really dont understand how, Shia LaBouef gets so much work and somebody like Haas, is rarely seen, but I digress, anyway, Haas really sets the pace for the latter half of the film. Without getting into the specifics of the film, (FYI, I loathe when reviewers practically recite the screenplay word for word) I will say that it is story of a loner, Gordon-Levitt, his love for a girl that is unrequinted, the mystery surrounding her, and Gordon-Levitts pursuit of the truth, through a maze of blowback. Highly recommended, you won't be disappointed.
Mysterious! This movie is great because it can be watched repeatedly, and each time the viewer will learn something new! It has an excellent dark mood, and it is fascinating how the filmmakers updated the film noir genre to a modern day high school. I loved the way the characters talked in this film. It is almost like a poem, which admittedly may take some time to get used to. I recommend watching this movie once without subtitles to focus on the action and once with subtitles to uncover all the secret, twisting dialogue. This movie will leave you with a lot to ponder for a week or two!
Horrible dialog The trailer was very intriguing, so I was excited to watch this movie. I was so disappointed. The dialog was so bad, as if the writer was just trying too hard to sound witty and smart. But what came out were words that sounded kinda like English, but I had no idea what they were saying. The actors mumbled a lot, too. At the 53 minute mark, I ceased to care what happened next.
It's all about the 40's! It's all about the 40's! Both my wife and I are 44, and we both stopped watching it 43 minutes in! We looked into one another's eyes for 41 seconds, and after rolling them, said in unison, "You've Got To Be Kidding That Was the Worst EVER!" (By the way, that phrase with Characters, Punctuation and Spaces -- totals 48!
I'm glad to see WE weren't the only ones to quit in the 40's minutes mark of the film. This is BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD!!!!!!!
Cake and pie, oh my It doesn't surprise me that this film has received a lot of negative reviews. This isn't the sort of movie you can guarantee that others will like.
The literal-minded 'this is unrealistic' criticisms miss the point, of course. The film knows it isn't realistic, and even winks at you (e.g., the mom serving apple juice). The same can be said of grumbling about the convuluted plot and slangy dialog (that's the nature of the genre). I do think, however, that the muddy sound of the dialog is a problem. You end up missing some great lines (and you shouldn't need subtitles).
What I like best is, despite the small budget, Brick is great to look at. Great washed-out California background, nice interior sets. Rian Johnson makes good use of jump cut editing and low camera angles and even a sunset.
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