Check This One Out! - Brick

Check This One Out! - BricK

Brendan: "Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you."

      This week, I'd like to highlight a movie called Brick directed by Rian Johnson (Looper, The Brother Bloom, currently filming Star Wars: Episode VIII) and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan, Nora Zehetner as Laura, Lukas Haas as The Pin, Noah Fleiss as Tugger, Matt O'Leary as The Brain, Emilie de Ravin as Emily, and Noah Segan as Dode.

This is Rian Johnson's directorial debut (and it's a neo-noir film)!

      After just having broke up with Emily, his former girlfriend, high school student Brendan receives a phone call from his ex who begs him to help her. She's in trouble and the only clues he has to find her are the words "brick", "Tug", "Pin", and "poor Frisco". This neo-noir film follows Brendan going through a drug circle so dangerous that he doesn't even know if he'll make it out alive to find his ex, whom he still loves, and who kidnapped her.

Such beautifully dark film that deserves more credit than it gets.

       Brick is one of those films, like many noir films, that should get more than one watch only because that is basically the nature of detective films. It is one hundred percent worth the multiple watch though. As a film enthusiast, I appreciate Brick not only as an artsy film, because of the great dialogue that blends high school references, smart exchanges between characters, and the depressing usages of drugs, but also as a great film in general. If you're curious to know what Rian Johnson can bring to the upcoming Star Wars sequel set for next year, this is one film that can catch you up to speed how well Rian can maintain well rounded characters with a convoluted plot that actually isn't so convoluted when you think about it. Of course, I can't not mention Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the role as Brendan. He's such a charming individual as is, but portraying Brendan, JGL can bring a depth to this character that I don't feel many people nowadays bring to life. There is a twist in the movie (which I won't mention) that makes a huge difference to Brendan as to how to move the story along and with that, emotions get the best of him and the viewer. This isn't by any means a kid's film. Brick isn't about Lego bricks. I hope you got that by now because there is a lot of very mature content including violence and drugs. You know, happy thoughts.

Rian Johnson, a big fan of the anime Cowboy Bebop, was inspired by a character named Spike Spiegal to create Brendan, with similar hair, personality, and his unique walk.

 

      As neo-noir films go, Brick is possibly my favorite. Yes, higher than Blade Runner due to a incredibly limited budget, crazy good directorial debut, and, allegedly, edited on just a home computer. Impressive, ain't it? JGL and Rian both came back together again for Looper (just another example of Rian Johnson's skill with blending all of the aesthetics of a film with content that makes you think). You can see how well these two Hollywood heavy-weights can work side by side and I hope they do that sometime soon again. Shout out to my high school English professor, Mr. Ward, for showing this movie to my class during senior year!

Brick was filmed at Rian Johnson's hometown and former high school. Talk about budgeting!

 

Brick is rated R for violent and drug content

Click here to watch the trailer

Brick is available on DVD and digital download

      Thanks for reading, everybody! I really appreciate it. Please subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook here and Twitter here to get updates on new reviews and trailer drops. Also, If you've already seen Brick, comment and let me know what you think of it. I'll post another Check This One Out! next week. Thanks again!