Brick (2005) ***
Brick (2005) is a decent film, but I can't lie—I was a bit let down. Mainly because I thought Looper (2012) was excellent and Brick is so very highly regarded by many, in particular a number of friends of mine (who all have similar tastes in film). The performances are amateurish and the look is cheap (not necessarily a bad thing). But the film feels like a high school play crossed with a student film.
Without trying to be insulting, I couldn't help but feel that this film appeals more to people who don't watch a lot of classic, "traditional" film noir. Me, I'll take Chinatown (1974), Se7en (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), Sin City (2005) or Memento (2000) when it comes to "neo noir". Who knows - maybe people who watch more sci-fi than me feel the same about Looper? That one certainly has a lot of familiar elements, but mixes them up in a unique stew. And I suppose you could say the same about Brick, but it just didn't grab me.
Still, a nice effort and fairly well done, for a first-time film-maker. There's definitely nothing "lazy" about this film, which I appreciate. Rian Johnson has clearly evolved greatly with Looper (I have yet to see The Brothers Bloom (2008) so we'll see how I feel about that one) and I hope he continues to make interesting films.
Without trying to be insulting, I couldn't help but feel that this film appeals more to people who don't watch a lot of classic, "traditional" film noir. Me, I'll take Chinatown (1974), Se7en (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), Sin City (2005) or Memento (2000) when it comes to "neo noir". Who knows - maybe people who watch more sci-fi than me feel the same about Looper? That one certainly has a lot of familiar elements, but mixes them up in a unique stew. And I suppose you could say the same about Brick, but it just didn't grab me.
Still, a nice effort and fairly well done, for a first-time film-maker. There's definitely nothing "lazy" about this film, which I appreciate. Rian Johnson has clearly evolved greatly with Looper (I have yet to see The Brothers Bloom (2008) so we'll see how I feel about that one) and I hope he continues to make interesting films.
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