Oct 28, 2007

Wiwille's movie reviews part 23.

Maybe it's my age, but sometimes I forget how melodramatic high school can be. I do remember sometimes how hard everyone took any little moment of drama and extreme over reaction was not uncommon. It's was a strange time for many as just a few years earlier we were accusing other kids of putting ants in our pants and making us do the boogie dance.

'Brick' takes an unusual turn with films that focus on teens. Brendan plays a clever teenager investigating the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. While it seems he may have more balls then sense he is a clever lad as he strong arms his way into the high school crime world. Armed with nothing more than wit and courage his adventures into the seedy underworld of juvenile crime are humorous at best, disgusting at worst.

While this may sound stupid to some this film is really a noir picture believe it or not. It has all the elements of an old detective story. Eccentric characters, odd yet exciting camera work, and engaging dialogue made it a delight for me. That's not to say it doesn't have flaws. The plot can be hard to follow at times if you're not glued to the screen at all times and some of the acting can be hit and miss. Fans of film noir will enjoy this, but others may at least find it seemingly original if they can escape all notions of realism.

Wanna see a film reviewed by Wiwille? Drop me an email or comment and you'll see it soon on Erik's Ramblings. Rules are posted here.

"A spoof would have been easy. Instead, Johnson plunges off the deep end, risking ridicule by shaping this spellbinder with grit and gravitas." - Peter Travers

4 comments:

Mattbear said...

You have made this movie sound compelling. It has been bumped up significantly in my queue.

Miss Ash said...

Thank you sir!

Scott said...

Great review. Who knew the kid from Third Rock had the chops eh?

Big Ben said...

I never heard of it, looks interesting.