Last Seen 70s/80s Movie

[The_Return]

Originally posted by mothermold
First time?

Thankfully no. Third, maybe fourth....not sure.

[The_Return]

Superman II

Just as fun as the first one, I really enjoyed it. Cheesy, but enjoyable:p

Now Im off to (finally) see Superman Returns

[joshaube]

Hard Candy and Cemetery Man tonight.

Review copied off webspace. That's why there is a lack of images, rating tabs, and links. ^^" Oh, and formatting.

(image here)
Brick's Emilie de Ravin lies lifeless; a mystery solved too late.
(link) Visit Brick's page on IMDb.com...
***.5 | 3.5 | Three-point-five.

When viewing this film, the first thing that will strike you is it's clever use of Dailogue. An intelligent mix between the language of Noire, and our modern day speech. Some reviewers have pointed out that it's hard to follow, but I wouldn't quite say that. It's like an accent. It's not something you're used to hearing, but you can understand it with a little effort. You don't even notice it by the time the film's a quarter in. Score for learning a new language ninty minutes! Speaking of this language, a certain phrase is evident in a lot of the early scenes, and it's one that deservingly might up the film's overall rating. Where do you eat lunch? It's a question, that you might not understand if you're too off highschool. Where you eat, and who you eat lunch with, pretty much defines you're social crowd. It pretty much defines you, or who you want to appear to be. Our lead, Brendan, questions where Emilie has been eating lunch, and in that simple question, a pathway to a solution can be cleared.

Another point which might not be as noticable, is the main tune of Brick. A haunting jingle that plays in various scenes, and gives a melodramatic, depressing mood to whatever the situation may be. Often more then not, a scene where Brenden finds his plans failing, or an unexpected turn is thrown in front of his road.

The directing and photography is definately beautiful, and some camera tricks are thrown into the mix. I had to be told in order to see this, but; in a specific bedroom scene, an out-of-focus clock reads one time, while it suddenly shifts to another when in focus. Pretty darn nifty. The looks are top-notch, and this is one film that I have noticed uses the fade-in and fade-out method of transitioning quite frequently. It worked though, as it was often a soft-mood setting when being played out.

So as you can see. Everything in those technical departments are... well, pretty good. Professional, or better, since Indie films often are. I really hate droning on and on, going through a preset of departments to check. I don't like it, but I do it, and it probably bores you a lot. Here's another before I give my honest opinion on what actually counts - the plot.

Acting. Good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my favourite male actors, in indie films or otherwise. He always plays a good part, fits into the look, and chooses top-grade scripts. Mysterious Skin is one example of this. I guess you could consider Brick to be another.

I really disagree with the IMDb rating of 8.2 - and with such a rating, why may I ask is it not on the top 250 list? Movies on there are rated lower, with less votes then Brick. Well, I actually have the answer to this question, so I guess that makes it rhetorical. IMDb is rigged, like everything else in the world. Users are given preference, some a lot more then others, and whether the film ranks on the list or not is up to those few. Unfair? I think so. It pretty much means that classics are on that list, and newer material has a harder time.

Oh. And I disagree with the rating in an unusual sense. I think it should be lower. 7.3-7.5 suits it well. To me, it's nothing more extraordinary then that, which is still a good rating in the world of IMDb. Average, to Pretty Good in my books. Brick leans toward the Pretty Good.

The hype is pretty much what killed the movie, and the fact it's not quite my thing. I was expecting something filled with twist, turns, dramatic scenes, and a campy overall nature. It delivered in all of those departments, save the last one, but not in ways I... well, wanted them to be delivered. It's like... if someone screwed up your cheeseburger. You'll still eat it, and you'll like it, but it's not quite as good as what you thought you were getting.

The material is what threw me, and I won't spoil anything for you. I was going to say, "The fact that the ending isn't exactly deep and complex, but neither is it outright explained and concluded, also adds to the dissapointment." but I decided not to, outside the quotes. The ending is explained in a jumble of speech from Brenden, when he confronts a certain other character in the final scene. Speaking of the final scene, the ending wants to be a cliffhanger, but it isn't. Doesn't exactly shock you, or require hours of afterthoughts. Then again I once again screwed my movie-going experience by knowing that twist ahead of time.

It's not amazing for me, and again all I can say is... for a single reason. It isn't material I quite enjoy. What the storyline ends up being, that is. I thought it would be, but it wasn't. I should have known what Brick actually referred to, but I didn't. Here I was thinking it was some big metaphoric symbol. Ha. No. That's all the spoiler you're getting from me.

(If you like Noire films, check it out. Brick sure gives a lot of homage to other's in that era. Even right down to the honk pattern Brenden tells Laura to signal to him. That comes from The Maltese Falcon... a classic.)

PS. Laura is beautiful.

[ENTITY2000]

watching JAWS! one of my all time faves. i watch it everytime it comes on! do you guys have movies like that? it doesn't matter how many times you see it you always watch it neway!:D

[novadawn969]

Originally posted by ENTITY2000
watching JAWS! one of my all time faves. i watch it everytime it comes on! do you guys have movies like that? it doesn't matter how many times you see it you always watch it neway!:D

Yeah:

Labyrinth

Any Monty Python

Dazed and Confused

Any Bruce Campbell

Basically anything I own. I can only buy movies I wantto watch over and over. :D

[AUSTIN316426808]

Originally posted by ENTITY2000
watching JAWS! one of my all time faves. i watch it everytime it comes on! do you guys have movies like that? it doesn't matter how many times you see it you always watch it neway!:D

http://imdb.com/name/nm0000142/

among others.

[The Mothman]

Dead Men Walking: Well done, loaded with gore.

I Drink Your Blood: Decent older film.

Redneck Zombies. All i gotta say...baby zombie. bad ass. fucking blood bath. loved it.

[The_Return]

Superman Returns

Not bad. Routh doesnt come anywhere near Reeves, but he still did a very good jopb...and Spacey was phenominal as Luthor.

It was a bit heavy on the love angle, but that didnt hurt it too much.

[Despare]

The Awakening

Aftermath

Genesis

All short Nacho Cerda films and I liked all of them for very different reasons. Pick up the three movie disc, rent it... it's worth a watch. The Awakening is well done and while it's a little simple it really presents a nice story, dig the black and white too. Aftermath is a pretty extreme short with a lot of gore and necrophelia but it's not presented in the manner of something like Nekromatic. It's extreme but it's brilliantly done and there's sort of an art to all the gruesomeness. I rented this one for Aftermatch but Genesis really shined. If you don't want to see the shocking Aftermath or the surreal Awakening at least watch the tragic Genesis. First time I've seen any of Nacho Cerda's stuff but it won't be the last.

[joshaube]

Hard Candy.
Top 10. Because I'm sad like that.