Brick

Film Title: Brick
Year: 2005
MPAA Rating: R
Length: 110 minutes
Film Genre: Crime / Drama / Mystery / Neo-Noir
Director: Rian Johnson
Producer: Norman Dreyfuss, Ram Bergman, Mark G. Mathis
Writers: Rian Johnson
Players:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan
Nora Zehetner as Laura
Lukas Haas as The Pin
Noah Fleiss as Tugger
Naoh Segen as Dode
Matt O'Leary as The Brain
Emilie de Ravin as Emily
Plot: A girl mixed up in the drug world of an average high school dies mysteriously. Her ex-beau decides to find out who is responsible. Welcome to the neo-noir detective movie.
Acting: The acting in the movie is strange to say the least. Every character is played one step beyond normal - an oversaturation of reality, or absurdity at times. I like it for the most part. Gordon-Levitt was a perfect cast for this role and Zehetner's Laura is the epitome of the beautiful femme fatale (it's even mentioned by Brendan in the movie).
Cinematography: The cinematography is nice, but not ground-breaking. Scenes at a tunnel were shot well with some of the action shot outside looking in and some of the action shot from the inside looking out, creating silhouettes.
Visual: When Brendan is punched in the face, a fast white flash (almost comic book starburst style) fills the screen. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but it's a cheap effect to accomplish and at least adds something to the action. Another cheap, but very effective, visual is the way that Johnson transitions from Brendan's dream sequence back to reality. A piece of black plastic moves up a waterway, slides up and covers the camera. Then it is quickly pulled off Brendan's head like the covers of his bed. The plastic coming up the water was actually filmed backwards with Emilie walking backwards as well, so that when played forward the plastic would flow up the water beside the awkwardly walking Emily.
Audio: Slow moving songs with odd sounds - interjected during periods of the film that are devoid of dialogue - match the movie's odd plot and action.
When I watched it last: Last Night
What to watch for: Gordon-Levitt's Brendan, the incredibly beautiful Zehetner, Tugger's Mustang, the Pin's cane, the Pin's mom and any scene involving a fight.
What to watch out for: A shot to the head with much blood, reference to drug use, language.
IMDB Rating: 7.8 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; "The story is never clear while it unfolds, but it provides a rich source of dialogue, behavior and incidents."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.0 out of 10; I liked the movie but was confused for the most part and still had many questions at the end, but what mystery movie doesn't and shouldn't leave you questioning things?
--Reviewed by Brady

The Night Listener

Film Title: The Night Listener
Year: 2006
MPAA Rating: R
Length: 82 minutes (91 minutes at Sundance)
Film Genre(s): Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director(s): Patrick Stettner
Producer(s): Terry Anderson, Michael Hogan, Armistead Maupin, et. al.
Writer(s): Armistead Maupin, Terry Anderson, Patrick Stettner
Players:
Robin Williams as Gabriel Noone
Toni Collette as Donna Logand
Rory Culkin as Pete Logand
Plot: Gabriel Noone's talk show, "Noone at Night", is plagued by his writer's block when he comes in contact with a boy dying of AIDS. A relationship is built over the phone between Gabriel, the boy and the boy's mother until suspicions build concerning Noone's elusive friends.
Acting: Williams character is one of his better portrayals, but would be better suited in another movie. "The Night Listener is mostly about Gabe, but it's not mostly about Robin Williams playing Gabe, and that's a welcome relief" (rogerebert.suntimes.com). Rory Culkin is the real star of this movie, walking tall from under the dark shadow and mottled past of his brother, Macaulay.
Cinematography: The camera work fits that of the generic mystery drama which this movie is.
Visual: Nothing special.
Audio: This film has one of the most freakish and otherworldly sounds ever recorded. What should have been left to the horror genre is included in a latter scene which takes place in a hospital. Noone is searching through the pediatric ward for the sick boy, Pete, when he walks into what he thinks is the boy's room, and instead, he is faced with another child whose vocal chords have been destroyed by cancer. The resulting scream from the child is a hollow, airy wail which gives the viewer chills and haunts the dreams of most people for days to come.
What to watch for: Tense scenes in the middle of the film.
What to watch out for: A no-surprise conclusion.
When I watched it last: A couple nights before review.
IMDB User Rating: 5.7 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 3 out of 4 stars; "[T]he movie makes this twisted tale believable, moment by moment."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 5.2 out of 10; A poor movie which is almost saved by the quality of the cast...almost.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Lady in the Water

Film Title: Lady in the Water
Year: 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 110 minutes
Film Genre(s): Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Bedtime Story
Director(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Producer(s): Sam Mercer, M. Night Shyamalan
Writer(s): M. Night Shyamalan
Players:
Paul Giamatti as Cleveland Heep
Bryce Dallas Howard as Story
Bob Balaban as Mr. Farber
Jeffrey Wright as Mr. Dury
Sarita Choudhury as Anna Ran
Cindy Cheung as Young Soon
M. Night Shyamalan as Vick
Freddy Rodriguez as Reggie
Plot: A water nymph comes to The Cove to find a special person that will warn man of his impending future, but there are creatures out to get her. A bedtime story through and through.
Acting: Most of the acting is standard Hollywood - nothing's fancy or stand-out about the actors in the film. The comedy of the film is good, a steady crescendo of funny due to the running gags (e.g. Young Soon and Cleveland's relationship with her mother, Reggie's arm, the stoners' conversations).
Cinematography: Shyamalan's camera direction is one-of-a-kind. It's easy to recognize his films (not a bad thing).
Visual: The special effects were very Shyamalan...things in the shadows, rarely seen.
Audio: A fanciful score
What to watch for: Rodriguez's Reggie = hilarity!
What to watch out for: Too much story-telling and not enough story-happening
When I watched it last: Several days before review
IMDB User Rating: 6.3 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 1.5 out of 4 stars; "[I]mprovised and protracted, nonsensically and unnecessarily, just for the sake of stringing us along. And, maybe, putting us to sleep."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 6.0 out of 10; A decent film worth renting, but it probably doesn't belong in an aficianado's collection. Don't forget...it's a bedtime story. Try not to take it too seriously.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Rashomon

Film Title: Rashomon
Year: 1950
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 88 minutes
Film Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Foreign
Director(s): Akira Kurosawa
Producer(s): Minoru Jingo, Masaichi Nagata
Writer(s): Ryunosuke Akutagawa (story, from "Rashomon" and "In a Grove"); Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay)
Players:
Toshiro Mifune as Tajomaru
Machiko Kyo as Masako
Masayuki Mori as Takehiro
Takashi Shimura as the Woodcutter
Minoru Chiaki as the Priest
Kichijiro Ueda as the Commoner
Plot: The account of a murder from four different perspectives.
Acting: There is a lot of overacting in the movie, but it seems to be there for a reason. The characters in the story are each telling a version of a story. These stories are not perfect reality, so in the telling many things are embellished and many things are added and deleted. Shimura shines in this movie as he does in many other films.
Cinematography: A classic, pure and simple. Several of the shots from this movie have been copied ever since. Kazuo Miyagawa was a master of the camera. An early scene with the woodcutter walking through the woods is an example of his skill. Miyagawa constructed a long rail and caught a lengthy stroll with one shot. A moment later the camera stands still as Shimura walks into view and back out on a 180 degree pan. Geometry is an easily recognized aspect. People standing in triangular formation reveals tension between characters and causes tension for the viewer.
Visual: Several of the film's visual aspects were painstankingly created by Kurosawa and Miyagawa. Shadows and lighting were particularly difficult. The shadows of leaves on faces were created by reflecting light off a mirror through tree branches.
Audio: 1950...what can you say.
What to watch for: Shimura and Mifune; a unusual story that you'll probably need to watch twice.
What to watch out for: Allusion to rape; some offscreen violence.
When I watched it last: A few nights prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 8.5 out of 10; #64 on the top 250 movies of all time as voted by users
Roger Ebert Rating: Included in his list of "Great Movies" (his top honor); "The real gift of Rashomon is in its emotions and visuals."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.0 out of 10; See what inspired so many directors, producers and writers.
- - Reveiwed by JB