Month: September 2006

Brick is a film noir murder mystery set in the present-day and yet the characters talk and behave like 1940’s-style gangsters.

It may seem a bit unusual to have students speaking in this slang. But it works. Brendan Frye (played by the excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an intelligent, cynical high school student, self-exiled from the cliquish world of jocks, stoners, and socialites.

Brendan is left heart-broken two months after being dumped by his girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin), who left him to pursue that world. Until, he receives a frightened phone call from the missing Emily asking for help. Emily mentioned some references to a “Brick” and “the Pin”, which prompts Brendan to investigate.

He does this in the movie detective style of Sam Spade (“The Maltese Falcon“), shaking things up with a relentless directness punctuated by well-timed acts of cunning.

Brendan enlists the aid of the Brain (Matt O’Leary), while keeping the assistant vice principal (Richard Roundtree) only occasionally informed of what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation.

His single-minded unearthing of the students’ secrets thrusts him headlong into the colliding social orbits of rich-girl sophisticate Laura (Nora Zehetner), intimidating Tugger (Noah Fleiss), substance-abusing Dode (Noah Segan), seductive Kara (Meagan Good), jock Brad (Brian J. White) and – most ominously – non-student the Pin (Lukas Haas).

Only by gaining acceptance into the Pin’s closely guarded inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to.

Writer and director Rian Johnson pays homage to the wonderful style of noir fiction. The look and feel of Brick fits into the genre despite having a modern contemporary feel.

The dialogue in this movie makes this distinctive and very different to other murder mysteries. Johnson drew heavily from the fiction of Dashiell Hammet (creator of Sam Spade) when writing.

By using this style of language, Johnson has created a list of characters that look extremely cool. Okay, it maybe difficult for the audience to understand but this linguistic style is how the older films used to be like.

Surprisingly, none of the main cast members were familiar with the literary and film sources from which their characters were drawn. This is remarkable, because their characterizations are spot on.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s performance is simply outstanding. He appears in every scene and plays the part so much like Humphrey Bogart. This is impressive as the last time I saw him in a leading role was in the hit TV comedy ‘3rd Rock From The Sun’.

It’s no surprise that Brick won the Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. It fully deserves it. Brick provides a unique experience, with fascinating characters, beautiful cinematography and wonderful (if confusing) dialogue.

Probably the best film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Pulp Fiction changes the whole notion of narrative with fascinating sub-plots and ultra-hip characters. Everyone has their favourite scenes in this popular and fantastic movie.

Pulp Fiction won the 1994 Palme d’Or award during the Cannes Film Festival and from then on became a cult classic for film fans.

But why Pulp Fiction? What makes it so good to win an award at the glamorous Film Festival in the south of France? Well, this movie was unique, as the story was told in a non-linear way. It features witty and offbeat dialogue with references to the pop culture lifestyle.

The witty dialogue is the strongest and memorable part in this cool movie, in particular the scene when Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samual L. Jackson) discuss the names of fast food items that are called differently outside America. It’s entertaining for the viewer – who can forget that dance scene with Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) and Vincent in Jack Rabbit Slims? Very amusing, especially the scene in the coffee shop. Shocking – that gimp moment and above all, it’s stylish and modern.

Even though the narrative is told in an unusual way – with the ‘end’ told first, then the ‘beginning’ and finally the ‘middle’, the plot to Pulp Fiction can be seen as this: Pumpkin and Honey Bunny (not real names) are two thieves who, while dining at a coffee shop, decide that the best thing to do is to rob it. Vincent and Jules, two hit men working for mob kingpin Marcellus Wallace, are sent to retrieve a very special and very mysterious briefcase for their boss (we never knew what was inside). Vincent later must also show Mrs. Wallace a good time while her husband is out. And Butch Coolidge is an aging prizefighter who is being paid to “take a dive”, but instead, accidentally kills him opponent, and tries to flee town, but not before getting his dead father’s lucky golden watch. These four seemingly unrelated stories are interwoven together in a non-linear fashion.

The unconventional attitude of the movie, in particular its lack of a standard chronological structure, has often led the film to be cited as an example of a postmodernist film. And it’s amazing how many ‘copycat’ movies are trying to replicate this formula.

In conclusion, still one of my favourite films with an impressive range of talented actors and wonderful scenes. It’s remarkable that Pulp Fiction is regarded as the coolest film to see before you die.

This is the movie in which Philip Seymour Hoffman won this year’s Academy Award (for Best Actor) in the role of Truman García Capote. Hoffman’s portray of this intriguing character is simply mesmerizing. The way he moved his body, punctuated his speech, bit his lip, walked into a room, held his cigarette was perfect.

The story is based on true events on the life of the famous American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognised as literary classics.

In this film, it focuses on how Capote developed his novel ‘In Cold Blood’ after reading a newspaper report on a shocking murder in a smalltown in Kansas during November 1959. Capote sets out to investigate this with his childhood friend Haper Lee (played with grace by Catherine Keener), winning over the locals despite his flamboyant appearance and style.

Over time, he forms a close bond with the killers (Perry Smith and Richard Hickock) and as their excecution date nears, the writing of ‘In Cold Blood’, a book that will change the course of American literature, takes a drastic toll on Truman, changing him in ways he never imagined.

Capote’s personal journey when researching his book and the relationship and identification with killer Perry Smith (played by Clifton Collins Jr.) created a compelling and fascinating insight into the way a journalist work.

He is tore between writing the true horror of the murder but facing the ultimate journalist’s dilemma: if he perpetrates a lie for the sake of exposing the truth, is he ever worthy of redemption? Truman, in the end, concluded that he wasn’t; he never wrote another book after this. He descended into drunkenness and died a lonely soul…

Capote is a beautifully told, masterfully performed, harrowing, amusing, cruel, riveting movie. A sensational achievement from director Bennett Miller and actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. He richly deserved the Oscar win for this amazing performance.