BRICK (2005) - A high school crime story

Director Rian Johnson's debut Brick was released to good acclaim in 2005 when it picked up a few prizes, good reviews and then dropped off the radar for many movie fans. I fortunately came across it while on a film noir kick after re-watching one of my favorites, L.A. Confidential. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt before he hit the jackpot with Inception, with a sharp script and a rich atmosphere drawing on inspiration from film noir mystery movies of the past, Brick was a very welcome surprise.

Brendan just doesn't know when to give up.

High school senior Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) receives a mysterious phone call from his estranged ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin) pleading for help. The desperate, confusing call ends abruptly when Brendan is buzzed by a threatening, speeding muscle car. Brendan begins asking around for Emily at school and no one seems willing to help him. He slowly but surely begins to piece together tidbits of information gleamed from classmates and local dope fiends. With help from his friend and eccentric loner Brain (Matt O'Leary), Brendan investigates a drug ring which may have something to do with Emily's disappearance.

Drugs are bad for you.

A breakthrough leads a disheartened Brendan to Emily's dead body near a water tunnel. As he continues to dig deeper into her murder, he comes into contact with Pin, the local drug kingpin who runs a heroin operation in the city, and his various thugs. Brendan also stumbles into an uneasy relationship with the popular Laura, whose motivations are less than clear. Without giving any more of the plot away to avoid spoiling anything, Brendan will soon realize that he has put himself into a dangerous situation that is quickly threatening to overwhelm him. Drugs, violence, betrayal and deceit all intertwine to hinder Brendan's investigation.

Ally or femme fatale? In Brick, nothing is what it appears.

 This flick is proof that you don't need big names and a big budget to make a damn good movie. The strength of the movie is in the story, which unravels at a leisurely pace while keeping you interested and building tension throughout. Rian Johnson gets the best out of his limited cast, especially with Joseph Gordon-Levitt who nails it as the stubborn, fast talking and resourceful Brendan. Brendan is a memorable character, as is Pin, whose scenes give the movie some welcome comic relief at times (the scenes in his kitchen and basement are hilarious) and yet still manages to seem convincing as a cold, calculating drug lord.

Running a drug empire from Mama's kitchen - like a boss.

The score is subdued but effective, and the lighting and atmosphere is jut gorgeous and gives the movie a gritty vibe that makes it all the more enjoyable. If you're in the mood for a good detective story and can look past some of its quirks, especially some of the obscure slang, Brick hits the spot. It can drag a bit at times and if the deliberate pacing annoys you, it might not be your cup of tea, but it is otherwise an enthralling, exciting crime yarn with some memorable scenes.

TL;DR - Slick crime story meets film noir meets suburbia - 7.5/10

BURIED (2010) - Being buried alive sucks. Even if you're Ryan Reynolds.

It seems like Ryan Reynolds has apparently made a career out of romantic comedies. Go to a Blockbuster (if there's any still around) and walk over to the romance aisle and close your eyes. Pick out a random DVD and there's a good chance it'll have his face with a quirky smile, his arm around some chick, and a fantastic title like Definitely, Maybe. If you're really lucky, the cover might even have some kids on it. Luckily, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now that he's becoming richer and more famous, he's been taking on better (better as in, more fighting, shooting, exploding things, etc) roles like Deadpool, a Blade sequel and the upcoming Green Lantern.

Even Ryan Reynolds gotta eat...

Buried is one of his latest movies, and is simply one of the most tense and exciting movies to come out in 2010. Normally when you hear the words "foreign" and "Indie," you think of shitty dramas or some hipster art film about a girl who collects dead birds and falls in love with a gay record store owner. Thankfully, there's no need for such worrying here.  The premise of the movie is simple enough: Paul Conroy is an American truck driver, working as a contractor in war torn Iraq. He wakes up one day, much to his chagrin, inside a fucking coffin. Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés manages to make 94 minutes of a guy stuck inside a box seem like a roller coaster ride. ¡Viva España!

Buried alive with no decent games on your phone. What the hell could be worse?

The movie starts with no introduction and no explanation. Paul wakes up in the pitch black, fumbles around and has a panic attack. He finds his lighter, flicks it on, and to his horror realizes he is inside a coffin. At first, he has absolutely no idea why he's been.... well, you know, buried alive. To his surprise, his BlackBerry is still on him. Piece by piece he manages to recreate what happened to him the day. He remembers that the convoy he was driving in was ambushed by insurgents. The rest of the drivers were murdered, and Paul had such shit luck the Iraqis decided to have a good laugh and bury him alive. He manages to get in contact with the FBI, his employers, and eventually his wife. Things however, might not be exactly as they seem. At first, no one believes his story. His employers are somewhat sketchy, the FBI investigator doesn't sound too convincing, and to make things worse, he gets a phone call from the asshole terrorist who put him in the box to begin with. Oh yeah, the guy wants a $5 million ransom or he'll let Paul suffocate to death.

Claustrophobic? Sucks to be you, Paul...

Paul will have to deal with the FBI trying to find him, the terrorists trying to get their ransom, his employers trying to wash their hands of the whole ordeal, and the slow death of his cell phone battery. There's a few good twists around the halfway part of the movie that had me wanting to high five someone. Needless to say, this is an intense movie. Scenes move quickly, and things begin to spiral out of control at what seems to be a frantic pace. Reynolds does a great job with his role, as we see Paul run through the whole gamut of emotions you'd expect from some poor average guy stuck in the middle of some Middle Eastern hellhole, buried in a box underground and tortured over the phone by a gruff voiced Iraqi. Despite the limited setting, the camera moves around a lot, and there are some very cool scenes inside the coffin, which contrasts nicely with the drama that comes from Paul's phone conversations.

FOREVER (BURIED) ALONE.

Although it's somewhat of an unknown indie film, Buried was among the best movies of 2010 - it stuck to its premise very well and delivered a fresh take on the thriller genre that lately has been turning out loads of crap upon crap. It's fun. It's thrilling. It's somewhat unpredictable. Reynolds does a stand-up job and keeps your attention despite the fact you'd expect people would get sick of seeing a single face throughout the entire movie. The pacing is very fast, the tension very well done, and the ending was one of the most satisfying I've seen in a long while. It's a shame this flick went under the radar for most people. Definitely recommended.

TL;DR - Buried alive in the Iraqi desert by terrorists with only a cellphone for company. Damn what a rush - 8.5/10

UNLAWFUL ENTRY (1992) - Never, ever, trust Ray Liotta.

Despite the awkward title, Unlawful Entry is not a movie about prison rape. It sounds like it, but it isn't. So rest assured. Instead, it tells the story of a happily married couple, Michael Carr (Kurt Russell) and wife Karen (Madeleine Stowe). The Carrs are average yuppies, living in the rich part of town when their normal lives are interrupted by a home invasion. Michael hears the noise, grabs a golf club (no gun? what a noob) and goes to investigate. A robber has broken into their house through a sky light, and they start to fight. Eventually, the bad guy takes Karen hostage with a knife to her throat, only to make good his escape, leaving the Carrs unharmed but scared to hell. Worse, it leaves Michael feeling powerless and like a sissy for not having done better against the guy.

Hear intruder in middle of night. WAT DO?

The cops, in usual movie fashion, get there right after the robber leaves. Two cops respond to the call, Officer Pete Davis (Ray Liotta) and his partner Officer Cole. While explaining the break in, Pete eyes Karen, and then suggests that the couple should get a new security system installed. His partner later notices his glances towards the wife and seems to know what's up with Pete, and tells him to knock it off as they leave the house. The next day Michael comes home from work to find a security company installing an alarm system in the house, and Officer Pete helping out and talking to his wife. See, Officer Pete is such a nice guy that he goes out of his way to make sure he knows the secret password to the alarm. This being movie-land.... neither Michael or Karen seem to think it's a bad idea, since, well, the guy's a cop.

Mackin' on married hoes. All in a day's work for Ray Liotta.

While having a beer with Pete, Michael says he'd love to beat the living crap out of the robber that took Karen hostage. The night after, Pete takes him on a ride along in his squad car. They find the robber on the street, and Michael backs off his earlier statement, while Pete beats up the guy. Pete then starts acting in shady ways: he visits Karen at her school, shows up without invitation to Michael's business party, and oh yeah, he also walks in on them in their bedroom. After this, the Carrs realize that Pete is not all right in the head, so to speak. Pete won't take crap from them though, and starts to try and ruin Michael's life and take his wife away, knowing that no one is going to take Michael's word over that of a decorated cop's. Michael has to figure a way to protect what's his and get the guy off his back.

Don't judge a book by its cover, unless the cover screams "I'm a dirty, crooked, murdering cop."

Unlawful Entry is a good thriller that takes some standard movie cliches but makes them work surprisingly well. There's some dumb choices characters make, but it helps to keep the tension high and the good acting contributes to the feel of the movie. The suspense is genuine and never lets the predictability of some things get in its way. Kurt Russell is always good at portraying the average dude in a bad situation, while Madeline Stowe does the same stand up job with her role. Ray Liotta though - this guy is gold. He is great at being the son of a bitch you love to hate. He's conniving, ruthless and does a good job of switching from the friendly, helpful, buddy cop to a sadistic murdering bastard in a heartbeat. He made this movie and his acting steals every scene he's in.

TL;DR - Officer Ray Liotta is in ur house, stealing your wivez - 7/10