DVD Collectors Online

Brick, a review by Jon

Brick
4 out of 5



Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 'Mysterious Skin') is a loner at his high school, someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves, Emily (Emilie de  Ravin, 'Lost'), turns up dead, he is determined to find out “who” and “why”.

Brick is a fascinating and original film from first-time director Rian Johnson and it is a great debut. I haven't got much to add to Goodguy's review who hit it right on the head. It's an absolutely authentic Film Noir, straight out of the smoky 40s, except there's no smoking because it's set in High School!

It's tough to describe the film accurately. This isn't some ironic gimmick, it's played dead straight, with dialogue, characters and even mannerisms echoing perfectly the original movies. It really shouldn't work! But it is a resounding success thanks to the dedication shown by the young cast, who help pull off the suitably labyrinthine script. Johnson holds true to an atmosphere that feels just like The Long Goodbye. Matthias already mentioned that reference, but I can't think of another so perfectly matched. He's no slouch either, because while he could have got away with basic direction to just frame the actors, there are some really lovely touches especially in editing that give it some extra spark and subtle humour.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the "detective", as hard-boiled and world weary as any. He has a natural intensity I found similar to Heath Ledger and all credit to him that he shoulders almost the full running time. As with any classic Noir, the world revolves around him, much to his disgust. His heart broken by a girl now dead and for whatever reason, he needs to know why, digging into the criminal underworld of... his school. All the other important elements crop up, the Femme Fatale (Nora Zehetner), the thug (Noah Fleiss) and the kingpin (Lukas Haas), plus watch out for the superb scene with the Assistant Vice Principal (Richard Rountree, who else?), who in the real-Noir-world would be the police detective trying to help and double-cross our hero at the same time.

Not for want of effort, but occasionally, the ambition gets the better of them and it briefly feels like kids doing a play. I was reminded of Wes Anderson's Rushmore, but that's being picky, because this is very original and anyone who loves film will get a kick out of it. And I stress, again, it's no gimmick. You'll be drawn into their strange mirror-world without any effort!

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 4th, 2009)

The Fall, a review by Achim

Title: The Fall
Year: 2006
Director: Tarsem Singh [Tarsem]
Rating: R
Length: 117 Min.
Video: Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital TrueHD, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Catinca Untaru
Justine Waddell
Lee Pace
Kim Uylenbroek
Aiden Lithgow

Plot:
Filmed over a period of 4 years in 18 different countries, Tarsem's The Fall is an unforgettable movie experience. In 1920s Los Angeles, Alexandria (Catinca Untaru), a 5-year-old girl hospitalized from a fall, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Roy (Lee Pace, TV's "Pushing Daisies"), a Hollywood stuntman shattered by a near-fatal movie set accident and his lover's betrayal. To pass the time, he tells Alexandria the epic story of Governor Odious and the 5 remarkable heroes determined to defeat him - a dazzling world of magic and myth. Only when the line between reality and fantasy begins to dissolve does Alexandria realize how much is truly at stake. Presented by David Fincher (Fight Club) and Spike Jonze (Adaptation), The Fall is an awe-inspiring, cinematic tour de force.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
BD-Live



There isn't really much to say for me about this film. The story is held rather simple to make room for the BEAUTIFUL, jaw-dropping imagery. It is, however, not that simple to become entirely boring. Especially in the later part, when story and reality begin to mix there is some inspired moments.

The director is Tarsem who previously made The Cell, which had a boring story but was also full of beautiful images. Almost none of the actors appetared in any other film of my collection. That is not to say they didn't act well. The little girl reaches her limits quite a few times, but all adult actors do a good job.


I found the film to be inspired by Baraka as several locations can be recognized throughout the film.


(if mainly for its beauty)

(From The Fall on July 19th, 2009)

Smallville Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

20. Talisman
When a Kiwatche Indian steals a mythic knife from the caves, he is bestowed with superpowers similar to Clark's, causing the young man to believe he is the legendary Naman, "the man who fell from the stars."

My Thoughts:
This was a pretty good episode. But nothing really stands out in if for me.

21. Forsaken (Part 1)
Clark decides to tell Lana his secret so they can finally be together. Meanwhile, an errant FBI agent kidnaps and tortures Pete to try and force him to reveal Clark's secret.

My Thoughts:
If I am not mistaking.. this is the last we see of Pete... at least I don't remember him coming back... even for a single episode. Though I would like to see him come back even if for only 1 episode. I think it would be cool to see some sort of follow up on him. Really good episode.

22. Covenant (Part 2)
Things come to a head in Smallville when Kara, a beautiful girl with superpowers, who claims to be from Krypton, comes to entice Clark to fulfill his destiny.

My Thoughts:
This was an excellent episode... even with the "fake" Kara. I still remember the first time I saw this one... was so outraged that they would kill off Chloe!  All the cliffhangers for this season was really good!



(From Smallville Marathon on August 7th, 2007)