Movie of the Week 1

So, for these Movie of the Week days, I want to do something other than feed you some recent blockbuster that you've probably already seen or a classic that you've seen a million times. The Dark Knight. The Godfather. Mary frigging Poppins. I don't want that. You don't want that. Don Corleone doesn't want that. If he hears his name uttered one more time on a film blog his undead corpse will hunt me down and bite a sizeable chunk out of my neck. And I like my neck. It keeps my chin warm.

Zombie Mary Poppins would show less mercy

So instead of rehashing the same crap you've heard a million times, and in order to avoid a fictional character zombie uprising, I will put the spotlight on a lesser known movie that I think everyone should see. It may be an indie movie or one that flopped in theatres or one whose age has caused it to be forgotten, but rest assured, whatever goes in this post each Tuesday will be the certified cat's pajamas. Certificate and everything.

With a minor in being "The Bee's Knees"

So, without further ado, the first Movie of the Week is...

Brick (2005)

Directed by newcomer Rian Johnson and starring a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this is a film that attempts to show that grand stories can be found in even the most unlikely of places. It's your classic detective noir film but with a twist; This seedy mystery takes place within the bounds of a high school drama. But make no mistake, this tale of deciet, drugs, and murder is no kids fare. If the cast of High School Musical was thrown into this setting, they'd be pissing their shiny new gym shorts.

Hit the jump for more on this modern detective classic.

 

Nerds, jocks, and drama students. Each of these takes the form of a classic detective film archetype. The informant, the police chief, the kingpin, the femme fatale, and most importantly, the fast talking private eye. God, the first time I watched this movie half the dialogue whipped by so fast all I heard were guttural sounds. Really, really smart sounding guttural sounds.

Basically Dwight Shrute with long hair

Screw Inception. Gordon-Levitt gets no cooler than he is in this movie. And that's despite the shaggy hair and Harry Potter glasses. He effortlessly slides between social groups and plays them off one another like a seasoned con artist, doling out sharp one-liners by the dozen. Without a doubt, the best parts of the film are his exchanges with his different informants. Some are loyal friends but others' motives are not so clear. It's often difficult to discern what is fact and what is fiction, leaving the picture incomplete until it all comes together in the end in true mystery form. At which point you come to the revelation that you do, in fact like things that are awesome, and this is one of those things.

Crouching Levitt, Hidden Body

The plot finds Brendan (Gordon-Levitt), an outcast among his peers, on the trail of a killer. A female classmate of his is found dead and, because of their history, he takes it upon himself to seek out the culprit. Now he works his way up through the social food chain and the local drug scene, piecing the mystery together as he goes. But the administration and the dealers have bones to pick and they won't make it easy for him. Nothing is as it seems and no one can be trusted.

  

This is a film that wowed at Sundance in '05 but never really achieved much mainstream success. It's a shame because it's a prime example of how a modern approach to film can be applied to a classic formula. It's been out on DVD for a few years now, so please rent or buy it sometime soon. It's one you won't forget.

So anyways, that's why you should watch The Godfather.

Oh God...