Brick 2005

Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an extremely intelligent young man who is not afraid to support his claims with actions. Brendan is a high-school student at the Southern California high school. However, he prefers to stay out of everything.  He prefers to go unnoticed, but the only thing that makes him change is his ex-girlfriend Emily, that changes when Emily unexpectedly reappears to disappear without a trace. His feelings for her are still deep, so he will try to find her with the help of his only friend, this makes Brendan embark on a quest full of dangerous challenges.

The Brain played by Matt O’Leary provides him with the dark secrets of the students in his school and Brendan will come into conflict with strange characters like Laura (Nora Zehetner), a sophisticated rich girl, the thug Tugger (Noah Fleiss), the junkie Dode (Noah Segan), and the seductive Kara (Meagan Good).

For several years now, mixing genres has been fashionable, mixing them using all kinds of tricks, telling the same story that navigates between these genres, giving it a different touch of style, changing a typical argument of one of those genres and placing it in another context, etc. Everything has already been told, we just need to find a new original way to retell that story that we have already seen again and again. Sometimes they get it, sometimes they don't and sometimes they stay halfway. “Brick” belongs to this last group of movies. We could say that it tells the classic story of film noir, but set in an institute, so the characters are much younger than those who used to play these thrillers. This is the particular case of Brick, by adding a few drops to the mix, it produced a new kind of independent cinema that became so popular almost 2 decades ago, that is the reason why Brick won awards at festivals as prestigious as Sundance.

It is almost impossible not to sympathize from the beginning with Brick, the director’s debut of Rian Jonson, a genuine freak in the best of senses, who had previously worked as an editor in other teenage weird movies. How not to be hypnotized by a movie of teenagers in which they speak as the hard types of Hammett's novels and Bogart films? ---Brick is almost always fortunate in its attempt to recreate the lyrics and spirit of the classic film noir and the criminal pulp fiction of the 1920s, in the unusual and unexpected high school setting. But Johnson, who has been soaked by Lynch and the Coen brothers, inspired by Tarantino and American Film Noir, recreates a surreal and eerily timeless high school, a fantastic and referential world, where there are hardly any adults. And as always happens in the most sophisticated artificial universe as well as a kind of artificial cinematography, the characters work and carry the story, sometimes in an incredible and perhaps impossible manner. It is precisely because of this difficult balance between humor, postmodern self-referentiality, surrealism and adolescent intrigue drama that it seems to work well for Johnson as naturally as a rabbit appears from a wizard's hat. The film is intended for really cool viewers.  We can say that the best thing about is its visual atmosphere. The worst is the fact that sometimes it gets a little out of hand.

The somewhat messy argument as in any good film noir begins when our protagonist discovers that his ex-girlfriend, which has tried to contact him, has disappeared. In a web of events where nothing is what it seems, Brendan (the protagonist) will face increasingly tough guys without giving a single inch to discover what is hidden behind the disappearance of what was the woman of his life.

Making reference to the Film Noir canons, here we have the typical character; lost in love with a woman who no longer kisses or hugs him, and that lost, impossible love, marked by that type of “fire” is what makes him continue forward, despite of the word "loser" written on his forehead. In the same fashion, the protagonists of this type of stories are usually losers as well. Certainly with a certain charm, and almost always with nothing to lose, because what they wanted most they have already lost it.

Rian Johnson is assertive in the creation of an atmosphere very suitable for the story, an atmosphere of pure film noir. And also in the development of the argument, which is gradually becoming complicated, although in the final third part it gets confusing. Johnson had very few elements at his disposal to shoot this film, the budget must have been very poor, and yet he saved the film as few directors would have been able to do. Despite its obvious lack of means, the film distills a certain class, and that shortage is not a problem at all.

An aspect of the film that has been criticized is that it is very cold, and distant. Film noir is not like that, no matter how much they wanted to give it a twist here. This idea rested on nothing at all, thus this coldness plays against the film alarmingly. Many viewers will take time to enter the story or simply will not. Absolutely all the characters are so depressed that it seems from one moment to another they will make a collective suicide. This touch so characteristic of independent films does nothing but spoil much of the story. They could have saved it and the film would have worked better.

Regarding the acting; Joseph Gordon-Levitt who takes over the main character by filling it with carefully studied nuances. The rest of the cast is not honestly up to par. Nora Zehetner plays the typical femme fatale a classic in this type of story and the truth is that she baffles as much as she likes loosing the character’s control. On the one hand her strange beauty makes it suitable for the role, causing a certain fascination especially when she moves,  but on the other at certain times, she seems  too young to carry a role of these characteristics.

Today this film is destined to become a cult film if it isn’t one already, it collected several good reviews at the time of its release, although it is important to have these; the film also suffered from some failures that could have been easy to avoid.

Directed by Rian Johnson

Produced by Ram Bergman and Mark G. Mathis

Written by Rian Johnson

 Starring:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Nora Zehetner

Noah Fleiss

Matt O'Leary

Noah Segan

Meagan Good

Emilie de Ravin

Richard Roundtree

Lukas Haas

Music by Nathan Johnson

Cinematography Steve Yedlin

Edited by Rian Johnson

Production company: Bergman Lustig Productions

Distributed by Focus Features

Release date:

January 2005 (Sundance Film Festival)

April 7, 2006 (United States)

Tadpole 2002

I have to admit I have seen this movie more than a dozen times. It was a favorite of mine and a dear friend. Oscar Grubman, a fifteen-year-old student who speaks French and quotes Voltaire, believes that girls of his age have neither lived nor know enough to be interesting. So, when he returns to his home in Manhattan to spend Thanksgiving vacation with his father, who has remarried, he will try to seduce his mature stepmother. The film is set in that Manhattan, a type of New York that Woody Allen has shown us so well. This story is about as close to a contemporary descendant of J. D. Salinger's beloved preppie misfit, Holden Caulfield, as has ever been brought to the screen.

At its most endearing, the film conveys the same intense identification with Oscar's thoughts and mood swings that Mr. Salinger brought to his legendary character, and its adolescent-eyed view of Manhattan's Upper East Side as a glowing, mysterious wonderland is deeply Salinger-esque. This was Aaron Stanford, first his feature-film debut in the movie, Oscar might have emerged as an insufferably pretentious hothouse flower. But the actor (23 when the movie was made) flawlessly captures his character's aching, doe-eyed sincerity and yearning goodness.

Oscar has little tolerance for his fellow teenagers' tastes in pop culture, and on the train into Manhattan, he appears oblivious to the flirtatious signals flashing from an attractive schoolmate (Kate Mara) whom he dismisses as too immature to be girlfriend material because she has “babylike” hands. He also imagines himself a connoisseur of women: older women, to be precise. But that taste proves the source of Oscar's heartache. Of all the older women in the world to covet, the one for whom he has developed a consuming passion is his attractive stepmother, Eve (Sigourney Weaver). A medical researcher whose marriage to Oscar's father, Stanley played by the great comedian, the late John Ritter, an academic, has drifted into stagnation, Eve is beautiful, cultivated, self-possessed and 40-something. And as the camera studies her through Oscar's adoring eyes, you understand exactly why he would prefer her to someone his own age. For one thing, she doesn't have hands like a baby's.

The film's chief pleasures derive from the delicate interactions of Oscar, Eve and Diane (Bebe Neuwirth), a chiropractor who is Eve's mischievously sexy best friend. The core of a story, which suggests a refined French farce about intergenerational sex and lies (but no videotape), this dinner scene full of intrigue and comedy represents the core entire movie, finally we find Oscar sleeping with Diane but feeling terrible about it afterward because he has betrayed his true love.  Bebe Neuwirth, whose leggy, smirking bravado recalls the younger Anjelica Huston, more or less steals the movie. Her portrayal of Diane, a sexy, self-assured single woman with a rebellious streak, gives ''Tadpole'' its erotic snap. Diane's juicy reminiscences of the wild rock 'n' roll adventures she shared with Eve 25 years earlier now make her friend uncomfortable. A critical scene is when Sigourney Weaver, displaying the greatness of her craft, deals with the teenage masturbation; all kinds of emotions go through her head and you can feel them. Within this genre which I consider topped by The Graduate, however I will rank Tadpole in the top five of that list along with Midnight Cowboy, Sunset Boulevard and The 80’s cheesy fun movie “Class”.

''Tadpole” comes from a screenplay by Niels Mueller and Heather McGowan, was an audience favorite when it was shown earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The performances are precise with a sweet and kind Sigourney Weaver in this simple story that is told where the only interruptions are to show some phrases of Voltaire, part of Oscar’s obsessions; true axis of this film. The film's soundtrack includes a version of the Simon and Garfunkel song"The Only Living Boy in New York" interpreted by one of my favorite duo of all times "Everything But The Girl."  

Tadpole won the prize for the best director of a drama at Sundance in 2002, which went to Gary Winick. This movie was shot in just two weeks with a hand-held digital camera and was one of the many that during the eleven days of the festival found a distributor and buyer.

Directed by Gary Winick; written by Niels Mueller and Heather McGowan; director of photography, Hubert Taczanowski; edited by Susan Littenberg; production designer, Anthony Gasparro; produced by Mr. Winick, Dolly Hall and Alexis Alexanian; released by Miramax Films.

Cast: Sigourney Weaver (Eve), Aaron Stanford (Oscar), John Ritter (Stanley), Bebe Neuwirth (Diane) and Robert Iler (Charlie).

I Heart Huckabees 2004

There are films and proposals that in our present times allow us to give the impression that not everything has been invented in the field of comedy cinema, despite its lukewarm public response and not too hot American criticism - which contributed to poor international distribution. I HEART HUCKABEES directed by David O. Russell in 2004 can be an example of signs of renewal in American Indie films during the early 21^st century. However, as soon as we take a closer look at the images, there are clear echoes of the screwball comedy developed in the thirties and forties, the use of those pastel colors of the late fifties become a ruthless criticism of the current consumer society.  I'm sure someone like Frank Tashlin would have loved this movie - and his visual formulation that has the longing for the great supporters of this comedy genre in the sixties - Jerry Lewis, Stanley Donen, Blake Edwards, etc.-. However, I think that the most palpable reference is the brilliant comedy, the masterpiece of Paul Thomas Anderson; PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002), sharing visual similarities and the strong presence of Jon Brion in the soundtrack.

This is a film perhaps not suitable for all tastes, but which was a very pleasant surprise for me when I saw it with my friends in 2004, and progressively becomes a more ingenious than funny film, aptly developed more as a sort of musical comedy, very well translated into a careful panoramic format defined by a “Tutti-Fruti chromatism” that caters to the internal needs of its images and it does not remain just as simple and brilliant ornament, as was perhaps in the case Down with Love, 2003 by Peyton Reed which I loved by the way but for different reasons -. Russell’s images give off enough skill to propose the interaction of a series of characters that initially may seem absurd - and they are - but that in the development of their stories they have much to tell us about the search for their own identity or the meaning of an existence that is called into question, even as part of a comfortable environment.

From a premise of a classic argument of a musical comedy, spread around some characters related to a global company, Huckabees thus the title, from which emerges the one character that serves as a link between the rest of the cast.  This is Albert (Jason Schwartzman), an environmentally conscious young man who reflects on the search for the meaning of existence from a series of coincidences related to a young black immigrant. In the middle of the process, he goes to an “existential” detective agency - the best idea in the film - that will try to resolve the young guy’s identity crisis. With this plot the presence of a narcissistic executive obsessed with success, his girlfriend, a firefighter who is bitter by his intuition of existential nothingness and obsessed with the doctrines of nihilist philosophers all these characters will be interspersed. An authentic mosaic wrapped in a brilliant plot overflow and an attractive visual treatment, which sometimes even uses digital effects and almost surreal fantasies. It is true that I HEART HUCKABEES is not a particularly funny title, but at all times it is characterized by its enormous capacity for ingenuity and, what is truly great is how this is expressed cinematographically with as much inventiveness as it is with assertion.

To achieve a good result like this, there are two elements that David O. Russell manages to reverse in the film. In the first place, a magnificent direction of actors that even achieves a splendid result in Mark Walbergh’s character, and he knows how to exploit Jude Law's haughty antipathy for comedy, but that reaches a huge result in a Dustin Hoffman that reaches in my opinion one of the best roles of his entire career in a character that lent itself to the worst excesses. The other feature that gives the film its own personality is the sound counterpoint of Jon Brion who, at times, "takes over" the film, helping with his creativity and symphonic singularity to reach that " extra gram of madness" that define the best moments of the film for example; the sequence in which Jason Schwartzman and Isabelle Huppert show their sexual attraction in such an unusual way.

Finally, between the anguish before nothingness, philosophical hopes, attempts to seek happiness with love or the fragility of being aware only of the image and consumerism, the truth is that in I HEART HUCKABEES one rejoices before a personal view that without losing its ingenuity, at times seems to take us to the world of Lewis Carroll and makes this indie film as one of the most original and valuable comedies of recent years.

It has an amazing cast with: Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Isabelle Huppert, Jude Law, Lily Tomlin, Mark Wahlberg, Naomi Watts, Ger Duany, Kevin Dunn, Jonah Hill, Fisher Island, Tippi Hedren, Bob Gunton, Talia Shire, Richard Jenkins, Saïd Taghmaoui, Shania Twain

The Squid and The Whale 2005

After directing three initial films, Noah Baumbach got a hit with a story set in Brooklyn in the 1980's that attracted critical attention. When the independent American cinema seemed bound to the relentless repetition of the 90’s model via Sundance (with better or worse results) Baumbach created a film that reworked all that immediate legacy to create a narrative with autobiographical colors, in turn, he produced a film with another type legacy much more important and profound;  than the one  left by those intellectuals who, after the counterculture, settled in their bourgeois armchairs without having closed the wounds that were left open. And so, “The Squid and the Whale” is so much a comedy about keeping the wound open of a broken family in which children assume adult roles, parents misbehave it also a look into different kinds of love, first love, adult love, lovers, etc.

“The Squid and the Whale” is based on the real experiences of the film's director, Noah Baumbach and his brother.  Jesse Eisenberg ('The social network') and Owen Kline ('The Anniversary Party') embody the Berkman brothers and actors Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney bring the Berkman marriage to life. The drama won an Oscar nomination, in 2006, in the Best Screenplay category, as well as my other awards.

Set in Brooklyn in 1986, “The Squid and the Whale” reflects the daily life of the Berkman family. Bernard and Joan will separate. His two sons, Walt, 16, and Frank, 12, each put on behalf of one of their parents. It might seem that the older son’s age makes him understand his father a little better, while admiring and envying him at the same time; at the same time the younger boy prefers to remain protected by his mother. But story keeps evolving and the personalities of the two kids change as they realize that everything has nuances.

Perhaps that is the greatest merit of the film: to present the situation and the characters with their nuances and flaws, without saying that things are white or black, without presenting good or bad. Like the children, it is difficult for the film to put itself on the side of one of the two members of the marriage.

These flaws make the characters multidimensional and well created, therefore, character identification occurs and we are interested in following the plot to see what happens to them. The dialogues are well written, witty, funny sometimes sarcastic and move away from the topic in which they could easily fall. Also in those flaws and nuances set the tone of the film, another success. It is neither melodrama nor comedy; it operates within the difficult balance of dramatic comedy or bittersweet drama. The best example of one of the protagonist’s flaws is the husband’s reaction, Bernard, to the achievements of his wife as a writer. He has been her mentor and now she can't stand to be the one who succeeds, precisely at the time when her success is in about to occur. Although this way of behaving could put us against him, the rejection towards the character is not total, but rather human understanding occurs. Running the risk of being branded as a feminist if I would say that it is a very expected male attitude, because of the masculine ego, but that is what the film shows in a very human way. This rivalry seems to be the straw that fills the glass, but the marriage had long been on the rocks, since fidelity was not the strength of either.

The way the point of view is presented is yet another great merit of the film. Get us to consider the vision of the two adults and get us to understand the attitudes of both, despite having shown us the aforementioned character flaws. He even gets us to understand the attitude of both children. The risk of putting ourselves in the shoes of these young kids would be to fall victim of the anti-divorce pamphlet, but the film moves away from it with mastery, showing us that separation is something that had to happen, that a forced continuation of a marriage would do anyone good.

Noah Baumbach was the director of 'Kicking and Screaming' (1995), 'Highball' (1997) and 'Mr. Jealousy '(1997). The producer and promoter of the idea is the now legendary Wes Anderson, director of series of amazing and successful films. The protagonists are Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney, William Baldwin and Anna Paquin. The children are played by Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline.

In conclusion: “The Squid and the Whale” has many merits and is a good film; it has been nominated and won several awards: It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay,  the Golden Globe for Best Film, the Golden Globe for Best Actress (Laura Linney),  the Golden Globe for Best Actor (Jeff Daniels). At the Las Palmas International Film Festival, Laura Linney was chosen as the best actor. Other awards it has accumulated are: Best Film 2005: New York Online Film Critics. Best Screenplay 2005: Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Best Screenplay 2005: National Board of Review. Best Screenplay 2005: National Society of Film Critics. Best Screenplay 2005: Toronto Film Critics Association. Best Screenplay 2005: New York Film Critics Association. 6 nominations for the Independent Spirit Award: Including the Best Film. Best Director: Sundance Film Festival 2005. Waldo Salt Award for Best Screenplay: Sundance Film Festival 2005. Official Selection: New York Film Festival 2005. Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival 2005.