If you rent or buy one movie this year, make it Brick.

I have already read many great reviews for a movie called Brick, so last night I watched it for myself. Brick is one of the most enjoyable movies you will see all year. I listened to an interview with the writer/director of Brick, Rian Johnson, and he described the movie as "Chinatown in high school." I would agree that is a pretty good way to sum it up, but for old time movie watchers, it may seem more like Kiss Me Deadly in high school.

Brick is probably the best film noir since Chinatown, that is if there have been others. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan, a high school kid trying to get to the bottom of the murder of his ex-girlfriend played by Emilie De Ravin(Claire from ABC's Lost). To do this he has to play detective and has to not get played by any number of the people involved. Along the way he will have to deal with drugs and violence and stay one step ahead of the cops or bulls as they refer to them.

Brick has everything a good film noir needs. It has the great dialogue. It has the hard nosed detective. Brendan may not look it, but he is a tough kid. It has the great bad guys, old school bad guys. It has a femme fatale, a girl that is definitely trouble but looks so innocent. Brick has it all.

The dialogue in the movie is snappy and smart and seems to come right out of the 1950's. They talk fast and use words you might not know the meaning of, but somehow you keep up. This is not the kind of movie to watch with a huge group of friends that like to talk and visit more than watch the movie. You won't keep up in that atmosphere.

The movie is rated R for violence and drug references, but the language is pretty tame. When the violence comes it is sometimes humorous and sometimes very shocking. The twists and turns of this film will keep you on your toes.

I would highly recommend this movie and I think it will be a great film to introduce anyone to the film noir genre.