Brick (2005)
Focus Feature
Director : Rian Johnson
Cast : Joseph Gordon Levitt, Lukas Haas, Matt O Leary, Noah Segan, Emillie de Ravin, etc

Just when u thought most flicks that came out recently are the products of ongoing remake/ replica/ reproduction/ regeneration, outcome this powerful smack-in-the-face teen-trash thriller. Or should we put it ‘teenage noir’. ‘Brick’ operates in the same structure with most 50s detective noir movie genre : slick, fast-paced script lines, doomed and dark characters, unexpected interwoven plot, and tragically dead blonde as the victim. So, what’s new? Well, here’s the twist: It sets in the modern contemporary deep suburb of So.Cal Americana. If you think this is gona be another fucking Hillary Duff/ Lindsay Lohan type, please stop here.

Instead of occupying suave Humprey Bogart style actor, young debutant director Rian Johnson put Joseph Gordon Levitt on the screen as ‘Brendan Fraser’, a high-school loner misfit who discovered her dead ex-girlfriend in the gutter, and tried to dismantle the mystery behind it with the aid of show-stealer sidekick ‘The Brain’ (Matt O Leary). Investigation leads to drug smuggling conspiracy (‘Brick’ refers to coke in block cuts) headed by the enigmatic dealer ‘Pin’ (Lukas Haas in his career defying performance. I swear, you’ll drool over his icy-coolness).

Other odd-with-the-world characters also scattered all over the 110 minute long movie : the aggressive thuggish ‘Tugger’ (Noah Fleiss) and substance-abusing Dode (Noah Segan) whom all involved in the triangle of affair along with Brendan. All chain-linked to Emily (Emillie De Ravin), the dead blond -who were also mysteriously pregnant- the source of deep turmoil of all three boys who came crashed onto each other on the fatal finale scene.

First time director Rian Johnson made this impressive debut with modest cost of $475.000. It took him two exhausting years just to collect funds from individuals after rejected by numbers of production companies. In 2003 the production began and released by Focus feature in 2005. It won him Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival nonetheless.

You could smell the noir genre influences throughout the movie. Being a major fans of the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing and Hitchcock’s The Maltese Falcons, Johnson wears his influence on his sleeve. But the decision to give Brick narrative the twist of a suburban high school setting was to apply the film noir genre to a fresh set of visual cues. This is what makes the brilliance and significance of the whole flick as an artistic cinema piece : the blue hues screen, the dark element, the mysterious aura. Brick’s a splash of fresh renaissance that is needed in the much stale Hollywood industry that demanded to be seen.

Wanna compile yer ultimate rock n roll LPs?...Here's our version of albums that shapes the sound, image and attitude of The Brandals...and we think you should own these killer gems too!!!!

10. The Cramps 'Bad Music For Bad People'
The band that blew Ian Mac Kaye to kick-start a band. Lux Interior (voc) and Poison Ivy (gtr) laid down the blue print for what would be dubbed 'psychobilly'. The Cramps represented the perfect rock n roll debauchery’s all about : it's filthy, nasty, sexy and dangerous in one reverbed and delayed sound...also, any frontman who dare to wears body-tight overall leather and stiletto on stage would be our all time favorite!

9.The Clash 'Sandinista'
Ambitious triple treat from punk's true experimental musician. Many music critics prefer 'London Calling', but any die-hard Clash fans knew that this one's the ultimate journey to London's (or UK for political matter) undertaker. Dub, reggae, rockabilly, New Orleans Jazz, Country, Funk, Disco, even first generation hip-hop..all melted thru the hands of these bunch of 'last gang in town'. Punk's own Sgt. Pepper!!..Yeah...it's that good man!

8. Straycats 'Choo Choo Hotfish'
True to the spirit of vintage rockabilly, Brian Setzer, Slim Jim Phantom dan Lee Rocker never endure their devotion to 50s fetish of bad love, rockin' town and fast car, right through their demise in '92. And this album is their last testament. Wanna be a guitar hero? Listen to Setzer's insane finger lickin...listen and learn!

7. The Stooges 'Raw Power'
It's a tough choice if u has to pick one of your favorite Stooges, but we'll go with this one. The sound of a musical outfit that somehow knew they're on the brink of their collapse, so they pour every inch of their guts. Don't call yourself a punk if you don't own any of the Stooges albums!

6. The Rolling Stones 'Sticky Fingers'
A landmark departure point where guitarist Mick Taylor contribute his debut licks, Keith Richards steal Gram Parsons' country tinge rock n roll, and Jagger never sounds so bluesier and soulful. Probably from all the cocaine they snorted..

5. The Velvet Underground & Nico
Yeah..fuck the hippies dude!. While other rock outfit trying to spread their 'Peace and Love' aesthetic thru pot and LSD, Lou Reed and Co. wrote a classic called 'Heroin' and declared their degeneration and decadency. Oh, and they wear black leather, black shades, black boots and from New York. Help yourself, go and get this album. Steal if you have to...

4. David Bowie 'Ziggy Stardust'
Rock n roll has never been so colorful and entertaining before David Robert Jones entered the arena. The persona of rock chameleon works because he knew that there are more to rock than just a good look, bad riff and luck. You need brain and intelligence to be on top of the world! With Ziggy Stardust, he proved it. It's a trans-atlantic hits with breakthrough classics like Ziggy Stardust and Suffragette City, and he ruled the world after this one...

3. Chuck Berry 'Chuck Berry is On Top'
The true architect of Rock n Roll...enuff said!

2. Sex Pistols 'Nevermind The Bollocks...Here's the Sex Pistols'
O yea..they're maybe more like a fashion statement, a big bag of bad attitude and a mixed of senseless mythology, but no other punk band could match up the ferocious and exuberant spirit of this legendary release...(well, maybe The Damned came close)..Still wondering what's the role of 'attitude' for a rock n roll band?...Check what Lydon has to say through out the entire album, and you'll know why..

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience 'Electric Ladyland'
Our all time fave. The thing about Hendrix is that everything about his music has cosmic aura and spiritual vibes..that's why his music's timeless and universal. You don't have to be doped up or high to listen to this one...it's already a headfuck from the opening track..Amazingly meticulous arrangement and hallucinogenic sound effects, neatly packaged in a rock n roll album...What more could you ask?...A true classic!