Rian Johnson, USA, 2005, DCP, 110 min.

For those who prefer their “dark” and “broody” with a side of milk and cookies, BRICK is the first  neo-noir whodunit from writer-director and KNIVES OUT mastermind, Rian Johnson. Joseph Gordon Levitt is Brendan Frye, a loner and high-school Sam Spade, who knows all the angles but can’t make sense of the picture when his ex-girlfriend is found dead. In his search for the truth, he’ll wind his way through cliques he previously avoided to trade barbs with cheerleaders who give a “D” for danger on the way to uncover the mysterious “Pin.” Featuring a veritable who’s who of ‘00s Hollywood, including Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner, Emilie de Ravin and Megan Goode, BRICK is as much a hard-boiled pulp homage as it is a BUGSY MALONE for the “Forever 21”-set.