Noir goes to high school!  This movie takes a modern take on the classic film-noir formula, but how do you have the classic dialog of a 30’s movie and put it into a movie made in this century?  I don’t know either but Rian Johnson did it.  Deciphering the language is part of the fun of this film.  Pin, Bull, Tug and of course Brick, what do they mean, why does it sound so cool when these middle class teens talk?  The setting of this film is in today’s suburbia and not the heart of the big city.  The hero is an average teen ex-boyfriend that most seem to be afraid of, or at least respect his reputation, but he seems more of a nerd then a bad ass.  The bad guys are modern versions of a thug and a smart business man who just happens to be in an illegal business.  There are 3! Yes 3 femme fatales in this movie, and of course all three throw our hero off track in different degrees through out, even though he knows they are doing it.  Brick is ten years old already, but it still holds up.  It was great to revisit this movie a decade on and forgot all the talent that this movie has.  Of course I knew Joseph Gordon-Levitt  when I first watched this, but he has become a huge star since. Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin and Meagan Good  have all gone on to become stars in their own right.  We get to see Richard Roundtree(Shaft himself!) in a great little role as well.  The greatest launching pad for talent this film had may just be the writer and director himself.  Since Brick, Rian Johnson has gone on to make the Brothers Bloom and the fantastic Sci-Fi Noir(I will review this sometime in the future)Looper.  The biggest news for Rian is the announcement that he will be the writer and director for 2 new Star Wars movies.  Not bad for a guy that wrote a movie, directed it using his old high school as a set and an Apple computer to edit it.  If you’re a fan of noir, new or old and haven’t seen this movie, check it out, if you haven’t seen it in a while it’s worth another viewing.