Brick - 5 stars out of 10

Brick - 5 stars out of 10

5 stars for story, 0 stars for acting.  This script had so much potential by placing the film noir genre into a high school setting, but the casting was completely wrong.  All of these alleged high school students were in their 20's when the film was shot, and it was obvious.  One look at Tug and there was no way that he was in high school.  So many moments of the film were awkward because it seemed like they were adults stuck in some parallel high school universe.  Let's be honest - the cast of "Hey Dude" could have made a more convincing group of high schoolers.  Outside of that it seemed like every time that the film would get really good, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's acting would go over the top and spoil the moment.  I love him in "Inception" (and even "Angels in the Outfield"), but he did not play this role very well.  Outside of the acting, the story had a great mystery to it, particularly leaving the audience in the dark about Emily's message until you progressively discover the meaning.  I'd like to see this film redone in a few years with a cast more like the kids from "Super 8," giving the appearance of teenagers but the quality of veteran actors.