BIOGRAPHY (from Wikipedia)

Rian Craig Johnson (born December 17, 1973) is an American filmmaker. He is known for writing and directing the neo-noir film Brick (2005), the comedy-drama The Brothers Bloom (2008), the science-fiction thriller Looper (2012), the space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and the murder-mystery Knives Out (2019), the last of which was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and earned Johnson a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.

He also directed three episodes of the television drama series Breaking Bad (2008–2013), including the episode “Fifty-One”, for which he received the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Drama Series in 2013.

DIRECTOGRAPHY

2005 Brick
2008 The Brothers Bloom
2012 Looper
2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi
2019 Knives Out

Reviews

Poster	Movie	Year	Comments	Rating	Reviewer
	Brick	2005	The premise was interesting but the film is incredibly tedious, bogged down by endless conversation, very little action and an unconvincing, unlikeable performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead role.	4	Mat
	Brick	2005	A modern day teen noir sounds awful, but the direction and score pull it off (mostly). JGL is great in the lead role.	7	Gordon
	The Brothers Bloom	2008	A sometimes fun globe-trotting con-caper is hamstrung by generally unlikable characters and a script that isn't as funny or clever as it thinks it is.	6	Gordon
	Looper	2012	Joseph Gordon-Levitt does his best De Niro impression in a fabulous time travel crime drama that sees Bruce Willis on the run from his younger self.	8	Gordon
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	There are a few moments in this film that are absolutely awful, but it also has fantastic visuals and the most daring story and character progression of any Star Wars movie so far.	8	Mat
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	I like the real Star Wars stuff, the music, the lightsabers, but the story had nothing to it.	6	Simon
	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	Full of excitement and wonder, but tainted with too much comedy and an over-reliance on set pieces.	8	Gordon
	Knives Out	2019	A contemporary take on a classic murder mystery with a stellar cast. Daniel Craig could well have found a new franchise post Bond in Benoit Blanc, but this case is just a little too pedestrian.	7	Gordon

The Verdict

• Brick
• The Brothers Bloom
• Looper
• Star Wars: The Last Jedi
• Knives Out

3.4

Summary

Despite only having five films to his name, Rian Johnson has managed to cram in a number of genres and subject matters including Noir, Sci-Fi, Time Travel and Murder Mystery. Whilst the resulting films have generally been received positively,  he does seem to garner a strong contingent of haters and maybe it is his divisive quality that makes him such an exciting writer/director. His ability to take a well worn subject and turn it inside out means that there is a lot more to come, but it is unlikely he will ever get universal acclaim due to his innate ability to annoy whole swathes of his target audience.

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DIRECTORS LEAGUE

This page will be updated as we watch more Rian Johnson films and therefore his overall rating will change over time. You can see where Johnson sits in the Directors League here.