Assassination of a High School President (2008)

Review: This movie was definitely not what I was expecting. Judging by the poster, and the fact that they put Bruce Lewis in it, I thought that it was going to be actually about an assassination, but it ended up being about a boy trying to find out who nicked the answers for the test in a school. There was totally no reason for Bruce Willis to be in it and the storyline was pretty terrible. It just seemed like your usual American teenage college movie, which we have seen loads of times before, and it just seemed to drag. I was quite disappointed with the film and I can totally understand why it didn't make much noise, even if Bruce Willis was in it. Expected Better!Round-Up: With the murders happening in the schools, I can totally understand why they held this movie back because I don't think that it would have gone down well with the victims relatives. The director didn't really use Bruce Willis that much so it's obvious that he plastered him all over the poster, hoping to get people to see it, but judging by the money that it took, that didn't really work. The main character who is doing all of the investigating was a bit dull and I couldn't understand why he was left to solve the problem when an adult should have dealt with the matter.Budget: $11.5million (Bruce's Wage!) Worldwide Gross : $70,000 (Terrible!)I recommend this movie to people who like there typical American teenage movies about college life. 2/10

I'd been resisting watching this movie mainly because of Mischa Barton but thankfully a trailer for the movie convinced me otherwise or else I'd have missed this little gem.For me this movie was a neat satire of several types of movie settings. It's a mystery through and through but it satirizes styles such as 1940s detective noir, prison dramas, conspiracy theories, and high school movies. And it does it well to a certain extent.The movie is not perfect- it's not that well polished and I felt that some of the actors were a little to laid back but it's a little nitpick. The tone of the mystery was well maintain throughout with subplots and little twisters popping along to keep the movie going. Sure the mystery wasn't mystery-proof...you could guess where it was heading before it happened but it was still a fun ride. The performances were decent, not brilliant, but not over the top. Mischa Barton was the sole sore point- she didn't really do anything with her bad girl character. Perhaps it may be because she wasn't given much screen time but in that case why have her. The movie wasn't going to be a must see for everyone in any case and any no name fledgling, and better looking, actress could have done an able job. Still, I'm biased against her so I still maintain she sucked and brought the movie down a little.I'd still recommend this movie as it worth watching- the mystery is great- who stole the SAT sheets and it's fun watching Bobby Funke try to meander his way to the truth, much like a roving ace reporter, and there's never a dull moment.

I fell into "Brick" quite by accident. It was an accident that I discovered it, and knowing nothing about it, I found myself swirling in the story without defenses.That is why I am open to similar experiences. This actually tries much the same thing: conventional noir embossed on a comically exaggerated high school universe. I like the structure of this better, because it pokes fun at the neonoir technique itself: the detective is a newspaper reporter and the mystery is not something that discovers him, but something that is assigned. He gets the story wrong, twice, because he is being conned.The form has him as a voice-over narrator with untrusted views. He gets caught up in sex, as do we by deliberate manipulation of us both. There are some interesting reversals, the most interesting of which is that there is a conventional assassination attempt with a rifle and all, but it is BY the high school president. By the end, we are pretty tired of the mystery because the discovery has no novelty or engagement. Instead, we are treated to an imbalanced, comic satire of high school life. The extremes are amusing and a few are clever. But the main mystery disappears under it.We'll see Mischa Barton in the future, as "the girl" in some big budget action movie. The camera loves her.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

I liked the detective wanna be feel…both intriguing and amusing. The movie was unnecessarily perverted, but as a movie seeking teen viewers it was probably trying to get on their level and to appeal to them. Since teens are perverted this makes sense.That's really all I can say about this movie. I chuckled a few times and I liked the detective feel and narrations. Other than that I wasn't too interested in the story. It wasn't too captivating but then again…I'm not a teen. Maybe this film is just out of my age range.The acting was what was expected in this type of film. I was kind of surprised with the acting because two of the main actors are Bruce Willis and Mischa Barton…need I say more? The best actor to me was the lead role, Reece Thompson. Never heard of him before but he played the part well. I felt like Willis and Barton were trying to hard to fit their roles. I can't blame them for this though. If the film was better I think the acting would have been as well.