Assassination of a High School President

Release Date: October 6th, 2009 (DVD)

Genre: Comedy / Crime / Mystery

Stars: Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton, Reece Thompson, Michael Rappaport

Synopsis: A school newspaper reporter gets his big break when he outs the student body president for stealing the SAT tests from the principal's office but further investigation suggests a frame job and a much bigger scandal.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                           

A well crafted premise and certainly a strength for the film.

Writing / Production:            

At times "Assassination of a High School President" is down right entertaining and others it is completely boring and uninteresting.  The biggest criticism for this film is that it does not harness momentum efficiently and winds up a series of peaks and valleys.

Acting:                                  
          
It is a shame that Michael Rappaport was not used more often as he was absoultely hillarious.  Bruce Willis is very nice in his role as the principal but the rest of the players which include the leads left a bit to be desired.

Originality:                           

"Assassination of a High School President" feels a lot like a bad tribute to classic detective mystery movies and if it had done enough to more closely mimic that genre it would have been a pretty novel concept.

Overall:                                   

This movie put a lot of stock in a fantastic finish and while the ending was pretty good that doesn't quite make up for the fact that the audience has to labor through a painfully hit or miss feature length fare to get there. 

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The Maiden Heist

Release Date: October 27th, 2009

Genre: Comedy / Crime / Drama

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Christopher Walken, William H. Macy, Marcia Gay Harden

Synopsis: Three museum security guards on the brink of retirement plot a heist to save the art they hold most dear from being relocated in Denmark.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                           

A lovely concept that carries a lot of promise for both comedic and sentimental value.

Writing / Production:           

"The Maiden Heist" is not nearly as funny as most audiences might expect but it does feature a handful of humorous moments.  On the other hand the film packs more heart than expected as well although there is a bit of a void in the back story as to exactly why each man adores the art in question so deeply.

Acting:                                       

The film features three very experienced talents and they are as brilliant as they are different.  Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the performances was the consistent and steady quality that did not allow any of the leads to upstage the others.

Originality:                          

Caper movies have been done to death but "The Maiden Heist" does a lot to distinguish itself from the crowd by focusing a lot more on the characters and their relationships to the art rather than the heist itself.

Overall:                                  

The one thing that hurts "The Maiden Heist" the most was trying to delicately balance itself between comedy and drama.  Perhaps the film could have been either a great comedy or a fantastic drama but it struggled greatly in trying to be both.  Still the film is not completely devoid of value and a lot of audiences should enjoy it. 

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The Locksmith

Release Date: September 21st, 2010 (DVD)

Genre: Drama / Comedy

Stars: Anslem Richardson, Ana Reeder, Stephen Rannazzisi

Synopsis: A jailed man in the work release program works as a locksmith and gets into a lot of trouble when he tries to help a jealous girlfriend that he meets on one of his calls.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                             
  
A nice little idea for a film that feels fresh and gets brownie points for effort even if it didn't always work.

Writing / Production:              

While "The Locksmith" is billed as a comedy there didn't seem to be too many laughs even though the situations could easily have been exploited for much more humor.  The movie isn't entirely unentertaining, however, as most audiences should be invested enough to feel the anxiety of the lead characters in the tense situations.

Acting:                                       

The cast will be foriegn to most audiences but the performances were very decent for the most part.  Ana Reeder played the annoying Margo character a little too far over the top and Anslem Richardson played the title character a little too cool. 

Originality:                               

The films creative storyline was coupled with only a loose embrace upon the cliches of this genre.

Overall:                                     

"The Locksmith" is a watchable film that would have been quite good if it had supplied even a moderate amount of comedy.  The film's soundtrack is something that works in its favor offering cool acoustic riffs and interesting lyrics that complement the movie's theme. 

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Spring Breakdown

Release Date: June 2nd, 2009 (DVD)

Genre: Comedy

Stars: Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Parker Posey, Jane Lynch, Seth Meyers

Synopsis: Three thirty something friends take an opportunity to relive their youth and party on a spring break vacation that they never took when they were younger.

AltAss Ratings (On a scale of 1 to 5 asses)

Plot:                                             

An excellent idea for a comedy and the storyline follows through for the most part in placing the characters in hillarious situations.

Writing / Production:              

There are some really great laugh out loud moments and the film feels like a professionally produced mainstream comedy which cannot be said of most direct to DVD fare.  "Spring Breakdown" does lose some steam as it heads for the finish line but it is still a nice effort.

Acting:                                       

The Saturday Night Live alumni heavy cast works very well together for obvious reasons and fans shouldn't be dissappointed by this film.  I think Seth Meyers is much funnier than he was in "Spring Breakdown", but everyone else is right on par with what audiences have grown to expect. 

Originality:                             

Very much in the spirit of goofy vacation movies but I think the idea to have thirty something friends revisit a spring break scene is pretty novel.

Overall:                                    

All in all a very good comedy that should be enjoyed by an audience that doesn't already hold a strong bias against the main players.  "Spring Breakdown" will make you laugh and has some heart, but not too much.

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