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. 

Click here to find a better movie.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

The Town

Release Date: September 17th, 2010

Genre: Crime / Drama / Thriller

Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Ham, Jeremy Renner

Synopsis: A career bank robber finds himself involved with a manager taken hostage during one of his heists and fights the strong currents from his life of crime in an attempt to change his life for good.

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

Plot:                                          

                                           
The premise of exploring a love relationship between a criminal and his victim is a strength for this film.

Writing / Production:               

"The Town" has some very nice heist and chase scenes with hit or miss dramatic efforts in between.  While its nothing extremely special, the film is still pretty good and has a lot of entertainment value.

Acting:                                      

Ben Affleck has been responsible for some the worst acted scenes in recent history but he is much better in "The Town" and even shows some signs that he has the ability to be a really good actor at times.  Jon Ham and Jeremy Renner probably turned in the best performances in this effort.

Originality:                                

The fresh and creative feel is why "The Town" has impressed a lot of audiences in my opinion.

Overall:                                   

This movie isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination but it is a breath of fresh air from the steady diet of cookie cutter big budget and big name films steadily shoved down our throats.

Click here to find more good movies.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

Exam

Release Date: November 16th, 2010 (DVD)

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

Stars: Luke Mably, Chukwudi Iwuji, Nathalie Cox, Adar Beck, Gemma Chan

Synopsis: Eight candidates for a highly desirable position at a powerful company sit down to take an examination with very specific instructions and quickly discover their test forms are blank leaving the participants to seek the question as well as the answer.

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

Plot:                                      

A solid idea that wasn't quite perfectly formulated.

Writing / Production:           

Struggles to establish a nice rythym but eventually becomes very interesting before the momentum is spoiled by a ridiculous ending. 

Acting:                                  

Mostly decent with a smattering of poor cheeseball moments that stick out badly.

Originality:                            

I think the basic premise is a very original idea but the ending plot twist meant to blow the mind's of the audience is old hat and poorly executed to boot.

Overall:                                 

"Exam" was a film that had a lot going for it but ended up feeling awkward like something was just a little off throughout the entire movie.  In the end the explanation for the tense scenario is completely absurd which does not help the overall impact of the movie.

Click here to find a better movie.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!

Dad's in Heaven with Nixon

Release Date: September 14th, 2010

Genre: Documentary

Stars: Tom Murray, Chris Murray

Synopsis: A portrait of the filmmaker's family, particularly his autistic brother, and their trials and breakthroughs in spite of a difficult relationship with their father.

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

Plot:                                            

The decision to share an intimate family struggle with mental disorder is sure to be appreciated and helpful to many who face similar circumstances while managing to peak the interest of a broader audience.

Writing / Production:              

The filmmaker often fails, particularly during the first half of the film, to focus on the most interesting and entertaining aspect of the story he is trying to present (his autistic brother).  Instead he focuses on the havoc instilled upon the family by his dead bi-polar father which is relevant historical information that unfortunately hijacks a large part of the film along with old home movie reels.  Thankfully, the second half of the documentary is much more enjoyable.

Acting:                                     

The most entertaining character in "Dad's in Heaven with Nixon" is the filmmaker's brother Chris Murray who is a charming and funny man with a child's innocence that has not let his autism keep him from living a full, happy, and independent life. 

Originality:                              

I know that there are documentaries about mental disorder and autism but I don't think they have become common enough to make audiences grow tired of them.

Overall:                                   

This film would have been a real gem if the rest of the Murray family would have got out of the way and let it be even more about Chris.  As it stands I would still reccomend a look as the interviews with the filmmaker's brother are priceless and you can always fast forward through the uninteresting material to get to them.

Click here to find a better movie.

What did you think?  Leave a comment below to tell us how you'd rate this film!