leonblackwood 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

nathan-517 Refreshingly Noir, thats what I think of when I watch this movie. Its a good old school conspiracy theory mystery with only one man who can see past the smoke screen that the conspirator/s throw in front of everyones faces. I love the fact that its done in a spoof way taking elements like making the backdrop a high school, turning characters into classic Noir characters, eg. the principal = mayor. And the fact that the actors push their lines too much making it overly dramatize fueling the parody of it all; which makes it all so very humorous. Also, like most mystery movies, you continuously second guess who did the crime because the movie makes twists and turns that put you to the edge of the seat until just before it all wraps up, you figure out the true person/s behind it all and watch as the past hour of questions and back stepping all unravel in front of you into the perfect crime. Over all, this is a movie to see; its spoofs Film Noir but also praises it with the execution of the acting, the script, and even the camera work giving you those angles that make any movie way more eerier. Straight to DVD cant stop this movie, its truly a mystery to see, refreshingly Noir. Now all we need is for a real Film Noir movie to come around soon.

tedg 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.

madbandit20002000 Either it's heaven or hell, the four years of high school define us, like it or not, preparing us for adulthood. Some of us are already "old" by that time and the lead hero, Bobby Funke, of the breezy, smart aleck school satire/mystery/coming-of-age opus, "Assassination Of a High School President", is definitely one of them.If he's not correcting the way people pronouncing his last name (the "e" is silent); noting his grade status, despite his baby face (sophomore); trying (and failing) to get his driver's license or downplaying the event of him being tied to a giant penis made out of snow (!), Funke (Reece Daniel Thompson of "Rocket Science") is trying to be a wunderkind newshound at the Catholic high school he attends, St. Donovan. Problem is he hasn't finished a piece. So, the paper's editor (spunky Melonie Diaz of "Raising Victor Vargas") assigns Funke to do a piece on class prez/basketball player Paul Moore (Patrick Taylor). Moore's basically a himbo, but also becomes a patsy when the SAT tests scores are stolen from the principal's office. Seeing himself akin to Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, Funke rolls with the story and becomes a hero. He even gets the amorous respect of Moore's ex-girl, the popular Francesa Fachini (Mischa Barton of "The O.C."). However, things are more sinister, especially involving Moore's successor/Francesa's step-sib, handsome but sleazy Marlon Piazza (Luke Grimes of the TV drama, "Brothers and Sisters") and that puts Funke is a tight squeeze between high school popularity and journalistic integrity.An entry at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, "Assassination" is a dark, witty romp that plays on the inanities of high school by putting them in a mystery/pulp noir bag. Sure, "Brick" did it before, but "Assassination" has more humor, subtle and loud, thanks to first-time feature film helmer Brett Simon (did some music videos) and tyro scribes Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski (both were crew members on "South Park").A younger version of Tom Cruise but with likable geekiness, Thompson shines with an old man complex (he's probably the only student who knows who the aforementioned reporters are!). He wants to belong, but the environment's twisted and immature, despite it being a Catholic high school. Barton's pretty durable in the junior femme fatale role, not deserving the attacks from people who probably never went to an acting class.The surprise here's Bruce Willis (how the **** did he get in this and you know what he's been in, mother******) as the school's hard ass principal, war vet Jared T. Kirkpatrick, who has a zero-tolerance policy against gum chewing and reminisces about his Gulf War days. Like Adam Baldwin's John Casey of "Chuck", Kirkpatrick's a mentally jittery trigger who resents being in a mundane workplace, infested with social scofflaws.Some of said individuals help with Funke's investigation, including perverts Dutch Middleton (Joe Perrino) and Ricky Delacruz (Vincent Piazza, also of "Science" and "Boardwalk Empire") and jailbait stripper Sam Landis (Cameron Diaz-like Tanya Fischer of the new TV version of "The Defenders"). The faculty's nuts too. Josh Pais ("Teeth") is a Spanish-language teacher who has an inappropriate lust over the students. Nurse Platt (Kath Morris of "Cold Case") is no different but more hippie-like. Michael Rappaport ("Hitch", "Big Fan") is an overgrown teenager of a basketball coach who's actually a English teacher. The inmates have taken over, people.With cleverness and echoes from "Chinatown", "Rushmore", "The Usual Suspects" and "Assassin of Youth", "Assassination" is a nice nutty take on how high school can be both cruel and hysterical. It's a nice movie to watch on a Saturday night, if nothing's good on the TV.