Dismissed

A completely average psychological thriller in every way. Dylan Sprouse is cute, but not enough to carry the whole movie.

Where was the research? California teachers have great insurance (and family members are all covered), teachers aren't ever just "let go" (there's a very strong teacher's union and something called "due process"), and speaking of: where was the union rep? Come on...half of the women in CA are teachers or public school administrators, and a quarter of the men are. It wouldn't take a deep dive in a research library to find this information out. So lazy.

Even if you can suspend judgment for an hour and a half, don't. This film just isn't good.

Out of all the suspenseful TV movies out there, this is probably one of the better ones I've seen. The camera work is a little shaky at times, but the acting is good and the plot is intriguing enough. Give it a shot.

I find it infuriating when a character makes weak and unrealistic decisions in order for there to be a plot. This to me is a sign of bad writing. Also the casting of the teacher - I feel - was bad. As excited as I was to see Dylan Sprouse in a new film, I was disappointed that the other lead character in this film (the teacher) seemed to drag it down. The acting is great from Dylan and I hope to see him in more movies soon. Hopefully ones that give him more opportunity to show his talents. I just can't get past the weakness of the teacher and dumbness of some of the supporting characters. It was a tad cheesy, but not one of the worst films I've seen at all.

Dylan Sprouse shows some acting chops as the uptight super on the ball student who bonds with his English teacher, joins chess club and is way too intense. When he gets a B plus things start to get nasty.

This thriller is different from the usual glossy Lifetime thriller in its slightly awkward camera work and direction. But the acting and story are quite good and things get quite intense so stay tuned.

Worth a watch.

What a rewarding little hidden gem "Dismissed" turned out to be. Looking for passable entertainment to bide the better part of two hours, I wound up getting a credible creeper with above average acting. And from really quite unlikely sources.

Kent Osborne is a veteran creative contributor to such super successful animated franchises as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Adventure Time". He is excellent here as a mild-mannered high school teacher who is terrorized by a disgruntled student. The unhinged pupil is played by Dylan Sprouse, co-star along with twin brother Cole of the long-running Disney Channel series "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody". Sprouse is convincingly chilling as a cuckoo crazy kid who stops at nothing to haunt the hallowed halls of Harvard.

This one probably shouldn't have been as good as it was. Just goes to show to ya, don't always judge a book by it's cover, nor a flick by it's cast.