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High school is a perfect setting for noir but Assassination of a High School President downplays the genre to instead focus on the high school aspect of the premise. Instead of getting Bobby Funke acting like a hard boiled detective out to wade through an engrossing web of lies and deceit to solve a mystery we get a nerdy kid trying to get a summer internship and gets to fit in with the cool crowd. The failure of the film rests solely on rejecting the noir aesthetic and instead doing scenes with school dances and beer pong. Visually many of the noir staples are missing with no use of shadows, pedestrian use of lightening and no camera angles. Noir is treated as nothing more than a plot device. Without high stakes it is quite hard to really become engrossed with the plot. Hanging in the balance is a summer internship that Bobby never seems to really care too much about and as a result it is hard to get worked up about the plot.

Reece Thompson does a decent job as Bobby Funke, any problems with the character are issues with the writing and not with the performance. There is a huge cast of characters and honestly most serve no purpose but to further the plot. There is no depth and doesn't even make very good use of high school stereotypes. The one that missed the mark the most is the principal played by Bruce Willis. He exists as the authority figure but is way over the top and is a one note joke as an ex-soldier who is overly aggressive and keeps taking about his fighting experiences. The less said about Mischa Barton's weak attempt to play a femme fatale the better. A brief nude scene does not excuse this performance. An interesting premise ruined by poor writing and direction. If you have any interest in this film at all seek out Brick, a film with a similar premise that succeeds in all ways where this film failed and is the far superior one for it.

A very challenging and interesting film The Good Times Kid is short on plot and narrative and instead it portrays mood and atmosphere to the viewer. When we follow these characters throughout the day we get the sense of their aimlessness adrift in this world. No one directly says it or there is no voice over to state this, the film lets the mise-en-scene say all of this to us. A lengthy scene of two characters sitting on bus looking lost and sad with accompanying music speaks more and louder to the viewer than a few minutes of dialog or plot points. One of the most impressive aspects of the film was its use of focus. Quite often objects will go in and out of focus as well as the actors themselves. We get the see the world around the characters as it loses its meaning and clarity. There are some moments that are quite truthful and pure. Sara Diaz dancing in the kitchen, Sara and Gerardo Naranjo sitting in a dark boat with flashlights making faces to each other while his lover tries to kick down the door or that wonderful long take to end the film with one character sleeping and the other sitting looking into the world like a dear in headlights.

Dialog is sparse and far between but when there is dialog it is very realistic and quite introspective to add an extra layer to the film. While it is very bleak it never loses a sense of humor. Characters actions or expressions are often a source of comedy as well as some scenes like where Azazel Jacobs puts on boxing gloves and a cape and jumps into a large group of bikers starting a fight. While The Good Times Kid is very raw it is part of its charm. The acting is not the strongest aspect of the film it fits in quite well with the overall feel and never takes away or becomes distracting. Sara Diaz is the best aspect of the acting who is photogenic and has lots of personality though delivery of her lines could use some work. With the use of the music, playfulness of the subject matter and importance of the editing and camera I can't help but feel a connection to the early films of Jean-Luc Godard expect with less dialog. I am quite dismayed and saddened by some of the negative reviews it has received here so far. Frankly if you find yourself stumbling on this film you should be equipped with enough cinematic knowledge to enjoy this film. Nowadays when people in indie film try to make an overly quirky dramedy or the next installment of a "mumblecore" film it is nice to see Azazel Jacobs stand out and show great originality and craftsmanship without relying too much on dialog or plot.

A film can be fun and crowd pleasing without having to sacrifice depth and technical prowess and the Brothers Bloom proves it. After the amazing and innovative film that Brick was Rian Johnson had his work cut out for him for his second film. While the Brothers Bloom isn't as perfect as Brick was, it is quite close. Just like Brick took the noir genre and breathed life into it in new and interesting ways the Brothers Bloom does the same thing with the con film genre. There are steam boats and trains, characters always dressed up in fine clothing, globe trotting adventures to exotic locales and a web of events unfolding. One of the most impressive things about the film is just how different the aesthetic is from Brick. There is a bright and colorful palette and a light and breezy feeling. If you watched Brick and Brothers Bloom one after another and you didn't know who directed them you wouldn't have a clue they were from the same guy. The only thing linking the two would be Nora Zehetner as well as the finely crafted visuals. Rian Johnson incorporates terrific lighting and lightening effects in addition to the use of settings, time lapse shots, explosions and slow motion. Each scene has a huge amount of detail and care involved and each frame matters. The visuals have a heavy Wes Anderson influence with many scenes having a hand written chart for the part of the con they are on in addition to his love of British invasion music and tracking shots that zooms in tightly and then back out.

Nathan Johnson did a wonderful job of composing the music which is varied and sets the mood for each scene. Humor is sprinkled throughout the film with sight gags or funny dialog but all of the laughs the film gets it earns while at the same time balancing the drama between the characters and the story. The cast have wonderful chemistry together and each play their roles perfectly. Not one character over powers the others and each take turns stealing the scene. Dialog in the film is interesting and flows very well. There are some points in the film where the dialog gets to some deep emotional truths while other times it is more comical and light heated. The story itself is very well done and is quite unique. There are twists are turns throughout the film as the con evolves and we are left trying to figure out what is a con and what isn't and where exactly it is going. At the end however this serves as the one negative aspect of the film as it rushes to stay one step ahead of the audience it sputters a bit at the end but still manages to leaves on a high emotional note. This film works on many different levels and one thing that stuck me as being particularity interesting was how this film shows that film in general is a con and the director is the con man. Films shows us people acting a part written for them and the director tries to reflect this story in reality as closely as possible, but there is nothing real. The audience is the mark. The idea is to get our money. The most successful con is one where everyone gets what they want and the same is true with films. The audience is thrilled with being caught up in the reality of the film so they feel they have experienced or felt something and the film maker gets their money and a thrill from showing their art. By that measure the Brothers Bloom is a successful con. Rian Johnson has proved he is not a one hit wonder and that he is true auteur.