'Assassination of a High School President'

THIS EXCEPTIONALLY entertaining film manages the delicate task of providing smart comedy and compelling intrigue, wrapped in a coming of age high school package.

Reece Thompson is wonderful as an aspiring Bob Woodward who just happens to be trapped in the body of a geeky sophomore attending a socially brutal parochial school.

With Thompson giving a tongue-in-cheek Dashiell Hammett style narration, we follow his journalistic investigation into the theft of the school's SAT tests. The deadpan humor, strong script and plot twists kept me fully engaged — not an easy feat given my embarrassingly short attention span.

Bruce Willis co-stars as the shellshocked principal and while I'm not usually fan of Mr. Die Hard, in this role Willis is perfectly paired and delivers the best performance of his lengthy career.

The teen promiscuity registers at a 7.2 on the Richter scale, so it's best for 16-years-old and up. (R: Language, drugs and sex). 1 hour and 33 minutes.

Ratings (out of 4 stars):

Overall: 3 ½ stars

Kids: N/A

Teens: 3 ½ stars

Adults: 3 ½ stars

Seniors: 2 ½ stars

Should you rent it? Yes — Fresh, funny, fantastic farce.

'Year One'

This prehistoric comedy proves that scripts really do matter. Despite a terrific cast, this pathetic retread

Jack Black and Michael Cera play their usual roles (clueless extrovert and awkward teen, respectively) but wearing caveman garb in the year 1 A.D.

Apparently they had not yet invented humor, because the lack of laughs was so apparent, I actually felt bad for the cast (which also included "Simpsons" genius Hank Azaria).

Spare yourself similar moments of concern and avoid this pointless film like the plague. The gross humor factor here will be a red flag to kids and most seniors. (PG-13: Language and sexual themes). 1 hour and 37 minutes.

Ratings (out of 4 stars):

Overall: 1 star

Kids: N/A

Teens: 2 stars

Adults: 1 star

Seniors: ½ star

Should you rent it? No — Your time is far to valuable to waste on this cinematic tar pit.

'The Wizard of Oz'

Hollywood studios are fond of dusting off chestnuts from their back catalog, slapping on some bonus features and rereleasing these old movies with credulity-straining grandeur. One could argue that this disc falls into that category as well. But ignore the requisite filler and focus instead on the masterpiece of the film.

Seventy years after being released, "Oz" still shines as bright as the Emerald City. The families on my block all watched this film together outside on a recent warm night and it holds up wonderfully.

The adults were taken back to their childhood and our kids experienced the joy of this epic story for the first time. The witch may be too scary for kids under 5. (G: Peril). 1 hour and 34 minutes.

Ratings (out of 4 stars):

Overall: 3 ½ stars

Kids: 4 stars

Teens: 2 ½ stars

Adults: 3 ½ stars

Seniors: 4 stars

Should you rent it? Yes — The 1939 classic lives on.

J.B. Alderman lives in Piedmont and can be reached at jason@alderman.net.